Headphone amp?

[j29]

I have just bough a new phone (Xperia SP) and am disappointed with the lack of bass through the output, even with a software equaliser installed. Do I need a headphone amplifier? At a cursory look the FiiO E11 appears to be a good choice, but I'm not sure that I need one to start with as I'm unsure whether they are for increasing volume or increasing bass.. The headphones I normally use are JVC HAM5X, are these good candidates for use with a headphone amp due to their larger-sized driver?

 

Also, were I to buy one would my 2.1 speakers be in any danger if used together? 

 

Thanks for any/all advice

 

j29

[ShearMe]

I'd normally advise looking at better headphones before looking at an amp. If you're happy with your headphones on other sources, an amp might be a good idea. I'd suggest the e7k over the e11, however, because it has an equalizer where you can boost the bass if you wanted. 

 

An amp wouldn't hurt your speakers.

[UselessBread]

No no no. An amp is used when the device is unable to drive your headphones at sufficient volume. Generally the higher the impendacy of your headphones the more likely you will need an amp. I don't know how to get better bass apart from getting better headphones.

[Mogwai]

IF you want more bass get better headphones, if you want louder headphones get the E11, but I do not recommend using that E11 with any speakers at all unless you buy a pre-amp aswell.

A decent cheap pre-amp is the TC750

http://www.amazon.com/TC-750-BLACK-Audiophile-Phono-Preamplifier/dp/B000A36LQ4/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1378851335&sr=8-12&keywords=preamp.

[t0wer]

double amping can lead to problems, as you have 2 gain stages.

if you push both of them too far, it can lead to clipping which can damage the speakers.

 

and don't get a phono amp, unless you are using a phonograph/turntable.

they have a huge gain, needed to get the phono signal up to line level.

[h264]

The E11 has a virtual ground design and I never recommend it for connecting to a ....

 

 

and am disappointed with the lack of bass through the output

 

what are you outputting from? a computer?  If It's a computer the E10 is a better option.

[ShearMe]

The E11 has a virtual ground design and I never recommend it for connecting to a ....

 

 

what are you outputting from? a computer?  If It's a computer the E10 is a better option.

 

Cellphone.

[h264]

Cellphone.

 

which cellphone?

 

[MayflowerElectronics]

which cellphone?

 

 

Apple FTW!

[h264]

Apple FTW!

 

the iPhones and iPads, the iPods, not so much.  Samsung is all over the place.

[ShearMe]

which cellphone?

 

 

OP says Xperia SP. I'd bet it's similar to the Xperia in the list.

 

Tldr: get some FiiO products up in here!

[Aphexx]

as an owner and user of an E11 the bass boost is very pleasing. 

 

upping the bass on already bassy ath ws55 and the m50 doesn't make the bass blow out everything but make it more pronounced. I think its a function of the headphone rather than the e11 though. 

 

the most telling is the pairing with the ath ad700 the headphone everyone and their dog says has no bass. I do agree to a point with this stance but I consider it more bass light rather than no bass and with an EQ tweak brings about a very pleasing sound. however with the E11 bass boost it becomes a very pleasing bassy headphone when plugged into my iphone, while I usually say driver size has no bearing on sound I do feel the 53 mm drivers on the ad700 working as it gets my earlobes to wiggle around and move to the bass. 

 

that said I am unsure how they would respond to the jvc headphone you have. 

[h264]

OP says Xperia SP. I'd bet it's similar to the Xperia in the list.

 

Tldr: get some FiiO products up in here!

 

Oh Sony? Well, if you see in the chart, there's a real pattern:

 

Apple: ~1.5 Ohms (Probably because it doesn't have LTE, until the 5th gen, and understandably it increases to 3)

Samsung Cells:  ~3.5 Ohms (LTE models can be significantly worse due to transmitter's location in the phone)

LG: ~7 Ohms (not the new Sky model, thankfully)

Sony: ~13 Ohms (yes, OP, this is pretty bad, but not as bad as some of the ones below)

HTC: ~20 Ohms (LOL it would seem the beat's software EQ is meant to fix the terrible engineering of the hardware.  No wonder Linus said his HTC had terrible audio output.)

Motorola:  ~40 Ohms Google BOUGHT this company?!? (I remember their former CTO came to our class once in college, and she had a gold-plated Razr.  That was about the most interesting thing.  Maybe if they'd spent more money on R&D and less on gold-plated phones they would still be in business?)

Samsung Tablets: ~50 Ohms HOLYWOWNOMAKEITSTOP!

 

So yeah, basically, OP, the higher that number, the worse it "drops" your bass.  And not in your face, like, AWAY from your face instead.  You'd probably benefit from a separate amp.

 

 

double amping can lead to problems, as you have 2 gain stages.

if you push both of them too far, it can lead to clipping which can damage the speakers.

 

Yeah, especially if the input impedance to the second device is too low.  A cellphone doesn't really have a line out, though, OP, so your best bet is to turn the cellphone's volume all the way up and use another amp with a lower output impedance.

 

Maybe:

http://www.jdslabs.com/item.php?fetchitem=70

 

Or:

 

http://www.amazon.com/E12-Blanc-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B00B6QXWIY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378856304&sr=8-1&keywords=FiiO+E12

 

If you can't afford either the E11 should be OK.  At least it'll be an improvement over that cellphone output, but due to that virtual ground the crosstalk is slightly audible.

[ShearMe]

The e7/k and e17 can be plugged into the USB port on some phones - that might be something to look into.

[t0wer]

I was talking about a headphone amp and the speakers built in amp.

 

for the phone it shouldn't have a high enough output for it to be a problem