[mark2410]

at £100 id hope the minibox was slighltly better than just entry level

 

[b0wl1ng]

Depends on the portable amp, depends on the headphones, a class A portable amp will make for a marked improvement in sound quality for a lot of IEMs and a huge improvement with full sized cans.
This has been my experience with all IEMs and full sized open and closed headphones that I  have used.

 

[koolkat]

Isn't Class A and Class B of the same quality? Most amps are built on class B because it's easier.
I think that's what the project sourcebook says.. Hm.

 

[qusp]

Quote:

 
Exactly.
 
To OP, I'd much rather have you spend your time and money on acquiring better source material and have that ripped in lossless format for your iPod. 
Nowadays I just stick an earbud or ksc into whatever source I'm carrying. No amps, no fat wires, no unwanted attention, no hassle.
 
Update:
 
Yeah, because the difference between lossless and 256-320kb AAC while on the go, is so much more profound and meaningful than the difference a portable amp can make, plus space in your pocket is so much more valuable than space for more music
 
Completely missed this detail.
Please make an effort to audition some equipment before you start buying them.
 
agreed

 

 OP it really doesnt have to be a hassle, or bulky, but until you have cans that will benefit i wouldnt worry
 
 

 

[qusp]

Quote:

Depends on the portable amp, depends on the headphones, a class A portable amp will make for a marked improvement in sound quality for a lot of IEMs and a huge improvement with full sized cans.
This has been my experience with all IEMs and full sized open and closed headphones that I  have used.

and what class A portable amp would you be talking about? resistor biasing is a pretty crude method if thats what you mean and most high quality modern opamps will actually not like it very much. high quality class AB is running in Class A for any time it matters. Class A is ideal, but I dont believe its a HUGE improvement over well done AB, not at all. class B on the other hand is totally different, not the same at all, so if thats what your text book says koolkat, then someone needs to educate the educators.
basically it means that the devices are biased in a way that means they are always on/conducting for the whole waveform, so any signal will pass right through. terribly inefficient though, as it means the amp consumes the same amount of power whether its playing silence or full volume. 

 

[Mad Max]

 
Quote:

at £100 id hope the minibox is much better than just entry level

fixed your typo 

It is a superb amplifier, easily competitive with the best.

 

[estreeter]

I still think a lot of people come here looking for an 'amplifier', when what they REALLY want is an equaliser with inbuilt amplification - Digizoid recognised that and the rest is history.

 

[Mad Max]

Quote:

I still think a lot of people come here looking for an 'amplifier', when what they REALLY want is a cheap, tube-rollable amplifier with Miku Hatsune on the face plate.

fixed your typo 

 
just kidding!
 

 

[koolkat]

Hi, hello. I have a question, sorry for thread jacking.
 
Question: Will connecting an amp to a headphone jack, without bypassing the internal amp, make any noticeable differences in the sound quality?  
               

 

[NA Blur]

Quote:

Hi, hello. I have a question, sorry for thread jacking.
 
Question: Will connecting an amp to a headphone jack, without bypassing the internal amp, make any noticeable differences in the sound quality?  
               

It is going to take whatever signal you give it and amplify it through its own circuitry.  It pretty much defeats the point if one of the components is not the same quality as the other.  Put a crappy signal into a good amp you still are going to get a pretty crappy signal out.

 

[koolkat]

Well I like to think that my laptop has a good dac/soundchip, since the sound coming off it is amazing compared to my portable music players (PSP and Motorola Defy),
but my laptop doesn't have line out. It has a headphone out I believe (black ring). Uncle Erik said something about an optical out but I'm not sure what that means either.. I guess I'll get an amp as an investment for the future. 

 

[NA Blur]

Yeah you can run the mini out on your laptop to an amp.  You will definitely get more extension and faster transients in your music.  As far as the DAC inside your computer if you like it then no need to change it.  I know most external DAC's are much better than most internal DAC's inside Windows based machines, but the DAC inside most MAC's these days are actually pretty nice.  I know on my PC I never use the internal DAC if I can help it.  I usually use it when I am using my surround sound speakers and not headphones.

 

[koolkat]

I'm running a Windows 7 Acer laptop actually. It has the Dolby Home Theater v3 which changes the sound output a little.
I guess I'll have to connect the amp to line out for surround speakers (black) since I don't have the line out. 
 
 
 

 

[Dreaming Of A Better ...]

i was curious what difference would an amp make so i've done a little comparison.
 
re-262:  Burson HA-160D vs Sansa Clip+ , 
 
i've compared 4 tracks (FLAC) and  the test took me about 20 minutes. i had the same tracks on my pc and clip+, both in flac. (clip+ was rockboxed if it makes any difference)  volume was matched using my ears only.
 
i have to admit that i was really surprised by the results (as 262's are supposed to be really hard to drive.)
 
the difference was very small (if there was any at all), the bass was slightly more controlled and the soundstage feels tiny bit  bigger. 
 
i'd be really disappointed if i spent money for a portable amp and only hear such a tiny improvement, especially at the cost of decreased portability.
 
 
 
 

 

[NA Blur]

Like I mentioned earlier the Total Bithead by headroom is really nice because you can power it via USB. No need for batteries at all if you have your PC handy. It will totally bypass your PC's sound card / internal DAC and amplify it at the same time. To me the differences were quite significant. The noise of your various PC components goes completely away when you listen to the bithead. Without it I hear my house ( high pitched sound ) and CPU clock ( constant bleep bloop ).
 
Perhaps see if a friend has one you can borrow and see if you like it.