# Portable Headphone Amps



## |Tch0rT| (May 7, 2005)

I've been thinking of picking up a portable headphone amp lately. I've seen Total Air/Bit-head Amps and they get pretty good reviews from what I've read. I've also thought about the PA2V2.


Right now I've got:

Creative NOMAD Jukebox Zen Xtra 30gb









Sennheiser PX-100









I've heard though that Headphone amps don't improve low impedance headphones (i.e. 32ohms which is most of the headphones out there it seems) as much as the high impedance headphones (300ohms) that pretty much require an amp.

I've been thinking of buying another pair of headphones. I like my Sennheiser PX-100's but on long trips in the car they hurt my ears from sitting on them for so long. So I've been looking at the closed back over the ear phones. Right now I'm thinking about these:

M-Audio Studiophile Q40








http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/StudiophileQ40.html

or 

Equation Audio RP-21








http://www.equationaudio.com/Professional/rp21.htm

I read Head-Fi.org once in a while but I get the impression that it's mostly Snake Oil references... now I like audiophile stuff and what not but the people over on that forum snort the Magick Pixie SQ Dust in some high dosages.

Anyone on here have any recommendations/advice?

Ryan


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

Dunno about the other stuff but that media player is about as good as it gets for a source, even compared to a regular highend CD player. Numbers are almost at the highest level possible from a CD format. Hook it up to a good head amp and you are set.

http://74.125.93.104/translate_c?hl=en&sl=ru&u=http://www.ixbt.com/multimedia/creative-zen-xtra.shtml&prev=/search%3Fq%3DCreative%2BNOMAD%2BJukebox%2BZen%2BXtra%2Brmaa%26num%3D100%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG&usg=ALkJrhhN8Q5cV9j4Xa3u_mi9xpRsHwH6gg

http://74.125.93.104/translate_c?hl=en&sl=ru&u=http://www.ixbt.com/multimedia/creative/zen-xtra/rmaa.shtml&prev=/search%3Fq%3DCreative%2BNOMAD%2BJukebox%2BZen%2BXtra%2Brmaa%26num%3D100%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG&usg=ALkJrhg1nKiw3qbcnLvq8T9urWk296DJ8Q


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## DS-21 (Apr 16, 2005)

|Tch0rT| said:


> I've been thinking of picking up a portable headphone amp lately. I've seen Total Air/Bit-head Amps and they get pretty good reviews from what I've read. I've also thought about the PA2V2.


I've had a Total AirHead for almost a decade now, and it makes it possible to listen to an iPod or MacBook through Senn HD-580s. 



|Tch0rT| said:


> I've heard though that Headphone amps don't improve low impedance headphones (i.e. 32ohms which is most of the headphones out there it seems) as much as the high impedance headphones (300ohms) that pretty much require an amp.


Sorta/kinda/not really. The amp part doesn't do anything for easy-to-drive headphones. However, good crossfeed/HRTF processing can improve any set of headphones.



|Tch0rT| said:


> Anyone on here have any recommendations/advice?


If sound leakage is not an issue, look at a pair of used Senn HD580s, and buy new pads from Sennheiser so you don't have to deal with whatever the previous owner may have left on the things.


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## snaimpally (Mar 5, 2008)

I am not on head-fi.org that much anymore but it was a good forum. I would check the reviews - they have compiled reviews of a lot of stuff. I have the Senn PX-100s and like them.


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## 60ndown (Feb 8, 2007)

no need for an amp

had mine for over 2 years,

simply amazing sound and you hear NOTHING from outside.

Every once in a great while somebody makes a small "mistake" of sorts that somehow gets things more right than they perhaps ought to be .... Well, CRASH!BOOM!BAM!BING!SPLAT!... These headphones sound terrific for sealed-earcup, full-size cans priced under $100! Although maybe missing just a bit of audio detail at the extreme edges of the frequency range, the 280Pro remains a very well-balanced and even-toned closed-earcup headphone that manages to get plenty of clear, punchy sonics going from low to high. A very enjoyable pair of headphones for all the things you normally want sealed (closed-earcup) headphones for: noise-blocking for commuting on planes, trains, automobiles, watching movies in bed, or listening in quiet workplaces or in noisy environments. They remain efficient enough to be well-driven by most portable audio players and laptop computers BUT will definitely sonically bloom big-time when mated with any dedicated headphone amp. The HD280Pro has also become the headphone choice of audio, film, and field recording/mixing professionals due to its clear tonal presentation, very effective ambient noise attenuation properties, and durable build quality. A true workhorse of a sealed-earcup headphone at a really hard-to-beat price.

http://www.headphone.com/products/headphones/sealed-and-noise-canceling/sennheiser-hd-280-pro.php

http://www.google.com/products/cata..._catalog_result&resnum=3&ct=result#ps-sellers


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## |Tch0rT| (May 7, 2005)

t3sn4f2 said:


> Dunno about the other stuff but that media player is about as good as it gets for a source, even compared to a regular highend CD player. Numbers are almost at the highest level possible from a CD format. Hook it up to a good head amp and you are set.
> 
> http://74.125.93.104/translate_c?hl=en&sl=ru&u=http://www.ixbt.com/multimedia/creative-zen-xtra.shtml&prev=/search%3Fq%3DCreative%2BNOMAD%2BJukebox%2BZen%2BXtra%2Brmaa%26num%3D100%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG&usg=ALkJrhhN8Q5cV9j4Xa3u_mi9xpRsHwH6gg
> 
> http://74.125.93.104/translate_c?hl=en&sl=ru&u=http://www.ixbt.com/multimedia/creative/zen-xtra/rmaa.shtml&prev=/search%3Fq%3DCreative%2BNOMAD%2BJukebox%2BZen%2BXtra%2Brmaa%26num%3D100%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG&usg=ALkJrhg1nKiw3qbcnLvq8T9urWk296DJ8Q


Man that stuff is hard to read! But what do you expect from a translation? I had read on Head-Fi.org that the Creative NOMAD Jukebox Zen Xtra's had a clean output. I picked it up off of Craigslist for $60 and it was damn near mint. I can also upgrade the HD to 160Gb if I want to spend another $70 or so.



