[rage3324]

Finally made upgraded from my Audio-Technica ad700s to grado sr325is and I would like to pair them with a decent portable amp. I went from buying closed headphones for travel purposes to buying a pair of grados and a pair of IEMs.. so I am way over budget already.

Looking for a portable amp to drive my grados and er6i (they need a tiny more bass). I want to stay under $100. Listen to mainly rock (floyd, pearl jam, porcupine tree, nine inch nails, R.E.M.) and will be played through an iPhone on the plane and my laptop w/ lossless audio at my hotel.

I am a total newb when it comes to portable amps btw. Been using my Denon receiver the last few years.

-John

 

[yashicaman]

It doesn't take much to drive Grado 325i's--I regard mine as my favourite set of cans. I use a Decware Zen Head (300 bucks), but I also use the Zen Head to drive a lot of other headphones (a couple with high impedence). You could get away with a Total Airhead for 100 bucks from Headroom. Good crossfeed circuit too. You could try a Fii0 (might work, will boast bass) for around 10 bucks. I have the Total Bithead by Headroom (it has a DAC which is nice for my laptop) ($150).

I'd start cheap with a Fii0. There are other budget choices. Check out the reviews in portables by Skylab.

Enjoy your 325i's! (Remember that you can get by sans amp for these cans. Amping helps the sound, but they are quite efficient).

You might want to see what members have for sale. One chap has a Penguin amp for 60 bucks. A bargain. Might just do the trick for you.

Cheers!

 

[rage3324]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yashicaman /img/forum/go_quote.gif It doesn't take much to drive Grado 325i's--I regard mine as my favourite set of cans. I use a Decware Zen Head (300 bucks), but I also use the Zen Head to drive a lot of other headphones (a couple with high impedence). You could get away with a Total Airhead for 100 bucks from Headroom. Good crossfeed circuit too. You could try a Fii0 (might work, will boast bass) for around 10 bucks. I have the Total Bithead by Headroom (it has a DAC which is nice for my laptop) ($150). I'd start cheap with a Fii0. There are other budget choices. Check out the reviews in portables by Skylab. Enjoy your 325i's! (Remember that you can get by sans amp for these cans. Amping helps the sound, but they are quite efficient). You might want to see what members have for sale. One chap has a Penguin amp for 60 bucks. A bargain. Might just do the trick for you. Cheers!

I'll check out the reviews. I thought about starting with fii0, but I know I would just end up upgrading asap so I rather dive right in. The Total Bithead sounds interesting since it has a DAC. Would definitely help my laptop sound better, but not sure I want to dive out and spend $160 bucks.

Really looking for the best bang for the buck amp or something grado specific

 

[jrosenth]

Get a PAV2 for cheap or find a used mini 3

 

[rage3324]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrosenth /img/forum/go_quote.gif Get a PAV2 for cheap or find a used mini 3

Will the PAV2 hurt the sound at alll? Would it muddy the bass?

 

[yukihiro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rage3324 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Will the PAV2 hurt the sound at alll? Would it muddy the bass?

i have the fiio and the pa2v2 and the 325i

imo, the fiio muddies the overall sound, but also gives it a "boomier" bass. i like bass, so i liked the increase in bass

the pa2v2 sounds nice and clean. the bass becomes a tad tighter and more precise than without an amp. overall it sounds a little better than unamped

for a while i was using both of the amps in series to give it a little more bass while trying to clean up the muddiness of the fiio, but i eventually just started using the pa2v2 alone since the sq was obviously better with just the pa2v2. (i'm not sure if it was a stupid thing to put them in series. i just wanted to experiment with what kind of sound it would produce)

IMHO, the pa2v2 changes the sound of the 325i slightly, but not really the way i wanted it to. i'm saving up to buy some kind of tube amp for my 325i's since that seems like the only way to get the sound i want

i thought about building a cmoy variation for my 325i's since i'm also on a budget, but i decided to just save up for a tube

 

[rage3324]

yeah, the more I read, people suggest getting a tube amp for the 325i. I don't really want the sound to be changed.. I just want it to be cleaned up

 

[ZephyrSapphire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rage3324 /img/forum/go_quote.gif yeah, the more I read, people suggest getting a tube amp for the 325i. I don't really want the sound to be changed.. I just want it to be cleaned up

Stretch your budget a bit to get a Meier Headsix/XXS. It's a worthy budget amp and you don't really need to upgrade that quickly after that if you have an itch to buy something new. I still use my Headsix while waiting for Ray to start shipping his new amp.

EDIT: And the Headsix is quite neutral IMHO.

 

[rage3324]

still looking. Looking for an amp to fill out the bass, but not sacrafice detail

 

[Rico67]

All RSA amp or Mini 3 are great with Grado.

 

[wae5]

SR325i + tube amp for $100 = LD 1+
Clean up or tighten up?