[TheJackhammer]

 
Quote:

The Xone cans are an amazing headphone and will blow you away for Dub Step.
 
You don't need to amp them, and they don't need a Bass Boost of any kind. They're meant for DJs.
 
If you're looking for other genres outside of Electronic stuff, they may not be the best choice because they're pretty much made for those genres.

Thank's since in do listen to much more then electronic music i Guse those are out.

 

[dalethorn]

 
Quote:

um....in my first post i asked if i needed one...and still havent got a straght answer that is yes er no
 

I wish there were a place to audition this equipment.  So many people buy one thing, and then they hear that "if you just get an amp, or a better amp, that problem will clear up", or something like that.  Then it doesn't clear up, and all that money was spent....
 
There's a dramatic difference between headphones in price ranges of $250, $350, $450 and so on, on average (some exceptions).  But the difference an amp offers is very, very small compared to a difference in headphones.  Unless you need the amp to get better volume with an inefficient headphone.  I see a lot of posts about getting better bass, or more bass control or damping with a headphone amp.  That raises red flags for me, because I have to ask why the 'phone is suffering a bass or damping or other problem in the first place.  Impedance mismatch maybe?  Or maybe just not a strong enough volume from the player, and the player's sound on the 'phone at max volume doesn't have the same balance as it does at mid volume.
 
In any case, I really don't think splitting your money to a 'phone and amp is a good idea on a limited budget unless you're sure you need the amp.

 

[Deep Funk]

Yes or no depends on the ohms resistance of the headphone. Combine that with the power input and you know if you need an amplifier. Thing is, some headphones do need an amplifier even if the specifications do not clear that up and a good amplifier can improve things considerably non the less.
 
Besides, what kind of listening set up are you building? (Source [of music] + ...? + ...? + ...?) From what I have read in this thread you want more than headphone advice which implies you are working on a set up of some kind. Set ups require experimenting. Dalethorn knows that too so just as me, he cannot give definite answers since it is your quest for the sound/presentation you like and only time will tell if you get closer to audio heaven. 
 
If you want to skip the amplifier and keep it simple there are plenty of low impedance, low power input headphones that are suited for your needs. My K181 DJ is a fine example of that which incidentally is a DJ headphone.
 
 
 

 

[dalethorn]

 
Quote:

Yes or no depends on the ohms resistance of the headphone. Combine that with the power input and you know if you need an amplifier. Thing is, some headphones do need an amplifier even if the specifications do not clear that up and a good amplifier can improve things considerably non the less.
 
Besides, what kind of listening set up are you building? (Source [of music] + ...? + ...? + ...?) From what I have read in this thread you want more than headphone advice which implies you are working on a set up of some kind. Set ups require experimenting. Dalethorn knows that too so just as me, he cannot give definite answers since it is your quest for the sound/presentation you like and only time will tell if you get closer to audio heaven. 
 
If you want to skip the amplifier and keep it simple there are plenty of low impedance, low power input headphones that are suited for your needs. My K181 DJ is a fine example of that which incidentally is a DJ headphone.
  

There ya go - some people need headphones and amps - I just need to be able to explain things this well.
 

 

[TheJackhammer]

 


 
Quote:

 
I wish there were a place to audition this equipment.  So many people buy one thing, and then they hear that "if you just get an amp, or a better amp, that problem will clear up", or something like that.  Then it doesn't clear up, and all that money was spent....
 
There's a dramatic difference between headphones in price ranges of $250, $350, $450 and so on, on average (some exceptions).  But the difference an amp offers is very, very small compared to a difference in headphones.  Unless you need the amp to get better volume with an inefficient headphone.  I see a lot of posts about getting better bass, or more bass control or damping with a headphone amp.  That raises red flags for me, because I have to ask why the 'phone is suffering a bass or damping or other problem in the first place.  Impedance mismatch maybe?  Or maybe just not a strong enough volume from the player, and the player's sound on the 'phone at max volume doesn't have the same balance as it does at mid volume.
 
In any case, I really don't think splitting your money to a 'phone and amp is a good idea on a limited budget unless you're sure you need the amp.

here i go i live in Newfoundland Canada any thing you suggest that would be say 300 will end up costing me 400-450 this  is why I'm not looking for a $350 set it will end up costing me way to much were I'm 15 and my father would kill me (even though I'm spending my own cash).
as far as the amp i like my music almost deafening, (since i hate hearing background noise) so the amp seemed necessary when me sorce is an ipod touch 3rd gen. and the headphones I'm looking at buying now (hfi-2400) have an impedance of 70 wile the ipod touch only puts out something like 36.
 
dose that clarify every thing?

 

[TheJackhammer]

 
Quote:

Yes or no depends on the ohms resistance of the headphone. Combine that with the power input and you know if you need an amplifier. Thing is, some headphones do need an amplifier even if the specifications do not clear that up and a good amplifier can improve things considerably non the less.
 
Besides, what kind of listening set up are you building? (Source [of music] + ...? + ...? + ...?) From what I have read in this thread you want more than headphone advice which implies you are working on a set up of some kind. Set ups require experimenting. Dalethorn knows that too so just as me, he cannot give definite answers since it is your quest for the sound/presentation you like and only time will tell if you get closer to audio heaven. 
 
If you want to skip the amplifier and keep it simple there are plenty of low impedance, low power input headphones that are suited for your needs. My K181 DJ is a fine example of that which incidentally is a DJ headphone.
 
