[DJShadow]

I've just purchased a pair of sa5000s and my d-ne920 pcdp (I'm not a Sony fanboy in case you're wondering) simply doesn't have enough juice to drive them effectively. I can already hear all the details coming out but they're being restrained by a lack of power. Well I'll leave it up to you guys to decide what the most appropriate amp is, but my parameters are £100 at the most, but I don't really want to spend more than £75 and preferably in the UK, most likely something in the For Sale forums.

I had an opportunity to buy a Porta Corda MkIII a few days for <£100. Was this a good deal I missed?

Thanks for reading.

Edit: am i right in saying that upgrading my source would be a better investmen, as in a proper full-size cd player? Or am I intiating a heated debate over what has the most significance on sound quality?

 

[DJShadow]

No one can help?

 

[DJShadow]

(bump cleverly disguised as a post)

So I've been looking at some amps of the portable kind and the Ray Samuels Emmeline 'The Hornet' grabbed my attention. Able to be powered by a 9v cell and AC power, gain switch, favourable reviews and classy build/looks make it very attractive. However, at around £150, would I get more of an improvement getting a better source? The Sony ce595 costs around the same. What would be the best route?

 

[niftymatt]

I currently purchased a Z-Audio Lambda from Zemo (www.z-audio.com). It is great and when I was doing research on it around the forums. People said it worked pretty well with the sa5000s. http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1447343

 

[DJShadow]

Thanks for replying, that was very useful info. The Lambda is $170 (approx. £80 including international delivery) whereas the Hornet is about double that in Sterling. The impressions of the Portland meet is that SR-71 and Lambda are roughly the same, with perhaps Emmeline just edging it sound quality. Build quality seemed to be way superior than the Lambda however. I'm still gravitating towards the Hornet though

 

[Uncle Erik]

I'm listening to a pair of SA5000s on a Singlepower PPX3 right now. They're new to me, but are sounding excellent. The PPX3 might be a little more than you want to spend, but you might want to look at some of your local offerings. I've liked the ones from Creek, especially the SE versions. Musical Fidelity has excellent amps, and the Rega EAR is interesting.

 

[DJShadow]

So would I assume from the amp suggestions that there is greater benefit to amping via a d-ne920 (a pcdp) than buying a ~£100 cdp?

Good information Uncle Erik. The PPX3 costs about as much as all my audio equipment

. The Creek OBH21-SE is going for £200 on eBay UK and bidding for a Musical Fidelity X-CanV3 is currently at £127-not including £14.50 P&P. The Rega Ear is £148 from hifix.co.uk. All three amps cost more than my sa5000s

. Hmm I may need to go back to the Porta Corda MkIII if I'm to stay within my 'comfort zone' bearing in mind that I've never heard how substantial the improvement an amp will make. But that Hornet is so tempting. Another possibility I've considered is the RSA Tomahawk, which should be cheaper than the Hornet when it hits the For Sale forums. What irks me is that its designed for IEMs, so does that indicate its unsuitable for full-size phones? The sa5000s only has an impedance of 70ohms anyway but is the Tomahawk sufficient?

 

[drarthurwells]

For under $400 USD air expressed to England get a Doge or Jolida. For $200 USD the Xian Sheng 708 B is good.

 

[DJShadow]

Wow a tube amp for around £120. I was always under the impression that such things are far pricier. Did you make this recommendation based on how the usually 'warm' nature of tubes will compliment the sa5000s characteristics? And aren't tube amps an ongoing cost because thats a big no-no to me.