I have been rocking the O2 headphone amp for a good while. It’s the amp that Jds and nwavguy produced and I think it’s fantastic for the $50 I bought it for. Now I’ve some hd800 that it powers fine and some DIY cans that have 550ohm impedance and this little O2 powers them with the knob under 12 o’clock.
I have purchased and sold several amps at a higher price point in the past for one reason or another. I am buying a Beyer a20 again for the dual headphone outputs and my question is…
do mid to higher end amp impact the audible sound?
This O2 amp seems to power higher impedance cans just fine, but if I upgrade to a jotenheim or a benchmark amp will it improve the perceptual audible sound for me?
All experience feedback is very welcome.
GREQ has given you a great response. If you're happy with the O2, that's fine.
Thanks for the explanation. So I would be more likely to hear the difference between amp in a studio setting with a quiet room. My current setup is very much less than ideal x central air is in the adjacent area. It also explains why my th900 can be driven off my phone and sound fine, but sound much better at my desk with an amp and dac.
You're basically only describing your listening noise level versus the ambient noise level. It has little to do with high-fidelity listening, but could be damaging to your ear under certain circumstances. Your previous description of loudness and amplifier power doesn't have anything to do with high-fidelity listening, either. Yes - it's true that one of the purposes of amplification is to provide enough power to drive your chosen output transducer (headphone). Like a lot of things, though, there's a lot more to it.
Again, if you're currently happy with the O2, great. However, if you want to know if the O2 is comparable to a high-end amplifier for headphones, it's decidedly not. In the $100-$200 range, it's fine. Even then, its kit value from JDS Labs of $69 is probably a more appropriate measuring stick. Back in the day, NWAVGUY went about many questionable methods to market his schtick, insulting people and products all along the way. He designed and built the O2 for measurements - only -, and took a number of shortcuts to achieve it. The position of the volume pot in the circuit is just one example.
The fact is that in any subculture, hobby, following, or whatever you want to call it, there is a level of experience and knowledge gained from being involved for a while. One constantly learns and grows from this experience and learning. After a few years of pursuit, what satisfied a person in the beginning may not achieve satisfaction later on. For example, in the first five years I was in this hobby of headphones, Grados were my favorite. Now, all I hear from one is distortion. Amplifiers are similar. Loudness eventually becomes the least important quality of an amplifier. Tonality, dynamics, detail, musicality: this forum argues endlessly over the words to describe qualities that high-end equipment possess ... and it's difficult, if not impossible, to actually measure some of those things.
It's very likely from reading your posts, that you aren't going to be able to tell the difference in an high-end amplifier and your O2. That's not meant as an insult, but a recognition of where you are. "How can high-end equipment be better?" is a natural question for anyone in your position to ask. Stick with it, learn as much as you can, and listen to as much as you can afford or gain access to. Eventually, things will become clear (even if your wallet weighs less in exchange).
