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Gear / Technical Help => Playback Forum => Topic started by: Big Perm on September 20, 2011, 06:36:53 PM
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ssia
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ssia
What is your budget? What kind of cans and source?
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Cans are either grado labs iG IEM or Sony 7506. playback is the Cowen iAudio 9 16b flac player
budget is ..... nothin crazy, but i found one with good review for $200. I probably listen to my music through this set up more than anything else, so i am not interested in purchasing something cheap and crappy. I've spent enough on the recording equipment, why start cutting corners on how i actually listen to them
thx
a
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maybe this? http://www.nuforce.com/hp/products/Iconmobile/index.php
works as a USB DAC as well as working with portable devices
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I really liked my ibasso dac/amp I was using, it could function as either just an amp or a dac & amp, I had the D10 but they might have something new out. It was slightly dark compared to other amps I've used, but that's ok with the Grados or 7506s which I think are bright headphones.
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Keep your eye on the used portable amps in the For Sale at head-fi.org
This one came up:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/572761/fs-meier-audio-corda-headsix-amp
For $120, you can't go wrong with a Meier.
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Cans are either grado labs iG IEM or Sony 7506. playback is the Cowen iAudio 9 16b flac player
I have the Grado iGi ear monitors. I think they sound incredible (for their size.) I listen to Apple Lossless files on a 160 gig iPod Classic and I would also like to invest in a portable headphone amp, especially for larger headphones. These portable amps look pretty nice, though some area bit pricey:
http://www.raysamuelsaudio.com/products/hornet
Does anyone have any experience with the Ray Samuels Audio products?
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>>> I've got the Grado battery powered unit that was popular about 10 years ago. Not sure of the model number, but it's a small, square wood box w/ a volume knob & an input for headphones on the front, and a pair of RCA outs on the back. I've used many different headphones w/ this unit and never had any issues getting them (the headphones) loud enough. In fact I don't think I've ever needed to turn the Grado up more than 1/3 of the way.
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I'm not cheap, but I LOVE this one for portable use and it's only $60 shipped with a no frills connecting cable (I don't use it , but it's OK) and a charger to charge the 2 AA rechargeables that you buy separately and put inside. I don't need anything better for use with a portable player. Would only spend more if I wanted one with a DAC to use with my computer. I wouldn't have felt over charged if I spend 4200 on it.
http://www.electric-avenues.com/audio8.html
It sounds great, gets plenty of volume with high impedance phones like my Sennheiser HD650's (it has 2 internal L/R screws you can adjust for best combo of volume & sound with your phones) and lasts a long long time on a charge (supposedly about 100 hours with 2500 mAh rechargeables). It's quite small & solidly built, though not wafer thin. It easily fits in my shirt pocket velcroed to my Sansa e280.
It doesn't have any other features like cross-feed or bass adjustment, but you don't need any other features if you are using a Rockboxed player-you can adjust the sound in Rockbox.
Gary is very helpful if you have any questions, ships promptly, and offers a lifetime warranty if anything goes wrong. He has supposedly sold 6000+ of these things in the last 6-7 years. IMO he's the Chris Church of headphone amps. Comes from Canada too...
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After reading a lot of reviews, and figuring out exactly what I needed I decided to go with the ibasso d-zero. It was only $109.00. I absolutely love it. It is perfect for my purpose. It's small and sounds really really nice. When and if I need the DAC that comes in their more top of the line units I am sure I will stay with this company. I would recommend if using grado lab for sure.
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The d-zero looks like a great amp also. I looked at ibasso as well and would go that way for an amp with a DAC. Seems to be a great company.
I still like my $60 amp for portable use though. Sounds great and uses user replaceable batteries.
Isn't the d-zero $131 ($22 postage)?
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The d-zero looks like a great amp also. I looked at ibasso as well and would go that way for an amp with a DAC. Seems to be a great company.
I still like my $60 amp for portable use though. Sounds great and uses user replaceable batteries.
Isn't the d-zero $131 ($22 postage)?
i think that is about right, it list for $109 then you have to add shipping etc.
a
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Just to pile on the heap ;D I'm hooked on Ray Samuels amps.. I use his hornet model and it has a three way switch that allows me to use power hungry sennheiser hd600s as well as mid range sony 7506s and beyer 700pros also my sesitive westone um3 IEMs. Good stuff all handcrafted by Ray himself. Look for used to ease the pain.....
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Just to pile on the heap ;D I'm hooked on Ray Samuels amps.. Good stuff all handcrafted by Ray himself.
I really like the looks of his products, though they seem to be a bit expensive. I guess that's because they're hand crafted. Thanks for the input.