[Ranguvar]

Firstly, thanks for taking the time to read this.
I've lurked here a decent bit before, used the reviews to decide on a ViSang R03 / Brainwavz M2 before, and liked it a lot.
I just received a free Meelectronics CC-51P, and I do enjoy it already, but it is quite a lot quieter than my old IEMs, a bit too quiet.
Maximum volume is usually about where I'd like it on average, but I can't crank it up any more when I need more power, whereas the R03/M2 could have me satisfied at about 60% volume or so.

My options as I see them are:
- Amplifier?
- Add a boost when applying album ReplayGain when converting from FLAC to MP3 for the Droid
- Use a volume booster app on my Droid

I'm guessing that's roughly the order of quality, too.

I've usually heard of amplifiers being to increase _quality_ of the sound, but can they make the sound louder too?
Are there any small, cheap amps with long battery life that are worth considering?
I'm also checking Google, etc., but I'd really appreciate some help with this.

Any other suggestions to increase volume?
I've already tried finding a better fit for the tips (may try foam tips), but they're locked in pretty well.

 

[Ranguvar]

Couldn't find a rule against bumping, so, bumping (just let me know if this is wrong).

Thanks for any help!

 

[jaqueh]

the impedance is low, but i do notice that they are still somewhat power hungry, the problem i notice mainly is that the midrange is really recessed, which gives the impression that the headphones are a lot quieter than they actually are.

 

[Ranguvar]

Could you please explain what you mean by quieter than they actually are?  And any ideas to improve it?

 

[Ranguvar]

Going to bump again, sorry.

 

[jaqueh]

well theres nothing really you can do since it is the nature of the headphones. you can try to amp them, or you can eq the midrange up a little, but you would have to adjust the preamp to compensate and it would end up not doing anything

 

[Ranguvar]

Are there any amps cheap and portable enough to just boost the volume?
I don't need to spend a lot for extra quality, I just want volume, hopefully that brings the price down.

 

[jaqueh]

this is crazy cheap: http://www.amazon.com/Fiio-E3-BK-E3-Headphone-Amp/dp/B001MPWMDA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323664395&sr=8-1 , but i dont know will just amplify the hiss on electronic devices or actually make them louder. besides, my ears hurt after i listen to music on the cc51s on 100% through my iphone after like 5mins.

 

[djvkool]

Quote:

Are there any amps cheap and portable enough to just boost the volume?
I don't need to spend a lot for extra quality, I just want volume, hopefully that brings the price down.

Fiio E3 would be the cheapest, I own CC51 too and yes, it works best when amped, without amp, even if I turn up the volume to max, it's not as loud.
 
Be carefull with the bass boost though, I use the bass EQ with E11 on CC51 and the sound distort a bit, so I think the best one to use would be E3