[sltyrice]

i'm looking for something that is quite portable cause i'll be going on the move from school and home, and was looking for something that wouldn't take a big bite out of my wallet. also, it should go well with the ety er-4p so that it would make it even sound more awesome. thanks guys.

 

[nanahachi]

I've been using a fixup.net supermini with great success. you can probably find one in the For Sale forum for a good price.

otherwise, look for portable Metas, esp the mint tin metas.

Gluck

 

[usc goose]

whoop there it is. you can even get a er-4p - er-4s adaptor built in.

 

[DanT]

Or there is Tigger headsave in the Mall-Fi section He selling some Mint and some Meta.

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=43486

 

[sltyrice]

i just checked up on some of the portable amps and the one on fixup.net, the XIN inline amp, looks pretty attractive. should i wait to get that amp, or should i look towards the headsave ampliers, and which one of the headsave is the best one?

 

[noiseunit]

unfortunately i have not heard a meta portable, only an airhead, so i cant make any sort comparison...but i received a 6.2 supermini (analog pot, booster, etc) several days ago, and sweet jesus i love this thing. granted, it only has a few hours on it...but i have it moonlighting as a temporary home amp with my recently acquired Rotel CDP and hd280, and it performs admirably. assuming you get all the extras, booster included (especially important), i find it hard to imagine anything more powerful for portable use. low freq. shake my brain using the 280 now, and clarity in the midrange has improved...an inadequate description to be sure, but in the small time ive been able to listen, these are the things ive noticed most. the little thing has taken poorly mastered/old recordings and transformed much of it into an enjoyable experience. highly recommended.

 

[sltyrice]

i'm kinda new to the audiophilia lingo, but what is all this "extra stuff" that you're talking about, especially a booster, and stuff..
sorry for my lack of knowledge on this subject.

 

[erikzen]

Just click on the link usc goose provided. It lists the amp price with all the options. "Recommended"!

 

[sltyrice]

what does the 4p-4s adapter do? i think i read that it changes the settings from a 4p to a 4s, considering it is an adapter. and why would you do that if you spent so much money on a 4p anyways... plus, is this built-in adapter literally built-in into the amp which would make no sense to me even further.. please help me out those who know?

 

[Tyson]

The supermini sounds best with an analog pot and a gain of 20 (twice the standard gain, you have to ask for it, but it's free). The Battery booster pack lets you add another 3 AAA batteries to the 3 that are internal, giving a much stouter power supply (and worth it, IMO).

 

[noiseunit]

Current Source Class A, Cascoded Current Source Class A bias, crossfeed etc...basically all of the extras recommended by Xin here. for more information on these, crossfeed in particular, i suggest a search of the forums or perusal of Xin's site...and perhaps some of the more experienced DIYers will chip in as far as the details of CS and CCS. unfortunately, my knowledge on these two topics is limited to "sounds better with than without."

from what i understand, an analog pot is more or less necessary if you plan on using the amp with any sort of home equipment. the booster allows the use of a 9v wall-wart/9v battery/3 additional AAA batteries (for the 3 additional AAA, you must purchase the amp booster as well). in short, more power equates to more headroom for harder-to-drive headphones, and a general increase in quality for most cans at normal volume levels.

 

[DanT]

Quote:

Originally posted by sltyrice what does the 4p-4s adapter do? i think i read that it changes the settings from a 4p to a 4s, considering it is an adapter. and why would you do that if you spent so much money on a 4p anyways... plus, is this built-in adapter literally built-in into the amp which would make no sense to me even further.. please help me out those who know?

The only difference between the 4P and 4S is that the 4S has a larger resistor in the cable that change the impedence from 27 to 100 If I recall correctly. The Etymotic 4S was the first produce and this resistor supposly give a better sound but it require a proper amp to drive them. So they came out with the 4P with has a smaller resistor in the cable that make them more suitable to be used witout an amp with the lower impedence. Read about the difference between the 4S and 4P. So the adapter only add the require resistance to make it similar to a 4S

 

[iamdone]

Quote:

Originally posted by sltyrice what does the 4p-4s adapter do? i think i read that it changes the settings from a 4p to a 4s, considering it is an adapter. and why would you do that if you spent so much money on a 4p anyways... plus, is this built-in adapter literally built-in into the amp which would make no sense to me even further.. please help me out those who know?

This refers to etymotic headphones. If you buy the 4P (portable use) version, many people want to switch to the 4S (for use with amps) version once they get their amp. This built-in method provides a free way of converting it. You can also buy a cable made from ety for $40 - $65 or an adaptor from fixup for $25. The only problem is the built-in converter does not have a switch to shut it off if you want to use other headphones. Some other headphones do sound better with this adapter, some don't.

You can do a search in the headphone section to see what the difference between the sound of a 4P vs the 4S is.

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

Originally posted by noiseunit from what i understand, an analog pot is more or less necessary if you plan on using the amp with any sort of home equipment.

More or less...

You can use a wall wart with the digital pot if you have the booster as long as you don't go over 7.2 volts, same as with batteries. This means you can either use 3 aaa batteries, one 9 volt battery or a 6 volt wall wart. You cannot use both sets of batteries at the same time or use a 9 volt wall wart. Also, you cannot use a Plainview 9 volt as it is actually 9.6 volts. From what I understand, most "9 volt batteries" actually put out 7.2 volts.

By using a 6 volt wall wart you should be able to use the amp with your home gear. Don't worry about any lack of power. Even with 3 aaa batteries the amp has more than enough power to drive my 250 ohm DT-931s. This is with a normal gain setting.

 

[sltyrice]

thanks for the reply concerning the 4p-4s adapter. so if i understood correctly, the built-in adapter will not let me change the settings and i am stuck with the 4s "sound" on ety 4p's. now from the forum posts i have read concerning 4p vs. 4s, the 4p has a greater sound quality than the 4s, but sometimes, with an amp, the 4s may sound comparable to the 4p. am i just wrong about this or is there some truth in it?