your oppinion
Nov 29, 2009 at 5:28 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 16

g5tar

500+ Head-Fier
Joined
Nov 28, 2009
Posts
558
Likes
11
looking to get into a full sized open headphone and portable amp....right now i have a pair of er4ps and sr60i, i love the etymoitics, but dont dig being completely shut off from the world, the sr60s hurt my ears. money is not the biggest issue, i listen to a wide array of music- i really want to do this thing right....i seem to be drawn the akg 701s, but my research tells me that they cant be driven by a portable amp....what would you buy if you were me- ground up.


thanks, greg

is a LOD necessary?
 
Nov 29, 2009 at 6:10 AM Post #2 of 16
Start from the beginning. What's your source? Is a portable amp a requirement? If not, why will you be using it with full sized cans. What type of sound signature are you looking for?

Absent that, I think you should get a used Stax rig and skip the portable amp business.
 
Nov 29, 2009 at 6:15 AM Post #3 of 16
what a portable stax ala baby stax??

because if not and this is another one of those posts telling people they dont want a portable amp because home amps with mains power are superior then that would be pretty tiring. you cannot take a home amp with you, similarly OP, if the cans you want cant be powered by a portable amp, maybe look into some that can like denons, AT's or ultrasones
 
Nov 29, 2009 at 6:20 AM Post #4 of 16
Quote:

Originally Posted by qusp /img/forum/go_quote.gif
what a portable stax ala baby stax??


No, a regular Stax rig. My recommendation stands until the OP provides more info.

Quote:

because if not and this is another one of those posts telling people they dont want a portable amp because home amps with mains power are superior then that would be pretty tiring.


a) waah; b) relax; and c) I haven't told the OP any such thing.
 
Nov 29, 2009 at 6:23 AM Post #5 of 16
hehe
biggrin.gif
ok mate, its all good, but you know the sort of post I mean?? agreed we need more info.

I just tire of seeing people recommend home amps when people ask about wanting something portable. of course they cant even compare when it comes to power general effectiveness, but I get sick of people basically being ignored and told what they want. obviously thats not what you were doing

but I prefer my JH13 to stax anyway
wink.gif
 
Nov 29, 2009 at 6:27 AM Post #6 of 16
I know the type of post you mean and I agree.

And I can understand someone liking the JH13 better. The JH13 is no joke. Which sort of brings us around to the OPs question. If OP is really looking for a ground up portable amp-based solution, I think it makes sense to use the amp/full-size can money toward JH13s and play them directly from the portable source.
 
Nov 29, 2009 at 6:50 AM Post #7 of 16
Cool, then we are on the same page then

get JH13, then later if he feels the need he can get a portable dac /amp and run JH13 from that. for sure JH13 powered directly out of an iphone 3g, touch 2/3g or sonyX is leagues ahead of the sound possible with a fullsize can underpowered IMO; and the isolation and comfort makes it a slam-dunk IMO
 
Nov 29, 2009 at 1:47 PM Post #8 of 16
Quote:

Originally Posted by The Monkey /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Start from the beginning. What's your source? Is a portable amp a requirement? If not, why will you be using it with full sized cans. What type of sound signature are you looking for?

Absent that, I think you should get a used Stax rig and skip the portable amp business.



source= ipod, (320 and VBR, although, can replace with lossless) portable amp is a requirement as it will used predominantly in the car- sound signature, don't know- im pretty new to this. the ety's are out, as they block all outside noise...like i said, the grados hurt my ears...any input would be good, the etys turned me on to high quality sound, would like to upgrade using these as a reference point-
 
Nov 29, 2009 at 2:06 PM Post #9 of 16
Quote:

Originally Posted by qusp /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Cool, then we are on the same page then

get JH13, then later if he feels the need he can get a portable dac /amp and run JH13 from that. for sure JH13 powered directly out of an iphone 3g, touch 2/3g or sonyX is leagues ahead of the sound possible with a fullsize can underpowered IMO; and the isolation and comfort makes it a slam-dunk IMO



want to get away from IEMs....can the predator power the AKG701s or HD6500, im sure i will buy a non-portable unit sometime in the future, but portability is necessary....maybe the question should be phrased, what would an ideal set of portable amp/full size HP?
 
Nov 29, 2009 at 2:11 PM Post #10 of 16
Would you be driving while wearing the headphones? That's potentially dangerous. And, if in the US, potentially unlawful depending on your state.

Do the Grados literally hurt your ears due to the foam pads or due to the brittle highs?
 
Nov 29, 2009 at 2:24 PM Post #11 of 16
yes i will, though not as dangerous as you think, i can hear any horn or siren wearing the grados, the etys on the other hand are very dangerous, i refuse to wear them in the car.....car audio sucks, i just got a new car and refuse to spend 2k for a sub-par system...money is better off being spent on a portable rig....the grados hurt my ear lobes...in about 45minutes im in tears...my last car was powered by a digital 5 channel alpine amp, polk 6.25s and a JLW3 sub- coming to about 2k and the 180$ etys blow it away....im not too concerned with the legal ramifications of rocking while driving, plugged into an iphone, its a variation of a handsfree unit
wink.gif


i cant be the only guy in the world who listens to headphones in the car.
 
Nov 29, 2009 at 6:08 PM Post #12 of 16
K701 will literally sound like poo out of the predator IMO, there is nothing worse than K701 underpowered; though HD650 comes pretty close. get an amp that actually has 18V, not one that attempts to ramp up the power without actually having it to burn
 
Nov 30, 2009 at 1:11 AM Post #15 of 16
yep the original SR71 (not A), Lisa III, Ibasso OEM (when released) some CMOYs
all have 18v, they get about as close as your gonna get
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top