[Thebb]

Hello,
 
I'm a complete noob when it comes to audiophile gear.  I recently lost my entrey level Klipsch S4's and decided it would be a good time to upgrade to some better quality IEMs.  I bought a pair of Klipsch X11s as replacements.  Why these?  Found them for sub-$200, so figured it was a bargain.
 
Now, my question is would these IEMs benefit from a portable amp?  I was specifically looking at the FiiO Mont Blanc E12A IEM edition amp.  Reason I ask is because the specs on this amp says "Recommended headphone impedance: 300 ohms", when I look up the ohms on the X11s it says 50 ohms.
 
I generally use an iPhone to play my portabe music.
 
Thanks.

 

[bikerboy94]

Do you need it no. Will it help sound maybe. For me it did I just received  a Fiio E12 which i paired with my Fiio X3 and I hear a difference. I feel it opens up the sound enough to make it worth having. The X11 IEM sound great with it.

 

[Thebb]

Thanks for your input bikerboy.

Can someone comment on the amps recommended 300 ohm impedance vs. the X11s 50 ohm impedanc? Does this mean the headphones won't use up the amps full potential?

 

[bikerboy94]

The amp is rated for 16 to 300 ohms.

 

[billybob_jcv]

The amp's power declines as the impedance of the load (the headphones) increases. So, the amp puts out much more power at 50 ohms than it does at 300 ohms. But, you also can't have the impedance of the headphones be too low, or it may cause issue like hiss. This is caused by the headphone impedance being too close to the output impedance of the amp - which, in the case of the Fiio E12 is 0.3 Ohms. You normally want the headphones to be at least 8X higher in impedance than the amp's output impedance.

So - with a 50 Ohm impedance for the IEMs, you are good on both aspects - the amp will have plenty of power, and the amp's output impedance is much lower than the headphones. You are good to go!