Tell me why I should buy a headphone amp for my HD590's

ironman · 24 Apr 2009 at 17:09

Hi guys,

Bit of a newbie when it comes to sound in all honesty and I have some HD590s which I occasionally use and some Sony 71sl which I use out and about. I've been seeing/hearing a lot about headphone amps and I just want to put the idea out there about whether I should invest in one?

How much of a difference will it make to my listening pleasure and in what ways will it be enhanced?

Lastly what amp should I invest in? Considering I listen to music on the go a lot, a portable one would be convenient unless there are better ideas? Budget would be say £50 if anything can be had for that?

Hope you guys can offer some insight!

Will an amp such as this be effective? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250412852066&_trksid=p2759.l1259

J1234 · 24 Apr 2009 at 17:20

CMOYs are very good for portable use and are great value for money, especially for newbies.

The sound will go through the CMOY instead of the built in amp of your player which are usually pretty pants. Instead using a separate dedicated amplifier will provide better sound to your headphones and more power.

What will you be using it with, an iPod?

ironman · 24 Apr 2009 at 17:27

iPhone and Macbook

james.miller · 24 Apr 2009 at 17:29

a cmoy will transform the sound quality of your iphone. they make great sources but they have terrible headphone amps built in. its well recommended if you are interested in going the dedicated amp route

ironman · 24 Apr 2009 at 17:52

Excellent, now the question is, who makes the coolest cmoy amps?

Spanker · 24 Apr 2009 at 18:24

gurdas said:
Excellent, now the question is, who makes the coolest cmoy amps?

Have seen a few posts here where people have made headphone amps themselves, why not have ago you seem the type

J1234 · 24 Apr 2009 at 18:28

A CMOY is very easy to build yourself if you want, have a look here and here.

If DIY isn't for you, then eBay and check Head-Fi for anyone selling one, can pick up some good deals on there

Also, with the iPod, use a LOD to connect to the CMOY input, like this. You should be able to get one of them on eBay also.

ironman · 24 Apr 2009 at 18:31

Spanker said:
Have seen a few posts here where people have made headphone amps themselves, why not have ago you seem the type

Aye I would definitely love to have a go but i'm stuck revising for the next month or so and listening to music a lot whilst revising hence why I started thinking about amps. I think i'll buy a prebuilt one and then have a go later myself at some point

ironman · 24 Apr 2009 at 23:11

Which one do you think looks the best?

Ross1234 · 24 Apr 2009 at 23:13

They are so cool! Where can I buy one?

J1234 · 24 Apr 2009 at 23:17

The green circular Altoids tin.

ironman · 24 Apr 2009 at 23:50

I agree with the green altoids, just waiting to hear back from the seller to see if he has anymore of those tins as the advert states tangerine altoids.

ironman · 25 Apr 2009 at 13:49

No one does the green citrus tin anymore as its been discontinued! Argh, i'll have to decide on one of the others but they aren't as appealing

Think i'm going for the tangerine one

Flibster · 25 Apr 2009 at 16:14

BioScienceGeek's amps.

Got one in the Penguin mints tin from him. Well recommended.

Ross1234 · 25 Apr 2009 at 20:54

I take it there is no point in these for cheapish headphones (£40 pound over ear ones

)

ironman · 25 Apr 2009 at 22:47

I'm just waiting for him to add another listing. I think i'd prefer the round tin to the rectangular one.

TALON1973 · 26 Apr 2009 at 12:30

so are these cmoys any good ? ive got some sen hd600 . woudl these cmoy amps be any good for them ? also how do they compare to a headphone amps like the headpox and graham lee ? i know they cost a lot more but sound wise whats the difference