Newbie Question: What is Amps?

[Couch Potato]

hello im new to this forum also very new to amps
 
im very confused on how amp works, i heard amps improves sound quality to an amazing extent
 
1.does IEM need amps?
 
2.what is the difference between desktop amps and protable amps?        desktop amps are better?
 
3.Studio V is an amp? it can also be an MP3 player? @@ ( really confused)
 
4.what kind of earphones needs amp?
 
5.why are there so many different amps? what difference do they make?
 
 
i always thought that headphones are the only thing that would make a difference to music and mp3 players doesnt make a difference.
 
hope i could get a clearer answer from this forum! appreciates!

 

[Koolpep]

Hey couch potato,
 
why don't you start with reading the wiki and browsing through the threads here. I tell you you will snap up knowledge faster than you can blink. There is so much going on, just "lurk" around and read a few threads, check out wikipedia as well if you don't understand something. The more you work yourself on achieving knowledge, the more you internalize it and you will be more confident in using and applying your knowledge.
 
Give it a shot. 
 
So long,
K

 

[Couch Potato]

im still confused
couldnt find a staright answer on the web

 

[flush]

Sound, such as a music file (mp3 or FLAC or other), is stored as digital information. Digital information, at its core, are nothing but electronic 1's and 0's. So basically your music file can be broken down into a huge series of 1's and 0's.
 
You need something to convert that digital information into a sound signal. This is what a DAC is (Digital to Analog Converter). It converts the digital information into an electrical signal that can be read by your speakers/headphones.
 
After the digital information has been converted into an analog signal, the signal is not yet ready to be converted into sound. The signal is too weak to drive the speakers. This is where the amp comes in. An amp (amplifier) takes in a signal and outputs an identical but more powerful signal. This amplified signal is what is able to drive your speakers/headphones and create sound.
 
A good amplifier will be able to create a signal many times more powerful than the original signal, and a good amplifier will be able to create a signal that is very very close to the source signal.
 
Hope this helps!

 

[Carlosfandango]

Your MP3 player already has an inbuilt amplifier. When you adjust the volume the amp amplifies the sound.

However many MP3 players have very cheap or simple amp sections because they also contain many other components.

A good quality MP3 player MAY already have a good quality amp section, but this player will be expensive.

People who use a dedicated external amp are bypassing the cheap circuitry inside their MP3 and hence have better sound fed to their headphones.

 

[Couch Potato]

thanks for the replies guys!
Quote:

Sound, such as a music file (mp3 or FLAC or other), is stored as digital information. Digital information, at its core, are nothing but electronic 1's and 0's. So basically your music file can be broken down into a huge series of 1's and 0's.
 

im confused what do you mean by digital information are electronics 1's and 0's ?? @@
so when i see a mp3 file i think of 1's and 0's  what do they mean?
 
Quote:

Your MP3 player already has an inbuilt amplifier. When you adjust the volume the amp amplifies the sound.

However many MP3 players have very cheap or simple amp sections because they also contain many other components.

A good quality MP3 player MAY already have a good quality amp section, but this player will be expensive.

People who use a dedicated external amp are bypassing the cheap circuitry inside their MP3 and hence have better sound fed to their headphones.

in this forum lots of people uses different amplifier to test their IEMs to write reviews, what is the purpose of that?
why dont the tester just buy a very good amp and test all the IEM with the same amp?
 
when purchasing an amp for IEM/earbud what are the key thing to look out for?(to me buying a very expensive mp3 amp = good choice)
 
ive heard of the studio-v is it good?

 

[Carlosfandango]

thanks for the replies guys!

im confused what do you mean by digital information are electronics 1's and 0's ?? @@
so when i see a mp3 file i think of 1's and 0's  what do they mean?
 

in this forum lots of people uses different amplifier to test their IEMs to write reviews, what is the purpose of that?
why dont the tester just buy a very good amp and test all the IEM with the same amp?
 
when purchasing an amp for IEM/earbud what are the key thing to look out for?(to me buying a very expensive mp3 amp = good choice)
 
ive heard of the studio-v is it good?

-------_--------

Maybe think this way.

Why isn't there just one type of car?

Four wheels, 2.0 engine, 4 doors, and a boot space??

But we have many types for different driving terrain, different functions (family, sport, towing, utility etc), we have some built for speed, some built for cruising, some big and some small.... I hope you get my point

Likewise, some headpones are easy to power, some not so, some go 'on ear' others go 'in ear' others still are open or closed. Headphones that cost £10 and headphones that cost £10000 pounds.


