[sburgoon]

Hopefully this will be my last question on this subject, though I will say, I've been learning a lot from reading the various forum posts. I think I actually know what I'm asking now, which is a step up from before.

Here goes...

I am looking into getting a dedicated headphone amp, my question is, at what level should I start, assuming I want to spend as little money as possible while ending up with a noticable (to a reasonable person... well... reasonable head-fier) difference. My current rig is an emu 0404 outputing to a home theater reciever (I have a cheap sony and sherwood, using the sherwood since it seems to do a slightly better job) and then a pair of HD600's.

My concern is, which level of amp is actually an improvement over an average home theater reciever? I get the impression that a cmoy and other small portable amps may not be. What about a PIMETA? Or would I be better off waiting for a while and getting a PPA or Gilmore?

Anyway, I'm not looking for perfection, and I'm not looking to break the bank just for fun. However, I also don't want to spend $150-200 and find out that it isn't much different than what I've already been using, in that case I'd rather save for something better. Any feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Kirosia]

Wait for the good stuff, go for broke yada yada. Amps like the gilmore/PPA/others have good resale values, just in case you don't like em. The improvement you'll notice depends on how good your source and current receiver are. I'm not a soundcard guy, so I don't know how the emu scales. And if you're receiver is somehow really friggin' good, it may be hard to top. Could be no jump, little jump, or big jump. I'ds ay probably the latter two.

 

[n_maher]

I can only speak about what I have direct experience with, but thankfully for you it's all with a set of HD600s

. So far I've used them unamped (no thank you), with a basic Cmoy (nice step up from no amp), with a maxed out MINT (even better than the Cmoy) and just recently with a maxed out PIMETA. The PIMETA simply kicks the pants off of everything else I've tried. No surprise given that it's the most expensive of the 4 options but I honestly was floored by the difference between it and the MINT. I would not suggest getting a portable PIMETA as from what I've read it's sound is pretty similar to a MINT as you're not taking advantage of what the amp can do. Also, I'd suggest getting an amp that can be both wall powered as well as batteries as a higher-spec PIMETA is going to chew through batteries but I like options.

And given your budget you might not be able to get a maxed out PIMETA but you should be able to get a pretty nice one, maybe even with a power supply. Check the Mall-Fi section for DIYFS builders, there are some really talented folks there. Also, there are a couple of screaming deals on PIMETAs in the for sale section right now.

I don't think that you'll be disappointed with the difference a good amp will make. As always is best to try before you buy so see if you can locate another Head-fier in your region who you can hook up with. Or, order from one of the manufacturers like Headroom who have a very reasonable return policy. They, specifically Headroom, are also great about giving free advice, which you can never get enough of.

Hope that helps.

Nate