[Dobrescu George]

i still cannot get a gripe on what an amp does, i know how it sounds, but why, i still do not know.

 

[Stratos24]

Another benefit of using the LO with a portable amplifier is that because the X5 internal amplifier is bypassed the battery on the X5 lasts much longer.  Once my Cayin C5 amp battery runs out I switch to the HO and continue listening for hours more.  Gets me thorough the whole day at work with juice to spare.

 

[Koolpep]

  Another benefit of using the LO with a portable amplifier is that because the X5 internal amplifier is bypassed the battery on the X5 lasts much longer.  Once my Cayin C5 amp battery runs out I switch to the HO and continue listening for hours more.  Gets me thorough the whole day at work with juice to spare.

Indeed. I am doing exactly the same with my X5 & C5 combo. The only gripe I have with the C5 is the battery life. Wish it would be better, however with 880mW at 32 Ohm per channel, I doubt it can be achieved
 
Cheers,
K

 

[CH23]

Really the name "amplifier" isn't the best name for such a device.

"Active volume/power controller" would be better

 

[x RELIC x]

Another benefit of using the LO with a portable amplifier is that because the X5 internal amplifier is bypassed the battery on the X5 lasts much longer.  Once my Cayin C5 amp battery runs out I switch to the HO and continue listening for hours more.  Gets me thorough the whole day at work with juice to spare.

+1

Around 20 hours using line out to e12.

Around 30 hours using coaxial out to HA-1.

 

[uzi2]

I share the same results when using external ampps and dacs, but one thing I've found that has a considerable battery drain is the use of an OTG source. The OTG thumbdrive gets quite hot in use.

 

[Dobrescu George]

people, can someone point me to the basics of what the amp does? i read on wikipedia, but i cannot understand. 
 
I can understand, i am an engeneer, and i work a lot with computers, it is just that i cannot understand what exactly each one outputs, and why are they different at all.

 

[x RELIC x]

people, can someone point me to the basics of what the amp does? i read on wikipedia, but i cannot understand. 

I can understand, i am an engeneer, and i work a lot with computers, it is just that i cannot understand what exactly each one outputs, and why are they different at all.

Skerry, you might get more success and in depth responses in the sound science forums.

 

[Chris J]

people, can someone point me to the basics of what the amp does? i read on wikipedia, but i cannot understand. 

I can understand, i am an engeneer, and i work a lot with computers, it is just that i cannot understand what exactly each one outputs, and why are they different at all.

Basically an amplifier is a group if resistors, transistors and capacitors. Purpose is to amplify, or increase the signal strength, of a signal.
Typical chain of components in a device like the X5 is:

DAC chip >>> analog anti aliasing filter >>> Line Amplifier >>> volume control >>> headphone amplifier.

There are two main differences between the Line Amplifier and the Headphone:
- The Headphone Amplfier can provide more output current than the Line Amplifier to drive headphones
- the Headphone Amplifier will have a much lower output impedance than the Line Amplifier
other than that they are virtually identical

Skerry, you might get more success and in depth responses in the sound science forums.

Science Forum is a wasteland of amateur psychologists arguing that everything sounds the same, and if they don't it's placebo. :rolleyes:
If you don't believe all amplfiers sounds the same you are kicked out of the gang and beaten up! :rolleyes:
They worship The Gods Of ABX.

Comedy alert:
If only they knew what The All Father Wotan has in store for them in Valhalla... hahahahaha!
Yes, I do watch the TV show "Vikings".

 

[x RELIC x]

[snip..........]
Science Forum is a wasteland of amateur psychologists arguing that everything sounds the same, and if they don't it's placebo. :rolleyes:
If you don't believe all amplfiers sounds the same you are kicked out of the gang and beaten up! :rolleyes:
They worship The Gods Of ABX.

Comedy alert:
If only they knew what The All Father Wotan has in store for them in Valhalla... hahahahaha!
Yes, I do watch the TV show "Vikings".

Now I feel bad for suggesting it. I took a gander over there and whooee :eek: you're right. Backs away slowly......

 

[JaZZ]

Chris J (if you're reading this): I agree with you!

 

[adventurer 2015]

Hi, so why does the amplifier need a battery?! Sorry, but isn't it possible to bring along only one charger - of the phone itself?! And amp to use the battery of the phone?

 

[Dobrescu George]

  Hi, so why does the amplifier need a battery?! Sorry, but isn't it possible to bring along only one charger - of the phone itself?! And amp to use the battery of the phone?

well, external amps cannot be purely powered by line out, because as i get a grip on it, this is what they do, add power.
 
now, things are pretty clear, i had taken my walk around science forums, and i do not agree that all amps sound the same, i had enough listening with different equipment, from 30$ to 5000$ to know that different amps, DACs and other equipment sound different..
 
i was curious why something like e12a adds so much to the sound, while i was curious what was the difference between line out and headphone out, in the sense, that except for volume control, they seemed like doing the same thing, but now i understand that un-amplified signal does not carry lots of electrons, but carries their movement clearly... poower amps should add electrons to the thing.

 

[Brooko]

Science Forum is a wasteland of amateur psychologists arguing that everything sounds the same, and if they don't it's placebo.

If you don't believe all amplfiers sounds the same you are kicked out of the gang and beaten up!

They worship The Gods Of ABX.

 
I was going to let this pass - but seeing as we all have opinions, I'll give you mine.  Sound Science can actually be very informative.  The problem is that you often get two groups who are very loud and try to drown each other out - and conversations often denigrate to a battle of egos.  The first are the sometimes misinformed objectivists who frequent there often.  The second (worse group IMO) are the subjectivists who go over there looking for an argument rather than trying to have a meaningful discussion.
 
There is a lot of real truth in that forum, but unfortunately you often have to wade through the BS and egos on both sides to get to it.
 
And there is nothing wrong with ABX Chris - its simply a tool to eliminate bias.  If more people were open to using it in a controlled manner, there would be far less urban myth used in audio circles.
 
My 2c.
 
Back to the X5

 

[headwhacker]

An ampflier only does one primary function, amplify a voltage signal so it can provide required volume and power to drive a load (headphone). It usually has 2 stages the gain stage and the ouput stage. The gain stage amplifies the voltage signal and the output stage provides the current needed to power different headphone loads.
 
How it sound is an interaction of different factors. e.g. load impedance, output impedance, noise/distortion it adds to the orginal signal and gain.
 
The line out is is the analog output from the DAC with an I/V (current to voltage) converter in front. It has high output impedance and meant to be connected to amplifiers which present itself as a very high load. 
 
You can plug your headphones directly to Line Out but it's not recommended for the following reasons.
 
1. High output impedance creates a very low damping factor which alters the frequency response of most headphones especially iems using balanced armature transducers.
 
2. It has very limited output power and cannot deliver enough power to drive most headphones.
 
The amplifier solves both problems and is the closest thing to the actual signal than what you are getting directly from Line Out.
 
If all factors mentioned above are equal with very low distortion/noise and enough power for a given headphone it's not impossible to think that amplifier may sound the same.