 
 

 thanks and I'm looking at this as a possible setup
 
ipod=>this what ever it is(http://www.sendstation.com/us/products/pocketdock/lineout-miniusb.html)=>possible amp(e5,or e7)=>headphones=>me

 

[dalethorn]

 
Quote:

here i go i live in Newfoundland Canada any thing you suggest that would be say 300 will end up costing me 400-450 this  is why I'm not looking for a $350 set it will end up costing me way to much were I'm 15 and my father would kill me (even though I'm spending my own cash).
as far as the amp i like my music almost deafening, (since i hate hearing background noise) so the amp seemed necessary when me sorce is an ipod touch 3rd gen. and the headphones I'm looking at buying now (hfi-2400) have an impedance of 70 wile the ipod touch only puts out something like 36.
 
dose that clarify every thing?

It's a good start.  I ordered a Beyerdynamic DT-1350 last week that's 80 ohms, but it's "guaranteed to be super efficient" or something like that, and supposed to be "monitor-quality" sound.  So that's a week or more off before I can test that, and in the meantime someone else is going to come up with ideas.  A headphone amp works well on a desk, but even the very small ones are a nuisance when walking around.  Playing music loud won't necessarily hurt your ears, but that depends also on the smoothness of the headphone.  You get something with resonances that don't seem all that loud but they're putting out 115 db at the resonance frequency, you get damage without the pleasure, which isn't a fair deal at all. 

 

[Digital-Pride]

If you are listening primary out of an ipod or mp3 players then you won't need the DAC function of the E7.  To clarify a DAC is short for Digital to Analog Converter.  What it does is converts digital information(like mp3s for example) in to electrical siganls that can turned into audio either through headphones or speakers.  Every device with the abilty to play music has one from PCs to ipods.  When it comes to high-end audio especially headphones, an external DAC is often preferable as many if not most on board sound cards are not quite good enough to fully utilize the abilities of full-size headphones.  This is really only applies to use with a PC.

 

[dalethorn]

 
Quote:

If you are listening primary out of an ipod or mp3 players then you won't need the DAC function of the E7.  To clarify a DAC is short for Digital to Analog Converter.  What it does is converts digital information(like mp3s for example) in to electrical siganls that can turned into audio either through headphones or speakers.  Every device with the abilty to play music has one from PCs to ipods.  When it comes to high-end audio especially headphones, an external DAC is often preferable as many if not most on board sound cards are not quite good enough to fully utilize the abilities of full-size headphones.  This is really only applies to use with a PC.

Myself I would seriously appreciate if someone could come up with a short list of headphone amps that can pull the digital output from an iPod dock connector and route it through the amp's internal dac before amplifying.  I heard some suggestions and read some articles, but it's not clear from most of the product descriptions whether they can do that.  Currently I use a Cute Beyond that I connect to the dock connector, but that's "line out" not digital out.

 

[Digital-Pride]

Quote:

This doesn't sound right. If your budget is only *about* $250, you should spend all of that on a headphone. You shouldn't need an amp unless something is wrong with your gear. I have a very inefficient Sennheiser HD-800 headphone, and I can rock my ears off with that and a iPod Nano touch (the tiny little square player with the touchscreen). And the quality of sound between the iPod and a really good amp is negligible. It's a difference you can appreciate when listening with very, very good headphones, in a very quiet place, with very good source material. In all other cases, you wouldn't notice much difference, and possibly none at all, unless as I mentioned, something is wrong or mismatched in your gear.

Um, you're using a headphone of the HD800's caliber out of an ipod?!  An ipod nano no less!  Hmm, if I may ask what amp did you try with you're HD800?

 

[TheJackhammer]

     Quote:

 

It's a good start.  I ordered a Beyerdynamic DT-1350 last week that's 80 ohms, but it's "guaranteed to be super efficient" or something like that, and supposed to be "monitor-quality" sound.  So that's a week or more off before I can test that, and in the meantime someone else is going to come up with ideas.  A headphone amp works well on a desk, but even the very small ones are a nuisance when walking around.  Playing music loud won't necessarily hurt your ears, but that depends also on the smoothness of the headphone.  You get something with resonances that don't seem all that loud but they're putting out 115 db at the resonance frequency, you get damage without the pleasure, which isn't a fair deal at all. 

 im not really worried about my hearing since i was useing deafening as an exageration. but i dont really see the e5 as getting in my way if thats what you ment as its the size of an ipod shuffel. but on a side not what do you think of this?www.sendstation.com/us/products/pocketdock/lineout-miniusb.html 

 

[Digital-Pride]

To the OP, your headphones WILL benefit from additional amplification as higher quality headphones(even ones that are low impedance) require more power than a portable source can provide, to maximize their sonic potential.  To give you an example, I personally pair my Cowon O2 and S9 with Shure's SRH440 and AKG's K240 studio.  While they sound excellent unamped, using Fiio's E5 gives(at least to me anyway) the overall sound quality some real tangible improvement.

 

[TheJackhammer]

Quote:

To the OP, your headphones WILL benefit from additional amplification as higher quality headphones(even ones that are low impedance) require more power than a portable source can provide, to maximize their sonic potential.  To give you an example, I personally pair my Cowon O2 and S9 with Shure's SRH440 and AKG's K240 studio.  While they sound excellent unamped, using Fiio's E5 gives(at least to me anyway) the overall sound quality some real tangible improvement.

 thanks ill try the e5 its only 30ish dollaars so i cant really get burned to bud and if i do ill just try to blow some of my hunderads of no name and airline earbuds for fun.

 

[Digital-Pride]

Quote:

 im not really worried about my hearing since i was useing deafening as an exageration. but i dont really see the e5 as getting in my way if thats what you ment as its the size of an ipod shuffel. but on a side not what do you think of this?www.sendstation.com/us/products/pocketdock/lineout-miniusb.html 

 
That's perfect as you can use it's line out function and still have usb access to your ipod touch. 

 

[TheJackhammer]

Quote:

 
That's perfect as you can use it's line out function and still have usb access to your ipod touch. 

okay seems like all i have to do now is find out witch headphones ill buy and then order thankes