[NEO]

I have JMT home meta 42 with AD843KN and other premium parts. My question is that why I can hear almost no difference comparing to the headphone out on Sony CDP-XA20ES. I am using Sony CD1700 and Grado SR60 (both are 32 ohms impedence). The meta has Elpac PS and connect with the CDP vca the rca (I use cheap Monster Interlink100 interconnects). I expect to hear a lot difference from such a good amp and PS. For those of you who has Meta42, does it provide a lot diffference and in what aspects from the headphone out of your source?
Thanks,
NEO

 

[DsLFoolisH]

for some reason, i found the same thing. i never got a real answer from head-fiers. i guess its noticable on high impendence cans, but not ones like the ety er4p and such. thats why im seeing to getting ahold of a DT880. imagine that, changing cans so that you can match your AMP.

oh, and mine is also a maxed out meta42. and i hear little difference.

 

[fewtch]

Please look at it this way guys... an amp is designed to do nothing but amplify as transparently as possible. Some of the talk surrounding amps is a bit overhyped, given the fact that you just want to make the source signal louder while degrading it as little as possible.

If the headphone jack on your gear is transparent enough to your ears with whatever source and cans are used in some particular environment (noise levels, etc.) then you won't hear much difference. A lot of what makes an amp "better" or "worse" is what source it's paired with -- since it is amplifying the source, you're still hearing the same source. Get a higher end source & cans, and then you'll be more likely to hear significant differences between amps.

 

[iamdone]

I'm just using a new Ipod's line-out with a Meta42 (Headsave Transit) and ety ER-4P with S adapter and it makes a dramatic difference with this setup. There's more dynamic range (the bass is deeper and punch stronger). It also opens up the soundstage by widening it and expanding the front and back. It just gives the music more life and makes it more enjoyable.

I believe the amp does more than just amplify the signal, it sends a better signal for the headphones to handle than most headphone outs.

If you are using the ER-4P, I recommend buying the adapter to make it an S before giving up on the amp. You can get this either www.fixup.com , www.headphones.com , or www.etymotic.com

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally posted by iamdone I believe the amp does more than just amplify the signal, it sends a better signal for the headphones to handle than most headphone outs.

Exactly, because it's louder (amplified). But a good headphone out will also do this -- maybe not as transparently, but perceived transparency depends on sources, cans and ears.

What kind of better signal do you believe is being sent... how could an amp actually improve the signal coming out of a source? It could only (A) make it louder, and (B) degrade it. The best amps degrade it the least (i.e. provide a clean signal), while providing a low output impedance at the jack so frequency response of the headphones is correct.

 

[stallion11msu]

Don't forget that an amp can, indeed, add coloration to a signal. Hence people roll tubes and swap opamps.


-

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally posted by stallion11msu Don't forget that an amp can, indeed, add coloration to a signal. Hence people roll tubes and swap opamps. -

Right. I'm including added coloration under "degrading the original signal," although some people might not look at it that way.

In fact all amps add coloration, which is a change to the original signal (if you prefer the word change to 'degrade').

I guess my point was that if someone can't hear a difference with a better amp then it means their original amp was already sounding "transparent" to their ears, given whatever source and headphones they have, and their listening environment. In that case, the thing to do is upgrade source and/or cans, or just stick to the original amp as being good enough.

 

[Ryan T]

I'm just guessing here but I think the headphones that benefit the most from external amps are the higher impedance headphones. The reason people need amps for higher impedance headphones is because there simply harder to drive. Things like PCDP's don't usually have powerful enough amplifiers in them to drive the higher impedance headphones properly. And so the high impedance headphones will tend to sound weak and thin. The main reason you didn't hear a difference is because your headphones are lower impedance. The cd player probably has enough power to amplify your headphones without a problem. As mentioned before the amplifier does nothing but amplify the signal. So since your headphones don't need more power you aren't noticing a difference.

just my 2 cents..
Ryan

 

[tortie]

Out of my PC, the meta42 enables me to play my cans at higher volume levels before I can hear distortion.

 

[daycart1]

It might also be that the Sony has a good opamp itself. Which one is it?

 

[planar]

From my experience, low impedence cans do show less difference when amplified. The difference is still there, but you need to "listening to" them, there are not too many "in your face" kind of difference.

But this does not mean you do not need a good amp to amplify signals. In fact, low impendence cans need amps that have high current outputs to get the dynamic nice and tight. In some situation, low imp cans are actually more difficult to drive.

In other words:
Low impendence cans are easy to drive, but difficult to drive well. To get dramatice difference, you need dramatic money.

Neo, may I ask what is the power supply of your META42?

 

[NEO]

The Sony Deck is CDP-XA20ES which is one of their high end model (has a Meridian-CD loading style) and the power supply to my Meta is Elpac WM080-1950-760, a pretty popular PS for DIY amp. I did noticed a heavier bass when I switched the PS to RadioShack 1000 mA but there is also some humming noise while the Elpac is silent.

 

[akio]

one of the factors not mentioned yet is that an amp connects to RCAs instead of the headphone jack, and since CD players are made mostly to go to a reciever / amp then to speakers the RCA signal is much better than the headphone jack. Could be that your sony (being a high end model) has a rather good headphone jack.

 

[NEO]

akio, then what about your system? You also have Meta42 connected with the decent source (541i) anad low impedance headphones (CD3000 has same impedance as CD1700). How big is the difference between listening through headphone out and Meta42?

 

[NEO]

forgot to mention that the gain for my Meta is set at 13. Not sure if that is suitable for low impedance phones?