[tang]

My current headphones are all Grado ones and my amp is RA1. But I am thinking about buying one in ear headphone, maybe IE7 or IE8. Howeve, I don't have the budget to buy a new amp for it. So I'd like to know if anyone tried this combination before? And the performance of IE7 and IE8 without amp. My source is KECES da151 and Marantz CD5001. Thanks a lot

 

[Ed Seedhouse]

The IE8's are sensitive enough and their impedance is low enough to not really need an amplifier with my iPod classic, which will deliver more loudness than I can stand with this combination.

With my PXC450's I often use a head amp, but there's no need with the IE8's.

 

[[benz]]

I suggest you give them a try first. IMHO, usually Sennheiser users don't like Grado and vice versa because their sound signature is so different.

 

[elnero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed Seedhouse /img/forum/go_quote.gif The IE8's are sensitive enough and their impedance is low enough to not really need an amplifier with my iPod classic, which will deliver more loudness than I can stand with this combination

It's not about loudness it's about quality of amplification, in the case you're talking about, which seems to have nothing to do with what the OP is talking about by the way, the headamps in most DAP's are just fair at best, adding a decent quality external amplifier can provide an increase in the quality of sound reproduction not just provide more loudness.

In the case of the OP he's not asking about using the IEM's with an iPod, he's asking about using them with standalone, stationary sources and amps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tang /img/forum/go_quote.gif My current headphones are all Grado ones and my amp is RA1. But I am thinking about buying one in ear headphone, maybe IE7 or IE8. Howeve, I don't have the budget to buy a new amp for it. So I'd like to know if anyone tried this combination before? And the performance of IE7 and IE8 without amp. My source is KECES da151 and Marantz CD5001. Thanks a lot

The IE8's are fairly sensitive, lower impedance phones so they're going to pick up noise if present. Unfortunately the RA1 is not the cleanest amp and from what I remember even had a bit of noise present with RS-1's so even though I haven't tried the combo you're speaking of an educated guess would be that the RA1 is going to be too noisy for use with IEM's that sensitive.

Don't get me wrong though, I've always quite like the RA1 with RS-1's as a budget solution, there's a nice synergy there (I'm not sure how it performs with other Grado's as I haven't heard it with anything other than RS-1's.) I just highly doubt it's suitability with IEM's. The only way to be totally sure though would be to try it yourself, I'd recommend going used as you'll take less of a loss if it doesn't work out.

 

[Ed Seedhouse]

Quote:

Originally Posted by elnero /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's not about loudness it's about quality of amplification, in the case you're talking about,

I've read the OP and see nothing in it to support your interpretation over mine.

In any event it's hard to see how putting the output of a mediocre amp through a good one would leave the sound other than mediocre. The sound can only be as good as the weakest link, which is almost always the transducer, in this case the headphones.

The cheap amp in, say, an iPod, still puts out a far better signal than any headphone can pass no matter how good it is. Amplifier design is not a mystical art and it's been known since the 1950s what is required for transparency. These days even the cheapest op amp largely achieves that if it has enough voltage to drive the impedance of the attached headphone.