newbie amp question

[benmarker]

i know ill sound stupid around here asking this quesiton, but when you talk about amps, what are you referring to?

 

[onionblaster]

Headphone amplifiers. I'm not sure of the exact definition, but they make your music louder and clearer. Some headphones don't sound good unless they're amped. There's a whole forum for them here:
http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/forum...p?s=&forumid=3

-Josh

 

[benmarker]

i just found out today what even an amp, so i am most definitely an amp newbie. anyways, are all amps really expensive? are there any that are cheaper/more portable?

 

[Beach123456]

Amps are headphone amplifiers, they provide more power for bigger headphones and make all headphones sound better.

 

[joelongwood]

Amps come in a wide variety of sizes and prices. One of the smallest, least expensive is the $60 Pocketamp V2, which, for the money, is pretty tough to beat.

 

[grox]

pocketamp v2 http://www.electric-avenues.com/amplifiers.html

have a little search around on the forums. amps do definately make a difference to the sound.

sorry about your wallet

I'd suggest that you start with your source (cd player or whatever) and then work on headphones, with amp coming last.

 

[atx]

Quote:

One of the smallest, least expensive is the $60 Pocketamp V2, which, for the money, is pretty tough to beat.

I just noticed Gary upgraded his amp from the last time I considered buying it. 2 x 2200 uF output capacitors, which means 4400 uF ? That's more than the Portaphile2. But then I'm too illiterate know whether the portaphile has (2 x 1000 uF) on the input or the output. Anyway, waiting for the mailman to give me my p2v2.

edit

Quote:

The output capacitors have been upgraded to a pair of massive, 2200 uFs, instead of the 1000 uFs they used to be. The input capacitors have also been changed to a pair of 470 uFs, instead of the previous 220 uFs. The result is very solid bass, even at high volumes, and crystal clear high frequencies.

Woohoo!

 

[aseltzer144]

Something to bear in mind with regard to audio is that cost is not always in step with sound quality. As you spend more you can expect nicely machined enclosures, more complex circuit topologies, and state of the art parts. However, more often than not, the differences with amps is more incremental than dramatic and not always related to cost. With todays digital compressed sources, the most revealing equipment can actual work against you by making the limitations of those compressed files all too audible. This can be a pro or a con depending on what you like to get out of the audio experience. I'm not necessarily saying that a pricier amp won't be better than a less expensive, simpler design, but beyond a certain point, those improvements come at an increasingly higher cost. Sonic imporvements are governed by the laws of diminishing returns which means that beyond a certain point, incremental improvements often come at significant increases in cost.

Fortunately there are some sonically excellent offerings on the market, such as the Pocket Amp2 and Go-Vibe. For a first amp, I think they would be the best option. They may be all you ever need. If you do upgrade, you will at least be ready to appreciate why the upgrade is better. However, don't assume a $400 amp is 4 times better than a $100 amp. It doesn't work that way. On the other hand, a quality $70 amp is worth way more than listening unamped with most other portable gear.

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aseltzer144 Something to bear in mind with regard to audio is that cost is not always in step with sound quality. As you spend more you can expect nicely machined enclosures, more complex circuit topologies, and state of the art parts. However, more often than not, the differences with amps is more incremental than dramatic and not always related to cost. With todays digital compressed sources, the most revealing equipment can actual work against you by making the limitations of those compressed files all too audible. This can be a pro or a con depending on what you like to get out of the audio experience. I'm not necessarily saying that a pricier amp won't be better than a less expensive, simpler design, but beyond a certain point, those improvements come at an increasingly higher cost. Sonic imporvements are governed by the laws of diminishing returns which means that beyond a certain point, incremental improvements often come at significant increases in cost. Fortunately there are some sonically excellent offerings on the market, such as the Pocket Amp2 and Go-Vibe. For a first amp, I think they would be the best option. They may be all you ever need. If you do upgrade, you will at least be ready to appreciate why the upgrade is better. However, don't assume a $400 amp is 4 times better than a $100 amp. It doesn't work that way. On the other hand, a quality $70 amp is worth way more than listening unamped with most other portable gear.

GREAT advice.... Thats a complicated topic ot explain, very well said.

On that note, I have been perfectly happy with my DT770-80, MDRV6 E2c, KSC75 tandem. My portable amp is the fore mentioned pocket amp2. Home amp is an audio technica HA2. Good matchup amps to cans... Neither is too revealing or excessive for the other. I would love to upgrade to a DT880, but My budgent just cant accomodate an amp thats worthy.

Garrett

 

[gratefulshrink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by benmarker i know ill sound stupid around here asking this quesiton, but when you talk about amps, what are you referring to?

There are many people who understand the technical end of this far better than me, but the basic idea is that higher-end cans often have a high impedance rating. The normal headhpone jack on CD players and mp3 players cannot adequately "drive" such cans. Hence the headphone amps, which boost the signal. They can be portable (price range $30 to several hundred $$), or non-portable (i.e., big and heavy), and I don't even know th price range there.......

 

[ayt999]

a unit of measurement for electric current.

 

[iancraig10]

A headphone amp stores power so that your source (mp3 player, whatever) doesn't have to work so hard to produce the current necessary for a nice clean sound.

They're not always used to make your headphones go louder (although for larger headphones this is what they are used for) but they also give you a crisper sound if you listen really critically on good phones.

If you want a good value amp, go-vibe is excellent.

 

[VicAjax]

Quote:

Amps are headphone amplifiers, they provide more power for bigger headphones...

you mean headphones with higher impedance (measured in ohms).

Quote:

...and make all headphones sound better.

no, not all headphones benefit from an amp.

 

[iancraig10]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VicAjax you mean headphones with higher impedance (measured in ohms). no, not all headphones benefit from an amp.

Quite a few low impedance cans benefit from amping too. Sensitivity is also an issue.

Most headphones also sound either the same (maybe with the sound signature of the amp being used added) or they benefit from the addition of more welly.

Also, by setting the source to 50-60% and using the amp as a volume control, I suppose signal to noise improves as well. (assuming a reasonable amp is being used)

 

[dwc]

Thanks for the link to the v2.
Can I get a link to a go-vibe source? Google isn't coming up with a source for them.

First google link on "headsave" gives this:
"Update January 24, 2005 - Norm of Headsave is no longer operating his amp making business"