DS-21 said:


> Sorta/kinda/not really. The amp part doesn't do anything for easy-to-drive headphones. However, good crossfeed/HRTF processing can improve any set of headphones.


I don't get bothered by that "headphone" sound that I've heard bother some people. So I'm not so sure I'd like the crossfeed option. Is there any software for PC's that I can test that out on? My soundcard has a Headphone Virtualization option when I plug in my headphones and I *HATE* the sound when it's enabled.

After doing so more research I'm thinking of these:

Audio Technica ATH-AD700









I've read a lot of reviews and a few claim they best the Senn HD580's in most areas.

I dunno though I hate audio **** when I can't listen to things (there really aren't any shops other than Circuit City & Best Buy where I live that sell higher than average consumer grade stuff). I always read things about the product that makes me want to buy it and then I'll read something that makes me not want to buy it.

Ryan


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## benny (Apr 7, 2008)

DIY!

http://tangentsoft.net/audio/

Texas Instruments has a great free sample plan, that's where I got my opamps.
$20 CMoy FTW!
http://tangentsoft.net/audio/cmoy-tutorial/assy.html


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## 60ndown (Feb 8, 2007)

|Tch0rT| said:


> I dunno though I hate audio **** when I can't listen to things (there really aren't any shops other than Circuit City & Best Buy where I live that sell higher than average consumer grade stuff). I always read things about the product that makes me want to buy it and then I'll read something that makes me not want to buy it.
> 
> Ryan


buy at a good online store, you can return within a month at most places if you dont like the product.


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## |Tch0rT| (May 7, 2005)

After some more research I decided on a pair of these:

Denon AH-D1001








http://www.usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/3785.asp

I got them from Buy.com for $80.99. They should be here tomorrow. Some people apparently prefer them to Sennheiser HD650 and AKG K-701. I dunno never heard those, probably never will. Too expensive for my blood at the moment.

I'm also trying to pick up and older style Total Airhead but the guy is taking forever to reply to my email. I also contacted another guy about a Total Bithead but that guy is taking forever to reply to my emails as well.. ugh. heh Oh well at least I got a new pair of headphones to play around with.  I"m curious to how they stack up to my Sennheiser PX100.

Ryan


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## spydertune (Sep 9, 2005)

Why not build your headphone amp yourself? 

It is a simple opamp circuit you could put together in an evening.


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## 60ndown (Feb 8, 2007)

http://cgi.ebay.com/CMOY-MICRO-POCK...:12|240:1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14#ht_1175wt_0


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## CheshRcat (Sep 18, 2008)

x2 on the ety's -- if you don't mind earplugs, you can't beat ER4's for straight SQ. Although if you're a bass head, you may not be happy with these. For other recommendations, I've always found HeadRoom to be a good resource for headphone reviews.

I also agree on the diy route. With a few upgrades, you can make a great CMoy amp. By adding the Alien DAC into your circuit, you can even match the usb input that makes the Total Bithead such a cool little portable. Another great portable option is the AMB Lab's Mini Cube Portable.

For a not-so-portable amp, the SOHA (*great* walkthrough at mb3k.com) is a very impressive little hybrid amp. Adding the Alien DAC and JISBOS you'll have a diy amp that rivals amps many times the price. Other options are the EHHA or B22 -- these diy amps are bit higher end than the SOHA, and come at a little higher price to build.

Check out headwize.org for ideas on the diy front. If you're not interested in building one yourself, the Total Bithead from HeadRoom is a great little amp. Alternatively, you may be able to find a SOHA, EHHA, B22, or others people have built and are selling on ebay. Although I have to say -- I've built several diy headphone amps and had a lot of fun doing it.

Hell, if there's enough interest on this forum, I might even be talked into building a number of them as a group buy...


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## spydertune (Sep 9, 2005)

CheshRcat said:


> For a not-so-portable amp, the SOHA (*great* walkthrough at mb3k.com) is a very impressive little hybrid amp. Adding the Alien DAC and JISBOS you'll have a diy amp that rivals amps many times the price. Other options are the EHHA or B22 -- these diy amps are bit higher end than the SOHA, and come at a little higher price to build.


SOHA

That is a new one for me.

I've got some reading to do.


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## spydertune (Sep 9, 2005)

CheshRcat said:


> For a not-so-portable amp, the SOHA (*great* walkthrough at mb3k.com) is a very impressive little hybrid amp. Adding the Alien DAC and JISBOS you'll have a diy amp that rivals amps many times the price. Other options are the EHHA or B22 -- these diy amps are bit higher end than the SOHA, and come at a little higher price to build.


SOHA

Those are new ones for me.

I've got some reading to do.


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## |Tch0rT| (May 7, 2005)

I bought a headphone amp! It's a MisterX XP (DIY design) amp with LM6172/LM6171 opamps which is similar to a Mini³:
http://www.amb.org/audio/mini3/










I got it used from Head-Fi for sale forums for $80 shipped. It'll probably be here in a week or so.

That should be fun to play with. It supposed to hold it own against some of those $300-$400 commericial headphone amps.

Ryan


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