[kramer5150]

ALL my cans benefeit from amplification.... even my V6, Grados and e2c. All are highly sensitive cans. The dynamics and transient response increases by a significant and noticeable amount.

Theres also the added coloration provided from the amp, that further tweeks the sound.

IMHO the PA2V2 is a warm and bass heavy circuit that spits out a good amount of current. So with low impedence cans it can be a very significant improvement.

 

[Asr]

Though I haven't heard the PA2V2, I have read its proponents all say that it warms up the mids and adds impact to the mid-bass, so what you heard was probably a result of the amp's colorations, rather than a general amplifier effect. Which can be synergistic with the ATH-Axx cans of course.

 

[Lisa]

Yesterday I was listening to an old sony pcdp and HD25s. When I connect a MINT to the line-out instead of listening to headphone out there is more and better bass and the details and clearity over the whole frequency range is better. The HD25s aren't supposed to benefit from amping much and some say not at all. I used to think an budget amp like a MINT wasn't worth it with headphones that sound good already out of the headphone out but this is not the case with the old sony pcdp. (Headphone out sound pretty good and goes really loud, 2X15mW I believe.) I guess my iriver that I normally use just happens to have a really good headphone out.
Seems to me that you can't just say if a headphone does or doesn't benifit from amping. It all depends on what source, what amp and which headphones you're using and what combination of the three.

 

[gremlin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 IMHO the PA2V2 is a warm and bass heavy circuit that spits out a good amount of current. So with low impedence cans it can be a very significant improvement.

Exactly, Gary says on his site that the amp has a very low noise floor with high current output. Perfect for low impedance cans. With those kind of specs, I would expect that it wouldn't do as well with high impedance headphones, all though I've never heard the results.

 

[penguindude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gremlin Exactly, Gary says on his site that the amp has a very low noise floor with high current output. Perfect for low impedance cans. With those kind of specs, I would expect that it wouldn't do as well with high impedance headphones, all though I've never heard the results.

You're right. The 60ohms A500 i tried benefited a lot from the PA2V2. However, the 120ohms HV/1 did not change much.

 

[Ahriman4891]

penguindude, thanks for your impressions! Just to clarify something:

Quote:

Originally Posted by penguindude And then The sound signature of the A500 was very much improved. The lack of mids which I previously wrote about became much more evident in the amped version

Isn't that bad? The lack of mids being more evident?

but later you say: Quote:

unamped lacked mids, laid back, cold, and “shallow,” whereas amped sounded much more forward, warmer, and engaging

So I assume LACK of mids is actually LESS evident when amped? As in "mids became more evident, as opposed to lacking when unamped"?

 

[penguindude]

Yup, that's what i meant. Sorry for the confusion!

 

[Ahriman4891]

Thanks!

My findings with A900LTDs mirror yours. Underamped (out of soundcard) they sounded brittle and coarse. Amped--smooth, balanced, coherent, no problems with the mids.

Could it be that the A-series are just extremely current-hungry, and somehow mids are affected the most when underamped? (whether due to driver peculiarities or resonance factors) OTOH, I am sure some people would find the mids lacking even with amplification.

 

[NotJeffBuckley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gremlin Exactly, Gary says on his site that the amp has a very low noise floor with high current output. Perfect for low impedance cans. With those kind of specs, I would expect that it wouldn't do as well with high impedance headphones, all though I've never heard the results.

They run Sennheiser's HD650s remarkably well for such a high impedance pair of headphones, but I think that's largely due to their high sensivity. Definite distortion at higher volumes, but at perfectly listenable levels (85-90db peaks) it does great and runs for a long time. It's my travel amplifier.

You'll need more juice to get them over the hump in volume, though.

 

[mattg3]

My PA2V2 works great with my dt990 pro(250 ohms)but is even better with my ksc-75

 

[zyxwvutsr]

After trying my a500s with a pa2v2, I second penguindude's findings.
The treble becomes warmer, the mids become more pronounced and the presentation is pushed forward a bit. The mid-bass also gets a little bump (a little more detail in this range).
Note well that these changes are all very slight, may not be worth $50 for people just entering the head-fi world.

 

[manchau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ahriman4891 Thanks! My findings with A900LTDs mirror yours. Underamped (out of soundcard) they sounded brittle and coarse. Amped--smooth, balanced, coherent, no problems with the mids. Could it be that the A-series are just extremely current-hungry, and somehow mids are affected the most when underamped? (whether due to driver peculiarities or resonance factors) OTOH, I am sure some people would find the mids lacking even with amplification.

A900LTD's are benifiting morethen A500's as I experienced.

When I checked A500's I didn't hear any greater advantage in mids though. But they got slight better extensions in mids and more weight on bass without change of quality. While A900LTD change overall quality of bass and mids including weight and extentions when amped.

 

[EscaBoi]

really Manchau? I remember at the Toronto meet someone brought A900LTD's. I first tried them amped with the SR-71 and they sounded pretty bad I must say. After listening to them ampless, they sounded just like they should have...but then again, i'm listening to my A900's with the PA2V2 and like everyone here, I do hear a slight increase in certain areas.

 

[)v(ajin_R_]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EscaBoi really Manchau? I remember at the Toronto meet someone brought A900LTD's. I first tried them amped with the SR-71 and they sounded pretty bad I must say. After listening to them ampless, they sounded just like they should have...but then again, i'm listening to my A900's with the PA2V2 and like everyone here, I do hear a slight increase in certain areas.

I'm not completely sure about this, but i think you have to find the right source to match the LTD's with, which could be difficult... The only thing I can say based on experience is that when I connect mine my primary listening rig (see sig) there is quite a significant and noticeable improvement in the sound quality compared to my soundcard.

 

[EscaBoi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by )v(ajin_R_ I'm not completely sure about this, but i think you have to find the right source to match the LTD's with, which could be difficult... The only thing I can say based on experience is that when I connect mine my primary listening rig (see sig) there is quite a significant and noticeable improvement in the sound quality compared to my soundcard.

i think you're right on that one, because there's no way that the LTD's could sound worse than the regular A900's while amped.