Which ones?

[BO(V)BZ]

Yea, I was talking about the HD555's...

And thanks Eli, I try =]

If you can get a Mint amp, or whatnot [can't say I know too much about the lower-end amp designs to tell you which one is best] that would probably be pretty good to invest some money in.

 

[emorphien]

are you refering to the HD555's? I can actually afford to get one of those $30~ mint tin amps....I just got $20 for mowing the lawn+alowance..

Ahh, mowing lawns. Allowance. I remember those days.

Do you have a link for those amps? I could see one being handy, and for $30 I might pick one up..

 

[eli]

well, I am 15...I had a job but I hated...so I quite after a year...

Actually, a smart man named X86Dude on this forums makes the mint tin amps. He puts them in little mint cans, and from what I hear, they are actually quite good for the price. I was going to buy one from him a while ago, but I chickened out...I forget why, baught something else or something. A damn good deal though, they can compare to amps many times their price as i remember.

and can someone tell me if the little headphone jack on the Klipsch promedia 2.1 has a built in amp? and if so, will it improve the sound quality of my headphones?

Later man,
Eli

 

[Paragon]

If the 2.1 is like the 4.1Pros [which I'm sure it is] it does have a preamp built into the pod which drives the speaker amp and also directly drives the headphone jack. It is something like a cmoy amp [www.headwize.com].
There is some improvement with my 32ohm impedance cans [Grado sr-325], higher impedance will probably see larger improvements as soundcards will have a harder time to drive them on their own.

 

[eli]

If I use the HD555's with the Klipsch 2.1 amp, will it actually use my soundcards capability, or is it self-sufficient? In other words, would the phones sound better if I plugged them into my sound card rather than the amp?

thank you

 

[leukotriene]

In other words, would the phones sound better if I plugged them into my sound card rather than the amp?

Given the quality of "built-in" speaker headphone amplifiers and the efficiency of the HD555, there may very well be less noise running the headphones from the sound card, with no obvious reduction in 'punch'. The only good way to tell is to check.

Actually, a smart man named X86Dude on this forums makes the mint tin amps.

Who IS this mysterious masked man?
And why is he never seen in the same place at the same time as the subforum moderator, Mister X?

 

[eli]

Given the quality of "built-in" speaker headphone amplifiers and the efficiency of the HD555, there may very well be less noise running the headphones from the sound card, with no obvious reduction in 'punch'. The only good way to tell is to check.

Ok cool, but what do you mean by noise running?

thanks

 

[Mister X]

Given the quality of "built-in" speaker headphone amplifiers and the efficiency of the HD555, there may very well be less noise running the headphones from the sound card, with no obvious reduction in 'punch'. The only good way to tell is to check.

I would like to say you are wrong about that but then I have not had the opportunity to make such a decision (with those cans) on my own. So, I must reserve the right to argue this point another day.

Actually, a smart man named X86Dude on this forums makes the mint tin amps.

Who IS this mysterious masked man?
And why is he never seen in the same place at the same time as the subforum moderator, Mister X?

Ufokillerz banished him because he was interfering with the mystery Ray gun that he uses to vanquish those ever-present UFO's
BTW eli..... I don't build mint tin amps anymore.
I barely have time to keep up with the orders I have for PPA's and Pimeta's so something had to give.....
No profit, build for fun amps was that something.

 

[BO(V)BZ]

Mister X,

Can you outline some rough differences between Cmoy's, PPA's, PIMETA's? [is this a META42 derivative, or vice versa?] I realize that quality of individual components obviously comes into play, when you build it using precision resistors, Black Gate caps, etc, but what are the merits of each design? There are a lot of questions regarding headphone amps, and those three types are very common, so a small FAQ, or amendment to an existing FAQ might be in order.

Also, what do you charge for each?

 

[eli]

Well, I guess I could buy one somewhere else. I'll tell you what; I will give you $30+almost new digidoc that I am not using+Vantec Tornado 80mm only used once...?? if not, I could ask someone on the buy and sell forum if they have one that they would sell.

I am about to order my new headphones, and I was just wondering;

1. If the amp in the promedia 2.1's are like a cmoy amp, why would I need something else?

2. If it turns out that the amp in the promedia 2.1's isn't all that good, and I wanted to hook my headphones up to my sound card, how would I hook them up if my speakers are using the jack that I need?

thanks

 

[BO(V)BZ]

Give that amp a try. I hear the built-in amp isn't all that great, but I don't have any experience with it either. You'd have to get some sort of splitter to add a headphone amp in there, or otherwise use a rear sound channel pair and hook it up there. Then, all you'd have to do is monkey with some settings and change your output options, or clone the stereo channels for each pair of outputs.

