hanz0 Posted May 26, 2005 Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 (edited) hi guys,im gonna be going on vacation shortly and wanted to know if theres a kind of headphone amp where you can get higher sound from my hi-md player. i have a sony mz-nh900 and the audio on the playback is not the best. im thinking while on a plane or in a noisy area, not to mention ears-popping, the sound will be difficult to really enjoy in those situations. i dont know if theyre called amps though. do these things exsist?thanks in advance! Edited May 26, 2005 by hanz0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sknight Posted May 26, 2005 Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 I was wondering what kind to get and where from for something inexpensive. What I have also noticed about headphone amps is that they don't necessarily increase volume levels, but they will improve definition. I recently noticed that the sound on my 800 kind of sucks when I played the same music through a really bad cmputer connection and despite the background noise, the sound was brighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanz0 Posted May 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 im not really having a problem with clarity. its really just the volume. i have 2 sets of very good headphones that give clarity, im just looking for a volume boost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishiyoshi Posted May 26, 2005 Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 hi guys,im gonna be going on vacation shortly and wanted to know if theres a kind of headphone amp where you can get higher sound from my hi-md player. i have a sony mz-nh900 and the audio on the playback is not the best. im thinking while on a plane or in a noisy area, not to mention ears-popping, the sound will be difficult to really enjoy in those situations. i dont know if theyre called amps though. do these things exsist?thanks in advance!←Yes there do exist and you can visit Head-Fi for more information with regards to which suit your needs best. I would recommend the Xin's Super-Macro or Super-Mini Headphone Amp. [visit Xin Feng Company] Look at these pictures - variation of Xin headphone amp.If you want good isolation for in-flight music enjoyment, you will need those noise cancellation 'phones. Headphone amp will not help in this regard; but will of course significantly increase the sound quality or soundstage if you will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrain Posted May 26, 2005 Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 just out of interest are you in europe or the UK hanz0? perhaps uncripp,ing the unti via our hacks section may be of use Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanz0 Posted May 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 im in the US, am i out of luck?? seems like these amps are pretty expensive, i dont think i will buy one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrazyIvan Posted May 26, 2005 Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 Have you looked into CMOY amps? They work pretty good. If you are handy with a soldering iron you could build one yourself. There are some people that will custom build them for you too. Jay Polaski from MinidiscT made mine. http://www.freewebtown.com/jaypolaski/cmoy/You can also find them on eBay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A440 Posted May 26, 2005 Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 That's a great price for a Cmoy. I got one on Ebay from another seller for a little bit more, and it does improve the sound and pump up the volume. But for airplanes, save up some money and get some Shure in-ear phones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrazyIvan Posted May 26, 2005 Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 ^^ or get some noise canceling headphones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny mac Posted May 26, 2005 Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 For the a cheap portable headphone amp I used to use the Boostaroo from Upbeat audio with my N710. It both boosted the volume and gave more vibrant soundhttp://www.upbeataudio.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanz0 Posted May 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 thanks for all the responses..i went ahead and bought the one from boostaroo. 29 bucks, i figure even if its not that helpful, it wasnt too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishiyoshi Posted May 26, 2005 Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 thanks for all the responses..i went ahead and bought the one from boostaroo. 29 bucks, i figure even if its not that helpful, it wasnt too much.←That's brilliant! Please do share with us your impressions - we certainly love to read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrazyIvan Posted May 26, 2005 Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 Yeah, I'd like to know how that little thing performs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanz0 Posted May 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2005 ok, just got this today. it definitly boosts the volume with not much distortion. im not really an audiophile so i cant be that specific, but it works. with the boost on and the volume on my player at 20/30, it sounds about how it would sound at 30/30 w/o the booster. the real test will be when im on the plane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrazyIvan Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 ok, just got this today. it definitly boosts the volume with not much distortion. im not really an audiophile so i cant be that specific, but it works. with the boost on and the volume on my player at 20/30, it sounds about how it would sound at 30/30 w/o the booster. the real test will be when im on the plane ←Hmmm, I cannot put the volume past 11/30 with my CMOY. Anything more and it becomes way too loud. Everybody's ears are different so maybe I am just sensitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrain Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 also depend on the 'phones you've got too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJ_Palmer Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 I've got the Xin Super Mini. It sounds fabulous though a Sony's line out, whether MD or CD player, but sadly its just not getting much use these days (so to speak ). I'm using fairly efficient headphones, like the Grado SR80, or Sennheiser HD595, and find that even the relatively weak Sony headphone amps can drive these to more than adequate voluimes, with little distortion.So I'm preferring this route, rather than adding an extra amp into the audio chain, and risk degrading the sound quality a bit... although I do have less efficient headphones (eg. HD580) which benefit from amping, so the amp's not entirely unused when I dig these phones out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saaron Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 It would seem to me that noise-cancelling headphones would be more appropriate. Unless you're actually hard of hearing, upping the volume --especially on in-ear headphones -- is just going to damage your hearing in the long term if you do a lot of portable listening. Even if you're not feeling actual pain, it can have a negative effect. Personally I cannot understand people who have their personal stereos so loud I can hear the music bleeding off of their earphones. If the phones go into your ear nobody around you should be able to hear the music if it's at an appropriate level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanz0 Posted June 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 It would seem to me that noise-cancelling headphones would be more appropriate. Unless you're actually hard of hearing, upping the volume --especially on in-ear headphones -- is just going to damage your hearing in the long term if you do a lot of portable listening. Even if you're not feeling actual pain, it can have a negative effect. Personally I cannot understand people who have their personal stereos so loud I can hear the music bleeding off of their earphones. If the phones go into your ear nobody around you should be able to hear the music if it's at an appropriate level.←im not one to blast my stereo. although, i think my hearing is not as great as most. ive seen noisecancelling headphones and they seem to be quite expensive. i spent enough on my sennheiser 600hd's. ill be using my bose triports for the trip, i dont wanna bring my precious sennheisers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny mac Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 noise cancelling 'phones are expensive, they have a box of electronics on them (which gets in the way) and some people report that they make the sound very artificial Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saaron Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 noise cancelling 'phones are expensive, they have a box of electronics on them (which gets in the way) and some people report that they make the sound very artificial←What about full-sized headphones that enclose the ear? I don't carry them myself because I don't use a backpack and I'm happy with my EX-71s, but when I used to wear a backpack to work I often used a pair of JVCs and really, you get the best sound when you use your entire ear rather than just pumping the sound into your ear canal, anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJ_Palmer Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 How about trying the Sennheisser HD25? I have them too and they offer fantastic isolation, great frequency response and low impedence, so go loud and clear with portable gear. Downside is that they're quite expensive, and can get quite hot and sticky with prolonged use... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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