[havok2022]

I am looking for a good sounding setup for use with my iPod. My limit is $350-400 so i don't want anything extreme. I'm also going for portability. Mainly i just listen to these at work. I'm fairly sure that I will go with the Ultimate Ears Superfi 5-Pro. However I am unsure of a good amp that fits my price range to package with it. I plan on using an ALO Bling or something similar as an output and am not including that in my price point. ($350-400 for IEMS, Amp, and a bag to carry it all in). HeadRoom has a package with these IEMs, their Total BitHead Amp, and their Gigabag for $399. I have been all over the forums and no one seems to want to put up many reviews about the AirHead and Bithead amplifiers. Basically I would like to know if this is a good setup or if I can find a better amp or setup for the same money or less.

Thank you

 

[granodemostasa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by havok2022 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am looking for a good sounding setup for use with my iPod. My limit is $350-400 so i don't want anything extreme. I'm also going for portability. Mainly i just listen to these at work. I'm fairly sure that I will go with the Ultimate Ears Superfi 5-Pro. However I am unsure of a good amp that fits my price range to package with it. I plan on using an ALO Bling or something similar as an output and am not including that in my price point. ($350-400 for IEMS, Amp, and a bag to carry it all in). HeadRoom has a package with these IEMs, their Total BitHead Amp, and their Gigabag for $399. I have been all over the forums and no one seems to want to put up many reviews about the AirHead and Bithead amplifiers. Basically I would like to know if this is a good setup or if I can find a better amp or setup for the same money or less. Thank you

the Super fi pro 5 does not benefit from amplifiers to make the expense worth it by. i'd rather get the UE triplefi pro 10 IEM, which sounds far better no matter what amp you drive the pro 5 with.

 

[wae5]

I'm always surprised when someone asks to spend more money than they need too. Try Koss KSC75s (>$25) without an amp and see if you like them. If you still want/need an amp try Gary's PA2V2 ($65/lifetime warranty) or Norm's Go-Vibe5 ($75). These will give you 90% of the sound you want for a lot less money.

 

[granodemostasa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wae5 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm always surprised when someone asks to spend more money than they need too. Try Koss KSC75s (>$25) without an amp and see if you like them. If you still want/need an amp try Gary's PA2V2 ($65/lifetime warranty) or Norm's Go-Vibe5 ($75). These will give you 90% of the sound you want for a lot less money.

what i suggested was with in his budget. I would assume that because he picked out an IEM, he's looking for some isolation... the KSC75 doesnt' give that kind of isolation (or sound quality).

 

[havok2022]

I consider myself somewhat an audiophile in the world of home theater (this is my first real venture into the headphone market) and I still have somewhat of a hard time believing that a $150 set of headphones has no noticeable benefit from amplification. Am I wrong?

 

[KrooLism]

Depends on what kind of $150 headphones you are talking about.

Grado's can cost upwards of $1000 and they run fine unamped, and there are some $100 cans which would benefit from amplification.

If you're somewhat an audiophile when it comes to home theatre, I can tell you the main differences you will notice.
There are only two things which your home theatre would do better than headphones. One is soundstage and the second is that you can feel the bass in the music.

But everything else, your headphones would quash your theatre system and chances are you won't go back. That's all I use to listen to movies now.

Check out a $150 Beringher headphone amp which has 8 independent channels. Not audiophile quality music when you're comparing it to some of the other amp models here, but it's totally enough for your standard movie.

But if that's not enough, get a DAC and use the digital outs on your DVD player.