Ety amp help

[Frndlefire]

Hello all,
Ok, so I am fairly new to the entire audiophile scene, but having skulked around the forum unregistered forever I have been astounded by the base of knowledge that is contained here. About a year ago I bought a pair of ER-4p headphones, so I guess you could say I jumped into the community head first. After using these almost daily for the last year I just feel spoiled whenever I listen to music out of a friend’s cheap headphones. My Ety’s just sound so much cleaner than anything else I’ve had the opportunity to try, which unfortunatly is rather limited.

I have primarily been running my ER-4Ps out of my 2g iPod (4g will be in the repertoire soon) and my music collection (primarily rock and classical) is currently ripped at 192-320 kbps, though I wouldn't have any issues reripping in lossless if it comes to that. I have generally been very happy with what I have been getting out of my Etys, however reading posts on here I wonder what I have been missing/not missing. So being as it is a fairly cheap experiment I was considering buying the p > s converter cable, but then I realized that I would need be in need of an amp if I wanted to run them out of my iPod. This pretty much threw my “cheap experiment” idea out the window being as I have no friends who are audiophiles with equipment I could borrow, but how am I supposed to learn if I don’t take on the burden, right?

I really need a portable, not a transportable, amp being as I often find myself on the go and would prefer not to lug around an amp the size of my forearm. Reading here and there it sounds like a PIMETA might be something I would thoroughly enjoy, however I unfortunately have no experience with building electronics. Maybe you all could help me selecting parts and help me find a builder, who knows. I also have looked at the MINT, it's size seems superb for my needs though it seems to have only decent reviews, and the Superdual, but with this I have the same complaint at Wrhawk in that the options I would choose would put it out of my price range (though it also seems like a great choice).

Basically it comes down to a couple things, 1) understand that I am a new, albeit passionate recruit to the audiophile community so try not to confuse me too greatly with tech specs should you choose to post them 2) size is important 3) sound quality is more important 4)I know I should have locked up my wallet when I logged onto this site, but I didn’t, so try to be gentle. Very gentle, I'm in college still. Other than that I am basically looking for any help you guys could throw my way so I can get the most out of my Etys and maybe learn a little something along the way.

Mahalo,
Liam

 

[sbulack]

A great-sounding, inexpensive portable which has a definite synergy with canalphones, such as the Etys, is the Headsave Go-Vibe. You can check it out at: http://www.headsave.com The Go-Vibe brings out the texture of the sound really well and provides lots of details to the canalphones without harshness or edginess in the highs.

 

[Frndlefire]

Would you recommend sticking with the standard OPA2227 op-amp, or is one of the other selections better suited for the Ety's?

 

[sbulack]

With the Go-Vibe, I'd recommend the stock OPA2227 for Etys. I think that the dark, rich sound (detailed, with the details spread out over the entire acoustic spectrum) is a very good complement to the Etys.

 

[cpw]

I'd like to put in my vote for one of the Headroom Amps. I haven't heard a go-vibe.
Cool things about Headroom product is that you have a generous return period. 0 risk.
I currently use a Total BitHead with my etys for travel and it's great.
I use the p/s converter when amped and it's heaven (especially on planes).
If you use a computer as source, it can take a digital out and use internal DAC for great sounding MP3s. You can even use it as an ADC to get analog music into your computer.
Love mine.

Wanna spend more?
Ray Samuels SR-71 is the Cat's PJs. (Though no DAC)
CPW

 

[Frndlefire]

Yes, I have heard that the SR-71 is just about as sweet as a portable amp gets...but I havn't been around these forum quite enough to be able to justify spending $400 on a whim, however, Christmas is right around the corner for all you wealthy philanthropists who are looking for a promising young college student to endow

 

[linuxjunkie]

I've been extremely happy with the sound quality and portability of a used Xin SuperDual that I picked up second hand from a member here.

If you can find one, it's a great match for the Etys- it includes a built-in impedance switch that replaces the ER4P/S adapter, a bass boost that sounds very nice with the Etys, a NiMH rechargeable battery, and a switchable crossfeed circuit.

The SuperDual is also quite miniscule- about the size of a small matchbox.

While perhaps it's not quite as good sounding as the SR-71, Xin SuperMacro (Xin's current offering, also supposed to be GREAT with Etys, but more expensive) or other higher-end amps, at less than 1/2 the cost of the SR-71 it is a good value for the money and _does_ sound very nice!

 

[Natsuiro]

I have a portable pimeta made by MisterX with AD8620 op amp and it sounds quite nice with the er4s. Maybe it would be too "bright" for some, but I find the sound quite natural and transparent. I'd like to compare it a maxed out cmoy when I finally get around to making it, and maybe an SR-71 if I ever get lucky enough to try one out.

 

[UAndy]

How about the Meier-Audio Porta-Corda II? When I first used this amp with the Ety 4S and 4P my initial impression was how smooth and linear the frequency response became and bass was greatly enhanced. This unit runs on a 9V battery. I use a Ansmann chargable battery, 200mA and 8,4 Volts. The amp can be switched to class A mode when increased power consumption doesn´t matter. Then about 20 hours is the operating time for 1 accu-set. Now I use the same amp for UE10Pro and Grado RS1. With these phones I can clearly detect the great improvement in dynamic presentation.
Hope it helps...

