MaN227

interesting question and more interesting replies. being that most seem to think a portable amp is a waste of money. that would lead me to believe that most don't use a portable amp... ... so , I guess the natural question would be . then what headphones , earbuds and IEM's are the best , used with no amp out of an ipod or similar portable mp3 player? thx

and so the amp parade begins A bit of a disclaimer I am NOT an audiophile and will never claim to have "golden ears". I am just getting into this world of headphones. Right now I have the Senn HD-650 and AKG K-701. I have had one amp for a few years now a Headroom Coda Amp LE so that is my frame of reference. The few things I don't like 8-) about the P1 is that the top and bottom seem to have been coated with some oil and grease magnet ( the PSP has nothing on the P1 as far as revealing any and all contact with the top and bottom) the side however have a narrowly spaced ribbing that I rather like. Its not really something I didn't like but something that may be worth noting. The first run on the first charge gave me about 16 1/2 hours ( 20 is the claimed time) with the volco at @ 75%. I will post back a new set of hours since I have run battery all the way down did a full charge and then ran ... oh 10 hrs or so and hooked back up the charger. So I taking an accurate account of hours on full charge (mind you this time it'll be at @ 50% vol. ) Sound, well very impressive overall. I can't speak to soundstage size but it does seem to place different instruments in their own space much better than my old coda , even on the HD-650 which in my listening time says alot for the P1. Reason being is that I feel I can say without doubt that the K701 is much better at placing different sounds in their own space in my head and keeping them there. I think that is the thing about the P1 that has impressed me the most. I also notice the P1 to my ears, gives the 650's a much needed slight boost in the high mid and high region, therefore giving the 650's a more even sound from top to bottom. The bass of the 650's through the P1 to my ears , seems more tight and natural. So I feel this is a good amp for the HD650, it just feels more right to me with the 650 then it does with the K701s. It reveals quite easily the difference in the sound signature of the 650 as compared to the 701. I think that in and of itself says quite a bit for the P1 as an amp that send the music through in a rather neutral way with a perceived slight lift in the high mid and high freq. I guess that explains why I feel its better matched with the 650 as the 701 is a much more flat across the spectrum can then the 650 is to my ears. the mids of the 701 are exactly as they should be, and in balance as a whole from the top to bottom. My first impressions of the first up in a line of new toys to come . Even though this is the first amp to test out, I can say I think it is a solid amp for the asking price and can recommend it as certainly a strong candidate for your hard earned dollars. I am quite happy with its price to performance ratio, and think it does very well with the senn 650, so much so that I like the 650's more now. your mileage may vary There you have it, straight up, no fluff, the only way I know Peace Out, MaN227

LMAO , opps. I guess thats what I get when posting when very tired. thanks for the well wishes. anyone have more to add? other then the fact that I kant spleeelll Ore tiep

A monster has been created or is at least in the making. > > well I've gone and compounded my searching woes, I just snagged a pair of HKG K701's lol , its like I've come down with a sickness of some sort how does this change what I should get , if it does at all. It appears that both cans need a fair amount of power to drive them proberly. sound signature , I don't even know where to begin on that one. look forward to more thoughts on choices.

thanks again folks for the wonderful input. @EdipisReks actually its one of the higher choices on my list of DAC's, its one of those rare products that I've yet to see ANYone say ANYthing bad about it. It seems to server its intended purpose in spades. I learn as I go, thanks for helping me learn.

thanks for the input philodox grawk, remember I am new to this and not trying to give you a hard time. how does this airport express replace the processing of the sound that a DAC supposedly does? do I understand that its a wireless gizmo? or it connect to pc via coax or toslink or usb as a DAC would. the reason I ask is it sounds intesting and I'd like to know more.

dang that friggin' edit time got me AGAIN > I found a page that had some info, but I didn't see anything that pertained to its use in a audiophile setup. can you speak to its qualities in such a setup ? provide links to info speaking to its quality use in hifi? I ask this as what I seen it seemed like a wireless access point to stream music to a home audio receiver. does it only work with itues? being apple thats what I expect. I use foobar atm for music from the pc, kernal streaming. does any of that stupid DRM crap come into play?

what is this "airport express" ? I searh and find a bunch of airport shuttle links and such. you have a link ? or can you explain its workings? as you put 700$ for an amp I'll assume its 100$ or so in cost.

at the moment yes it is, but when I finally move house it'll be more "listening room & lazy-boy recliner" use, with a nice fat bowl I guess I'm hoping to find a setup that can work well regardless of source.

