[shawntp]

Hey folks. I purchased an iPhone and have YUIN PK-1's as my portable headphones. They sound good lined out but I would like to add a portable amp for times when I am willing to carry it.

The clear winner in the $300 and under category seems to be the Tomahawk but I am not sure if that amp is overkill (pricewise) and something else a little cheaper would be just as suitable for the PK1.

I see reviews of portables but they don't really take into account earbuds as the primary headphone.

I listen to mostly acoustic/blues/jazz/Rock and value size, price, musicality, and am not a basshead. $100-$300 budget. I listen to 320 AAC's on an iPhone currently can only headphone out since the dock line outs dont work with iPhone but will add a lineout when a good one is available.

I guess I am asking if you would recomend the tomahawk (for 250-300 used) or some other amp that might be cheaper and just as good a match for my needs.

 

[Killercrush]

A Xin Supermicro but you'll have to wait 2-3 months, it's $180 I believe.

 

[drp]

Of the headphones I currently own (Edition 9, HF-1, Sensa 2X-S, etc.), which are all lower impedence headphones, The PK1 at 150ohms is by far the hardest to drive. Rather than think in terms of a better amp for these headphones (hard to call them buds), I think you should look for something with a higher gain setting than a Tomahawk. A Hornet seems to be more suitable (IMHO of course). Having owned both, that would be my preference. Not familiar with the other portables; Skylab's portable roundup should be your next stop. I'm sure others will chime in here.

At medium volume levels, my PK1/Tomahawk combination sounds exceptional. When I crank it, I can hear things start to compress and muddy up a bit. When I play the PK1 through the RPX-33, at the same volume levels (and much higher) that challenge the t-hawk, I find myself looking around for the box the high-end high Z headphones came in. The PK1 scale up like a Sennheiser HD-xx (this is a rough analogy; not a comparison...).

My opinion: Go for affordable power in a portable package.

 

[shawntp]

I should add that I am not one who typically cranks my headphones. I probably listen at a lower level than most. Also if I were ever to use my portable amp for anything other than the PK1 it would be to drive a Grado.

I do appreciate the insight drp and that is definitly a consideration since the portables primary match for now will be a pk1.

 

[wolfB]

I like very much, what the Tomahawk can do with my PK1's. You won't be disappointed.

 

[vaper]

any opinions on how well a mini^fied pint would work with pk1?

 

[The Boatman]

I find my Tomahawk to drive my PK1s extremely well indeed, although I don't use them against noisy backgrounds, I have my se530s for that.