[vkvedam]

Hi All,
I have got only one question.
Would there be any difference when you connect your amp
from the dock rather than normal headphone out?
When using Shure e530 or my fullsize Ultrasone HFI-650s.
And without the amp as well for Shures.
Cheers....

 

[rhythmdevils]

yes

lineout bypasses the crappy ipod amplifier

 

[Claus-DK]

The difference is really huge..
There is no hiss and therefore silence in the music, much better highs more firm lows.

This is for e500

 

[epaludo]

Without an amp you must use the headphone out.
With an amp, you must use an line-out. Otherwise the signal will be amplified twice, which will increase distortion ...

 

[mdarnton]

We are told constantly and consistently everywhere that if we go to an amp from the iPod's headphone-out, rather than taking the line-out on the bottom, we should turn up the pod to full blast because the headphone system is simply an antennuation of the line out, that it's not a separate amp beyond what the line-out puts out, and that we'll get the purest results by turning the phones up all the way, skipping as much as possible any alteration of the line-out signal by the volume control, etc. Now I'm hearing a different story.

What I hear confirms that full-blast headphone-out is about equal in volume to line-out, and there doesn't seem to be any additional amplification beyond line-out for the phones. What's the truth here?

 

[DocHamm]

Headphones --> Headphone Jack
Headphones --> Amp --> Line-Out

The latter is definitly louder and cleaner... of course dependant on your amp and headphones. I prefer line-out whenever possible.

 

[rwest1389]

I would (and did) get a decent (around 100 dollar) amp just to be able to use the line out of an ipod. The hiss out of the headphone jack is terrible, not to mention the difference is sound quality.

 

[vkvedam]

Thanks for all the posts, will go for a line out.
I have got a creative portable DD/DTS Dolby Headphone decoder.
I shall use it for the time being before I go for some Hornet.