[joincoolkidclub]

So after spending many an hour researching my first amp purchase I've found very few comparisons between portable and desktop amp/dac combos.
While this seems to make sense I was wondering whether someone could possibly explain the differences.
So far I've concluded that sound quality can be very similar but power is the big trade off.
Portability is obviously a big plus is buying a single amp but if, for example, I was trying to power K501's, am I going to find it difficult with something like the iBasso d10?
I'm going to pose the same question in the portable subforum and see what sort of answers I get there.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts on the matter,
NICK

 

[FallenAngel]

Of course they can be compared, most portables suck compared to most desktop amps and I DESPISE this notion of "dac/amp", well, until something that actually has both half decent comes out.

 

[joincoolkidclub]

fair enough.

 

[krmathis]

They sure can be compared!
But the result of the comparison will probably show exactly what you have found out yourself. There are trade-off's related to the smaller (portable) size. Probably most related to the power supply.

 

[joincoolkidclub]

Someone directed me to the "I'm leaving portable hifi- it's too silly" which has answered my question to some degree. Didn't think to look there, but whatev's....
Thanks for both responses,
NICK

 

[scytheavatar]

The fundamental issue of portables is the batteries: even to sound at their best the portable's batteries need to be near fully charged. So although the battery life of the RSAs can be 20 hours, the actual amount of hours where they sound at their best is less than that. But yeah the limitations of the portable amps are just too much for them to complete with the desktops, be it power, size or heat.

 

[Icarium]

I think gist of it is.. yes there are portables that sound better than some crappy desktop amps.

But a great portable versus an even somewhat competently designed/built desktop amp? No contest.

The CKK3/Gilmore Lite/M^3 will pretty much smoke any portable at the cost of ~200-400 bucks (Used to new prices). While there may be some that don't agree due to differences in taste.. I am pretty confident that they are in the minority.

 

[pyp007]

I was in the same situation as you are now, deciding my first amp. I purchased P51 (one of the best portable amp), thinking that I can use it on the go and at home. But when I used it with full size headphones at home, it really doesn't cut it. I ended up buying a cheaper (than P51) full size amp (Shanling Ph100) and it drives my K701 much better than P51. But I still enjoy using P51 with ER-4P with 4S adapter when I travel.

 

[nv88]

So would I get a noticeably better experience with a Zero or Compass than an iBasso D10? I'm thinking of getting a DAC/AMP for work and am having trouble comparing the apples and oranges. I've only had portable amps up to now. Maybe it's time to take a step up the ladder.

 

[krmathis]

More answers in the duplicate thread as well.

Desktop vs. Portable: Can the two be compared?

 

[Cankin]

I'll be receiving a mini3 in few days and using it to power my HD600. I've had few nice mid range home amps before, so I'm interested to know what portable with great design can do with headphones like HD600.

I don't know how well it performs now and I'm not expecting it to beat home amps, but I wouldn't worry too much since amb mentioned that mini3 "could drive low and high impedance headphones with authority"

 

[K3cT]

Don't go for portable unless you have the need to do so.

 

[lescanard]

Just curious - why would you want to consider a portable vs a desktop? Do you want to be somewhat portable? If so - a desktop may not be as practical. If you are just looking for the best sound and portability is not a priority - then I am sure you're getting the answers you were looking for from others.

 

[zeroibis]

I think he may have been thrown off by claims in the portable amp forum about some portables sounding "like" a desktop amp. He probably wanted to clarify how big of a difference there really is.

 

[mrarroyo]

This discussion has been had so many times it has gotten old. Please use the search function and you will realize that the same question has been asked and answered plenty of times pretty much along the lines of this repeat thread.