Newbie amp questions (W/pics)...

[kramer5150]

Hi everyone. im new to the forum and really could use some help.

My first pair of cans was a pair of Koss pro4X plus. Been using those casually off/on since 1985. 2 years ago I replaced them with MDR-V6s and have been pleased. Lately Ive been using them more and more for both DVD, MP3 and CD player use. I find the level of clarity and detail superior to my home theater setup. I was watching the john fogerty concert last night and was amazed at the level of clarity... from a $70 headphone.

I never really considered headphones as a primary audio component in place of speakers... but am starting to re-think things.

My home setup is a panasonic carousel CD/DVD player, Denon receiver...

in the office or on the go its my Creative Labs Jukebox MP3 player. Occasionally I'll plug into my T-40 laptop.

Would I benefit from an amplifier?
Do headphone amps alter tone, increase clarity... or do they just make the signal louder?

Thanks... all comments welcome

Garrett

 

[DanT]

He my thought about amplifier in general nothing specific.

An amplifier only amplify the sound. Lesser amplifier either degrade the sound when it amplified it or has some kind of limitation voltage or current that prevent them to drive the headphones at it full capacity.

That why a better amplifier can produce better sound because it doesn’t degrade the sound when amplifying. Doesn't limit the dynamic, doesn't blur the detail, have enough power to put weight on bass among other things.

That important to know because the way some people talk it seem that the amplifier does some magic trick to make it all better. But in fact it only make the sound louder while maintaining the quality. Of course making the sound louder with the most fidelity possible and using the full potential of the headphones will get a much much better sound that lousy amplification hence the importance of a good amplifier.

About main stereo amplifier headphones jack. The thing is the stereo amp has been thought with speakers in mind which need many watts of powers and are around 8 ohm impedance. Headphones on the other hand need mili-watts of power and range from 16ohm-600ohm.

Now the question is did the engineer design the headphones out with quality in mind or as an after thought feature that it not going to be use anyway.

Some speakers amp have very good headphones out, some don't I don't know about yours specifically.

So does your situation benefit from an amp. It may but I would guess to notice major improvement you would need at least mid level amp. And before going into higher amp shop for other phones because you'll have more benefit for your money.

EDIT:
Unless of course you want to have something portable. An amp for your mp3 player or laptop. I have an headsave classic which work pretty well for me I don't know if it would for you since I haven't tried your headphones nor mp3 player.


Finally amp indeed have coloration and tonal characteristic and house sound.
They sound different from each other so there is a question of synergy and taste to get an optimum systems.

 

[GoRedwings19]

Hi fellow noobster, my impressions of amps in general is they just unleash the potential of your source and headphones. They don't make the music better thay just let you hear your system better. example if you have all $1 components it will let you hear what a $1 sytem sound like If you have a $1000 system then if it's a good amp it will let you hear a $1000 system. Of course it is not as simple as that. Ask the other headfiers for their recommendations. Later dude

 

[go_vtec]

A dedicate headphone amp provides power to derive sound generated from a source. As you can guess, even the best amp in the world is only as good as weakest link in its chain, say source, cable, amp and a pair of headphones. If your source or headphone are not up to the challenge, buying an amp may be useless or inefficient.

I would say in your case, you probably don't need an amp. V6 is a very nice phone and it sounds pretty good without an amp. Frankly, a dedicated amp does improve V6's sound a little bit (emphasis here at little bit), but you will be better off spending your money on something else that is more cost effective.

May be you should look into getting a second phone or one that can replace your V6? I think Audio Technica ATH-A500 or A900 will be a much better investment than spending your money on an amp at this moment. V6 has its own limitations as you may hear or you may not.