[mrarroyo]

Go for it plonter! the P51 for example is a great sounding unit, if you do not like it you can sell it. Buy a used unit to minimize any loss should you end up selling the amp. Good luck.

 

[momomo6789]

i do hm801 -> protector -> jh13s only b/c usps broke b22, balanced bijou is way to hot to run this time of year without ac on !

 

[bada bing]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plonter /img/forum/go_quote.gif I still want to know what can make them sound worse than regular desktop amps and of any of you use them despite.

The sound of portables is limited by the power available from batteries. The required efficiency for battery power makes a lot of electronic designs off limits for portables. No class A operation, almost always based on opamps and usually FET opamps, voltage swing limited to battery power, etc. Those are some of the tradeoffs for a device to run for hours on a small battery and not light your pocket on fire.

Do most portables sound "good" ? Absolutely. With an *appropriate* transducer they can sound very very good.
Will they measure up in an A/B listening comparison with similarly priced desktop gear driving all headphones? No, or if they do the listener or desktop designer are negligent.

It's a personal choice to balance all the cost, performance and convenience factors.

 

[ArgonZ]

I've used a Corda 3Move to power my HD650 with quite good results, it actually were quite fun to listen to, in fact, it sounded so good that when I upgraded to Dac19 + C2 I didn't notice so great change in the sound.

After a few weeks listening to the new setup I would not trade back, however I can not shake the feeling that I would be happy with the Corda 3Move if only I stopped reading to head-fi in time.