 

[eli]

I think your right. I am going to get the HD 555's use it with my audigy 2 zs, and klipsch amp, and see if I actually want an amp. I can't seem to change one of the jacks on my sound card so i can use my speakers and headphones at the same time...oh well, I guess if i want to use my headphones, I will just have to physically switch...no biggie


also, do you know where to get higher quality headphone cable? i am not looking for that 200$$ stuff, just something thats better than stock....is it really necissary to replace it though?

thanks...looks like I am getting some good audio equipment here eh?

 

[jaffy]

Its not nessasary to replace the cable. I replaced the one on my 580s with a ZU mobius, and there really isnt that much difference. It does sound a tad bit better than the stock cable, just not $200 worth. I say stick with the original cable.

 

[emorphien]

I don't know if the 555s are worth going through a new cable search and buying an amp. Just give em a try as they come anyway. See how they work off the Klipsch amp.

 

[BO(V)BZ]

Cable voodoo is something that I don't really buy into [Though I did at one point, and have a 150ish dollar pair or interconnects to show for it] All the actual tests that I've seen show that NOBODY, not any 'audiophiles,' 'golden ears,' etc can hear a real difference.

This is not to say that cables cannot make a difference. I'd say buy cables from a place like www.bluejeanscable.com , because their cables are good quality, properly shielded, and cheap. Basically, as long as cables are terminated properly and shielded fairly well, you should be fine. Anything other than bargin-bin ratshack stuff should work.

Saturnine2: My bro has the 580's, and the stock cable does look sorta wimpy. I've got 650's, and was thinking of getting the Oehlbach cable. It's 50$, and if it's better shielded, cool, if not, it was only 50$ =] I routinely spend that amount buying junk like laserdiscs or lab supplies [just scored 5 more LD's and a 24/40 Friedrich condenser, woo woo!]

Eli, try running the headphones off the Klipsch amp, then switch to the straight A2ZS output, see if you can see the difference. If you do, and the ZS sounds better, then you could probably gain a bit more quality from a dedicated amp.

BO(V)BZ

 

[Mister X]

Also, what do you charge for each?

Well, I guess I could buy one somewhere else. I'll tell you what; I will give you $30+almost new digidoc that I am not using+Vantec Tornado 80mm only used once...?? if not, I could ask someone on the buy and sell forum if they have one that they would sell.

Ladies and gentlemen ... please, lets keep the computer audio stuff in this forum and the for sale stuff in the for sale forum.
Thanks.

Can you outline some rough differences between Cmoy's, PPA's, PIMETA's? [is this a META42 derivative, or vice versa?]

Cmoy= opamp driven amplifier with no buffer stage.
This amp is very similar to the Grado RA1 amp.
It is an excellent entry level amp that will give you a good case of upgradeitus.
The main drawback is it has limited output current capacity witch means on most cans the bass is weak and sloppy. It has pretty poor detail and it also suffers from the blobs in the head sound.
One of the nice things is opamp rolling is quick and easy.
This is an excellent platform to get a feel for what different opamps sound like.
Pimeta= PPA inspired Meta42 replacement.
The buffers used in the Meta 42 ran out and Tangent was forced to redesign the board. Along the way he incoperated a differential output similar to what the PPA has.
This amp has very tight and powerfull bass and a fair amount of detail.
It also has a very airy presentation witch helps solve the blobs in your head type sound amps like the Cmoy and Meta Mint have. Wile designed as a portable amp it also makes a very nice desktop amp that rivals many amps that cost twice as much (the Creek OBH11 for example)


PPA= Phils Portable Amplifier.
This was a Head-fi open project.
The main goal was to create an AFFORDABLE top of the line portable DIY amp that could compete with the big dogs. The design team achieved all of that and then some.
The sound is extremely detailed (almost to a flaw) open and spacious.
The bass is like getting hit with a ton of bricks but it doesn't stop..... add the optional bass boost and you have a true basshead's dream.
The best part is this amp is also a killer desktop amp..... add a good power supply, a discreet buffer stage, a stepped attenuator and it becomes a true rival to the Headroom Max (cept it costs about 1/4 of the price).

 

[ufokillerz]

I had a misterx built pimeta, but after a while, curiousity bit me, and i purchased a PPA with steps from him. I have never looked back since. BTW, he had the best pricing i could find on PPAs and other amps. Professional job and fast delivery

I had a Klipsch speaker set way back before my logitech z560s and z680s. The built in headphone jack do not match up to even a cmoy!! atleast thats how i feel.

 

[Zemo]

Mister X, is the guy for the high end amps and the like. Does a killer job at a killer price! But....

BTW eli..... I don't build mint tin amps anymore.

This is where I step in! I have been officially dubbed Mister X's Master Flunkie, and as such have taken over all of the little amp stuff! That's right, where he builds pimetas and PPAs, I build Cmoys and mints!

