What's The Best Portable Headphone Amp?????
Jul 17, 2011 at 9:01 PM Post #16 of 47
these posts which do not include a budget, the headphone, or the source are incredibly annoying... 
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Jul 17, 2011 at 11:35 PM Post #17 of 47
I know nothing about amps, so any advice would be good, even if it's 'you dont need an amp'.
 
- ~$100US (push it to $150 if needs be)
-Audio Technica A900 (closed not open, people seem to mix them up a bit around here)
-Meizu Mini Player (got in 2007, so i bit old now. Better sound output compared to my flatmates ipods to my ears. 1 touch, and a couple of older classic models)
-Heavy metal (Love heavy punchy bass as long as it doesnt drown out the mid and high clarity)
-Portability is important as my rig is used 90% out of the house/away from a desk.
 
Cheers
 
Jul 18, 2011 at 12:13 AM Post #18 of 47
ER, I had the A500, the A900's little brother, and those cans will run fine straight from a DAP/CDP or whatever. An amp might give you a little more punch in the bass, but be careful : cheap amps can be a very blunt instrument in terms of the way they handle bass.
 
Its also dangerous for me to recommend kit I havent heard, but this gadget is currently gathering a horde of admirers here and elsewhere:
 
http://anythingbutipod.com/2011/06/digizoid-zo-portable-subwoofer-review/
 
I like two things about the ZO:
- its within your stated budget
- it caters to the very thing many newbie HeadFiers crave - bass slam
 
If I have a concern, its simply that the ZO combined with phones like the A900 might be too much of a good thing, but it reportedly have several bass increments ranging from 'barely noticeable' to 'OMG - get me outta here !'. We look forward to your impressions, particularly your impression of closed cans on the latter setting  :wink: 
 
Jul 18, 2011 at 12:00 PM Post #19 of 47
Well, I don't know if these amps would be considered "the best' but all 3 are very good little amps.
 
The iBasso T3 ($120 USD) is a very small, very clean amp that will not color the sound of your player -- it will make everything sound tighter and cleaner, but not really more bass or treble.  (The older T4 model, hard to find, has a bass boost on it -- small bass boost).
 
The new Fiio E11 ($70)  is also very clean (based on reveiws, I haven't heard it) and very powerful.  Lot's of reviews about it can be read here on head-fi.org.
 
The SoundMagic A10 ($70) is about the same size as your Meizu player, but it is a warmer, more musical sounding amp, and it has a bass boost that boosts around the 100hz range -- not the deepest bass, but enough emphasis to know it's more bass.  One thing to get used to this amp:  there is not on/off switch -- as long as a plug is in the input, the amp is on.  If you leave phones plugged into it, it will drain the battery on you.   Just unplug your headphones, that's all.
 
Depending on what type of sound re-inforcement you want, any of these amps will fit your bill.
 
Jul 18, 2011 at 5:34 PM Post #20 of 47
My A900s are replacing my A500s, and my only gripe with the really (other than the horrible looking head rest) A500s was the lack of punchy bass. The bass is pretty **** clear when the file being played is quality, but it is too easily...left in the background. Which is not ideal when im trying to listen to A) Bass heavy music, and B) Aggressive music. I see in most of the reviews ive read that the A900s dont really improve much in this area over the A500s. So, i thought maybe an amp would be the way to go.
 
A lot of the time the bass guitar or tuned down 7/8 string guitar is the lead instument in a song and when I have to cut the the mids and highs back just so the bass stands out it is a bit dissapointing. Same thing happens wiht music that is heavy on the bassdrum. The thing with my music with 7/8 sting guitar is that although it gets really low and heavy they still use a lot of the higer notes, blending it all together. I just want the bass to actually be able to compete with the rest of the sound range.
 
I used to have a Sansa Fuze (not Rockboxed, was the wrong model unfortunately), which has really nice mids and highs put failed to produce punchy bass at all. It was super clear, clearer than the Meizu Mini Player (which I had before the Sansa, and i have since come back to) but yeah. Lacked the kick.

When i listent to jazz/lounge/classical music however my current A500/Meizu setup is excellent.
 
Aug 3, 2011 at 1:05 PM Post #21 of 47
headphones - D1100
budget - 300$ (thinking of the new arrow 4G) this budget is kinda high for my headphone but i just want to buy a good amp that i can use even when i change my headphone.
source - iphone
i use em at home or travelling, but looking for a portable amp. also would like to state that i had a CmoyBB and i did not like how it sounded with the D1100.
any recommendations ? 
 
Aug 4, 2011 at 1:10 PM Post #23 of 47
You have lots of options... do you want a dac as well or just an amp? Do you want to be able to roll opamps?
 
Aug 4, 2011 at 4:09 PM Post #24 of 47
just an amp would be fine. but can I also get a good dac/amp combo for my budget? as i said before i need something that i will still be able to still use when i upgrade my d1100 next year or so.
 
Aug 4, 2011 at 7:14 PM Post #25 of 47
There are several offerings from FiiO, iBasso and Leckerton that you can look into that are dac/amps all within your budget. 
 
Aug 5, 2011 at 12:07 PM Post #27 of 47
Arrow 4g (long wait time, you'd have more luck buying a used one off the forums)
Pico Slim
FiiO E11
iBasso T3 or T4
Soundmagic A10
any number of Cmoys
PA2v2
HotAudio Thunderbolt
 
The top four are your smallest options. For a really small dac/amp, there's the iBasso D2+, FiiO E7 and Leckerton UHA-4.
 
Aug 5, 2011 at 12:44 PM Post #28 of 47
ah i really want an arrow 4G but im scared of the MONTHS of waiting time :/ i guess ill go for the 4G or pico slim because i want to spend my money and get the best i can because my next upgrade will probably be a good headphone and i dont want to spend more money on getting another amp. thanks for all the help.
 
now i have to decide between a more expensive pico slim or a cheaper 4G arrow with a longer wait time. sigh.
 
Aug 5, 2011 at 4:37 PM Post #29 of 47
What headphones do you want to drive? I've heard both and prefer the sound of the Slim (which is also slightly smaller), but the Arrow has more options and more power for bigger cans. For iems I would give the nod to the Slim.
 
Aug 5, 2011 at 5:51 PM Post #30 of 47
well i currently have the denon d1100 and i really like the denon sound so my next step up would probably be a D5000. what tempts me on the 4g is the treble boost, no need for bass boost for denons, definately not for my d1100 lol. also like the ability to upgrade the arrow for a low cost when new versions are released. but the size and looks for the pico slim are definately an advantage
 
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