Hi
@PuterPro and thanks for the welcome, I am coming off of a 3 year illness, 6 month bed ridden and 18 month house bound but only now I'm enjoying music again so am just testing the water. I think if I can get an amp for iro £100 then I will be happy. If this goes the way of coffee then it could get messy. Before I got rid of it I had a £1300 Espresso Machine and £1800 Grinder as well as some pricey ancillaries that was after starting out basic and developing Upgrade-itis
I am already reading the threads on the IEMs as such starting to find out a lot of gaps in my knowledge, i am totally clueless haha don't even understand impedance yet, my studies were biochemistry related not Physics unfortunately.
It is going to be fun learning.
@CoffeeJohnny WOW! And I was bitching about being laid up for a month after throat surgery! I certainly understand your funds being limited at this time.
The iBasso D14 I mentioned cost $199 US, even with the conversion rate, I think that's above your budget. It is both a DAC and an AMP. If you've got an iPhone that's a later model I understand they have a not bad DAC built in, so you could get away with an amp only.
It certainly is an expensive hobby!
£1800 GRINDER?!!? OMG! I didn't know thy made such a thing. The Espresso machines I get, but a GRINDER?!!!?? Did it massage the beans daily in Sake like they do in Japan for the Kobe beef cows?
Guess I live a sheltered life.
Yeah, that was an expensive hobby. If I ever get near you you're gonna have to sport me a cuppa! Even with your existing setup!
Well, I was the Physics guy (although I did start out in High school with a love for organic chemistry).
Impedance is pretty easy - think of your amp as a garden hose. If you insert a valve that controls the flow of water, you can change the flow. The more you close the valve the more you
impede the flow.
More exactly, lets say you used a sprinkler to spray your flowers. Small holes = less water sprayed, less work done (more
impedance), need a higher pressure.
Headphones and IEM's convert the back & forth flow of electricity (AC) to a movement that pushes the air back & forth (The
diaphragm or sometimes in IEM's, the
armature). Some are very efficient, some not so much, depending on design, materials, etc.
More efficient = louder for the same amount of electricity (called
Sound
Pressure
Level or SPL) A related spec in headphone shopping.
Larger headphones have larger diaphragms (duh), so require MORE electricity, which from the amp's point of view, it resists more (or technically,
impedes more). As a rule IEM's tend to have low impedance (20-50 OHMS), over the ear headphones, more (200 - 300 OHMS)
I'm just starting in this headphone thing so someone may (please!) correct my ranges for those, but the idea's basically correct.
Technical note many get confused on when first learning this stuff - RESISTANCE is not IMPEDANCE (similar is
not equal).
Resistance is an opposition to flow by
Direct Current (one way flow, like from a battery).
Impedance is opposition to
Alternating Current (flow that reverses course periodically, like the waves made by the back and forth movement of air producing music in a headphone)
In Audio, we deal mostly in impedance. It's a fine point, and it's strictly technical, but I'm a big fan of learning the terms used in a field of study.
Words have meaning. If I'm removing a bolt on an engine and I ask you for a 1/4" wrench (10mm spanner) and you hand me a banana instead... you get it.
IEM's = Low impedance
Full headphones = High impedance.
More impedance = more work being done, you need a bigger amp to keep up.
You owe me a cuppa! LOL! Feel better.
New guy here starting from scratch in Seattle, already drowning in information and plotting how to efficiently destroy my savings
.
@bigredking- Now THAT was funny!! You at least have a grasp of what's needed, a larger brain and very deep pockets! Welcome to the madness!
Puterpro
