Portable headphone amps

[Rubycon]

I've seen ones made from Altoid tins (yuck) but this one actually looks like a production quality piece. Text

Anyone use one of these before?

On 122 db/mW IEM's is it even necessary?

 

[TitanDiddly]

cMoy

DIY FTW

 

[imported_LoKe]

Has anyone made a cMoy out of a Skoal tin? ~_~

 

[esun]

IEMs don't really need amps, especially from a portable player. However, if you're going to get one, I'd say save your money and go Cmoy. You can build it in whatever you want, not just Altoids tins (try Serpac enclosures) and make it as professional as you want. All depends on how much effort you put into it. There are quality ones selling on E-bay all the time for $30-ish, rather than $80 for that thing (which won't be much better).

 

[Rubycon]

$100 is nothing really and DIY is laughable at this level - at least for me it is.

The ipod video amp while improved from the ipod photo, is good but is lacking especially with larger cans. It drives the EC5's nice as I sure it will do with the UE10 pros that will be replacing them. I'm just looking for that extra zing that's missing from the cellos.

 

[Baked]

Drew from Shellbrook Audio Lab is a nice guy. I've dealt w/ him many times and he came through w/ quality and affordable product every time. I had the mini amp in your link for a while, then upgraded to the maxi moy. If you're interested in buying his amps, shoot him an email and figure out what suits you setup best.

Originally posted by: esun
IEMs don't really need amps, especially from a portable player. However, if you're going to get one, I'd say save your money and go Cmoy. You can build it in whatever you want, not just Altoids tins (try Serpac enclosures) and make it as professional as you want. All depends on how much effort you put into it. There are quality ones selling on E-bay all the time for $30-ish, rather than $80 for that thing (which won't be much better).

Guess you never experienced real audio amps and IEMs before.

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: Baked
Drew from Shellbrook Audio Lab is a nice guy. I've dealt w/ him many times and he came through w/ quality and affordable product every time. I had the mini amp in your link for a while, then upgraded to the maxi moy. If you're interested in buying his amps, shoot him an email and figure out what suits you setup best.

:thumbsup:

The mini signature edition in anodized black looks perfect.

 

[Baked]

I forgot to mention, it's best to talk to Drew directly (email/phone) before placing an order so he can adjust the gain of the amp to fit your headphones.

 

[esun]

Originally posted by: Baked
Drew from Shellbrook Audio Lab is a nice guy. I've dealt w/ him many times and he came through w/ quality and affordable product every time. I had the mini amp in your link for a while, then upgraded to the maxi moy. If you're interested in buying his amps, shoot him an email and figure out what suits you setup best.

Originally posted by: esun
IEMs don't really need amps, especially from a portable player. However, if you're going to get one, I'd say save your money and go Cmoy. You can build it in whatever you want, not just Altoids tins (try Serpac enclosures) and make it as professional as you want. All depends on how much effort you put into it. There are quality ones selling on E-bay all the time for $30-ish, rather than $80 for that thing (which won't be much better).

Guess you never experienced real audio amps and IEMs before.

Actually, I've spent quite some time with some pretty nice amps, namely a DIY Millet Hybrid. I've built maybe 3-4 Cmoys and RA-1s as well. Thinking about a nicer solid state if I get the time & money (Gilmore Lite, namely).

DIY is laughable only if your DIY skills are laughable. You can build as good an amp as you want; it all depends on how far you want to go.

I had the impression from your post that you were using headphones in the same price range as your amp, namely $100-ish. E2Cs and ER-6s don't need headphone amps. UE10s, well, are a different story, and perhaps if you'd mentioned that I wouldn't have been so quick to give you cheap options.

 

[Rubycon]

:laugh: