[Autumn]

Ehhm . . . . been reading the threads to help me choose a pair of headphones for my new Cowon S9 - what the heck is a headphone amp and where the heck does it go?

Autumn

[swayne]

Originally Posted by Autumn

Ehhm . . . . been reading the threads to help me choose a pair of headphones for my new Cowon S9 - what the heck is a headphone amp and where the heck does it go?

Autumn

A headphone amp is an amplifier designed to amplify the audio signal and drive headphones.

I don't have a Cowon S9, but if it's anything like an iPod then you would plug the headphone amp into the line-out socket and bypass the internal amplifier.

Steven.

[Autumn]

Thanks Swayne but does that mean another lead and piece of equipment to lug around with me? What does the 'amp' look like? And why can't the headphones drive themselves? Why is the internal amp not designed to be up to the job?

Autumn

[alexs2]

Originally Posted by Autumn

Thanks Swayne but does that mean another lead and piece of equipment to lug around with me? What does the 'amp' look like? And why can't the headphones drive themselves? Why is the internal amp not designed to be up to the job?

Autumn

Hi...much depends on the headphones and source being used to drive them.

For instance,the sound quality of recent iPod output stages is much better than some of the previous ones.

To be honest,using an MP3 player such as the Cowon,you would need to be sure that a headphone was worth the outlay,and for anything less than a decent set of phones,I wouldn't bother.

If you intend using earbuds such as the Sennheiser CX300 and similar,the Cowon itself may be perfectly adequate,and you probably wouldnt want to pair it with phones costing much over £100 in any case.

Headphone amps vary from under £100 to over £1k,and some are portable,and a lot are not.
The US based Headroom range are mostly portable and worth a look to get an idea of what you would have to lug around.

[Steven]

Any point getting a headphone amp ?

I have to say that you should not be looking to buy a headphone amp in your circumstances

Source > Quality of recording* > Headphones > Amp > Cables
*http://www.avforums.com/forums/portable-music-mp3-ipod-etc/811750-avforums-codec-bitrate-discussion-thread.html

I regard the first three as of equal importance. Upgrading headphones will offer provide more of an improvement than buying an amp

Another aspect is that as you say its *another thing to carry*. I don't even bother with my portable amp outdoors at all. I'd sell it but I guess its part of the journey in this game and I'll use it on long train journeys

[Autumn]

Hi and many thanks all - I am getting my head around this a little better now.

I bought the Cowon because my ability to appreciate the music I like has declined along with my hearing! I now wear aids, so I am looking for headphones I can wear over the aids (they are in ear canal) so I can recoup some of the enjoyment I used to have. I suppose investing in amps would be false economy in my case but the phones that came with the Cowon are rubbish. There must be some that, together with the sound quality of this player, will restore some of my listening pleasure.

I have emailed Sennheiser for some advice but not heard back yet. Anyone have some recommendations?

Autumn

[swayne]

The Sennheiser PX100 and PX200 get good reviews for the money as do the Koss KSC75 and Koss PortaPro.

I have no idea what these would be like with your hearing aids. Sorry.

Steven.