Cheap REAL headphone amp.

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karan_n8

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I bought the E5 recently..Paired it with my Klispsch S4 and sennheiser PX 100,nd could barely notice any enhancement in sound qulity.As a matter of fact on the bass boost mode the soundonly gets muddier.Even though there is somewhat bass enhancement, there is o% improvement in sound detailing and clarity ! If this happened with a low end headphone/earphone I could blamei t on them,but on pairing it with anything of the class of S4 should have given a better response. So I thought of buying a better amp.The cheapes option , which is considerably talked bout the is Go Vibe derringer.Have a quote of 3350 for the same from moshel. Is there anyhting betteri n that price bracket,i.e. under 4k ?
 
u dont really need a amp with those iems .. i doubt even a dac would make much difference.. not a major one anyway.. save ur dough and get better earphones.. then spend on a amp/dac
 
^ +1. Klipsch S4 don't really need an amp and I don't think it would benefit from one.

That said, E5 is hardly an amp. Something like an ibass T4 is better.

But still, I wouldn't spend on an amp for S4.
 
No I need the amp for my bose companion 3.I plug the ipod to it and it plays way better stuff when he source is something better like a laptop, so primary usage would be for that.
Said that, please suggest a decent upgrade from the PX 100.Not to exceed 4k..My only condition is that it should be portable like the PX100/80..Not too huge cans..
 
i disagree with the what your saying karan_n8 about the part that an Amp would really help you........klipsch s4 / Bose companion 3 speakers have a low impedence and a good sensitivity. I don't think an amp will improve the sound detailing in anyway except provide some volume boost. If your using it with the onboard soundcard of your pc then probably a dac would help. Then again price/performance ratio wouldn't be worth it for the S4 & the Bose as the difference in the sound will only be minor. Fiio e5 is only good for a lil volume boost after which it starts distorting, especially the treble. Yes i do agree the bass gets muddy with the E5 on Bassboost.

+1 for ibasso dac/amp although something good like the ibasso d10 or the fiio e7, is outta your budget(4k) but its a one time investment and you'd rather do it on something good rather than on fiio e5s.
 
Many people actually confuse between DAC and Budget Amps and think they are replaceable which unfortunately is not the case.

It makes sense to mark out the audio need first.
 
A majority of budget /entry level amps do not really provide huge enhancement / upgrades in sound quality. Most of them just help you drive high impedance IEMs or cans easily.

Even the high end 150-200+ $ amps at times are very neutral and just give give you a better soundstage ,transparency and maybe a different sound signature along with the main purpose of handling high impedance gear.

In such cases its necessary that all the blocks in your chain match upto each other. Starting from the files your playing ,your source and the IEM/cans you plan to use.

The amp would be last thing I would think of adding to the chain to improve SQ and even then in my opinion and from my experience I can say its not noticeable to everyone and you can say its about diminishing returns . ;)

All I want to say is one needs to keep in mind that an amp , especially the entry level budget one's are not going to give you any improvement in SQ .Off lately Ive seen lot of people investing in Fiio E5 etc with hopes of better sound .Lot of new IEMs provide exceptional SQ without an amp ,ofcourse in some cases an amp is must have and makes a lot of difference ...Like in the case of RE-1 and to an extent even in the case of RE0.

In my opinion instead of buying a cheapo amp for an IEM which really doesn't need one .Its better to upgrade to an IEM of the next level to get better SQ :D
 
One should never expect quality improvement with something like fiios,any improvement is only a bonus.Its primary goal is increasing the battery life of mobile phones and portable players.
 
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