Help badly needed with amp recommendation.
Oct 22, 2002 at 8:42 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 7

zeplin

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hello all,

right now i have the ety er-4p powered by the slimx imp350. this is by far one of the better combos on the market that does not include an amp. but i am constantly thinking about the future and how i can make upgrades to improve my already wonderful sounding setup. here's what i'm planning to do (and please do suggest anything about my "plan" that you think could use some revising)...i will soon get the 4p/4s conversion cable with an amp to help power the 4s. and even further into the future from upgrading my ety's, i'm positive i want to get some full sized headphones (aside from my MDR-F1's, which are amazing in their own way, but i want to expereince something else...something a little better). so far i'm considering the newer beyerdynamic 880, i believe is the model number, and the sennheizer HD-600. but here's where i'm stuck. it is possible to have an amp that will work well for both my 4s and whichever full-sized phones i go with? if so, that would be great. oh and i would also like that amp to work well with my MDR-F1's...not a big concern, but it of course would be nice. but therein lies another problem...i need to do some reading and research on how certain headphone specifications can affect ones decision in purchasing an amp. and i also know next to nothing about impedance ratings as well as how all the different types of amps affect systems in different ways. aside from being able to read the frequency rating, i have absolutely no clue as to what any of the other specs mean. i'm still pretty new at this whole portable audio thing, but i do know a good headphone when i hear one. as far as getting the ety's, i just took the advice of the many people who already had them. i knew that i could return them in 30 days if i did not like them, so i thought why not. my point is, i knew not enough about the specs in order to gauge my decision. i can see myself spending from 100-200$ on an amp and obviously around 300 for my future full sized phones. within the next few months i hopefully will be able to buy the ety conversion cable along with the amp. as far as the full sized cans, i could see that happening in the next year or two. would i benefit a great deal more by spending say, twice as much on an amp? what do you all think should be my next step? i'd like to thank you all in advance for the guidence and help that i know will be provided to me by so many of you with a passion for this stuff. upon entering the world of audio, i would have never guessed that the somewhat smaller world of portable audio would affect me more so than any other hobby i've ever had. many of you may not know it, but you all, along with some other influences, have helped spark my interest in something that i think will be a part of my life for the rest of my life=) sorry bout all that sappyness...well, i think i'll stop now...besides, i think i got something in my eye
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Oct 22, 2002 at 4:22 PM Post #2 of 7
Wow, long post there! It will be tough to get an ideal amp to drive all those phones as they are all really different from each other. The Ety's are very efficient, the F1's are not very efficient. The 600's are a higher imedence design, and the F1's are low impedance. I think your best bet would be to get a Meta42 or one of the modded Porta Corda "blues". Do some searches here at Head-Fi and start doing some reading. You should also consider the commercially made Total Airhead from HeadRoom. They are great people to deal with.
 
Oct 22, 2002 at 7:56 PM Post #3 of 7
zeplin: I haven't tried other designs, yet, but I've got good results with the Porta Corda and my variety of headphones (includings several Beyerdynamics). For the untrained ear it should be difficult to discover much of a difference compared to a full-size amp such as the Corda HA-1. And I'd say the quality can compete with a good headphone out of an integrated amp. And I guess the newer Porta Corda (II) should fare even better.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
 
Oct 23, 2002 at 2:59 AM Post #4 of 7
Sorry I can't really give you any help, but what do younthink of the F1's? Those are one of the things I've looked at in my search for an afforadable yet high quality open phone that doesn't need an amp. I liked the sound of the V6, but the sound stage was too small, if that's any indicator. This weekend I'm going to goto tweeter and try the HD 590's, so you can use that as a point of reference if you've heard them. Thanks for any input, and sorry I couldn't help.. Er,hmm, I did see an amp somewhere that had a 0 ohm jack and a 120 ohm jack. I don't know if that would be good for you or not.. Not sure what it was either.
 
Oct 23, 2002 at 4:26 AM Post #5 of 7
darkwolf,

i'd say the F1's are great phones. they have their own unique sound in the same way that ety's have their own unique sound. the frequencies aren't really boosted that much...that is, the phones are really natural sounding. i have read that some people describe the sound of the F1's to be "dry." i guess if you've ever heard a speaker that has a really "liad back sound," and liked it, chances are that you'll like the F1's. i read one case where an owner of a pair of F1's bought an amp and he said the results were astounding(not sure which amp though...it was before i purchased mine). personally, i love the F1's sound...great for jazz and chill out music. another quality the F1's have the ability to be incredibly revealing...almost but not as much as my ety's. well, good luck in finding phones. sometimes, finding the right phones takes some time...and i don't mean a couple of weeks. take care!
 
Oct 23, 2002 at 12:14 PM Post #6 of 7
DarkWolf: The Corda HA-1 has the 0 and 120 Ohm jacks - and the Porta Corda comes with a 120-Ohm-adaptor for its 0 Ohm jack. But so far the 120 Ohm jacks are only useful for taming the highs of the DT931, from what I've read here.

Anyway, what about the DT531 or the K240S for you? Both are very nice sounding, comfy and not too expensive open phones. And both are not too hard to drive, either - although they certainly profit from a good amp...

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
 
Oct 23, 2002 at 12:37 PM Post #7 of 7
Quote:

Originally posted by DarkWolf
Sorry I can't really give you any help, but what do younthink of the F1's? Those are one of the things I've looked at in my search for an afforadable yet high quality open phone that doesn't need an amp.


I've only used the F1 with an amp, but it seems pretty easy to drive and may not need one. It's got an ultra-low impedance for a headphone (12 ohms), but also has an "impedance matching circuit" that is supposed to help out with that. It is the most comfortable headphone I've worn. Sound is a bit undefined next to the big boys, but it's got its own unique style that is just plain fun to listen to. I've got a collection of top headphones from several companies, and still listen to the F1 a lot of the time. Nice easy presentation. It doesn't have the definition or extension of the big headphones, but it has a natural easy presentation that's all its own.
 

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