[Cyrilix]

I've been taking a look into amps since some people suggested me to get one, and I've also been posting at [H]ardforum, asking about amps. Someone suggested to me the Pocket Amp 2 from Electric-Avenues for $50-70US (am I right? -- they have no price listed). I've also heard a fair amount about the Cmoy amp, fairly cheap to build. Which one would be better suited to me, keeping in mind that they are both within price range. I'd also like it to be able to have sufficient power for future headphone investments with high impedance like certain Senns and Beyers.

Thanks to this forum for giving me better ideas on where to spend money!

 

[aseltzer144]

Cmoys will vary depending on the builder, the components used, and particularly the opamp in place. Quite likely, it will work well for your listening intent.

I have a Pocket Amp so I have a sense for its sonic properties. There is also much that has been posted regarding this amp if you search the forums which will help you form an opinion. To my ear, the Pocket Amp has a slight electronic edge to it which may work well for trance. Of course this is subjective, but the Pocket Amp is a good, general purpose, low cost amp that I believe anyone who has not been using an amp will enjoy. The pros and/or cons of this amp (or any other) area subjective, but one thing for sure is that it is a dramatic improvement over unamped sound from most devices.

The Pocket Amp costs marginally more than most cmoys at $60 plus shipping. Considering that the amp has good fidelity, runs economically on rechargeable AAs, can be run from A/C, has a buiilt-in recharger, and includes the A/C wall wart and a mini-mini cable, there's good value there.

The Pocket Amp has a gain factor of 6.1 and sounds powerful. Then again, my phones are all relatively low inpedance (48 ohm being the highest). According to its designer, the Pocket Amp should be able to drive 300 ohm phones, but I have no experience there. I'm sure there are others on the forum who have used a Pocket Amp with high impedance phones who can weigh in on that. It may not be optimal for this purpose, but will certainly be amongst the most economical. The Pocket Amp is a good place to start and may be all you'd ever need depending on your urge or lack thereof to continually upgrade. Its reasonably priced and may leave you solvent enough to consider that headphone upgrade.

 

[Cyrilix]

Alright, thanks for the info.

 

[SockMan!]

I have a Pocket Amp 2 currently driving my Sennheiser HD600s and it's doing a decent job, though many other amps will undoubtly do better. I don't have any experience with any other amps, but it's better than running my 600s unamped and it'll hold me over until I can scrape up a few hundred bucks for a better amp that can do my cans justice.

 

[BrokenEnglish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyrilix I've been taking a look into amps since some people suggested me to get one, and I've also been posting at [H]ardforum, asking about amps. Someone suggested to me the Pocket Amp 2 from Electric-Avenues for $50-70US (am I right? -- they have no price listed). I've also heard a fair amount about the Cmoy amp, fairly cheap to build. Which one would be better suited to me, keeping in mind that they are both within price range. I'd also like it to be able to have sufficient power for future headphone investments with high impedance like certain Senns and Beyers.

there's also tigger's go-vibe, a small and well established portable amp with opamps of your choice. i'm using it (w/ad8620) on train trips with my portable gear, but also sometimes in a more transportable manner with my home phones. i was surprised that the go-vibe drives even my dt880 satisfactory.

 

[Gremlin255]

If you choose the cmoy, get it with a ad8620 opamp. Then pair it with the bassy Koss Portapro's. This a very good and cheap starter setup for trance music.

The Go-Vibe w/ad8620 is a good upgrade from the cmoy.
I have a MINT amp with two 9volts also has the ad8620 installed in it and sounds very good for trance.

IMO the ad8620 chip is the best opamp for trance and electronics music in battery powered portable amps.

The ad8620 is fast, lively and smooth upfront mids, great match for trance.

If you willing to spend a little more the portaphile w/ad8610's will be able to scale even better than the low end portable amps. It costs $185 though.

 

[Cyrilix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SockMan! I have a Pocket Amp 2 currently driving my Sennheiser HD600s and it's doing a decent job, though many other amps will undoubtly do better. I don't have any experience with any other amps, but it's better than running my 600s unamped and it'll hold me over until I can scrape up a few hundred bucks for a better amp that can do my cans justice.

Hey sock, you post at [H] as well?

I talked to Mister-X at [H] about a good amp and he still has a Pimeta to sell, although I'm not sure what price I can get on it...

What do you guys think?

 

[SockMan!]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyrilix Hey sock, you post at [H] as well? I talked to Mister-X at [H] about a good amp and he still has a Pimeta to sell, although I'm not sure what price I can get on it... What do you guys think?

Yep! After all, there's only one true SockMan!

Anyway, I remember Mister X having a portable Pimeta for sale last month that didn't seem to sell (as far as I know; he was bumping it for just about the entire month). It looked pretty decent, so maybe it's the same one that you're referring to? Seemed decently priced too.

 

[Cyrilix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SockMan! Yep! After all, there's only one true SockMan! Anyway, I remember Mister X having a portable Pimeta for sale last month that didn't seem to sell (as far as I know; he was bumping it for just about the entire month). It looked pretty decent, so maybe it's the same one that you're referring to? Seemed decently priced too.

Yeah, that's the one. How about I talk to you via PM?