Danport

Good point, Tiberian, and I am considering just that. The reason I am considering the oppo, is that this will primarilly be used as a stationary rig, in a workout room at home. and i could put a tv on the oppo to play dvds. thanks

I apologize if i have wasted your time. I have 3 posts, and yes they are all related. My first post was in the headphone thread, and primarily about choice of headphones. I felt i got some excellent advice, and have pretty much settled on the er-4p in ear monitor. My second post was in the source thread. And I am still debating ipod vs. oppo dvd. If I use the ipod, it seems no amp is necessary. But if i go with the oppo, i will need an amp. Now my third question is in the amplification thread, what budget amp would work well with the oppo and the er-4p. I thought that I should supply some info on the way i would use the equipment in each question in order to get more specific opinions. I admitted I am a newbie and ignorant in these matters. If I have posted inappropriately, please accept my apology, and feel free to remove the thread. thanks.

Complete noob needs more advice please. I need a budget stationary headphone setup for my home exercise bike. I need isolation as the bike is very loud and I already have some mild high frequency hearing loss. I'm thinking of getting an oppo DV-970 HD universal DVD player for a source. And etymotic ER-4P In Ear Monitors for their isolation. What should I use for amplification? Does the line out jack have enough power that I would need an attenuator instead of an amplifier? What about a Cmoy type amp, on ebay, with the builder optimizing a low gain for the ER-4Ps? Or do I need a real amp, like a headroom Micro amp? If I bought the Headroom, do I really need the DAC to go with it? Please feel free to pontificate (Synonyms: boast, brag, chatter, declaim, expatiate, go on, gush, harangue, hold forth, orate, ramble, rant, sermonize, speechify, spellbind, spiel, yell). Thanks Dan

I am a complete noob at this. I have been lurking the forum, but I am confused. Most of the discussion is way over my head. My goal is to get a reasonably nice setup to use while on my exercise bike at home. I think I have decided on a pair of etymotic ER-4P In Ear Monitors because I need the isolation, the bike is very noisy. (see link http://www.head-case.org/index.php?topic=1097.0) I don't have a clue what to use for a source, or an amp. I am presently using an older dvd player with a headphone jack, but it won't play anything but a pressed disc, no CD-R's. My budget for a source and amp is pretty low, maybe $300, but less is better. I am reasonably computer literate, and can download and convert file formats, burn discs, and use flash memory without a problem. Should I just get an Ipod? Would I need an amp with an Ipod, or is the IEM efficent enough I don't need an amp? Would a $50 Cmoy amp off of ebay, with the gain customized by the builder, work well with these? What about using a portable CD player, or an inexpensive home DVD player with a Cmoy? Or would a pc be a good source? I wouldn't mind doing some reading, if you could direct me to a "audio for idiots" website. Thanks a lot. Danny

Thanks for the advice. What do you think about using a Cmoy amp to power the earbuds?

I want a headphone to use on my exercise bike. The bike is quite noisy, so I need noise isolation. I understand from some browsing that the In Ear Monitors are nice for noise isolation, value, and sound quality. I am looking at the etymotic ER-4P, and the Shure E4c, or something in that price range (about $300 list, $175 online price) I like to listen to a variety of music, including rock, bluegrass, jazz and classical. Thanks for any advice.