[Smiped]

I am on the go and I just want to know what portable thing I can bring with me that can power some of my earphones/IEMS/headphones? I don't exactly know what I need (DAC, AMP, etc.) to improve sound quality. I don't even know if I need those equipment to be honest. What can I bring with me on the go (as minimal as possible) that improves the sound quality of my KZ ZS6 or V-Moda M-100.

 

[buke9]

Don’t think you need anything as they will run fine out of a phone. Not that a dac/amp wouldn’t make them sound a bit better. What kind of a budget do you have?

 

[JK1]

I am on the go and I just want to know what portable thing I can bring with me that can power some of my earphones/IEMS/headphones? I don't exactly know what I need (DAC, AMP, etc.) to improve sound quality. I don't even know if I need those equipment to be honest. What can I bring with me on the go (as minimal as possible) that improves the sound quality of my KZ ZS6 or V-Moda M-100.

What portable source are you using? An amp will help the sound quality if your source doesn't put out enough power to adequately power your earphones or headphones.
If you find that you normally turn the volume up close to maximum, then an external amp might help the sound quality. Do you get enough run time, or do often run out of power? If you find yourself running out of power when you are listening portably, then you might want to get a usb battery pack.

Are the files you are playing high quality files? If they are mp3, are they 320 kbps?

 

[Smiped]

What portable source are you using? An amp will help the sound quality if your source doesn't put out enough power to adequately power your earphones or headphones.
If you find that you normally turn the volume up close to maximum, then an external amp might help the sound quality. Do you get enough run time, or do often run out of power? If you find yourself running out of power when you are listening portably, then you might want to get a usb battery pack.

Are the files you are playing high quality files? If they are mp3, are they 320 kbps?

I don't turn my volume up too high. I was just wondering if an external source would make it sound better using my KZ ZS6 or VMODA m-100. I just use my OnePlus X to power it so I don't know if sound quality would be too different.

I just use music from Spotify and the like.

 

[Smiped]

Don’t think you need anything as they will run fine out of a phone. Not that a dac/amp wouldn’t make them sound a bit better. What kind of a budget do you have?

My budget would be around the 50 dollars range.

Does a DAC or AMP make a difference when I usually only use my phone which is the OnePlus X?

I want to see how better it sounds with a gadget more robust.

 

[cossix]

My budget would be around the 50 dollars range.

Does a DAC or AMP make a difference when I usually only use my phone which is the OnePlus X?

I want to see how better it sounds with a gadget more robust.

For 50 bucks, I wouldn't expect much improvement. I use the FiiO X3 and A5 which total a couple hundred dollars, and the improvement over my Galaxy S7 is noticeable, but relatively small. I do enjoy the better sound quality but personally I wouldn't enjoy paying any more money to upgrade my on the go rig

 

[Smiped]

For 50 bucks, I wouldn't expect much improvement. I use the FiiO X3 and A5 which total a couple hundred dollars, and the improvement over my Galaxy S7 is noticeable, but relatively small. I do enjoy the better sound quality but personally I wouldn't enjoy paying any more money to upgrade my on the go rig

Okay, thanks for the input. Cause I felt like I wasn't really maximizing the potential of my headsets and IEMs which made me feel like I was paying the high price for nothing. I just wondered what the quality was like from the standard phone to a portable DAC/AMP. If it is not much then I won't bother getting a portable DAC/AMP.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I am on the go and I just want to know what portable thing I can bring with me that can power some of my earphones/IEMS/headphones? I don't exactly know what I need (DAC, AMP, etc.) to improve sound quality. I don't even know if I need those equipment to be honest. What can I bring with me on the go (as minimal as possible) that improves the sound quality of my KZ ZS6 or V-Moda M-100.

A smartphone with a low output impedance and good measurements (you can check GSMArena reviews). And use the ZS6 more so you get isolation better than the V100.

 

[Choy Wei De]

If you don’t mind change phone to android, can consider LG G6, V20 or V30 with quad dac. Then Google how to trick the phone to activate and stay in quad dac high impedance mode.

If you are using iphone, get a lightning audio adaptor. Not the original Apple lighting adaptor. I recommend baseus adaptor, you can charge your phone and listen to music at the same time. And the most important thing, they actually sounds better at least for me. And the sound is clearly louder than straight from headphone jack.


There are some other lighting adaptor that does the same thing. So look them up, but I recommend baseus.

 

[rexhu100]

I used to use the Fiio E6 with my cellphone. It won't be able to compete with bigger DAC/AMP, but you can definitely notice the improvement. Also, I think it complements your headphones pretty well.