I'm a bit flexible , but was thinking along the lines of 300$ us tops on a dac and 500 or so tops on an amp. to me as far as budget goes, as I said I can give a little more IF the gain in sound quality is substantial. I am though, trying to stay away from broadening my price range much, as that'll just lead to more options and more research and headaches :'( as I can clearly see, not sure what those here would call it, what I call "upgrade-itis" , gets many that are into this hifi headphone world. As that happens people keep up-ing the dollar amount they will spend. so.... lol after all my silly rambling on, lets say 800$ us max

duly noted as it looks sorry for the GRRRRR didn't mean to open a can of worms or anything just want more feedback in regard to my questions

no I've not heard ANY of these amps. my pc sound card is Creative Labs X-Fi Fatality , I use foobar2000 and Kernal stream atm sorry, what is toslink ? is that the optical out? and where in the path is it used? remember I'm a noob to this for the most part. a majority of listening atm will be done from pc, but after I move that more then likely will change to what I shall call my "theater room" so should I be considering different DAC setups? one for pc and one for ummm... lazy-boy use ? thanks again for all the input everyone

man the edit function on this forum really stinks, GRRRR anywho, I've added yet another to my amp list the CORDA HA-2 MkII SE

thanks people for the wonderful feedback thus far I may have used wording that some my take offense to in regards to "pushing what they own" . I'd like to edit the post, but can't seem to find an EDIT button :'( so here I have changed the wording: The more I look around and research the more overwhelmed I get with the seemingly endless list of choices. It appears some posters will only say that the products that they own are the best, as it helps them justify to themselves their own choices. That is fine by me. With that said, convince me then forgive me

Good Day, I'm wondering if you'd be so kind as to reply to some questions I have. I am just getting into this hifi headphone world. I want to hear your thoughts good, bad or otherwise. here we go, I'll start with what I have. Senn HD-650's and have a cardas audio cable coming in the mail atm. I have a headroom coda amp le ( It just don't seem to cut the mustard) therefore my endeavor for better stuff. The more I look around and research the more overwhelmed I get with the seemingly endless list of choices. I try to take anything I read on forums with a grain of salt as I know that most posters push the products that they own as being the best, as it helps them justify to themselves their own choices. With that said, convince me then I am wondering what amp I should get to work well with the 650's and cardas cable. I can tell you now I am no fan of brite highs, and descriptions I have read from many, of the HEED canamp it just seems to hit the sweet spot as to what I am looking for in an amp. just not sure if its the best choice or will be a very nice match for my existing gear. so a few amps that have caught my eye are HEED canamp MF x-can v3 RSA hornet M XIN super-macro IV Gilmore Lite WooAudio 3 DarkVoice 332 Eddie Current ECSS Rockhopper M3 I want something that'll drive the 650's to their full potential and not be maxed out itself, but having a bit of . ... um .. headroom. Also I'd like the lowest amount of "noise" from the amp that I can get. Output wise , no harsh/brite highs and solid , deep, substantial bass and neutral to warm mids. musical taste is an easy one, I listen to any and everything EXCEPT opera With that said I simply like to enjoy music from the top to the bottom of the freq. range, and am in NO way interested in super revealing analytical sound. As that always seems as an overall sound to be brite , forward and harsh on the top end. Natural is what I want and having played drums for several years I know just what they sound like and want honest reproduction of the recordings not colored. It's for a home setup. not so concerned with portable, thats another ball of wax . As far as home setups go I see some that use a DAC , can you share your thoughts on the need of using one and any that you think would be a good match for the rest of the components? perhaps: LiTe DAC-AH Fubar II USB DAC Entech NC 205.2 DAC HiFi Digital Audio - Super Pro I spend a fair amount of time at the PC if that means anything. I want to thank you now in advance, and tell you I very much value and appreciate any and all feedback you can give me. I thank you for your time and consideration and look forward to ALL replies. One thing though, if your just trying to impress everyone with your knowledge by giving 25 lines of tech jargon, please save it for another thread Plain English will do just fine. Please forgive my "n00bness"