[pjs1969]

My old MDR7506's are 63Ω and the iPhone 6 drives those nicely, even on relatively quiet albums (e.g. Concrete Blonde's "Bloodletting" or Rush's "Caress of Steel"). Only wished for more volume capability on some older classical recordings that have extremely quiet passages, but those aren't my regular listening choices (and I have other headphones and devices to choose from for those). The 50Ω of the Pinnacle should be just fine .

the pinnacle sounds great out of my phone.not sure yet what portable amp I should buy below a hundred bucks.

 

[audio123]

the pinnacle sounds great out of my phone.not sure yet what portable amp I should buy below a hundred bucks.

topping nx1

 

[Bentox]

Extremely quiet passages? High dynamic range for the win!

Well, it's not just that, but some albums are just mastered at a very low volume AND they have a high DR. And that combo is not great for a device with weak output + headphones with moderate impedance (e.g. 50+). For instance - Capriccio Italien, Op. 45 from the 1983 Telarc CD pressing of the 1812 Overture (Kunzel conducting):
 

 

[DcPlusOne]

@Bentox Ahhhhh I see, that's something new. Learnt something today! 

 

[Sam L]

 
Well, it's not just that, but some albums are just mastered at a very low volume AND they have a high DR. And that combo is not great for a device with weak output + headphones with moderate impedance (e.g. 50+). For instance - Capriccio Italien, Op. 45 from the 1983 Telarc CD pressing of the 1812 Overture (Kunzel conducting):
 

 
wow, lots of information in this brief post here.  Well put and aptly demonstrated by an awesome example.  My previous comments regarding first impressions were a bit terse.  You certainly can easily enjoy these earphones without a headphone amp but they scale immensely with proper power -- so much so the difference is going to have me reach for a different pair for my smartphone when I'm not carrying a portable rig.  By the way most of my listening is exclusively classical.

 

[Bentox]

  @Bentox Ahhhhh I see, that's something new. Learnt something today! 

 
And there's sort of more to it than that, but that's the basic gist of it. My brain doesn't go too much further than that; when hardcore audio analysis starts being thrown around I sort of start drooling and staring off into space unfortunately.

 

   
wow, lots of information in this brief post here.  Well put and aptly demonstrated by an awesome example.  My previous comments regarding first impressions were a bit terse.  You certainly can easily enjoy these earphones without a headphone amp but they scale immensely with proper power -- so much so the difference is going to have me reach for a different pair for my smartphone when I'm not carrying a portable rig.  By the way most of my listening is exclusively classical.

 
I totally get where you're coming from, and completely agree that the Pinnacles will no doubt perform better with an amp vs. a smartphone... and I don't even have them yet, I'm just going off the Ω and the sensitivity (sub 100dB) written on the copy. And I agree - if I was listening to mostly classical, these would be less than ideal without an amp or higher output device. That said, just about anything other than reference-type classical should get as loud as you can tolerate, aside from a few anomalies in the 80's and 90's out there there were mastered really quietly for some reason.

 

[audio123]

Most important for me is to put spiral dot with the P1. Smooth the treble.

 

[Deftone]

OK so I've been doing some testing in regards to amping. Using the cheap topping nx1 here are my findings.

bass - tightens up a Goodd amount giving the impression that's it's slightly clearer all throughout
Mids - midst come a tad bit more forward also staying airy and clear
Treble - crispy and detailed, sometimes a bit more pronounced than before but still not sibilant

The biggest impact on the sound seems to be the liveliness retains even at lower volumes where as coming straight from a phone the volume would need to be pushed high to stop it from being dull.

 

[ngoshawk]

the pinnacle sounds great out of my phone.not sure yet what portable amp I should buy below a hundred bucks.

I have not used the topping nx1, but have and use regularly a Fiio A3, which easily drives the p1's through my 6+. Using the bass switch to enhance the bass (6db, I think?) really fills in the bass (to me)...for $55, it is a bargain, with more power than amps costing 2-3x the price.

Just my two-cents.

 

[pjs1969]

I have not used the topping nx1, but have and use regularly a Fiio A3, which easily drives the p1's through my 6+. Using the bass switch to enhance the bass (6db, I think?) really fills in the bass (to me)...for $55, it is a bargain, with more power than amps costing 2-3x the price.

Just my two-cents.

thanks for the recommendations.

 

[audio123]

Nx1 works with P1

 

[niron]

There's also an option for the Fiio Q1 which includes both a DAC and an amp under the hood. At $65 it's definitely a bargain. 

 

[pjs1969]

There's also an option for the Fiio Q1 which includes both a DAC and an amp under the hood. At $65 it's definitely a bargain. 

OK,ive also been looking at the audio quest dragonfly.Is it also adequate for the pinnacle?

 

[audio123]

OK,ive also been looking at the audio quest dragonfly.Is it also adequate for the pinnacle?

i would believe so!

 

[niron]

OK,ive also been looking at the audio quest dragonfly.Is it also adequate for the pinnacle?

 
Depends which version. The Dragonfly Black is actually very good.