[mtbaird5687]

I'm going off to college and planning on leaving me av710/cmoy combo at home and maybe just using my ipod as my primary audio source.

I have the sr-225 headphones and was planning on just using them with the ipod and no cmoy or anything. how much would the sound quality improve with a Sik Din/av710 combo working together with the 225s?


also how is the quality going to compare to the av710 cmoy combo ive been using

 

[Kestrel]

The line out option will dramatically increase sound quality - but you need to utilize an amp with it. The CMOY is so portable - why not bring it with you?

 

[mtbaird5687]

yea i think i will bring it, i just never noticed much difference using the cmoy and 225 without a line out.

so a sik din will greatly help me you say? i think ill have to pick one up

 

[Jmmmmm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtbaird5687 yea i think i will bring it, i just never noticed much difference using the cmoy and 225 without a line out. so a sik din will greatly help me you say? i think ill have to pick one up

if you're using the headphone out, there is not much point in amping it, imo. If you are going to amp it, certainly get a sik din, pocketdock, or whatever. I noticed a big difference when switching from hp out to line out, using the same amp.

 

[bigshot]

I think a lot of the sound quality improvements people attribute to amping have more to do with the line out.

See ya
Steve

 

[pingles]

You definitely will benefit from a line out. I've got a few MINTs that I've been meaning to case up for a while so could give them a try, but out of my newly purchased SR-71 the difference between connecting direct from the iPod and through the amp is absolutely stunning.

 

[Ziddy]

The ram din terminates in a right-angle male connector, so that'd be easier to use portably.

 

[binkgle]

why does the sik ram din (that is the correct name, isn't it?) give better quality than the ipod's default, headphone out port? i don't have a dock, and i know that has a "line out" on it, but i thought the sq was exactly the same :?

 

[azncookiecutter]

iPods have a problem with low-impendance phones, where he bass is rolled off severely. The line out bypasses this problem since it uses an audio signal that hasn't gone through the integrated headphone amp, which is the source of the problem.

 

[socrates63]

bingkle, as others have already said but just to clarify, the line-out bypasses the ipod's internal headphone amplifier and allows you to connect sound out of the line-out to the input jack of an external headphone amp. Presumably, an external headphone amp does a better job of amplifying the signal and provides better sound than the ipod's internal one.

You can use iPod's line-out capability if you connect the iPod to its docking cradle. If you want a portable line-out solution, then you would need something like PocketDock or Sik Din.

 

[binkgle]

would it require an external amp to drive ms-1s? is a pa2v2 good?

 

[socrates63]

I believe ms1's are easy-to-drive cans so you could do without an amp. But having said that, some easy-to-drive headphones (e.g., KSC75, ATH-EW9) perform better with an amp. I have no experience with ms1.

As for the PocketAmp, it is one of the often-recommended cheaper ($$$-wise) amps. Try searching the amp forum for more info -- probably more than you cared for

Also remember that having an amp doesn't necessarily mean better sound. If your MP3s aren't up to snuff, then an amp will only make the flaws more apparent -- garbage in, garbage out. After I got an amp, I re-ripped all my CDs for maximum quality MP3s.

But by all means, get an amp, man. There's no turning back once you get a taste. To satisfy my curiosity, I started with a $40 cmoy and then fell in love. I still go ampless some times for the sake of maximum portability, but when sound quality is a concern, an amp is a must.