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Audio is a very interesting and strange hobby. For example, this amp is probably fantastic, but 90% of people probably don't even need one, and those who do can

Audio is a very interesting and strange hobby. For example, this amp is probably fantastic, but 90% of people probably don't even need one, and those who do can probably get away an Apple dongle or something similar. Some people will swear XYZ amp makes their audio sound better, but that's more a function of taste, the DAC, and/or distortion handling mechanisms inside the amp, and that's itself is an incredibly topic which again 90% of users can ignore.

p_l 3y ago
Useful if connecting higher end headphones, not useful if you're only going to connect simple low power in ears. The moment you connect any sort of bigger headphones that do not have their own amplifier to "standard" 3.5mm on most portable devices (even laptops), you find yourself benefitting from such pocket amplifier. The power available on those outputs tends to be quite low, so attaching higher impedance headphones means the resulting sound is quieter, which results in user cranking volume up to compensate, which makes the usable range of volume smaller for adjustments, but also that often quality noticeably falls down because most amps have more distortion at upper ends of power. Depending on devices, sometimes you even get noticeable difference in power drain.
- ilitirit 3y ago
  My comment stands for over-ear headphones as well - it's just not going to matter for 90% of users. An Apple dongle is usually more than enough. I have several different amps, a tube pre-amp, several DACs and a Qudelix 5k DAC. I regularly switch between an HD600, HD650, HD560s, HE4xx and Audeze Maxwells. I can maybe count on one hand when I thought one combination sounded "better" than another, although I'm sure I could bump up this number if I tried. The problem is 90% of the time it just doesn't matter. There's loads of resources on the net that talk about this, e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8zAko5G6eg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8zAko5G6eg Most of the time the differences are not that important, unless, as the adage goes, you're using the music to listen to your equipment rather than using the equipment to listen to your music. Which... 90% of users don't do.
  - p_l 3y ago
    The difference may be down to "Apple Dongle" in the era of USB-C/Lightning connectors and no 3.5mm - I know that despite not having particularly high impedance headphones, the difference was huge - and I specifically avoided "listening to equipment" and didn't invest too much into it.
willis936 3y ago
The CMoy can affect the sound, which is a hazard if you're a purist and fun if you're not. It's biggest win is being a fun and accessible (cheap and simple) entry into electronics. A good audio circuit should have low output resistance. Granted you can get that with a CMoy, but the popular/expensive models don't meet that criteria. https://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/08/op-amps-myths-facts.html https://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/08/op-amps-myths-facts.htm... https://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/05/cmoy-ebay-headphone-amp.html https://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/05/cmoy-ebay-headphone-amp...
- pomatic 3y ago
  [ Deleted incorrect statement ]
  - aidenn0 3y ago
    ??? That would dissipate about 50% of the power in the output circuit, and unless the impedance variance across the frequency ranges matches the headphones, then it will significantly color the sound (as the fraction of power dissipated will vary from the nominal 50%). Power amplifiers almost always want to be orders of magnitude lower impedance than the loads they are driving (so a fraction of an Ohm for driving speakers) for this reason.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
aidenn0 3y ago
One use case that is great is to have two CMoys when using a headphone splitter; you get two independent volume controls. I miss devices (like the original Walkman!) with two headphone jacks...
kiririn 3y ago
Yep the Apple USB-C to 3.5mm dongle is insanely good. Apart from looking like a ridiculous flimsy thing compared to chunky desktop amp/dac setups, it obviates a good chunk of the mid-fi market for a fraction of the price Poorly matched output impedance is one place where headphone amps do have a place. For example when plugging headphones into a speaker amp / AV receiver, where the headphone jack connects to the amp with a resistor in series, the end result can be anywhere from a significant bass boost to just plain bad

p_l 3y ago

Useful if connecting higher end headphones, not useful if you're only going to connect simple low power in ears. The moment you connect any sort of bigger headphones that do not have their own amplifier to "standard" 3.5mm on most portable devices (even laptops), you find yourself benefitting from such pocket amplifier. The power available on those outputs tends to be quite low, so attaching higher impedance headphones means the resulting sound is quieter, which results in user cranking volume up to compensate, which makes the usable range of volume smaller for adjustments, but also that often quality noticeably falls down because most amps have more distortion at upper ends of power. Depending on devices, sometimes you even get noticeable difference in power drain.

ilitirit 3y ago
My comment stands for over-ear headphones as well - it's just not going to matter for 90% of users. An Apple dongle is usually more than enough. I have several different amps, a tube pre-amp, several DACs and a Qudelix 5k DAC. I regularly switch between an HD600, HD650, HD560s, HE4xx and Audeze Maxwells. I can maybe count on one hand when I thought one combination sounded "better" than another, although I'm sure I could bump up this number if I tried. The problem is 90% of the time it just doesn't matter. There's loads of resources on the net that talk about this, e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8zAko5G6eg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8zAko5G6eg Most of the time the differences are not that important, unless, as the adage goes, you're using the music to listen to your equipment rather than using the equipment to listen to your music. Which... 90% of users don't do.
- p_l 3y ago
  The difference may be down to "Apple Dongle" in the era of USB-C/Lightning connectors and no 3.5mm - I know that despite not having particularly high impedance headphones, the difference was huge - and I specifically avoided "listening to equipment" and didn't invest too much into it.

willis936 3y ago

The CMoy can affect the sound, which is a hazard if you're a purist and fun if you're not. It's biggest win is being a fun and accessible (cheap and simple) entry into electronics. A good audio circuit should have low output resistance. Granted you can get that with a CMoy, but the popular/expensive models don't meet that criteria. https://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/08/op-amps-myths-facts.html https://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/08/op-amps-myths-facts.htm... https://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/05/cmoy-ebay-headphone-amp.html https://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/05/cmoy-ebay-headphone-amp...

pomatic 3y ago
[ Deleted incorrect statement ]
- aidenn0 3y ago
  ??? That would dissipate about 50% of the power in the output circuit, and unless the impedance variance across the frequency ranges matches the headphones, then it will significantly color the sound (as the fraction of power dissipated will vary from the nominal 50%). Power amplifiers almost always want to be orders of magnitude lower impedance than the loads they are driving (so a fraction of an Ohm for driving speakers) for this reason.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

aidenn0 3y ago

One use case that is great is to have two CMoys when using a headphone splitter; you get two independent volume controls. I miss devices (like the original Walkman!) with two headphone jacks...

kiririn 3y ago

Yep the Apple USB-C to 3.5mm dongle is insanely good. Apart from looking like a ridiculous flimsy thing compared to chunky desktop amp/dac setups, it obviates a good chunk of the mid-fi market for a fraction of the price Poorly matched output impedance is one place where headphone amps do have a place. For example when plugging headphones into a speaker amp / AV receiver, where the headphone jack connects to the amp with a resistor in series, the end result can be anywhere from a significant bass boost to just plain bad