[Dr.Scratchnsniff]

I currently have a Nomad Jukebox and I use it all of the time. Recently my stock headphones were in a horrific dangling out a car door and skipping along at 60mph accident... needless to say, they did not survive. I have to use an old pair of Panasonic Shockwave headphones for now.

Now, my question. Will the Koss Portapro headphones coupled with the HeadRoom AirHead amp give me a good setup? And should I use the un-amplified line-out of my Nomad, or still use the headphone out? I would think I would get better quality only using the line out so the amp in the Nomad doesn't get in the way...

Or does anyone have any suggestions for a alternate setup in the $150 price range? This is all that I can afford.
Thank you.

 

[williamgoody]

Portapro's seem like a good choice (given your budget), but instead of the airhead I'd get in touch with one of the DIY'ers on the board (Tangent, Eric 343, or JMT) to inquire about building an amp. For the $100 dollars from what I understand your bound to do better than the airhead.
I put it this way because I've never heard the airhead.
I have a Cmoy and a Cha 47, and really like both, with the portapro's that should make a really great sound.
And Yes, definitely use the line out if you use an amp.

 

[kerelybonto]

Haha, headphone destruction stories are always great.

If you have a $150 budget, the most effective use of you cash is probably to go with a more expensive headphone that works well unamped and forget the amp entirely -- unless the Nomad has a particularly bad head-out. Models you might want to consider for portable use are the Sony MDR-V6 (~$80) and Sennheiser HD280 Pro (~$110), both of which will probably sound better and offer more isolation than the PortaPros.

If you are looking for something that's not necessarily portable, you many more options, including open headphones like the Grado SR60 or SR80 (~$95), which will give you very good sound unamped.

I'd understand if you want to stay with a small clip-on style headphone though. There are other good inexpensive options besides the PortaPros. The Koss KSC-35 (~$25 on eBay), KSC-50, -55 are all good options. An amp will improve the sound, but not immensely. I'd question the purchase of an amp with these low-end cans. If you do decide to get one, however, consider what williamgoody suggested.

kerely

 

[Dr.Scratchnsniff]

Thank you for the replies... I think what I will end up doing is getting the Koss headphones for two reasons.

#1: I live in northern Ontario and no one here has heard of the high end headphone companies. Most headphones sold here, even in our audio shop, are generic Panasonic or Sony headphones. At least Koss is a generally known name and I will have agood chance of being able to order a pair.

#2: I am not exactly an audiophile, I had been using my stock Creative headphones and thought they were sufficient. I think I will save my money and in the future, try building myself an amp. I have always had an interest in DIY, but never had the chance to try... perhaps that will be my opportunity.

Thanks again.

 

[LTUCCI1924]

HI: The portapros are far from are far from low end cans. They are great cans and with a amp are even better. Like bill said the JMT cmoy or chat47 will be fantastic for the portapros. Bill has not heard the fixup super mini yet so of course he left that out but I have heard the mini and it sounds great for 80.00. I just ordered the super mini with a gain of + 10 db for 80.00 and have big hopes for it. If bill gets back to phila I hope he calls me so we can get together so he can hear the super mini and my Max Out META42. The more the power the better the portapros will sound.
PS
I change my super mini with out the volume to a super mini with a volume control on fixup suggestion because of the power of the gain of + 10.

 

[eric343]

Get the Kosses, or try to find some Sony MDR-V6 or V7506 online...

The Nomad doesn't have a horrible headphone jack; however I'd still recommend an amp. Ask Tangent, JMT, or KurtW about a CHA47 or META42 (depending on your price range); I'm not taking orders at the moment due to schoolwork.

 

[williamgoody]

Actually the NJB3 has a pretty good headphone out. It sounds great with the Ety 4P's.
If you decide to forgo the amp for some reason and spend all the money on headphones, you could give Headroom a try. You have a 30 day window if you don't like them, plus the service is outstanding.
Personally I still prefer the headphone/amp combo.