[zupa]

so I am going to be getting phonak PFE's sometime soon, I will be using a 120gb ipod as the source. They will be my first real pair of IEM's.

I know this will sound extremely noob but I didn't find a FAQ or anything.

Why do people get amps for headphones? Does it increase the sound quality drastically or does it just increase the max volume. Does it increase bass?

thanks

 

[krmathis]

They get amplifiers (external dedicated ones, over the built in one), because they have the potential of increasing the sound quality. Adding power capabilities and a most probably higher quality parts in the signal path.

Its mostly about sound quality and control, not about sound volume.

Welcome to Head-Fi!

 

[rasterscan]

And if you get a tube amp, you can really tweak the sound just by swapping tubes.

 

[krmathis]

^ Portable tube amp...
I have seen pictures of a couple, but they are certainly quite rare.

 

[rasterscan]

I've only seen one portable tube amp, it was made by Little Dot.

 

[ClieOS]

Don't forget TTVJ's Millett Hybrid Amp.

 

[rasterscan]

It's pretty sweet.
Quote:

Originally Posted by ClieOS /img/forum/go_quote.gif Don't forget TTVJ's Millett Hybrid Amp.

 

[Luca T]

I take advantage of this tread to ask another noob question:

What is a DAC? and which benefits does it give?

 

[zupa]

Digital-to-analog converter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Luca T]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zupa /img/forum/go_quote.gif Digital-to-analog converter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I read it but Which kind of benefit have we got using a separeted DAC?

 

[ClieOS]

It works in the same principle as how external amp is meant to be - We use external amp to replace the lower-in-quality amp section of the source, and so we use external DAC to replace the lower-in-quality DAC in your source, i.e. the DAC in your PC sound card.