[Wlow]

Hey guys, I need recommendations on a portable headphone amp.

Source will be mostly apple lossless off of a 160g I pod, through some nicer IEM's, lets say some ultimate ears.

A selection of artists I will be listening to

Classical
Pink Floyd
Tool
Modest Mouse
King Crimson
Bob Dylan
Elliot Smith

I will be traveling with this amp, so Portable (by travel I mean backpacking

)

Hoping to stay around 200$, although cheaper would be wonderful

ty

 

[Aimless1]

I am a retired backpacker, one who was known to spend an extra $200 to save 6 oz or shave the handles off toothbrushes to save the extra weight. Notorious for having the lighter half of a tent no matter what others tried to negotiate. Would never have considered taking music along to spoil the experience, much less carry the extra weight.

Now that I've given you a glimpse into my past, can I assume you are new to the experience? If you are only doing a weekend pack you can darn near carry a kitchen sink and get away with it. But not so for week+ excursions. The last hike I did one of our party actually left 1/2 of his goods along the trail as he began to realize how foolish he was. Lost him when I had to hike 1 1/2 miles upstream to cross a flooded river on a railroad trestle. He turned around and went back. I hear he left 1/2 of what he ditched.

All that drivel aside, if you're looking for a portable amp for about $200 look for a used ray samuels tomahawk here in the for sale forum. Great amp, light weight, incredible battery life and a great amp. Might be just above your budget but not that much.

 

[wharfrat1]

X2 on the Tomahawk

 

[joay]

Anyone else want to chime in?

 

[bjarnetv]

how about the C&C F1? havent tried it myself, but it seems like a nice amp for iems

 

[flame]

I was debating Tomahawk vs Lyrix before. I went with Lyrix, for few reasons, 1) i have a home amp sitting, not willing to spend more money on the portable amp 2) it has bass boast, crossfeed and gain switch all in one 3) haven't read much review about the Total series, wanted to give it a shot. 4) i travel quite a bit too, so if i lose it or break it, i wouldn't feel as bad as breaking something that costs double the price.

My experience:
It doesn't look as fancy as other portable amp with metal case, is more like a plastic case to me. But it has all the feature i listed above + USB dac (in Lyrix Pro USB Total model), which is even more convenient when i plug it into my laptop and take it for a trip. It also has the opamp rolling inside.
Sound is absolutely better than i thought, punchy and detail. Bass is so-so (personally not a basshead), good soundstage. (obviously can find better at higher price). Quiet without noise.
I had the AKG k701, haven't had problem driving it (may not be full potential, but not intend to bring k701 on a trip either), so it is quite powerful device to drive full size cans as well.
And i ordered it straight from headstage, cost slightly less than $200 delivered to my door (takes 7 business days to arrive from the day i placed my order).
Right now i only have about 30 hrs playing time on it, probably not fully burn-in yet, already liking it.
Hope it helps.

 

[LeftyGorilla]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wlow /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hoping to stay around 200$, although cheaper would be wonderful

In that price range you should consider the go-vibe magnum and the iBasso d2 Boa.

I can't speak to synergy with your gear, but the Boa is very light and I carry it around in my pocket all the time.

But, what you should know about me, is that I have never cut the head off a toothbrush for any reason.

 

[JMCIII]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joay /img/forum/go_quote.gif Anyone else want to chime in?

Yep. Glad to.

My choice would be the Headroom Total Bithead. 40 hours off one set of batteries, lightweight, and via the supplied velco tabs connecting the iPod to the TBH is a breeze (and holds very tight too). Excellent sound (use it myself with the exact same setup).

Just my (adjusted for inflation) $2.

 

[monolith]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMCIII /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yep. Glad to. My choice would be the Headroom Total Bithead. 40 hours off one set of batteries, lightweight, and via the supplied velco tabs connecting the iPod to the TBH is a breeze (and holds very tight too). Excellent sound (use it myself with the exact same setup). Just my (adjusted for inflation) $2.

Forgive me, but have you heard many portable amps? I can't help but notice that you recommend the Bithead pretty much everywhere you post? Does it sound so good in relation to other amps that it's worth carrying around despite its terrible, terrible design?

 

[robojack]

Agreed, the Bithead's design is anything but suitable for portable use.

X2 on the Tomahawk, however. I own both a Tomahawk and a Predator, but I can't bring myself to selling the Tomahawk, it's just too convenient, and the battery life is too insane.

 

[Wlow]

Ended up picking a used Tomahawk on these forums, than you guys very much