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KingKhan
0
Dec 12, 2016
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These are my first pair of high quality headphones, and I've heard that an amp is almost a requirement if you want to get the full experience. Is this true? Or will an amp make no real noticeable difference?
Rocktober
49
Dec 13, 2016
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KingKhanNot true. An amplifier will only make them louder. See if whatever you have currently will drive them loud enough for your likes. If not, then consider an amp.
filthyBlumpkin
13
Dec 17, 2016
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RocktoberThis is not true atall, even though these cans have a relatively low impedance, without anotice amp they will sound tinny, and distorted. If your going to invest in decent headphones like these, do yourself a favor and get an amp aswell.
Rocktober
49
Dec 19, 2016
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filthyBlumpkinCan you explain exactly, what an amp does? What it's purpose IS? Even your cell phone already has an "amp" in it. As does your PC motherboard, your laptop, your tablet. A theoretically perfect amplifier takes the input signal IN, increases the AMPlitude of the signal, and puts it back OUT, unchanged. That's why it's called an amplifier and not a "betterfier".
Try the headphones with the amps you already own. Not loud enough for your ears? Buy a more powerful amp.
Try the headphones with the amps you already own. Not loud enough for your ears? Buy a more powerful amp.
filthyBlumpkin
13
Dec 19, 2016
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RocktoberInstead of thinking of an amp think of 2 car engines driving a car uphill. One can be a real cheap diesel one - noisy, smelly, vibrating & struggling. The other could be the latest Rolls Royce petrol with all refinements - smooth, quiet, taking the hill in its stride
The components used is shitty amps can muddy the signal path, causing it to sound tinny, and distorted. Do some Research friend.
The components used is shitty amps can muddy the signal path, causing it to sound tinny, and distorted. Do some Research friend.
Rocktober
49
Dec 27, 2016
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filthyBlumpkinTo answer your analogy, imagine putting normal horse shoes on your horse OR some incredibly expensive artisan crafted ones, carved from precious metal and engraved with beautiful artwork. In the end, will either make the horse walk better than the other?
The fact is that the bit that actually does the amplification in most devices is relatively inexpensive... for a GOOD one. Consider that "perfect amplification" means making a sound louder while remaining precisely true to the frequency response of the original signal. Perfect = 1. Bad = 0. The majority of amps these days are so close to "1" that any difference between them is unlikely to be detectable in most situations, i.e.; most people's ears with most dynamic drivers with most music. You can't get any better than "perfect" and even damn close to perfect is pretty easy to find (just about any smart phone or laptop). No matter how money a company throws at slight improvements, "1" is as good as it gets.
Google "law of diminishing returns".
The fact is that the bit that actually does the amplification in most devices is relatively inexpensive... for a GOOD one. Consider that "perfect amplification" means making a sound louder while remaining precisely true to the frequency response of the original signal. Perfect = 1. Bad = 0. The majority of amps these days are so close to "1" that any difference between them is unlikely to be detectable in most situations, i.e.; most people's ears with most dynamic drivers with most music. You can't get any better than "perfect" and even damn close to perfect is pretty easy to find (just about any smart phone or laptop). No matter how money a company throws at slight improvements, "1" is as good as it gets.
Google "law of diminishing returns".
filthyBlumpkin
13
Dec 27, 2016
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RocktoberYoure dense. I'm not saying spend a lot of money, but heads up, your shitty iPhone isn't going to properly run these. End of discussion, not just volume Ether, it won't sound nearly as good as they should. Spend 70-100 bucks on an amp, or don't buy these. Good day.
Rocktober
49
Dec 27, 2016
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filthyBlumpkinAnytime you want to come up with actual measurements proving that, I'll be here. I didn't tell anyone not to buy an amp. I said buy the headphones, try them with the devices you have, IF it isn't loud enough (many amps will clip before they reach full volume, creating distortion), go buy one. Plug them into your eyephone and THEN tell me they suck. Better yet, get a friend (hire someone, if you don't have any) to help you do a blind test. Set the volume between a phone and an amp as close together as possible, put on a blind fold, have them switch between the sources a bunch of times and report here how many times you guessed which was which.
The K7XX, like most AKG, are NOT exotic formulations of unobtainium coils wound by space aliens that require the power of a neutron star to drive adequately.
YES, a GOOD amp will make your music louder. That's it's sole purpose. People getting their hopes up, reading posts like yours, that investing money in something and expecting some sort of magical enlightenment might actually find some confirmation basis that makes them think louder = better. Many will be disappointed to find that their $1000 laptop, $600 smart phone, or PC motherboard sounded just as good (if not as potentially damaging to their hearing).
I actually run an amp on my desktop. An Audio-gd NF-11. It has WAY more power than I will ever use with these headphones but that isn't why I bought it. I bought it because I like having a quality, physical volume knob on my desk and the convenience of a cable that's easy to disconnect. That's it.
The K7XX, like most AKG, are NOT exotic formulations of unobtainium coils wound by space aliens that require the power of a neutron star to drive adequately.
YES, a GOOD amp will make your music louder. That's it's sole purpose. People getting their hopes up, reading posts like yours, that investing money in something and expecting some sort of magical enlightenment might actually find some confirmation basis that makes them think louder = better. Many will be disappointed to find that their $1000 laptop, $600 smart phone, or PC motherboard sounded just as good (if not as potentially damaging to their hearing).
I actually run an amp on my desktop. An Audio-gd NF-11. It has WAY more power than I will ever use with these headphones but that isn't why I bought it. I bought it because I like having a quality, physical volume knob on my desk and the convenience of a cable that's easy to disconnect. That's it.
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