So if a little amp is what you're lookin' for, my PM box is nice and clean!

BTW - the basic Cmoy design can be improved upon quite a lot to create a very nice little amp....buffered outputs, TLE based ground, Class-A bias, isolated power rails...makes for a very nice little amp!

-Z

 

[eli]

cool man, congradulations! listen...after I get my headphones, I might want to get an amp..I will be sure to get one from you

Yep, I am just going to use the stock cable and all for now...I think I am going to like what I hear. I remember wanting to buy the HD 590, and people w said they could be nicely driven by their soundcard and whatnot....since the HD555's have the same 120ohms impedence...would they work the same way?


thanks....HD555's are in the mail, hope I made the right decision

 

[eli]

also, I installed the audigy 2 zs drivers, and downloaded the updates. I deleted some folder that said nvidia soundstorm...thinking that was soundstorm drivers...well I looked in the abit chipset directory, and there is a folder labeled "audiodr". should I leave it, or delete it? the soundstorm is disabled in the bios, and everything seems to be running great.

thanks again

 

[BO(V)BZ]

I wouldn't delete it, unless you're sure it won't hose your system. It can't take up more than a few MB.

Mister X: Thanks for the rundown on the various amps =]

I've got a Gilmore V2, made by Antness, which I like a lot. How would a PPA compare to that? Also, what's the whole deal about diamond buffers? I see that over at Head-fi all the time, but I missed out on the beginning of it, so I have no idea what those do, or why they are so special.

 

[eli]

ok I won't delete it...heck its doing nothing to my system. so the HD555's are like the HD590's in the sense that they can be nicely driven without an amp due to there 120ohms inpedence?

thanks

 

[eli]

so the HD555's are like the HD590's in the sense that they can be nicely driven without an amp due to there 120ohms inpedence?

 

[eli]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I mean, thats what headphone.com said...should I go ahead and trust them? I don't want to send them back. they seemed to say that it was a damn good headphone for the price that can easily be driven without an amp...but excels with one...

 

[BO(V)BZ]

Eh, I don't think that my HD570's or 650's are all that terrible without an amp, and the 650's have 300ohm impedence, so I'm sure 120 won't be too terrible for you. Hell, the 570's have 64ohm, I believe, but they sound just as loud as the 650's, which makes me wonder.. but either way, they both work fine w/out an amp.

 

[eli]

ok cool

 

[eli]

I got my speakers (Klipsch 2.1)...damn, they are awesome. Now the headphones....


Edit: My headphones are arriving in two days. My questions I have two more questions:

1.Right now, with my klipsch 2.1's i am using 256+ bitrate MP3's, and it sounds great. With my HD555's would it sound good with that quality of MP3?

2. Would my HD555's sound good with games? I sure hope so...that's one of the main reasons I baught them.

thanks a bunch!

 

[jaffy]

1.Right now, with my klipsch 2.1's i am using 256+ bitrate MP3's, and it sounds great. With my HD555's would it sound good with that quality of MP3?

It really depends on how picky you are about sound quality. To me, 256kbps is good enough, although I have converted my music collection to MP4/AAC 320kbps.

2. Would my HD555's sound good with games? I sure hope so...that's one of the main reasons I baught them.

From what I have heard, they have a great soundstage, which is very good for gaming. I upgraded my craptacular HD570s to the 580s, and I can honestly say that the 570s had the better soundstage for gaming, though the 580s sound a hell of a lot better. Let us know how you like the 555s for gaming, I might go and buy a pair...

 

[BO(V)BZ]

256Kbit MP3's should sound just fine. Those will have a quality higher than LAME Alt-preset-standard, which is considered by many to be transparent. Each individual's idea of transparency is different though. For instance, I can pick out 128kbit stuff instantly, and sometimes 192kbit, just because things don't sound 'right.' I don't have that problem hardly at all with stuff encoded as APS, but I don't have anything to do a direct comparison, nor do I feel like taking the time to ABX it either [I'm lazy, and have better things to do]

Glad you like the speakers BTW, Klipsch makes some decent stuff, and they certainly have gotten better then when I bought my original Promedia v2 400's back in the day =]

I'm sure the cans will be fine, I even like my HD570's, though most people think they are crap. The sound quality isn't on par with my 650's, but that's a little unreasonable, considering the 650's cost more than three times as much [130$ vs 450$]. However, the 570's are the most comfortable headphones I've tried =]

 

[eli]

Sounds good. My Speakers sound great, I am waiting to really pump them out for about a week...I use them about four hours a day. So far, they sound good with the 256+ bitrate mp3's. I am glad my headphones are good for gaming as well....thanks for the encouragement

cool, thanks