cheapish, PORTABLE amp for AKG K240M (600ohm)?

[alucard454]

so hey. i've been lurking on these forums off and on for... foreverish, but my current needs have finally forced me to register and start posting. yay!

here's the deal. i've finally gotten my AKG K240M's back after about 3 years of absence. in that time i've damn near forgotten what good headphones could sound like, and have been therefore floating between some KOSS UR-20s and some Maxell HP-2000s, and also some AKG K44s (all under 60ohm, and pretty sensitive). Now that i'm heading back into akg-town, i'm faced with a bit of a problem.

home music-playing is covered, and basically a non-issue. however, my primary portable and in-office music source is a modded nintendo DS. (don't laugh). it sounds fine, gets great battery life, and it means i don't have to buy a real mp3 player, so yay for cheapness. it can push the other headphones well enough. i have to put the volume to max to get a solid listening level, but it's fine. the K240Ms are obviously a different story.

i've already ordered a cmoy (OPA2227) on ebay, and i'm hoping against hope that it might actually power these 'phones, but i'm looking for a backup/upgrade plan in case that doesn't work out. if it can't do the job for me, i'm going to sell it to my roommate and try something else. the ldm+ seemed like a good place to start looking, based on what i hear on the forums, but i've never actually heard one myself.

so basically i'm looking for someone who might know for a fact that a Cmoy with OPA2227 or the ldm+ can successfully power either these AKGs or some other 600ohm phones. I've done the usual forum and google trolling, but i've been unable to find a definitive answer. i'll obviously be able to answer the CMoy question in a week or so when mine comes in, and i will return to this thread to do so, but i'm just trying to plan ahead.

if the Cmoy ends up not being enough, is the ldm+ the next logical choice, or would i just be pissing away even more money? the ldm+ is at least somewhat more powerful than a cmoy, right?

EDIT: i forgot to mention that my budget is in the sub-$100 range. i'm a little flexible if i have to be, but i'm on a grad student income here

anyways, thanks guys.

 

[Dash]

The sub $100 amp and 600 ohm do not usually fit. Ive heard the Mini3 (goes for $125 from RockHopper) is a pretty powerful amp that belies its size.

 

[Chrispy]

Welcome to head-fi. Nice name, btw.

 

[alucard454]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dash /img/forum/go_quote.gif The sub $100 amp and 600 ohm do not usually fit. Ive heard the Mini3 (goes for $125 from RockHopper) is a pretty powerful amp that belies its size.

hmm. very interesting. i shall have to do some more research. if this cmoy doesn't cut it, i may have to try the mini3. what about the ldm+? can't it be tuned to set up to push high impedance phones?

incidently, the guy that built my cmoy (biosciencegeek) asks you what headphones you are intending to use, and says he sets up the amp to work best with those models. i think he's referring to setting the gain or something, but does anyone know for sure? i've never been entirely clear on exactly how customizable a cmoy really is. a bunch of the ebay sellers make it seem like a cmoy can basically be customized to push any phones, but i just don't see how that's possible, given such a tiny amp.

eh, i dunno.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chrispy Welcome to head-fi. Nice name, btw.

thanks, and thanks

 

[Romis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alucard454 /img/forum/go_quote.gif hmm. very interesting. i shall have to do some more research. if this cmoy doesn't cut it, i may have to try the mini3. what about the ldm+? can't it be tuned to set up to push high impedance phones? incidently, the guy that built my cmoy (biosciencegeek) asks you what headphones you are intending to use, and says he sets up the amp to work best with those models. i think he's referring to setting the gain or something, but does anyone know for sure? i've never been entirely clear on exactly how customizable a cmoy really is. a bunch of the ebay sellers make it seem like a cmoy can basically be customized to push any phones, but i just don't see how that's possible, given such a tiny amp. eh, i dunno. thanks, and thanks

I think it`s simply gain adjusting thing.

 

[alucard454]

hmmm... what about the Pocket Amp 2? according to the website and ebay auctions of the guy who makes the PA2V2, it should work with "all headphones".... which i know is just marketing speak, but i'm wondering if that thing might just be enough for the k240Ms?

there's one FS here at http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...ighlight=PA2V2 that has been further modded for even greater sound.... hmmmm.

just thinking out loud, really, but hoping someone might have further knowledge

 

[luckypictures]

Well, there's a review of the Little Dot MK1 on here if you look for it, that says it has more than enough power to drive 600ohm cans. It'll be a bit above your limit, at about $125, but might be worth it.

Edit: $145 shipped, but apparently has a lifetime warranty of sorts.

 

[krc2]

Could the Headphonia do it?
Thats a $100, right on your limit.
(I'm on UNDERgrad budget