Headphone amp noob questions

Conman

Conman

Gawd
Joined
Jun 8, 2004
Messages
624
Well I've been reading through the forum and it seems a headphone amp is really important.Most of the sugestions have been to buy something on Ebay pieced together from radio shack parts and stuffed into and altoid's box.This didn't apeal to me at all. Using my best friend google comes up with http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SAmp

A quick look at samson's website listed all the details. http://www.samsontech.com/products/relatedDocs/S-amp_ownman.pdf
So if I'm reading this correctly you can plug 4 headphones(no swaping yay) into this and set the levels for each seperately? Also it comes with and AC adaptor so not stupid batteries to worry about.Seems too good to be true for the price.Could any audio experts shed some light on the subject?

Edit:Just noticed it has a 3 year warranty.Don't think the Ebay one will come with that. ;)
 
I would suggest you commission a DIY amp builder to build you something according to what you're looking for. For entry level stuff, the PINT seems to be growing in popularity.
 
Samson is not exactly the most highly regarded name in audio...

I would go for the PINT.
 
Just because it looks cheap because it is stuffed into an altoid tin doesn't mean that it doesn't work well. The only reason the altoids tin is so popular is because it is $2 for the case and a bunch of mints thrown in for free. Second, if you do your wiring well, you can stuff 2 9V batteries which is necessary for some headphones to sound their best. It is by far the most compact case that I have found that fits the battery requirement. A lot of the premanufactured cases (Serpac) can't fit two 9V batteries without being much bigger than an altoids tin. Besides, the altoids tin is approximately the size of the ipod which makes it real convenient.
 
Samson is mainly a professional audio company, they do not design their products for "audiophile" sound quality. You would be MUCH better off buying a CMOY/PIMETA/PINT/Airhead/PA2V2/etc. Just google any of those names ;)

Definately check out Head-Fi.org, and as they say, sorry 'bout your wallet :D

BTW, what cans are you using?
 
saturnine2 said:
Samson is mainly a professional audio company, they do not design their products for "audiophile" sound quality. You would be MUCH better off buying a CMOY/PIMETA/PINT/Airhead/PA2V2/etc. Just google any of those names ;)

Definately check out Head-Fi.org, and as they say, sorry 'bout your wallet :D

BTW, what cans are you using?
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I have checked out those options but the homemade route just isn't for me.The Samson seemed like a good choice for a low price considering I'm in no way an audiophile.If you know of any other commercial brands of amps that would be a better choice please let me know.

As for cans currently using Senn PC160s.Looking to make the first jump into something decent and just ordered the HD580s.Not the best but it's a place to start.
 
The 580s deserve good amplification, stay far away from the Samson :) PM MisterX, he would be able to build you a much better amp (basic PIMETA/etc) for around the same price, and he stands behind his work. If you have to buy commercial, I'd say save up for the new Headroom Total Airhead: http://www.headphone.com/products/headphone-amps/the-mobile-line/headroom-total-airhead.php

Don't go cheap with the HD-580s, they are MUCH better cans than many people think and need good amplification. Also, if you are getting the 580s, welcome to audiophile territory :D
 
piako said:
http://ciaudio.com/ for pre built

anyone know of any other companies that you can order from w/o contacting the sole builder?
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That place looks like it makes some amazing stuff but a 510 dollar amp for a 149 dollar pair of headphones seems a bit extreme.
 
I recently built a pimeta amp and so far its been rather fun and compared to the "Altoids AMP" I built before, it's actually quite amazing. On the negative side it seems to eat 9 volt batteries like a sonofa biatch! Get the PCB and hard to find stuff here: http://tangentsoft.net/audio/pimeta/

If you can get someone to build you one I would most certainly recommend it!
 
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