[Jasonharkin]

Hey

I am looking for a portable amp for my Ipod and powerbook. The headphones i will be using are the HD650's. The amp just has to be reasonably small, dosen't matter if it is powered via an ac adapter as i will have access to a to a power supply. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Budget is $600, £300

 

[sclamb]

I tried my Porta Corda with my iPod and HD650/Zu combo a few weeks ago and it drove the 650s very well indeed. Surprisingly well for such a small pocket amp.

Simon

 

[PATB]

The SR-71 easily drives the HD650 using an iPod mini as a source. My transportable setup with an HD650 is as follows: 320K AAC=>iPod Mini=>(line out) pocketdock=>Earcandy mini-to-mini=>SR-71=>HD650. Sounds great to me.

BTW, you do not need the fancy Earcandy cable. A cheap, reasonably well built mini-to-mini cable works just as good.

 

[vienna]

I have to disagree with that statement. The eye-candy cable made a good amount of audible difference between the $20 mini to mini cable at headroom. The eye-candy cable truely was the cable I was using that made a difference ! I was a disbeliever until then.

And I ran a HD-650 , ipod 4th gen, and SR-71...actully I ran quite a bit more phones that just hte sens. But anyhow, just my opinoin !

 

[chumley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vienna I have to disagree with that statement. The eye-candy cable made a good amount of audible difference between the $20 mini to mini cable at headroom. The eye-candy cable truely was the cable I was using that made a difference ! I was a disbeliever until then. And I ran a HD-650 , ipod 4th gen, and SR-71...actully I ran quite a bit more phones that just hte sens. But anyhow, just my opinoin !

I agree. In my experience, with the Senn HD650s (and Alessandro MS-2s, Beyer DT880s, etc...), the SR-71 and my 4G iPod, using both the HeadRoom mini to mini cable (a $19.95 Plastics One, like the one that comes with the TAH, etc.), and the Earcandy mini to mini, I noticed a similar difference in results. It would seem to fit with the 'cables from source often matter most' rubric. The Earcandy's directional, and at first I didn't hear a difference. Once I noticed, genius that I am, the arrow on one endand swapped directions, * then * I heard a marked improvement...

Is it worth around 90 bucks to hear the difference? To me it is. But then, I shelled out for the 10' DiMarzio Big Red Headphone extension, which both makes my headphone extension totally transparent, and allows me to mountain-climb with it as well (it's around 3 pounds, 5/8" thick, has a braided fabric sheath and is very RED)... YMMV

 

[PATB]

I compared the Earcandy (BTW, I know it is directional) with a $30 job I got from Magnolia Hifi and couldn't tell the difference. I guess I don't have golden ears, thank goodness!

Before shelling out $100 for a cable, I would try a reasonably good one (JMT audio, for instance) first. I am not in the "cables don't make a difference" camp. As a matter of fact, I am thinking of getting a Zu mobius for my HD650. However, I maintain that to me, the Earcandy mini-to-mini is not worth the $100. YMMV.