[_nomad]

Hi all,
After having been an intense creative supporter, and thus a hater of anything ipoddish for a long time, I recently entered the dark side and ordered myself an ipod classic 160GB. My old Zen Sleek eventually just died on me, and the battery was also pretty much dead, I could barely squeeze a couple of hours out of it after a full charge.
I initially wanted a new Creative player, but after looking around for a bit, I realized that the ipod classic is the only player out there that fits my needs.
I have been using my Grado SR-60's with my Sleek out and about, and I just loved the sound of that setup, and really never saw the need for an amp.
So now I'm a bit worried if this is going to be an issue with the ipod. Has anybody on here used the ipod with SR-60's? Does it have the juice? Sound Quality is also a concern, as the Sleek sounded pretty much exellent. I've heard a lot of good things about the Classic soundwise though.
I guess my question is this: If I was perfectly happy with using my SR-60's with my Sleek without an amp, am I going to be happy with the same phones with the classic, without an amp?
After getting the ipod, I really can't afford an amp

 

[zip22]

since its already on the way, you're going to be able to try it yourself and see how you feel. thats the only thing that matters in the end.

 

[jonnywolfet]

this is a fairly controversial subject but ill bite with my 2c.
imho, you dont need an amp with the classic and sr60, the classic will power them just fine, and the sq is good for a portable mp3 player.
i did have an amp with my classic + e5c (not a bright headphone), but couldnt justify the extra hassle of lugging it around for the small improvement it made.
ymmv

 

[Dyoel182]

The impedance of the headphones with the iPod shouldnt be a problem at all honestly. For home use an amp setup might be nice to have but you wouldnt want to carry it all around with you.

 

[fault151]

i have a classic 160gb too, there great! Enough space to store high quality lossless files on. I seriously recommend getting a dock line out connector to your amps. Its far better! Hope you enjoy the Ipod!

 

[sigsegv0x0B]

Actually classic might be one of those iPods that can drive low-impedance headphones well. I think it has a push-pull amp like the shuffle. If someone is willing to do a loaded RMAA test on a classic that would be the best of course.

 

[htbyron]

I have an ipod classic (80GB), and it has enough power for Grados without an amp. I used to love the sound of my old Creative Zen Micro and SR-80s. I no longer have either, so I can't compare, but I do use iGrados now with the classic. They sound fine straight out of the HO, but there is also a substantial improvement in SQ when running through an amp (Portaphile V2). With my old setup, I did not see much improvement adding an amp between the Zen Micro and the SR-80s, so I was surprised to hear the difference. But I don't think you need an amp to power the Grados. For me, it's just a question of how much improvement is available. Try it with from the HO and see what you think. Then see if you can borrow a LOD+amp and see if there is a difference.

 

[epaludo]

The classic easily drives a SR-60, although it's improvement using a good line out dock with an external high quality headphone amp is easily noticed ...

 

[mrdeadfolx]

NEED? No. The pod has the power to feed phones with the impedence of an SR-60. Want? Yes. Of course it will improve the SQ, but it wont be an "OH MY GOD!" difference.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I run Grados directly from an iPod just fine. Unless you're using a line out from the dock, hooking an amp to an amp cranks up the distortion. Yes, it's louder, but louder does not equal better. The extra distortion tends to be more noticeable with portable amps because they're solid state.

Save your money and invest in a quality home setup when you're ready.

 

[Punnisher]

I tried this exact setup with my SR60's and a friend's 80 gig classic. It runs them just fine, about 2/3 volume is where it starts to get uncomfortably loud.