Would I benifit from an amp?

[FreddyF]

Hi,

First time poster so hello to you all.

I don't have a particularly complex audio setup (it's not really a setup at all) but I would like some advice and opinion if possible.

I use two things to listen to music in general, I have a set of Sennheiser HD485s plugged directly into my Macbook Pro and for when I'm out and about, a set of Shure E4Cs (just replaced the E2Cs with these) and my first gen ipod nano.

What I'd like to know is would I benifit from some sort of headphone amp for use with both my ipod and laptop? If so, could you give me some pointers in what to look/listen for?

Thanks

Freddy

 

[dkjohnso]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Little-Dot-Micro...QQcmdZViewItem

I remember some discussion here about how this amp pairs very nicely with the HD485 in particular. If you buy it and don't notice a difference, you could always sell it again on the for sale forum. But I think you would be pleasantly surprised. I haven't heard the LDM+ myself, but it gets good reviews around here.

 

[928GTS]

Yes I think you'd benefit from an amp but it all depends what you want in a portable amp. These are what I see of the 3 portables I have..

PA2V2 - Pretty wide soundstage with neutral highs and mids but with a good bump in the bass. Sometimes the bass gets a smidge out of hand but overall its a very friendly and warm sounding amp that I love listening to techno/drum n bass through.

Zero Audiocraft - The most precise and analytical of the three and a bit less warm than the PA2V2 but nowhere near anything of a cold amp. Tight,controlled bass mixed with defined mids and highs and a KILLER soundstage. If you want a nice neutral representation of sound with no real coloring then try this one. This amp suits me well for most of my rock.

Standard cMoy - Built by a friend for me using Tangent's directions and a BB OP2132. Its a bit of a less detailed amp with less emphasis on the bass and a bit more of a spacy and less tight representation but this is great for ambient/psychedelic music where space and that special "haze" is the key.

Overall I love all 3 of them as they're suited for a certain type of music. Its up to you to decide what you want.

 

[FreddyF]

Thanks guys, I'll have a look into the options and see if I can find somewhere in London to try something out.