Portable amp for my first CIEMs - do I need one, and if so, what should I get?
Oct 7, 2015 at 6:37 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 2

Pet

New Head-Fier
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Hi,
 
I'm getting my first CIEMs in a few weeks, the Custom Art Music Two. I've been thinking about amps. 
 
The specs on these are:
109dB @1kHz @0.1V
75 Ohm @1kHz

 
The manufacturer says 'Use of external headphone amplifier is highly recommended.' However, they do have a quite high sensitivity, which, the way I understand it, means I might be okay without an amp? How important is the high impedence? I've been looking into it and have read contrasting opinions.
 
My current set up is a Hifimediy Sabre U2 connected either to my PC, or to my LG G3 via an OTG cable. This DAC is apparently designed to drive headphones directly, and if it's likely to be fine with the Music Twos then that would make things a lot easier. Can anyone tell me if this is likely to be the case, or is it more a case of waiting until I get the CIEMs and seeing if they sound good?
 
If it's likely I'll need an amp, my next question would be whether I'll likely get better sound sticking with the Hifimediy and just adding a portable amp, or getting a dac/amp combo. I'm leaning toward the latter because it just means it will be less things to carry around, but I'm not sure if it's worth the expense when the Hifimediy works great with android, and the only truly android-compatible DAC/amp I could find (FiiO E18) doesn't have that great reviews from a sound perspective.
 
Any input appreciated. Thanks!
 

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