[joay]

 
My problem is I already dropped $400 on the JH5 Pro's and I don't want to drop another $250+ on a portable amp unless I know using an LOD cable is a SUBSTANTIAL sound quality improvement over a mini to mini cable.
 
[size=x-small]I did a blind study with my wife to see if a portable amp (ibasso D2) improved the the SQ over a direct headphone out of an 3rd gen Ipod Touch (with JH5 Pro's IEM's).[/size]
 
[size=x-small]Using a mini to mini cable from the headphone out we found a degragation in SQ while using the amp. In other words the Itouch sounded better WITHOUT THE AMP (only slightly). I'm under the impression the headphone out is a garbage source signal.[/size]

 

[beamthegreat]

Yes, the LOD bypasses the crappy ipod amp and the signal is sent straight to your amp which is much much better than an 1/8 to 1/8. 

 

[beamthegreat]

Btw, I dont recommend connecting your ipod and your amp with a 1/8 cable because you might damage your amp. Its called double amping, check out this thread to see more info about it.

 

[joay]

Still didn't really answer my question though. I'm ready to drop about $300 on an amp and am skeptical that an amp offers significant enough improvement in SQ to justify the cost based on the fact I found un-amped sounded better thru the headphone jack.
 
Is the source significantly better thru an LOD or only slightly better than the headphone jack?

 

[ClieOS]

Why would you want to drop $250 when a decent ipod LOD cost less than $25 on eBay?

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

Btw, I dont recommend connecting your ipod and your amp with a 1/8 cable because you might damage your amp. Its called double amping, check out this thread to see more info about it.

I disagree that the captioned thread applies. That referred to daisychaining external amps and therefore potentially overloading the second in the chain. Amplifying the headphone out of an iPod is safe. Amp manufacturers usually suggest that you put the volume between 80% and maximum. They also tell you that the line out will sound better.
 
For SQ reasons, I would not amp the headphone out.
 
To the OP,  yes amping the line out through a LOD should sound better than just the headphone out if you use a good amp. Is it worth it? Will you consider the improvements "substantial"? That is a judgement call and will depend upon your tastes as well as your equipment.
 

 

[kboe]

I would look at the Bling Bling Dock from ALO Audio.  I used one for a while and absolutely loved what I heard.  It can be bought new for $55.00 I believe.

 

[heavy_-j]

remember....garbage in, garbage out....If your Ipod sounds crappy out of its own headphone jack, and you just send that same signal through another amp, then its not going to make something better out of the crappy signal.  .....but if you take the best possible signal that an Ipod can produce (using an LOD), and put it through only one, good amp, you ought to end up with a much better sound.......
 
 
in other words, the external amp cant fix what the ipod's internal amp did to the music.....so an LOD would bypass this problem and maximize the potential for some better SQ!

 

[knalb]

I'd look into the diyMod for a substantial improvement.

 

[SoulSyde]

It depends on your definition of substantial and what gear you are running.  I can tell you that with my iBasso P3+ and HD600s (which in their own right are descent gear) I do notice a difference but I don't believe it to be substantial.
 
I'm not going to get into a debate with my following suggestion (so all posts to the contrary will be ignored by me), but I would suggest purchasing a cheap LOD (FiiO or something similar).  No offense to the self-appointed "high end LOD specialists" (I'm looking at you ALO), but a high-end LOD is a joke.  There is a marginal improvement by using an LOD instead of the HP out, but I you don't need to purchase a ridiculously priced LOD for your gear to sound good.  Unless you want to, then more power to you.

 

[jc9394]

I have a iPod nano, LOD, and Pico slim.  Using my JH13 as reference, I do notice a different between the nano and slim but it is a huge difference?  It is not a huge change but the details are much better and and it also have different sound signature.  I do not use it on T but in the office and traveling, I do enjoy it much better than my iPhone HP out.

 

[no_mas_123]

I have 2 setups(for now).  iPod 7gen 160G/FiiO LOD/BSG Cmoy and iMod 240G/Elite TWag iMod/Headstage Arrow using various headphones/iems(mostly se530s though).  The quick answer to your question is yes, the sq is substantially better.  When I first got my cmoy, I used the iPod 7G hpo because my LOD hadn't arrived yet.  I was absolutely disappointed with the quality which actually sounded worse and had to put the cmoy away.  After using the FiiO LOD with the cmoy, it was night and day.  The FiiO LOD was purchased online and I would recommend it since its inexpensive and worth the effort.  The $ to spend on an amp is really individual and was harder for me because I couldn't audition them like home equipment.  That's why I got the cmoy first, to see how much of a difference it made.  I'm really happy with my iMod/Twag/Arrow/se530 setup, though the cost to sq ratio is debatable.  To me, its whether I want to just hear the music or experience it, if that makes sense.  Good luck and enjoy your search!

 

[logwed]

I would buy the $5 Fiio one off of Amazon. Let the extra 50 bucks (compared to the ALO) go to a nicer amp. If at all, a cable is your absolute last upgrade.

 

[ianmedium]

I would not bother if I could not have a LOD! The difference for me was substantial in sound quality in by-passing the on board amp on my ipod. I personally would apportion more money on the amp and get a cheaper cable.

 

[zero7525]

A mini to mini to an amp would only sound good if your source is good. Something like a cowon player would fit that bill.
So go with the LOD.