Ok, what's the deal with all these amplifiers & stuff?

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wake6830

Gawd
Joined
Jan 3, 2005
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What's their purpose? Do they clean up sound, make it louder, etc?

How do they work, generally speaking?

I have an Audigy 2 ZS, which output to some Z-530s (when they get here on Wed) and a pair of Sony headphones (the big kind that cover your whole ear) that I paid like $50 or $60 bucks for about 2.5 years ago. Would my setup benefit from any sort of amp? Usage = pretty much equal mix of music and games, although I spend most of my gaming time with headphones on.

Also, I see some people have amps hooked up to their ipod docks, what's the deal with that?

So, in short I'm interested in the nifty gadgetry and I want to know if I have any excuse to buy something cool for my desk. I don't know crap about electronics, so if you come at me with ohms and all that it won't be terribly helpful. And I don't have a buttload of money, so anything high-end is pretty much out of the question unless it mods my speakers to spit out money instead of soundwaves. Oh yea, and I think tube amps look awesome.

Sorry for all the questions, but any answers would be helpful!
 
Sounds interesting.

What are some good sites to read more about this stuff?

Also, I don't have the technical skill to make one of these and I don't have any friends that would either. Would somebody in these DIY forums be able to make me one if I sent them a small sum? I don't want anything fancy to start, just to see if it's worth it for me to look into this more.
 
wake6830 said:
Sounds interesting.

What are some good sites to read more about this stuff?

Also, I don't have the technical skill to make one of these and I don't have any friends that would either. Would somebody in these DIY forums be able to make me one if I sent them a small sum? I don't want anything fancy to start, just to see if it's worth it for me to look into this more.
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Why the good man that gave you the link could make you one. And the the sum of money is up to you :p .
 
wake6830 said:
Sounds interesting.

What are some good sites to read more about this stuff?

Also, I don't have the technical skill to make one of these and I don't have any friends that would either. Would somebody in these DIY forums be able to make me one if I sent them a small sum? I don't want anything fancy to start, just to see if it's worth it for me to look into this more.
Click to expand...

www.head-fi.org

You wallet will hate me. Mark my words, cya in a year with new headphones, new soundcard, and an amp ;)
 
Paxonator said:
Why the good man that gave you the link could make you one. And the the sum of money is up to you :p .
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I don't have a soldering gun and when people post the schematics it makes me confused and angry. So, I don't think I'm quite ready to do it myself. :)
 
wake6830 said:
I don't have a soldering gun and when people post the schematics it makes me confused and angry. So, I don't think I'm quite ready to do it myself. :)
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Mister X can help you out (second post) ;)
 
Talonz said:
www.head-fi.org

You wallet will hate me. Mark my words, cya in a year with new headphones, new soundcard, and an amp ;)
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You're mean.

Just spent ANOTHER $100 on ebay after a long PM conversation with someone on headfi.
 
rayman2k2 said:
what exactly does a headphone amp do that makes the sound better?
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Basiclly, it gives your headphones the power they need. Will stock headphones/earbuds sound better with an amp? Probably not. Would a pair of Grados, Sennheisers, etc sound better with an amp? Most definately. Hell, even my Bose Triports sound better amped. :p
 
An amp puts more power to your headphones. Most portable DAPs only put maybe 20mw into your headphones. Not nearly enough to drive higher impendence headphones. With an amp you can put 200mw into your headphones. It'll drive them better and bring out their capabilities. Its kind of like having a super server, but having it run on 56k. It can't reach it's potential to host and distribute files. Once you get your high speed OC94 your server can do its max work.
 
saturnine2 said:
Basiclly, it gives your headphones the power they need. Will stock headphones/earbuds sound better with an amp? Probably not. Would a pair of Grados, Sennheisers, etc sound better with an amp? Most definately. Hell, even my Bose Triports sound better amped. :p
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im assuming Shure's will sound good too then? I'm thinking about getting a pair of Shure E3C's, cause i can get them for around 111, rather than 189 or w/e the retail is...
 
Would I listen to my HD650 off an ipod? Sure!

When I'm at home, would I want to connect the ipod to my amp for better sonic presentation? Heck yes!

Running my HD650 off my HeadAmp GS-1 is one of the best things I have done with regards to headphones. Very powerful and balanced sound. There is a better sense of the music and the presentation isnt flat - the vocals emerge from the background track and the bass is on the "dot" precision.

Of course, I spent a boatload of money on my amp.... more than double what I bought the Senn HD650s for, so it isnt a surprise that they actually deliver the sonic goods.
 
rayman2k2 said:
im assuming Shure's will sound good too then? I'm thinking about getting a pair of Shure E3C's, cause i can get them for around 111, rather than 189 or w/e the retail is...
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Just know that an amp will not affect IEMs as much as they can help regular headphones. This is simply due to how much the stress they put on the amplifier's circuit. An ipod's integrated will be able to handle Shures, Etys, UEs, Westones etc.. alright but will struggle with the higher power demands from regular headphones. They aren't normally necessary for boosting volume, but they are needed to reproduce the waveforms accurately when paired with a low or high impedance load (depends on your type of heaphones) is where they are necessary.

For example, my Alessandros really need an amp to shine, while my Etys sound only a bit better when amped. That said, it's worth getting at least an entry level CMOY/MINT (I have not personally heard any better, but I know that getting to this level is worth it if the rest of your equipment and sources are good).
 
Some will also claim huge improvement with certain amp/headphone combinations. IME you must take everything with a grain of salt until you audition and experience it yourself. I'm not the most critical listener in the world, and I've found some claims to be way overblown. In short, if it sounds good to you, it IS good. Trust your own ears!
 
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