[nanahachi]

First, we have to pretend that I have money with which to upgrade my work rig. In reality, that's not going to happen until January (or more likely, much later). But I want to start collecting ideas now so that I know what I am getting myself into.

What I Have:
My current rig sounds great, but of course, I want to upgrade it. Right now I have:
Eytmotic ER-4S
40gb iPod (4th gen) w/ sik din
SuperMacro v3 w/4 switches
Homegrown silver mini-mini IC w/rt angle Switchcrafts

The only viable upgrades I see here are the amp and the IC.
I plan on keeping my Etys and my iPod. A better source would be great, but I won't be changing DAPs for a while (and I want to stick with mp3s for convenience).

What I Want:
So I guess what I am looking for is an amp that I can use during the day at work, where it would be sitting on my desk. At night, I would lock it up in my hanging file drawer (12.5" wide x 19" deep x 9.5" tall). The amp need not be "portable" or tiny. Although smaller is better, and it being "transportable" would be great, I really just need it to fit in my drawer.

I definitely want something that pairs well with my Etys. I love their detail/clarity/resolution/whathaveyou. The added bass from the SMv3 bass boost is nice, so if the new amp could provide the Etys with similar or even better bass, that would be nice, but not mandatory. I tend to leave my iPod on shuffle all of the time, and music types range from hiphop, triphop, rock, electronic, and classical. Prevailing artists include:

DJ Shadow
LTJ Bukem
Beethoven
Smashing Pumpkins
The Roots
Beck
Radiohead
Elliott Smith
Stephen Malkmus/Pavement

I am thinking solid state, such as a Headamp Gilmore (V2, GS-1). I don't want to mess with tubes at work, especially if I am moving the amp around on a daily basis (I can see myself doing damage to a tube). I must admit I'm intrigued and tempted by the Millet Hybrid though...

I haven't been able to test many amps with my Etys, and so I don't have any real experience with other SS contenders like the Headroom, RSA or Meier amps. I want a tangible upgrade from the SMv3, if possible, given the lack of fidelity coming from my source.

I would love to hear what other people are using with their Etys, so please post away!

Many thanks,

 

[markkr]

I absolutely LOVE my ER4-S’s with my new Headroom Micro (DM). This amp has really brought my Ety’s back into heavy rotation with other phones.

 

[nanahachi]

thanks mark.

bump for more ideas.

looking for: smallish form-factor, SS, and big improvement over the SMv3

 

[mrarroyo]

Funny you should ask, I too have been looking to upgrade my work setup. I will end up with:

-Jasmine T-200 tube amp with a built in DAC. I bought this use from skullguise. There is a nerwer model out there but I did not want to spend that kind of money.
-160 Gb HD with 16 Mb of cache to store my MP3
-Grado RS-2, I have my own office so leakage is not a problem

Good luck.

Miguel

 

[episiarch]

My work amp is a Pimeta built by JMT, with OPA627 opamps, which cost somewhere under $250 including the Elpac and the opamps. It sounds like you're thinking of something a little higher-end and pricier, but I thought I'd provide this as a data point.

To my ears this amp is better (in the "beefier sound" sense) than the SMV3 that I've heard (which also had OPA627's but which sounded to me nearly identical to my AD8620 portable Pimeta, in other words, very good), and not quite as good (in the "not quite as perfectly transparent" sense) as the Gilmore Lite V2 I have at home. This puts it at a quality level that is enough to satisfy me at work - with a variety of phone including Etys - while being fairly budget-conscious as well.

To keep it unobtrusive for the work environment, I had it built into a black-on-black low-profile Hammond case (1455J1202BK). At my old job I mostly just left it on my desk (it wasn't very visible amid the general clutter anyway), but when I was feeling paranoid I'd unplug it from the Elpac and the source, which took but a moment, and drop it in a drawer.

I also tried AD843's with this amp, and they were pretty neat - lots of bass impact, lots of detail - with some types of material, but had a not-quite-right, congested sound that didn't quite do it for me, so I switched to the 627's.

 

[nanahachi]

so no further thoughts on a good ampmate for my Ety's in this situation?

Gilmore V2?
GS-1?
Headroom amps?
Corda amps?

It does NOT have to be a small, portable amp (e.g AE-1, Hornet, SMv3, mint....). Just small enough to fit in a drawer, and nearly all of the SS amps I can think of in the category would be just fine.

Input would really be appreciated! Thanks.

 

[grawk]

I honestly doubt you'll find an amp that will be a huge upgrade over the SMv3 in that environment. The biggest upgrade would be changing source, and until you do that, you probably won't see a drastic difference from anything else. If you were to get a dac to use with your computer, you could play music off your ipod with itunes, and get a bigger improvement than you would with any amp with an ipod as source.

 

[stevieo]

i very much like the headroom micro with desktop module with my ety er4s & ipod.

 

[DJ_JonnyV]

A lot of people at my work think I'm nuts, but I have a 25 disc Pioneer Elite changer in my overhead cabinet. Using the analog outs on it into a Shellbrook Maxi Moy, and then into some E4cs. If you have room, you could consider a changer or something. I know, call me old-fashioned...but the sound quality.....

 

[nanahachi]

Thanks guys.

Frankly, I need to stick with the iPod, at least until the next super DAP comes out (one with digital out). I can't tote around CDs, and basically need to stick with mp3s. I do realize this hamstrings my options.

I should also add that I can't load my work PC with mp3s (although I *could* bring in an external HDD...).

what to do, what to do...

 

[stevieo]

if you are playing music from your work computer you may also want to consider the headroom micro dac which has optical, usb & mini line inputs. the micro stack makes a pretty good rig with a computer. the micro amp alone is perfect for an ipod. but, don't forget the upgrade module for the micro amp. both come with wall warts or run on two 9v batteries each. my recommendation for what it is worth. besides, headroom has a 30 day money back guarantee.

 

[randyruiz]

You might want to consider that your rig as far as portables is pretty good. You spoke of the low fidelity of your source. Have you considered using the line out and upgrading your music to ALAC? This will "improve" your rig more so than upgrading your amp to another portable amp will (FLAME ON) Xin's amps sound great and are hard to beat at their price point. What most folks wont tell you is that to marginally improve your rigs sound you are going to shell out $500+. Flee while you can...