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- Aug 18, 2007
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Quote:
It still all depends on what it is being used for. Is it as a true portable for walking around while listening wearing shorts and a t-shirt, or as a transportable and trying to bring better sound quality to your mobile or work location?
If a person has a 2G nano or older, or 1G Touch or old iPhone, or 5.5G iPod video or older but is already using very good quality IEM, then to get better sound out of them the choices are a new DAP/iPod or add an amp to the current DAP's line out. Assuming one wants to stay very portable with minimal clutter, I agree a newer/nicer DAP with nice IEM makes more sense in most cases. But, I do feel that a small amp with line out dock will sound better, and it wasn't that difficult to carry around my 8gb 2G Nano with Predator in my cargo shorts in summer or in my fleece vest during the winter. And there is no question vs the headphone out that the line out dock sounds cleaner and more spacious with an amp hooked up.
If a person is using full size headphones or harder to drive headphones, they are likely actually using it as a transportable at work or hotel room, and often an amp is just the ticket to make them perform better. I do feel there are many portable amps that can sound close to a desktop amp, while at the same time I agree one can spend less money on a desktop amp that sounds as good as a portable that costs twice as much. I am sure many $300-400 desktop amps (EF1, DV336i, NOVO, Caliente) will sound better than most portable amps, but can you easily take the desktop amp with you to use in the car, train or plane? No.
When I go on vacation next week I will have my iPhone and Westone 3 for the plane, plus Nuforce NE-7M for walking around and using the phone; but I will also be bringing my Macbook with Predator USB DAC amp and ATH-ESW10 for the hotel room. I may also use the Predator with iPhone and IEM on the plane, to help the iPhone battery last longer by having the headphone jack volume at zero. Yes, this leaves my iMod/portable Vcaps at home lonely, sitting next to my iRiver H140 optical out to Micro DAC/Amp, but those rigs might make a good "leave at work" portable rig for someone else and kick butt on the DAP/IEM. Is it really portable anymore when used that way? Not really, but to some it is and it is worth it to carry around in a camera bag, and I do believe it will sound better than the minimal rig. (So, in that sense I disagree with the OP).
| Originally Posted by roncruiser /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well said. As a newb to portable amplification, I almost fell to it's allure. Having done enough research, I concluded I can have excellent portable SQ without a "portable" amp. How'd I do that? I bought Shure SE530's to go along with my 2G Ipod Touch! Easy. Excellent IEM's to go with a solid PDAP. Based on the information gathered here at head-fi, it was an easy decision to make. Why pay (waste) my money for an extra device when I didn't have to. |
It still all depends on what it is being used for. Is it as a true portable for walking around while listening wearing shorts and a t-shirt, or as a transportable and trying to bring better sound quality to your mobile or work location?
If a person has a 2G nano or older, or 1G Touch or old iPhone, or 5.5G iPod video or older but is already using very good quality IEM, then to get better sound out of them the choices are a new DAP/iPod or add an amp to the current DAP's line out. Assuming one wants to stay very portable with minimal clutter, I agree a newer/nicer DAP with nice IEM makes more sense in most cases. But, I do feel that a small amp with line out dock will sound better, and it wasn't that difficult to carry around my 8gb 2G Nano with Predator in my cargo shorts in summer or in my fleece vest during the winter. And there is no question vs the headphone out that the line out dock sounds cleaner and more spacious with an amp hooked up.
If a person is using full size headphones or harder to drive headphones, they are likely actually using it as a transportable at work or hotel room, and often an amp is just the ticket to make them perform better. I do feel there are many portable amps that can sound close to a desktop amp, while at the same time I agree one can spend less money on a desktop amp that sounds as good as a portable that costs twice as much. I am sure many $300-400 desktop amps (EF1, DV336i, NOVO, Caliente) will sound better than most portable amps, but can you easily take the desktop amp with you to use in the car, train or plane? No.
When I go on vacation next week I will have my iPhone and Westone 3 for the plane, plus Nuforce NE-7M for walking around and using the phone; but I will also be bringing my Macbook with Predator USB DAC amp and ATH-ESW10 for the hotel room. I may also use the Predator with iPhone and IEM on the plane, to help the iPhone battery last longer by having the headphone jack volume at zero. Yes, this leaves my iMod/portable Vcaps at home lonely, sitting next to my iRiver H140 optical out to Micro DAC/Amp, but those rigs might make a good "leave at work" portable rig for someone else and kick butt on the DAP/IEM. Is it really portable anymore when used that way? Not really, but to some it is and it is worth it to carry around in a camera bag, and I do believe it will sound better than the minimal rig. (So, in that sense I disagree with the OP).
