Audio Amp for Cowon D2 for Rs. 3500

L

lavinachtani

Adept
I am using the Cowon D2 player since years and i am quite happy with the sound quality. Recently i bought a nexus 5. The sound quality on that is quite good but the volume is very low. So i have been thinking of buying a portable amplifier for that.



The headphones i use are Takstar Hifi 2050, Koss ksc 75 unmodded and Cyclone PR1 Pro ( These recently got spoilt and i am trying to figure out a way to repair them ).



Primarily i will still use the Cowon as my player and it is powerful enough to drive my Takstars beyond my listening volume. But the max volume for Takstar on the phone is very low. So i need an amp which will not only help me drive the Takstars to a good volume but also improve the sound quality through the Cowon D2. My budget is $60 ( max can be stretched to $70 if it is worth ). The amps that i saw available in that budget are



1. Nuforce MMP

2. Fiio E11

3. Soundmagic A-10


A friend of mine is coming down from america in 20 days so i can ask him to get one of these. These are around $60 there so fit into my budget.

The music i listen to is mostly classic rock, fusion and trance ( lounge , chill). I would prefer a neutral output.



Which of these would be a good by for me. Also it is important that they improve the sound quality of the Cowon because that will be my primary player. If they dont then i would'nt want to spend on it just to use it with the phone. I would then save up and maybe later buy an amp which would improve cowon's quality ( but that would take sometime).

Thanks
 
Under that price range if you want something locally with warranty, get the FiiO E11. Pretty good for the price and has good amount of power for most cans / IEMs with not too high impedance. Also I think its battery is easily replaceable since it uses one of the Nokia series battery ;).
 
Ok. So i could go for it. The reviews are definitely very good but i can't find anywhere if they will also improve the SQ of cowon D2. I don't want it to be there just for the volume as the cowon are quite powerful in that matter. How does the e11 compare against the nuforce mmp
 
Amps by and large dont directly influence or improve sound quality . The job of the amp is to only amplify the signal so in general if a headphone / IEM cant get enough juice from the mp3 player or a mobile directly, an amp is recommended. The amp does influence the sound signature to an extent by adding its on flavour of sound hence a good amp is usually considered the one which is neutral but some also like tube amps etc which add a warmth to the sound signature .

So if your are IEM / headphone is not performing its best due to lack of power , you will definitely notice good improvements with an amp like E11. Otherwise it may only be slightly change in sound due to characterstics of new amp :).
 
FaH33m said:
Amps by and large dont directly influence or improve sound quality . The job of the amp is to only amplify the signal so in general if a headphone / IEM cant get enough juice from the mp3 player or a mobile directly, an amp is recommended. The amp does influence the sound signature to an extent by adding its on flavour of sound hence a good amp is usually considered the one which is neutral but some also like tube amps etc which add a warmth to the sound signature .

So if your are IEM / headphone is not performing its best due to lack of power , you will definitely notice good improvements with an amp like E11. Otherwise it may only be slightly change in sound due to characterstics of new amp :).
Click to expand...

Ok. So i guess i won't notice much difference when i am using the cowon. The takstar are the most power hungry headphones i own. They are rated at 60ohm but volume wise the cowon can drive them easily. I listen to my music at volume 34-35 with them and max it can go to is 50. So i am thinking now maybe i shall not go for it if it will not improve the sq. And maybe go for a cheaper amp like the fiio e6 later if i happen to start using my phone a lot for listening which i doubt i will do soon as i love the cowon for music.
I am thinking then maybe i shall call for some cheap iems as the cyclones i own have broken and i cant figure out a way to repair them. I think i shall order monoprice 8320. Can't go wrong with them for the price. And there are a lot of good reviews for the xiami piston. Does anyone have any experience with these iems? Or should i just call for the Sony mh1c which also seem to be getting lots of praise
 
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