Good/Cheap headphone amp for Sennheiser HD 439
Nov 20, 2012 at 10:09 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 11

tacobff

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I recently bought Sennheiser HD 439's and I feel like I'm not getting enough bass out of these. Would a decent headphone portable amp (pocket sized maybe?) be of any help? Black friday's coming up so I thought might as well.
 
Also a modding guide would be cool too, never done any of this before and I'm really afraid of breaking my headphones.
 
Also for android
 
Nov 20, 2012 at 10:49 PM Post #3 of 11
For use with Sennheiser HD439 and an android phone.
Maybe a Fiio E6 headphone amp. $27.50
 
Nov 20, 2012 at 10:59 PM Post #5 of 11
Quote:
 
Do I need to buy anything else? It just would go into my pocket like anything else?

Need nothing else, E6 comes with short (5 inch) cable for connecting the androids headphone output jack to the input on the E6
and also has the USB cable for recharging.
 
There are a few cheap copies floating around, buy from a well known vender.
 
Nov 20, 2012 at 11:27 PM Post #6 of 11
Quote:
Need nothing else, E6 comes with short (5 inch) cable for connecting the androids headphone output jack to the input on the E6
and also has the USB cable for recharging.
 
There are a few cheap copies floating around, buy from a well known vender.

Thanks
 
Just to make sure, using these with my headphones will provide a noticeable boost to the bass in them right? Ive heard of headphones being used with amps but having no effect and I dont know what to make of that.
 
Nov 21, 2012 at 12:08 AM Post #7 of 11
Quote:
Just to make sure, using these with my headphones will provide a noticeable boost to the bass in them right? Ive heard of headphones being used with amps but having no effect and I don't know what to make of that.

I guess it depends how good the headphone amplifier is in the android, if the android already comes with a decent amplifier you might not see much of a change.
The Fiio E6 does come with a bass boost, which I guess would help bass, just have no idea how much.
Selling off your HD439 and putting cash towards better headphones might make more of a difference
 
Nov 21, 2012 at 12:39 AM Post #8 of 11
Quote:
I guess it depends how good the headphone amplifier is in the android, if the android already comes with a decent amplifier you might not see much of a change.
The Fiio E6 does come with a bass boost, which I guess would help bass, just have no idea how much.
Selling off your HD439 and putting cash towards better headphones might make more of a difference

I use equalizer does that count?
 
The difference feels minimal with it or at least it doesn't sound that great on my phone. Essentially is the amplifier just a physical equalizer?
 
How will it affect sound from my laptop though? I'm running beats audio on it and I already have bass turned up to the max and it still feels minimal. I can't really sell them either since its been over the 2 week resell period.
 
Nov 21, 2012 at 12:48 AM Post #9 of 11
Quote:
I use equalizer does that count?
 
The difference feels minimal with it or at least it doesn't sound that great on my phone. Essentially is the amplifier just a physical equalizer?
 
How will it affect sound from my laptop though? I'm running beats audio on it and I already have bass turned up to the max and it still feels minimal. I can't really sell them either since its been over the 2 week resell period.

Sony XB500 or XB700s headphones seem to have a big bass.
 
A Fiio E10, USB-DAC-headphone amplifier ($68) might improve the over all sound quality of the HD439s, with the laptop.
 
Nov 22, 2012 at 2:28 PM Post #10 of 11
Quote:
Sony XB500 or XB700s headphones seem to have a big bass.
 
A Fiio E10, USB-DAC-headphone amplifier ($68) might improve the over all sound quality of the HD439s, with the laptop.

Hmm alright, I was pretty sure amps didn't really work like equalizers since they use battery power to change the sound instead of raising the volume for a specific frequency range.
 
So I probably wouldn't see a noticeable improvement in bass then.
 
Nov 22, 2012 at 2:45 PM Post #11 of 11
Quote:
Hmm alright, I was pretty sure amps didn't really work like equalizers since they use battery power to change the sound instead of raising the volume for a specific frequency range.
 
So I probably wouldn't see a noticeable improvement in bass then.

The Fiio E6 is powered by USB, not batteries.
Chance are the DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) in the E10 is better then the one built into the laptop.
Using an external DAC protects the DAC from any electrical noise interference that might be inside the laptop.
The better quality and lower impedance of the E10 amplifier should improve the quality of the bass.
 

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