[superman0390]

hey guys, im kinda new here and just got into this new hobbie. well, i own a pair of ATH-ES7 and i recently bought an ibasso t3d amp. im using a 2nd gen 16gb ipod touch as my source. i kinda have problems telling the difference when i plug in my amp or not, it sounds exactly the same. on first hand i thought amps are supposed to improve the sound? i also have an ibasso LOD connecting my amp and my ipod touch. im just kinda frustrated im not getting any thing from my amp. (((((( help

 

[Ypoknons]

It depends on the headphone and the amp. You might not notice a big difference. Give it more time, and if you still don't notice any difference, sell it and use the money towards your next headphone upgrade. 

 

[shigzeo]

I tend to stay away from amps when the source is an iPod touch and the headphones are dynamic. The touch drives dynamic earphones perfectly unless they need sooo much juice just to get loud enough. Hell, even my DT880 600Ω sounds amazing with the iPod touch. You'd be surprised that volume matching a couple of neutral amps and sources will reveal that there is little to no difference on easy to drive headphones like the DT880. Any dynamic earphone too, is pretty easy to drive from the touch unless you need massive volume. I've detected no bass fall off on any dynamic earphone, no suckout, or anything. If you need hard EQ, that is another thing, but hardly an issue here. 
 
I use amps only for balanced armature earphones or for volume-hungry full sized headphones. Or, for a different flavour.

 

[Ypoknons]

Between my Icon and my laptop headphone jack I don't hear worthwhile differences with the ESW10JPN either, so I think shigzeo has a point. 

 

[superman0390]

so u mean i just wasted all my $$ getting con-ed by people who said amps can help increase quality of the music? (((((((

 

[Ypoknons]

I don't think they conned you, they were probably using a different combination of headphones & amp. Or they perceive differences differently than you do. Or it is possible, that they imagined the differences through placebo. 
 
But you have to understand how amps work, they don't magically improve music. They move a headphone's drivers. If the driver is sufficiently light and easy to control, a more powerful amplifier does minimal good. If however, the driver is difficult to move, an amplifier could well be useful. Headphones like the K701 benefit greatly from an amplifier; efficient dynamic headphones, like the ES7, may not. 

 

[superman0390]

ohh icic. seems like i just wasted a whole lot of $$ getting the t3d and the LOD. stupid me, should have done more research. hmm but does the t3d need to burn in? maybe with some burn in it would work. haha

 

[shigzeo]

The T3D is an amp that excels for amping balanced armature earphones. I have lots of IEM's, but only use it to amp my balanced armature earphones. For that job, it pretty much beats anything in the price range and tears down most portable sources. Great amp. But, with non-balanced armature earphones, I tend to just let my iPod tackle it.

 

[superman0390]

ok im so sorry for my weak understanding of audiophile technical stuffs. but do u mind explaining whats an IEM and balanced and non balanced armature headphones? thanks alot, much appreciated

 

[shigzeo]

IEM is an inner ear monitor. They come in two basic forms: dynamic (moving coil - like your headphones with a magnet and large vibrating diaphragm) and balanced armature (a semi-sealed box with a diaphragm on the inside that vibrates and shunts the sound out through a port. The latter group are often linked together via circuit boards or point-point wiring systems called cross overs that basically tell which driver to spit out which frequency. 
 
They often each down to 6-8Ω load which is very hard to drive for any portable source except for the S:Flo and Fuze and Clip. So, where the drivers actually drop to 6-8Ω (at what frequency), the player will not be able to cope and lose a certain amount of the audible frequency range. Amps like the T3D drive these iems perfectly: FR 100% performance, great stereo image, and good signal strength. 
 
Even good portables can suffer when playing good balanced armature earphones (which I reckon are the hardest mass production earphones to drive). 

 

[rarebear]

I know the feeling well..
I was expecting a my D4 amp to have a better quality sound than my iTouch but just move volume like you...

 

[superman0390]

hmm, sooo what earphones do i need to get the best out of my t3ds shigzeo? my price range is about $200 singapore dollars. im not so sure about korea's exchange rate with SG. haha. $200 SGD is about $120 USD i think. btw i listen to so much korean music in my ipod that i decided to get an amp. haha. <3 wondergirls

 

[shigzeo]

Wow - TMI? haha, just joking. Um, you know, if you like your current headphones, just keep them. Its hard to say which earphones would be good. For your price range, there might not be a very hard to drive balanced armature out there... the iPod touch already has a very capable output system... if you were buying something like a Westone UM2 or an expensive custom, I'd fully recommend the T3D if you really wanted to hang your hat with amps, but otherwise, the touch is as is, a very good sounding player in need of no amp.

 

[Inks]

oh damn, I have the same set-up except I'm going to be using Monster MDs. Haven't received the amp yet, but kind of worried too. But would using a 5.5 ipod be much better?

 

[shigzeo]

You are in luck if you have an iPod 5.5 - it has noticeable bass roll off, but everything else is very good. The T3D will restore that roll off even if amped from the headphone out. But, how well you notice the bass roll off is another story. I tend to be pretty sensitive to it and actually sold a few players because the roll off and other artefacts were bad enough that I got headache. The MD should be well bassy already though, so it will really be up to your ears.
 
If you hear people say that an amp makes a black and white difference, it is probably an exaggeration. An amp can make a huge difference IF your source hisses madly or has horrid suckout/roll off under load. An amp can't fix a bad signal though. It also has limitations. You are only really adding to or replacing the output stage of your source, not changing the source. Good luck.