 

[Frndlefire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by linuxjunkie I've been extremely happy with the sound quality and portability of a used Xin SuperDual that I picked up second hand from a member here. If you can find one, it's a great match for the Etys- it includes a built-in impedance switch that replaces the ER4P/S adapter, a bass boost that sounds very nice with the Etys, a NiMH rechargeable battery, and a switchable crossfeed circuit. The SuperDual is also quite miniscule- about the size of a small matchbox. While perhaps it's not quite as good sounding as the SR-71, Xin SuperMacro (Xin's current offering, also supposed to be GREAT with Etys, but more expensive) or other higher-end amps, at less than 1/2 the cost of the SR-71 it is a good value for the money and _does_ sound very nice!

Would you guys say that the Supermacro would be worthy of the extra investment over the Go-Vibe? Also, assuming I did make that extra investment, would this amp retain a decent resale value? I have no doubts that the Supermacro sounds amazing, however as a college student $300 (I would want the impedance switch) is a lot of money to shell out at one time. However if someone is unhappy with their Supermacrol and would be willing to take a hit on it I would be more than happy to get one second hand.

 

[Javert]

Hi everybody.

I'm in kind of the same position as Frndlefire, except I haven't had my 4P's as long. With a lot of music on my iPod, the bass just isn't there (a common complaint about the 4P's, I know). But when I plug it in to a non-portable source (namely my Klipsch ProMedias, which are hooked up to an Audigy) and turn up the bass a little, the sound is incredible. No distortion, very full bass. However, when I use the bass boost on the iPod, the sound is, for lack of a better word, crappy. It gets really distorted and doesn't sound natural at all.

I'm using the same MP3's on my computer as on the iPod, so it's not a question of bit rate. My question is, will adding an amp take care of this problem? I want to get the same sound (or better) out of my iPod that I do out of the computer. The iPod is fine on highs, but the bass sucks. If an amp would be good, would the models suggested already in this thread be good?

One more question: When you've just spend $200 on earphones, how do you justify spending another $100+ on a headphone amp to a wife who thinks the $3 headphones that come with a Walkman sound just fine?

TIA for your advice. This is a great board...I wish I had found it before I bought Bose Triports!!

 

[svanerik]

Bump.. I'd love to hear an answer to Javert's question.

I am also looking for a good small amp for the iPod.

 

[kugino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Javert Hi everybody. One more question: When you've just spend $200 on earphones, how do you justify spending another $100+ on a headphone amp to a wife who thinks the $3 headphones that come with a Walkman sound just fine?

excellent question, indeed. you'll just have to give her a listen...let her hear for herself what all the fuss is about. my wife listened to my rs1 and next thing i know, i come home and find her listening to it all the time now.

 

[Frndlefire]

Bump... impressions on whether supermacro is worth extra investment over Go-Vibe?

 

[jlingo]

Hi Javert,
Please give www.JMTaudio.com a try.
I'm using the same setup as you. iPod, ER-4P, and his JMT PIMETA Amp.
With his PIMETA, there is a significant bass boost and dynamic sound.
The minute you plug it into an Amp and listen to it, you will be amazed how lively, and powerful the bass is. Try to listen to Black Eyed Peas with and without this Amp, and you will notice a big difference in terms of its energy and power.
It's very musical, sweet, full of body, and smoothen everything up.
You will soon realize without an Amp how harsh and weak the sound that is coming out of your iPod.
With Amp, you can listen to your music at a lot lower volume and you still can hear the whole detail, the full bass, less fatiguing.
Without Amp you really have to crank up iPod's volume to get a good bass, not mentioning the extra harsh effect, very fatiguing.
Also, by nature iPod already has less bass, compared to my old Nomad Jukebox 2. And the bass boost within the iPod does distort many of the mp3s, so I don't even bother about using it.
Let www.JMTaudio.com know that you would like to try out his PIMETA Amp for ER-4P, and he should be able to make special adjustment just for your system.
I haven't tried the META42 or Mint Amp yet, so I don't know what would be the sound quality like.
I suppose depending on the Amp you picked, songs you played, system you used could have different results.
The good thing is you are using the exact setup like me, so I do not hesitate to highly recommend the PIMETA by JMTaudio, they are a great combination together.
Setting in iPod Volume: 3/4
Setting in Amp Volume: 1/4 to 2/4
I hope this helps,

Natsuiro
AD8620 op amp with iPod and ER-4S does sound a bit too bright for me. But it sounds just great with ER-4P. I have a feeling that iPod also contributes a lot to the brightness. Also, if you have a lower MP3 quality you can hear all the metalic sound. I listen to lossless and MP3 320kbps, even then with many of them, I prefer using ER-4P compared to ER-4S.
I only use ER-4S to listen from directly high quality player, audiophile recording,and then the full potential of ER-4S is unleashed. Otherwise I'm sticking to my ER-4P.