[BigBoy97]

first off, i'm a complete amp newbie, so please use laymans terms so i can follow along, thanks . i am looking for a portable amp to use with Zen Micro, along with my SR60's, and found a couple CMoy amps on EBay that i was looking at. one has a volume knob, claiming that "An amp without a volume control is rather pointless and will generate more noise in the signal"

the other i found does not include a volume control knob, saying that "Any unnecessary introductions into the signal path will degrade sound, not clean it up. Most available controls do not live up to expectations in an audiophile quality amp. So to avoid scratchy sounding audio, I leave a volume control out. Normally a control should not be needed as your player has one and that's the most convenient place to regulate input volume along with everything else"

so concering this issue, what is the word on the HeadFi forum? i'd be very interested in knowing, as i want to make the best purchase. thanks for the input everyone :-D

 

[Nerull]

I'd get the one with the volume knob. What if the sound is too high or low for you from the other one? That would drive me nuts!
You could always trust your ears and buy both

, but perhaps you don't have the budget for that...
I'd definately stick to the volume knob one. And I would also look for low gain as you're using Grado headphones. (Gain between 1 and 6 maybe?) Perhaps you should give us a link, and we'll see about either of them.
And of course, welcome to head-fi!
Prepare your wallet for the worst, my surely has suffered since joining.

~Tom

 

[shimage]

Ideally you want one, and only one, volume control in the system. And one surmises that the quality of the pot is important since there are a sizable number of people here that swear by >= $180 stepped attenuators. That said, I doubt you will hear a quality drop, if the pot is sufficiently un-crappy. In short, I don't think it really matters, although personally, I'd rather have a volume control (provided it doesn't suck).

edit: ah, complete newbie. Right. So "pot" is short for potentiometer, which is the "volume knob". It attenuates the input signal, i.e. makes it softer. A "stepped attenuator" uses discrete resistors, so the volume levels are "stepped" (that is to say, not continuous).

 

[ricksome]

Go for the volume knob in case you want to use a line out in the future. Line Out is signal with no volume control. Welcome to Head-Fi...Keep an eye on your wallet....Rick

 

[replytoken]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ricksome Go for the volume knob in case you want to use a line out in the future. Line Out is signal with no volume control. Welcome to Head-Fi...Keep an eye on your wallet....Rick

Very good advice. And if the volume control is no good, find a better amp. You have many choices at many price points. Good used stuff comes up quite often on the boards here at Head-Fi. Oh, sorry to hear about your wallet!