[Kennygenius]

Hi, i am looking for a portable headphone amp for my shureSE535 (using with Cowon S9)  price limit is +-800 Dolars.
Or would it be better to get new player? (Something like hifiman hm-801)
Thanks

 

[bcwang]

I recommend the Pico Slim.  The fine control of volume and perfectly matched left/right channels at all times make it a blessing for high sensitivity IEM usage like the SE535, especially if you listen at lower volumes.  I haven't encountered an amp that I've enjoyed using my se530 with until this one.

 

[Kennygenius]

Do you think  gain in audio quality will be bigger than with hifiman mp4s?

 

[bcwang]

Never heard cowan s9 or the hifiman so I have no idea how those are.  But the pico slim can be used with any source, it is the perfect pairing for the SE535 with anything you want to drive them with.

 

[Kennygenius]

and does some cable go with them or i have to buy one? (3,5mm to 3,5mm)

 

[violinvirtuoso]

Assuming you are old enough, I would highly, highly recommend you put the majority of your $800 towards better headphones. Heck, if you sold your SE535s, you would have enough for a top-tier custom IEM. A top-tier custom will give you a much greater upgrade in SQ than a better amp and/or source. Always remember the chain of upgrades. Headphones come first.

 

[Kennygenius]

I have Cowon + Shure as a portable rig, so i want to  finish this first, and then i will do something for home listening, incl. custom earphones and some good amp etc. , but i dont want to take custom earphones out, i am too scared that i would do something to them
By the way, I am only 16, so  i dont wanna have customs yet, because of i am stil growing, and i don´t want to send them to USA for refit after 6 months (I am from Czech republic so the shipping is not nice )

 

[bcwang]

Quote:

Assuming you are old enough, I would highly, highly recommend you put the majority of your $800 towards better headphones. Heck, if you sold your SE535s, you would have enough for a top-tier custom IEM. A top-tier custom will give you a much greater upgrade in SQ than a better amp and/or source. Always remember the chain of upgrades. Headphones come first.

I don't agree because I think the SE535 are already top-tier headphones.  I find headphones at this level to be greatly affected by the source and amp quality.  At least with my two apple DAPs, the Pico Slim made a huge difference. 
 
To the OP, hopefully your DAP has a line-out.  You would take a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable to connect to the Pico Slim or any other portable amp.  I recommend the Nuforce Transient 3.5mm to 3.5mm 0.2m cable, it is only $12 and is a great cable. 
 
If your DAP does not have a line-out, then I'm not sure where to go from there, as I don't know how good the S9 is and what would be better.

 

[Kennygenius]

I have no experience with this, but i assumed, that i will put one side of the cable to my mp4 through jack input where I normally put earphones, and the other side into amp, and that´s it...it doesn´t work like this?

 

[bcwang]

Quote:

I have no experience with this, but i assumed, that i will put one side of the cable to my mp4 through jack input where I normally put earphones, and the other side into amp, and that´s it...it doesn´t work like this?

Some players have a separate line out jack labeled as such.  Other players can set the mode in their controls so the jack is either headphone out or line out.  I'm not sure how that really works or if it is going to be the same quality as a dedicated line out.  You are most likely going to get poorer results using the current headphone jack of your player going into another amp. 
 
Does the S9 + SE535 combo not sound good already?

 

[Kennygenius]

Yes, it does, but I can hear, that something could be better than that it is now

 

[violinvirtuoso]

Quote:

I have no experience with this, but i assumed, that i will put one side of the cable to my mp4 through jack input where I normally put earphones, and the other side into amp, and that´s it...it doesn´t work like this?

That is usually how it works, except for DAPs with a Line-Out. Though you can use the Headphone Out (where you plug in headphones), the Line-Out is always a cleaner signal. A Line-Out bypasses the internal amps of the DAP. The only DAPs with a Line-Out available (AFAIK) are iPods, S:Flo 2, HifiMan (HM-601, HM-602, HM-801), and the Sansa Fuze.

 

[Kennygenius]

Is this what i need? http://www.amazon.com/COWON-Line-cable-S9-J3/dp/B003AYXJRE
 
Edit: I see now, that it is line in, so it wouldn´t actually work
        So my only chance is to connect it normally through the jack hole where i normally put earphones right?

 

[violinvirtuoso]

For the Cowon S9, yes.

 

[bcwang]

Quote:

Is this what i need? http://www.amazon.com/COWON-Line-cable-S9-J3/dp/B003AYXJRE
 
Edit: I see now, that it is line in, so it wouldn´t actually work
        So my only chance is to connect it normally through the jack hole where i normally put earphones right?

This is what you need http://www.amazon.com/Nuforce-Transient-Cable-Performance-Stereo/dp/B003WREJ6Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1294381272&sr=1-1
 
Though I don't know how it's going to sound being sourced from the headphone jack.  Headphone amps are not designed to drive very high impedance loads, which the input side of another headphone amp will be.  It may sound even worse than direct.