• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

~$150 amp suggestion?

V

VulcaN

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Aug 22, 2001
Messages
1,917
So after the thread about the DT990's not sounding good on the Creative Z card, I started to doubt the amp in my Z too. I believed the false claims of them powering up to 600ohm's and figured since my cans (Philips fidelio X1) were only ~30ohm well then shit surely the Z could power them, they don't even sound like total shit through my ipod.

Boy was I wrong, I plugged them into the headphone out of my receiver and it was a world of difference, richer sound and more bass.

So now I am in the market for a small headphone amp (that plugs into the wall, no batteries needed) so I can have this richer sound at my computer.

I was thinking of the JDSLabs objective 2 kit (so I could have fun putting it together) which makes it reasonably priced. I couldnt find on their website if you can purchase the enclosure though which was a bummer, I don't have the time to fabricate something as slick looking as their enclosure, and only saw the faceplate for sale (why doenst a "kit" come with everything?).

Or would I really notice a difference splurging on something like the Schiit Asgard 2 (~$250?)

My only requirement is that its not USB, it has to use the line out of my creative Z and not muck with the signal as the card itself does a great job making everything sound perfect, just needs more jiggawattz!
 
Any decent headphone amp should work. Schitt Magni would be a good choice.

BTW, 30 ohm cans require more current to drive than 600 ohm. The op-amp on the Z can drive 600 ohm and higher loads, but becomes current limited as impedance decreases. That's why I don't like op-amp based headphone amps. The O2 uses current feedback op-amps that can drive lower impedances than standard op-amps, but I still prefer a buffer or preferably a discrete class-A amplifier. My first try was here:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/headphone-systems/187501-nelson-pass-inspired-headphone-amp.html
 
yeah the schitt or 02 are the current budget kings. you are safe with either. if you want a smaller amp i used to love my old mini3.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top