Powerful portable headphone amps
Aug 29, 2018 at 11:56 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 14
moby1974

moby1974

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Hi
Does anyone know of powerful portable headphone amps.

I want min 1w in to 70ohm, only ones I know of are.

Portaphile 627x, hard to find in UK
ifi idsd black, bit overkill half the stuff on it I don't need.
think Apex Glacier?

Its to run LCD2 (not ideal I know but need portable)

Thanks
 
Aug 29, 2018 at 2:29 PM Post #3 of 14
kukkurovaca said:
See last post on your other thread, heh https://www.head-fi.org/threads/any...werful-headphone-amp-1w.887026/#post-14436445

Where did you find the power spec on the Portaphile 627x, by the way?
Click to expand...

Just from main site and reviews, also helped that a reviewer used LCD2 with it.

I have seen others but they all seem to be years old, not made anymore, or in US and postage and import tax makes it silly.

The cloud nine seems to just about make it, but again new from states with postage and possible import tax, sends it above better stuff I can get in UK, not found a used one yet.
 
Aug 29, 2018 at 2:52 PM Post #5 of 14
moby1974 said:
Hi
Does anyone know of powerful portable headphone amps.

I want min 1w in to 70ohm, only ones I know of are.

Portaphile 627x, hard to find in UK
ifi idsd black, bit overkill half the stuff on it I don't need.
think Apex Glacier?

Its to run LCD2 (not ideal I know but need portable)

Thanks
Click to expand...
Hi. 1w to 70ohm is quite a statement in a portable amp. Check the Cayin C5, it does 1.6w@32ohm
 
Aug 29, 2018 at 3:27 PM Post #10 of 14
Although I do not have the LCD-2, keep in mind that the headphones can accommodate a high wattage, but do not really "need" 1W or more to be driven. Many people think you need that much power, but it isn't actually required for getting decent (or very loud) volume for most headphones.
That being said, for purely portable headphone amps, some other options are:

Headamp Pico Power

ALO Audio Continental V5

Oldies but goodies:
Ray Samuels Audio SR-71B Blackbird
Ray Samuels Audio F-35 Lighting

With my LCD-XC, the F-35 can be easily driven on low gain, when connected to one of my DAPs, or if I lower the volume, on medium gain, at the expense of having less fine volume adjustment. I suspect that if you don't like the soundstage of the LCD-2, the F-35 might not sound quite how you'd like. The older SR-71B, which is more powerful, has more of a laid back sound, from what I remember, but I don't have one anymore.

Can't comment on if you will like how they sound with your headphones, but the Pico Power for me is pretty neutral.
 
Last edited:
Aug 29, 2018 at 5:53 PM Post #11 of 14
@moby1974 Remember that power depends both on current and voltage. After reading the specs, the LCD2 has a sensitivity of 101dB/1mw and 70ohms impedance and I feel confident that the Cayin C5 can drive them. See, I have the AKG K7XX which has 105dB/1mw and 62ohms and the Mr. Speakers AEON Flow Open, which is 92dB/1mw and 13 ohms. The Cayin C5 drives them with ease, even on low gain. Furthermore, based on the Digizoid headphone power calculator (http://www.digizoid.com/headphones-power.html), you require the following:

AKG K7XX: 100 dB SPL 0.14 Vrms 2.26 mA 0.32 mW
LCD 2: 100 dB SPL 0.24 Vrms 3.43 mA 0.82 mW
AEON Flow Open: 100 dB SPL 0.29 Vrms 22.31 mA 6.47 mW

As can be seen, The AFO needs more current and voltage than the LCD 2. The Cayin C5 drives them with ease, so much that MrSpeakers' Dan Clark recommends it as a portable amplifier for the AFO.
 
Aug 29, 2018 at 6:07 PM Post #12 of 14
IkSak said:
@moby1974 Remember that power depends both on current and voltage. After reading the specs, the LCD2 has a sensitivity of 101dB/1mw and 70ohms impedance and I feel confident that the Cayin C5 can drive them. See, I have the AKG K7XX which has 105dB/1mw and 62ohms and the Mr. Speakers AEON Flow Open, which is 92dB/1mw and 13 ohms. The Cayin C5 drives them with ease, even on low gain. Furthermore, based on the Digizoid headphone power calculator (http://www.digizoid.com/headphones-power.html), you require the following:

AKG K7XX: 100 dB SPL 0.14 Vrms 2.26 mA 0.32 mW
LCD 2: 100 dB SPL 0.24 Vrms 3.43 mA 0.82 mW
AEON Flow Open: 100 dB SPL 0.29 Vrms 22.31 mA 6.47 mW

As can be seen, The AFO needs more current and voltage than the LCD 2. The Cayin C5 drives them with ease, so much that MrSpeakers' Dan Clark recommends it as a portable amplifier for the AFO.
Click to expand...


Good news, thanks for the breakdown, settles it really.
 
Aug 29, 2018 at 6:27 PM Post #13 of 14
It's never been clear to me why Audeze gives such a high recommended power for the LCD-2, out of proportion to its sensitivity specs.

But some folks do insist that that planars require more power to sound "best". Hence the folks who swear you have to hook up Fostex T50RPs (50ohm, 92dbl) to speaker taps or something like the Emotiva BasX A-100. I've been happy so far running mine from sources that are putting out more like 200mw give or take, but quite possibly I'm missing out.
 
Aug 29, 2018 at 6:58 PM Post #14 of 14
kukkurovaca said:
It's never been clear to me why Audeze gives such a high recommended power for the LCD-2, out of proportion to its sensitivity specs.

But some folks do insist that that planars require more power to sound "best". Hence the folks who swear you have to hook up Fostex T50RPs (50ohm, 92dbl) to speaker taps or something like the Emotiva BasX A-100. I've been happy so far running mine from sources that are putting out more like 200mw give or take, but quite possibly I'm missing out.
Click to expand...


They list it as 1w to 4w been ideal, and I have seen reviews where people say they where doing say 1.5/2w and claiming that the LCD2 came to life and blah blah.

I don't imagine its night and day, but you know how it is, its got me wondering now, is there more to be had from them with extra power.
 
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