[RaidRoll]

Hi head fi'ers, 
I got a new ath-m50 a couple days ago. First day I tried it with my pc. It was GREAT compared to my old $25 in ear headphones. I just loved it. So after 2 days of burn-in (I used it with my pc all the time) I decided to try it with my phone. And the problem is my phone is nokia 5730 and it is NOT good. When I use my ath-m50 with it the sound quality drops down really badly. Anyways, yesterday I met my friend who has an i phone 4s and when I use the m50 with it the sound quality was nearly as good as m50+pc.
 
So my question is, if I buy an amp (say, pa2v2) and plug it to the nokia 5730 and use my ath-m50 with that set-up. Can I get a sound quality equals to m50+pc or m50+iphone 4s? Or do I have to buy a good audio player ?

 

[flatmap]

Not familiar with the Nokia 5730, but it would not be surprising if the dac/amp section were optimized for voice... not necessarily for music.  My guess is that if the phone allows you to take the 'Line out' signal then a separate amp might pay off.  If not, then even with a separate amp you're still going through the phone's dac/amp circuit and it's something of a crap shoot as to whether you'd get your money's worth.
 
What would be ideal if you could borrow a friend's amp and try it out.  Probably the only way to know...
 
Otherwise getting a dedicated music player -- just get whatever your friend had -- may be the way to go.  IMO.
 

 

[DroidsRGod]

I had the same question .. I wanted to us Fiio E17 but bowei006 said it didnt do much of a difference but other people say its way better.. I don't know and I cant find any forms about Fiio E17 + M50s. :/

 

[bowei006]

In my opinion, using it straight with the E17 may not make a huge difference as using the computer.
The M50 isn't a super expensive headphone, nor is it clean and it does hide some details. Which was why I hesitated to say go ahead to an amp and DAC unit that costs more than the headphone (sometimes)
 
@RaidRoll
Answer is no. That amp will just make the defects of your Nokia EVEN WORSE by making it even louder, although it may also hide some defects.
Getting a better PMP/DAP (or mp3 player as people call them) is what would change it.

 

[proton007]

Quote:

In my opinion, using it straight with the E17 may not make a huge difference as using the computer.
The M50 isn't a super expensive headphone, nor is it clean and it does hide some details. Which was why I hesitated to say go ahead to an amp and DAC unit that costs more than the headphone (sometimes)
 
@RaidRoll
Answer is no. That amp will just make the defects of your Nokia EVEN WORSE by making it even louder, although it may also hide some defects.
Getting a better PMP/DAP (or mp3 player as people call them) is what would change it.

+1.

 

[hi-fifan]

Sorry to bump this thread,
 
but do y'all know anyone who is using a portable amp with their m50's and getting good results? It just seems like my laptop and my ipod classic don't have quite enough strength to push the drivers in the m50's and I was wondering if a portable amp could do the trick.

 

[bowei006]

Quote:

Sorry to bump this thread,
 
but do y'all know anyone who is using a portable amp with their m50's and getting good results? It just seems like my laptop and my ipod classic don't have quite enough strength to push the drivers in the m50's and I was wondering if a portable amp could do the trick.

The only definite stuff I got was from Reddit, most don't feel the need for one
 
If you are looking for driver impact then try a bassy amp? E6($30) or ZO2($100)?

 

[flatmap]

I've used my M50's portably with an amp.  There is a slight improvement in control of
bass.  Pretty slight.
 
What gave me a better improvement was using a line out dock cable from my iPod
to the amp.  The combination of LOD + Amp was worthwhile and more enjoyable.
 
Of course it's a bit more of a pain to lug around... 

 

[dungeon]

I have run the m50 through a fiio e7 and iPhone 4. The e7 was not really needed. It sounds fine through the phone itself. My e7 broke and I didnt feel compelled to replace it.

I will echo the above and say that if I were in your shoes I would spend the money on a better source and not buy an amp.

 

[Eins Null]

I'm using once in a while the M50's with a HP-P1. I can definitely hear a difference, and I personally do not tend to listen to them straight out of the phone (if I can't drag an amp around, then I use  IEM's). They how very easy to drive however, and most people enjoy them without an amp.
 
However, I'm also of the opinion that considering the Nokia, you should definitely upgrade to a better source first.

 

[bratwurst626]

I have a similar question and I'm kind of looking at these two options:

1. Fiio E7 ($60 on Amazon) - I like the DAC because currently I'm just using my mother boards on board audio and would like something with a better conversion.
2. Fiio E6 ($30) and ASUS Xonar_DG ($23) - Would have a better sound output than my computer and the E6 is about as powerful as the E7.

Also I currently have a Razr Maxx with android 4.0.4 and I'm not sure if anyone knows if it would support audio out over the usb to be able to use the DAC of the E7.