[ucrags84]

Pardon me if this is miscategorized, I felt it should be targeted towards the wider IEM audience here.

Many IEMs are designed to be pretty darn sensitive, hence they can be driven easily by a portable. The noise isolation, and just the overall design of these things generally allows it to go louder.

I'm not saying there aren't exceptions, ports, vents, some open-backs. But, a good pair of what you would proudly call IEMs with a good seal, or customs are generally sensitive right? Most portables like the Clip+, iPods, etc. can drive them well. Tweaking tips, fit, and eq'ing can really affect the sound (+/-).

Please do not think I am trolling. This is curiosity, why are so many individuals buying amps for IEMs and all the other accessories? I've listened to IEMs with amps, and they sound a little better, but honestly IMO I feel like there's an element of group-think in this trend. Adding very expensive mini-to-minis, silver, and cryo-cables to portable rigs falls also puzzles me. Just because Silver is the most conductive element that doesn't = copper's failure. Silver is used in circuit applications, but it seems to bring diminishing returns when used in an audio cable given cost.

A semi-decent copper cable with some shielding can give a good path.

http://www.theaudiocritic.com/downloads/article_1.pdf


Do you guys think you'd be able to spot the difference with a blind listening test? Collecting high-end cables, and amps is cool, I'm just exploring the idea that these are functional luxuries so to speak.

 

[frenchbat]

I'm not sure what you're trying to achieve here : on one side you acknowledge that amping brings a benefit, and on the other you make a reference to a well known article (and a good one actually) that refutes the interest of exotic or expensive cables. Which side is the one you want to discuss about ? Is it the cables or the amping one ?

If it's the lack of interest of expensive cables, then it seems to me that you're likely to begin a flame war (I don't know if DBT subjects are allowed on this subforum). If not then pretty much everyone that tried amped IEM is likely to tell you that amping is actually bringing a benefit.

Edit : I'd like to add to my last sentence that even if pretty much everyone is gonna tell you that amping gives a benefit, I'm also almost sure that most of the people would also tell you that not all the IEM get the same benefit from amping.

 

[justanut]

Why dun u try amping an IEM (with a good pair of fones not Apple's! And with a respectable amp) and hear for youself? It's not all just about power and sensitivity. There's really not much point in discussing unless you've tried it yourself. And if you still can't hear a difference then I must congratulate u on saving hundreds or potentially thousands down the road..

 

[mark2410]

it depends, some really like an amping some dont really care

 

[Currawong]

The portable amp market definitely seems to be more about gear-fi than hi-fi. For the cost of some of these portable rigs I've seen people with on here you could buy a pair of JH-13s.

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong /img/forum/go_quote.gif The portable amp market definitely seems to be more about gear-fi than hi-fi. For the cost of some of these portable rigs I've seen people with on here you could buy a pair of JH-13s.

True. But on the other hand, how many who do own a pair of JH-13 keep themselves to only iPod shuffle or Sansa Clip+? 'Enough is enough' is never quite enough for many

 

[129207]

First, I apologize for my English grammar. It is not my first language.

I have never been a believer in amping your IEMs or expecting hi-fi sound from a portable rig. I still think your portable rig can only sound "fun" compared to a true desktop hifi rig. Still, I gave it a shot, maybe (probably) influenced by the hype here on Head-Fi and bought a $50 LOD and $250 amp (Arrow 12HE) for my $300 Sony X1050 and $100 RE0 IEMs and lo-and-behold, the amp characteristics make my RE0 sing like never before and this investment has greatly improved my portable listening experience.

I do realize that for the money spent on my portable rig I can get a better sounding desktop setup but, at this point in my life, I listen to my music on the go and hardly have time to kick back and relax to the tunes of a home rig. A better portable sound, even the slightest increase, thus makes for a better listening experience 90% of my time. For me, a worthwhile investment.

 

[krmathis]

Perhaps they simply think it makes an audible difference? Or they simply have money burning in their pocket, just waiting to be spent?

 

[dragoonf144]

I only "amp" mine since i need a dac (my pico dac amp) to bypass my onboard soundcard on my laptop which is just terrible.

If i'm using a portable source like my iphone, i personally don't amp since i can't really tell the difference myself.

EDIT: also, its pretty fun bumping using 30Hz bass by +20db at times

Lower pre-amp volume in vlc then bump up amp volume for some deep bass goodness

 

[WalkGood]

@ ucrags84
You may want to read a thread already discussing your point on portable amps here.

