[Justice Strike]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobMajor /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ms, these can be quite useful when living in relatively crowded environments. Many cities in Asia will be quite noisy due to the concentration of people. IEMs will block out extraneous noise and make the music listening more enjoyable.

I already have a IEM's (sa-6 and sa-1) i don't want another pair.

 

[glc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justice Strike /img/forum/go_quote.gif that's probably the best soution... but the problem is, the notebook i'm going to bring to asia is one i still have to buy. The one i have at the moment has really crappy sound. I could buy a usb dac or a ec soundcard... but that really is going to limit my choice when i buy a notebook so i really want to leave that till last.

Try looking at the iBasso D4. It'll let you bypass the sound card on your laptop and get you a decent amp at the same time all for a price you can't beat.

 

[qussl3]

Well if the OP is going to be asia for a year wouldnt it make more sense to pick up the phones after moving?

It is likely that the phones may be cheaper overseas and with local warranty it may be a better choice.

 

[Justice Strike]

well i'm leaving in less then half a year I think. so it's still pretty far off though and also i can get some tax deduction so the price cut will not be as extreme. (i think, need to check with the accountant).

 

[AmanGeorge]

I'm with the folks who say to get a Pico + something reasonably easy to drive. It's supposed to be an excellent DAC and a decent amp which should be sufficient for many headphones out there.

 

[Bat King]

Quote:

Originally Posted by userlander /img/forum/go_quote.gif Get MS-1s, great detail, and you can run them unamped, or with a portable dac/amp for added SQ and a little extra boost.

x2

There are plenty of high-quality low-impendance headphones that run fine without an amp. Grados do, including the RS-series (not sure about models above that). Same with Alessandros, including MS-PRO. And they can be driven pretty danged loud from my laptop audio out.

I have a pair of Sony CDR-900ST (63 ohm, if I remember right) which runs great unamped. I'd say at the least the MDR-SAxxxx would be driven at a reasonable level unamped, can't comment as to how good it would sound. I've tried ATH-AD700 and they run fine unamped too.

And if you're anything like me, you'll probably end up upgrading your audio rig once you move anyway. I've been living in Japan for two-odd years (planned for one....:-S), started off with Grado SR-80 and Koss Portapro (both unamped), but I couldn't resist buying more, and an amp, once I settled in here.

 

[baka1969]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justice Strike /img/forum/go_quote.gif is it any good with a mdr-sa3000/5000?

i'm sorry but I don't have experience with that headphone.

 

[Justice Strike]

i probably will need to get a mdr-sa3000 with a amp instead of the more expensive mdr-sa5000... decissions decissions.... i hate it when these things are so ambiguous. Why the hell did sony make these things so similar...

 

[Landis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justice Strike /img/forum/go_quote.gif i probably will need to get a mdr-sa3000 with a amp instead of the more expensive mdr-sa5000... decissions decissions.... i hate it when these things are so ambiguous. Why the hell did sony make these things so similar...

Well if you're a man of detail, it seems like you've found your can! I'm not familiar with the SA3000's efficiency, but I'd look into it to make sure your rig will be fine with running it. If you want to maintain those fine details then both the amp and source will be as important as one another.