[iancraig10]

We're not talking ultr hi-fi here but I got tired of not being able to get a solid sound from my MP3 player using a portable amp and some Beyer headphones. The portable amp just wasn't being fed enough signal to drive the headphones loud..

Really wanting to beef it up, I used a portable amp out from the mp3 player and connected that to another amp.

The soundstage seems to have dramatically widened (as well as an enormous amount of volume). I seem to be able to hear more into the recording. My Beyers have taken off and it actually sounds as though I'm coming from a full sized amp.

Nothing here is what you would call hi-fi but it seems to have done the trick.

Iriver H120 (18mw output) to a Go-Vibe to a Presonus Head Amp to Beyer DT770 pro.

Just thought I'd try and use what I have in the house to get a 'beefy' sound. Has anyone else tried something like this in order to drive headphones better?

 

[atx]

I remember something about damaging the second amp if the output of the first amp contains a dc current. But I really don't know what why that is or why there would be a dc current in the signal.

Anyway, I'm too chicken to try it out.

 

[iancraig10]

I'm surprised how much power I can deliver to the Presonus HP4 (all the components are cheap anyway). The result is a wider soundstage! (Apart from the extreme volume now obtainable)

I'm not detecting any distortion but the feeling of having a lot of power available seems to be strong in the presentation of the sound through my Beyers. Maybe these phones need a lot of power to drive them and open them up?

 

[nikongod]

you would be better off simply increasing the gain of the second amp (or the power if you have legitimately topped it out) but with a low voltage source into say a tube amp with no negative feedback or a ss amp that you cant/dont want to mod that lacks output power because enough voltage isnt hitting the inputs a pre-amp can work wounders. totally pimp is an understatement.

ooh, also, if your "pre-amp" is putting out dc, fix it. something is VERY wrong. TOTALLY bad news there. if your source is putting out dc, FIX IT.

 

[jjcha]

Man, when I read the title I was thinking, hmm, I know there are dual/tri-driver IEMs, I guess you could wire them for bi/tri-amping, but this is rediculous...

Hmm three balanced SDS XLRs feeding a specially cabled UE-10 Pro...

Best,

-Jason

 

[immtbiker]

People do it all the time, with Ipods and SR-71's and SM's and the likes. Apple recommends to put the Ipod at 75% volume, so it acts like a line out voltage, and use the headphone amp volume for gain. CDP's put out a line voltage between 1.5 and 3 volts single ended, and approximately 4.5 balanced.

 

[aseltzer144]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iancraig10 We're not talking ultr hi-fi here but I got tired of not being able to get a solid sound from my MP3 player using a portable amp and some Beyer headphones. The portable amp just wasn't being fed enough signal to drive the headphones loud.. Really wanting to beef it up, I used a portable amp out from the mp3 player and connected that to another amp. The soundstage seems to have dramatically widened (as well as an enormous amount of volume). I seem to be able to hear more into the recording. My Beyers have taken off and it actually sounds as though I'm coming from a full sized amp. Nothing here is what you would call hi-fi but it seems to have done the trick. Iriver H120 (18mw output) to a Go-Vibe to a Presonus Head Amp to Beyer DT770 pro. Just thought I'd try and use what I have in the house to get a 'beefy' sound. Has anyone else tried something like this in order to drive headphones better?

While it may sound mad, I was wondering the same thing. Actually, in conventional audio its done all the time, even with line level sources, using a pre-amp. The portable amps, by that same convention, function more as integrated amps.

In my portable setup, I use a Turtle Beach USB Audio Advantage going from my laptop to my amp. Because this card has an integrated headphone amp itself which cannot be bypassed, I use the card as a preamp of sorts. I keep the volume coming from the card at 50% or lower and let the amp do the rest. This keeps the noise floor inaudible and generally seems to work well.

In effect, I am cascading gain stages which is not a purist approach. However, since the TB card is good quality and free of noise, this setup works.