I agree with your cable opinion, funny thing is if you crack open almost any amp that these guys who swear that silver, cryo or what ever other snake oil cables are better, the signal path wiring inside the amp is all copper, so tell me why would a little IC mprove sq? *placebo*

I make all my IC's for my little portable amp and they cost me less than $4.00 in materials and my time, but they're fun to make. On the amping question, I've done a lot of listening lately to my ue11s both amped and not amped and IMHO they sound much better amped and eliminate the hiss from the combination of my portable players and overly sensitive customs. Although I do agree that some iem'r or phones do not need to be amped.

 

[Spareribs]

I usually don't amp my mine when I'm on the go but if I'm sitting down for an hour break I like to use an amp.

 

[TheGame21x]

When I'm at home, I usually amp them but on the go I don't really feel the need to do so.

 

[justanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by WalkGood /img/forum/go_quote.gif @ ucrags84 I agree with your cable opinion, funny thing is if you crack open almost any amp that these guys who swear that silver, cryo or what ever other snake oil cables are better, the signal path wiring inside the amp is all copper, so tell me why would a little IC mprove sq? *placebo*

A couple of inches for the signal to travel via the IC/LOD is a HUGE difference from the millimeters it takes on the boards. Even more so through the phone's wires. Connectivity plays a part in your audio reproduction.

You're right, the IC/LOD/re-cables don't IMPROVE what the source can output, it PREVENTs the output from degrading any more

 

[WalkGood]

I’m going to pass on a reply to signal degradation of less than 3 inches, lol. I didn’t change from building a regular IC to a mini bridge to shorten the path in hopes of less degradation, but rather to build a more compact solution to a portable amp pairing.

 

[Young Spade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ucrags84 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Pardon me if this is miscategorized, I felt it should be targeted towards the wider IEM audience here. Many IEMs are designed to be pretty darn sensitive, hence they can be driven easily by a portable. The noise isolation, and just the overall design of these things generally allows it to go louder. I'm not saying there aren't exceptions, ports, vents, some open-backs. But, a good pair of what you would proudly call IEMs with a good seal, or customs are generally sensitive right? Most portables like the Clip+, iPods, etc. can drive them well. Tweaking tips, fit, and eq'ing can really affect the sound (+/-). Please do not think I am trolling. This is curiosity, why are so many individuals buying amps for IEMs and all the other accessories? I've listened to IEMs with amps, and they sound a little better, but honestly IMO I feel like there's an element of group-think in this trend. Adding very expensive mini-to-minis, silver, and cryo-cables to portable rigs falls also puzzles me. Just because Silver is the most conductive element that doesn't = copper's failure. Silver is used in circuit applications, but it seems to bring diminishing returns when used in an audio cable given cost. A semi-decent copper cable with some shielding can give a good path. http://www.theaudiocritic.com/downloads/article_1.pdf Do you guys think you'd be able to spot the difference with a blind listening test? Collecting high-end cables, and amps is cool, I'm just exploring the idea that these are functional luxuries so to speak.

I do agree with you on some points; most being that most IEMs are easy to drive and can be properly driven out of portable DAPs. My Clip+ and T51 get the job done powering my phones.

For the amps and accessories idea.... I think a lot of it is buying into hype because people see all of these high end rigs that actually benefit from amping (top tier IEMs etc) using custom interconnects from ALO and made from members here.
Seeing this and reading about how great they sound; people think that if they get a good LoD and an amp they will get some sound benefits as well; and sadly this just isn't the case all of the time. Sure some IEMs do benefit from amping and the "line out" port on ipods (and true line out on other devices) provides a cleaner signal that sounds a little better, but it largely depends on your headphones as to how big of a difference this is.

I used to amp my phones (Triple 10s) with an RSA Tomahawk from the T51s line out. I loved the sound I was getting but one day, I decided to run them straight out of the HO just to see how it sounded. The result? The stage got about 2 feet smaller and things sounded a tad less airy. My opinion? the phones still sounded amazing and I couldn't justify 300 bucks for the amp that gave me ___ much improvement in my setup.
I sold the amp and bought the UM3Xs that same week.

As for the silver... I do think that adding silver does improve the sound; going from stock to silver cables for my Triple.Fis was very noticeable and although it was 100 bucks, I could justify the price since overall the cable was better and the sound was cleaned up.
NOTE: They still don't sound as good as my UM3Xs for classical music.

Test:
I can spot the differences between amped and unamped/copper and silver cables in my rig, but I would have to agree that depending on your DAP and phones.... amps may be a luxury that could be passed up for better sound. I'm not saying they're not worth it, but IMO they are only worth it if you are happy with your phones (don't feel the need to get BETTER phones) and want a little more mileage out of them.

And since i love analogies I guess I can say... it's the equivalent of buying new performance tires to your car instead of getting a weight reduction kit or engine. You can do it and you will get some improvement, but it's not always needed and you might possibly be able to spend your money in a more effective area.