[ivan]

Hello everyone. I hope you all are doing good and hope it stays that way. You might be wondering why i'm so happy and the reason is I finally got my iPod (Apple 60GB iPod Photo) and it's great

but I am very new to all this, seeing so much here it's crazy I don't know what to do on anything hehe. Ok I have somewhat ok earbuds (Sony Fontopia Headphones MDR-EX51LP). I know nothing about amps at all and I was looking and I found this http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...769748732&rd=1 I was wondering if it's any good? I mean I don't have much to spend because I am a college student you know paying the apt/college bills is enough to kill me but whatever I have left over is what I put on to my music equips. If possible can you give me some insights on the amp I showed above? and also If there is any amps that are good for using with the iPod for abot $20-$100? Thank you once again for your time.

 

[chia-pet]

if i were you i'd save my money. the added burden of carrying around that amp (since your setup is primarily portable) isnt worth the marginal gain in quality you'll be seeing in your buds imo.

 

[atx]

Probably not. With earbuds, cmoys tend to hiss, and while it sounds better, the hiss will drive you nuts.

Have you considered the Koss KSC-50s ? They are one of the best portable phones I've ever tried. They cost about $20, and I don't hear any hiss when hooked to a cmoy.

 

[ivan]

oh any idea on what kind of buds/phones to get? And about the cmoy are they good? Like are they made for the "HQ audiophile listening levl type thinggie?".

 

[atx]

Quote:

oh any idea on what kind of buds/phones to get?

Depends on your budget and how you plan to use them.

Quote:

And about the cmoy are they good? Like are they made for the "HQ audiophile listening levl type thinggie?".

"good" is a relative word. When I first heard a cmoy, I thought they sounded good compared to what I was hearing before. But now that I've heard better amps, cmoy is just "average."

I think you should first get good headphones before going into amps. Once you appreciate what a good headphone/earphone can bring, then you'll appreciate amps.

 

[chia-pet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ivan oh any idea on what kind of buds/phones to get? And about the cmoy are they good? Like are they made for the "HQ audiophile listening levl type thinggie?".

i would recommend that you just stick with buds and an ipod for general portable use. i've experimented with portable headphones on campus... they are just painful, and don't yield a significant qualitative improvement anyway. open cans are too loud to use waiting for class lectures to start, and closed cans will get you hit by a bus crossing the street. buds get it just right, open so you can hear what's going on around you, but "isolating" enough that others won't be bothered by what you're listening to.

you sound as if you're looking to just get into headphones in general. i'd recommend you just pickup a pair of grado sr-60s. i haven't tried them, but they're certainly an economic taste of what's out there.

 

[fr4c]

you might want to save up a bit and build a "transportable/home" rig around the iPod Photo. IMO, the bulk and trouble of adding a portable amp to go with the iPod and EX51's ruins the whole idea of portable.