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Whats an amp and what does it do?

Oct 31, 2006 at 1:25 AM Post #2 of 16
headphones can demand more power, faster than regular outputs are capable of giving. the voltage swings, the purity of the ac/dc conversion, and the circut (controls the volume) can have all kinds of affects on what is produced at the end of the headphone chain. for example-the circut inside the ipod, sucks, the large amplifier known as a singlepower SDS-XLR is much better.
 
Oct 31, 2006 at 1:28 AM Post #3 of 16
in Head-Fi term, an amp is the black hole where money burns.....J/K.







Seriously, the basic use of an amp is to amplify sound frequencies. Some use them to simply raise the volume, some to make them sounds fuller and some to enhance or add colorations to the sound. Why the need for them in the first place? well, some headphones are harder to drive than most and the "built-in" amplifier for the source is not strong enough to spill them out. So hook on an external amp and problem solved......my 2 cents
 
Oct 31, 2006 at 1:29 AM Post #4 of 16
kk thnx...so if i was listening through my computer with a xfi sound card i wouldnt require an amp but if i was listening through my ipod i would?
 
Oct 31, 2006 at 1:40 AM Post #5 of 16
Where is that newbee 101 stickey when they need it??????? & ?



/What's a DAC again????
 
Oct 31, 2006 at 1:55 AM Post #7 of 16
Yes, and there are alot of very good pointed questions which we all have although, the basic ones should be done with the search function in the right upper corner of each page... There is a very good thread, which can be accessed with the search term: " Newbee questions', which it was suggested, that thread should be made a "sticky" for all of our convience. Then, after alot of reading and searching, a few refined and pointed questions are interesting to all of us....

Oh and, welcome aboard, and have fun!

/sorry 'bout the wallet ;-}
 
Oct 31, 2006 at 3:01 AM Post #8 of 16
on a basic level an amplifier "amplifies". It increases amplitude, it is merely "wire with gain".

INPUT => BOOST => OUTPUT

In the real world however its MUCH more complex than that. An amp adds current and voltage reserves to increase dynamics.... not merely volume boost.

In many cases the amp is used to ATTENUATE the signal and present an ideal impedence load to your source. Plugging your cans straight into a line-output many times is ear-bleedingly loud. While this can be done, the headphones will present an un-optimal impedence load to the source, that fluctuates. So, something is needed after the source to alleviate these issues.

Amps can also color and EQ (GASP!!) the sound. OP amp and tube rolling is a popular method to tweek the synnergy between the amp, cans and source. Some amps also have treble/bass EQ, crossfeed, and multiple source inputs... so they can serve preamp duties as well.

USB amps are gaining popularity as well, so they serve dual roles as USB soundcards with DACs built-in.

want more?.....

Some tube amps also have speaker outputs. EL84 based, ~8 watt tube amps are somewhat common. I always thought it'd be COOL to have a small speaker amp and headphone amp all in one... to push a K1000 and a Grado (for example) out of the same amp.

Ive been in the presence of tube amps that get warm enough to heat a small apartment and roast marshmellows.

Tube amps look SWEET at night. Its so relaxing and theraputic to sit in a dim room, lit only by glowing firebottles and power LEDs. People (including me) always talk about "tube warmth", "tube tone"...etc... I'm willing to bet at least a small part of that it is psycho-acoustics at work.

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Oct 31, 2006 at 11:42 AM Post #9 of 16
ah thnx i understand
smily_headphones1.gif


so a soundcard would have its own amp in it? and an ipod has its own amp aswell? and amps dont produce the sound like a soundcard they just enhance the quality?
 
Oct 31, 2006 at 12:41 PM Post #10 of 16
Yes your soundcard will have an amp on it just as your ipod has one built in too.

One of the reasons for the many different & expensive amps seen here is that the basics of an amp can be as little as a few pence worth of components.

Your ipod for example has a DAC (Digital to Analog Convertor) which feeds the amp that in turn feeds the earbuds. All shoe-horned in using mass-market components built to a budget.

If you take budget out of the equation then you could have a higher-spec/higher cost DAC & Amp (and of course earphones).**

Scale this up to hi-fi equipment and you'll see the same sort of choices being made here. Such as using an average CD/DVD player connected to a decent DAC feeding a decent headphone amp and some reasonable headphones.

Sorry you won't find a standard setup we all agree on as being the best though - you will find some heated but hopefully friendly discussions on various gear.

Steve


** Note you cannot use a dac with an ipod as it has no digital out.
 
Oct 31, 2006 at 6:00 PM Post #14 of 16
Quote:

Originally Posted by spaceconvoy
If you want to learn, do a search first before asking basic questions.

Answer: An amp amps things.


That is one thing forums are good for. Besides, you don't have to answer.
 
Oct 31, 2006 at 6:30 PM Post #15 of 16
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