Synergy is perhaps an important aspect of audiophile listening that you should read up on.

What amp BEST suits a certain headphone? Either by design or pure luck certain amp/headphones sound like they belong with one another. People will search for these matches, and in many cases on here there are guys and girls with such vast knowledge and experience that they have an instinct for this synergy.

Sounds complicated? You bet. That is why people spend thousands and tens of thousands. (especially considering we haven't spoken about headphone cables, connectors, ear pads/IEM tips, LOD's or any of the other components in the audio chain that COULD make a difference to the sound)

BUT, and there is a huge and significant 'but' ... YOU don't Have to worry about this, especially if you are new to medium or higher end listening.

We are talking about people trying to find audio nirvana.

Take a step back, if you want an amp, buy one or make one. Don't stress over it, Start with something like a Fiio E11 or iBasso T4, small, cheap and easily assessable.

If you enjoy the sound and feel the investment was worthwhile, THEN look around for further upgrades.

What I'm saying is don't complicate your early buys with what you see others doing.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Go to the Wiki and read Boomana's guide for new members. It'll cover everything you want to know.

 

[khaos974]

hello im new to this forum also very new to amps
 
im very confused on how amp works, i heard amps improves sound quality to an amazing extent
 
1.does IEM need amps?
 
2.what is the difference between desktop amps and protable amps?        desktop amps are better?
 
3.Studio V is an amp? it can also be an MP3 player? @@ ( really confused)
 
4.what kind of earphones needs amp?
 
5.why are there so many different amps? what difference do they make?
 
 
i always thought that headphones are the only thing that would make a difference to music and mp3 players doesnt make a difference.
 
hope i could get a clearer answer from this forum! appreciates!

1. a. IEMs don't need amps since the very large majority of them are sensitive enough to have enough power though the usual headphone out of a DAP. The usual DAP distorts very little at the level IEMS need to be driven. So power wise and distortion wise you don't need an amp.

1. b. However, IEMs often have a low input impedance, it's recommended to have a damping factor of at least 8 to avoid modification of the frequency response of the transducer (damping factor = impedance of the transducer/impedance of the output). So for IEMs, it's recommended for the output to have less than a less than 2 ohm impedance, one may need an amp to achieve that. Just remember to check the said spec, not all manufactures provide it.

2. Desktop amp usually provide more power than portable ones.

3. Every MP3 player has an amp inside, including iPhones. If the Studio V is also marketed as an amp, they imply that they paid more attention to the design of the amplification section than with the average player.

4. Headphones with low sensitivity that can't be driven loud enough, or headphones with a tortured impedance curve that require a lot of current. Other than that if the impedance of your output is low enough you're good to go.

5. A summary of my personal opinion is that as far as a amp has low impedance and low distortion at its rated power and you don't make it work outside of its specs, it will be pretty close to wire with gain. There are different amp topologies to achieve the same effect, but the goal should always be wire with gain. if one wishes to improve the sound of their music, EQs, harmonic exciters, and other various DSPs are the way to go, changing the amp is not.

Go to the Wiki and read Boomana's guide for new members. It'll cover everything you want to know.

There's quite a bit I don't agree with in Boomana's guide. For example, the "source matters" issue, it's a relic from the vinyl days when a good vinyl setup was difficult to achieve (and it still is). Today, a good digital source is easy to achieve, two different mastering of a same song are a lot more different than an iPod is from a $10k MSB DAC.

 

[Couch Potato]

Thank you guys for taking the time replying those questions, im getting a "very" clear understand of the relations of IEM and amps works !

 

[khaos974]

What are you understanding because most of us are not saying the same thing?

 

[Couch Potato]

that most IEM doesnt require to use amp unless they are low sensativity and needs to be driven loud enough
 
still little confused on why are there so many mp3 amps do they all serve different purpose? or is it just like buying a normal mp3 with just different brand (ipod, zune,samsung,sony etc.)

 

[khaos974]

Any competently designed solid state amp should sound about the same (of course there are plenty of incompetently designed ones :mad, beyond that it's mostly a question of reliability, looks, ergonomics...

 

[Couch Potato]

btw when choosing a mp3 player on which specification (probably behind the box of the mp3) would show that this mp3 player has a good amp inside (amp wise not by own preference)
right now im using iphone as my mp3 player how do i know it is making my a-jays4 earphone performing at its best?

 

[labrat]

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