moosehead Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 I am a newbie, I am considering the M40s and would like to know if I need a headphone amp? For now MBP is what I would be using them for... I burn at the highest quality levels. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosehead Posted October 26, 2011 Author Share Posted October 26, 2011 Push... Does anyone have an opinion... I am thinking that an amp is not required due to the relatively low 32 ohms.... I am trying to hold off buying something else so I am hoping these will be out very soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Klipsch headphones don't really need an amplifier. They are incredibly sensitive and amplification can sometimes make their bass response a little too much. The Klipsch Mode headphones I'd guess especially don't need amplification since they have their own internal circuits for the noise-cancellation and amplification. When I get my Mode headphones I'll give you a first hand review of the combination. If you are in the market for a headphone amplifier, check out the HeadRoom Total BitHead. I reviewed it just last week. Pretty impressive. Headroom Total BitHead headphone amplifier review http://itsjust.in/vNkFuQ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosehead Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 Thank Justin, I will check out the amp although I will probably wait for a home system... I did not need noise cancellation or the isolation. I went with Grado SR325si. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Those are great cans! If you don't need noise-cancelation or isolation, going with an open design is really the smart choice. Those are right on par with my reference headphones, the Sennheiser HD600s. I would DEFINITELY recommend an amplifier to get the most out of those. A home receiver will do a great job but cost several hundred dollars for a decent one. The Total BitHead is a cheaper option but obviously doesn't do all the wiz-bang things a full home theater receiver will do for you. Congrats on the purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgoreck Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 Klipsch headphones don't really need an amplifier. They are incredibly sensitive and amplification can sometimes make their bass response a little too much. I totally disagree on this. I've have the x10's S4's and Custom 2's. All of them are more refined with a headphone amp. I have the Headamp Pico. The reason I say this, is that your iphone and most other portables devices cheap out on the amp section to have the battery last longer. With the Pico, I find that I get a stronger, tigher/deeper response. The headphone amp is like a capacitor you put next to you sub-woofer amp in the car. It helps give the headphones the proper juice they want/need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosehead Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 Thank you. I have found a local place to listen to a few DAC and DAC/Amp combinations. They are expensive. Since my long term and priority is a nice home stereo system a, I want to decide how much improvement a good DAC will provide. I am using a MBP. I understand that the MBP actually has an optical connector built in the headphone jack and some DAC take advantage of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Klipsch headphones don't really need an amplifier. They are incredibly sensitive and amplification can sometimes make their bass response a little too much. I totally disagree on this. I've have the x10's S4's and Custom 2's. All of them are more refined with a headphone amp. I have the Headamp Pico. The reason I say this, is that your iphone and most other portables devices cheap out on the amp section to have the battery last longer. With the Pico, I find that I get a stronger, tigher/deeper response. The headphone amp is like a capacitor you put next to you sub-woofer amp in the car. It helps give the headphones the proper juice they want/need. I see what you are saying and said just that in my review which I linked to. The fact is, Klipsch headphones do not NEED an amplifier, unlike bigger, higher impedance headphones like Sennheiser HD650s, older Grado SR line cans or many Beyerdynamic headphones, to name a few. These headphones NEED an amplifier, otherwise not only will you not get a rich bass and bright highs, you will get only a small percent of dynamic range and low volume. Klipsch headphones NEED an amplifier about as much as an iPhone needs an external DAC. Yes they can make the sound better but they aren't needed. The iPhone does a decent job, a great job for most, at outputting audio. There is no ground noise, there is no EMI/RFI and there are no clicks/pop/snaps from audio decoding or amplification. Yes, an external amp can make the sound even better but it isn't necessary. It is one of those things you add when you get to the point that you have exhausted the best quality out of your source. If you feel you NEED an external amp for Klipsch headphones, I might first suggest you invest in a better media player which will have a better DAC and Amp built in. Especially if you are about to spend hundreds of dollars on an external amp of DAC. It just isn't worth it. If you have the money and want to spend hundreds on an external amp, perhaps look at reference-quality headphones first. Sennhesier HD650 or 800s, Grado RS line, Beyerdynamic DT 880s or AKG K 702s etc. If you insist you want to buy an external amp/DAC, look at the one I suggested. The Headroom Total BitHead. It's on sale right now for ~$25 off its normal price and has a great price/performance ratio. If you truly believe it is something you need, then I also suggest you buy a dock to line out or dock to digital out adapter so you can bypass the internal amp of the iPhone that dgoreck doesn't like. If you aren't using the dock output, you are still relying on the iPhone to amplify and decode your audio and an external amp will only amplify the problems dgoreck finds in the iPhone amp. if you don't hear them when you use an amplifier, then they aren't there anyways Just my two cents. We are all entitled to our opinions of course. I was just giving my opinions with my experience combining Klipsch, and other, headphones with a varying assort of amplifiers and DACs. From portable to tube to MOSFET and back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bliss53 Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Klipsch headphones don't really need an amplifier. They are incredibly sensitive and amplification can sometimes make their bass response a little too much. I totally disagree on this. I've have the x10's S4's and Custom 2's. All of them are more refined with a headphone amp. I have the Headamp Pico. The reason I say this, is that your iphone and most other portables devices cheap out on the amp section to have the battery last longer. With the Pico, I find that I get a stronger, tigher/deeper response. The headphone amp is like a capacitor you put next to you sub-woofer amp in the car. It helps give the headphones the proper juice they want/need. I agree. Even an inexpensive amp made a big difference for my X5, X10, Grado 325 and Shure 840s. I went with a Fiio E11 for about $70. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technocrafts Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 IMHO it all comes down to synergy. Based on my experience, the Image X-10 sounds best with a 5.5 gen iPod video, but my Westone 3s perform a lot better if I add a Fiio 6 miniamp to the mix. The other hand, nothing I own sounds good from the 6-th gen iPod classic's headphone out, but powering a pair of UE- Triple-fi 10 from the same source trough the LOD and and iBasso T3 or a more powerful D2 Boa, I was in Hi-Fi heaven for two years. None of the Klipsch IEMs I own ever produced decent sound trough the mentioned amps, only from the iPod's heaphone out. But this is my peronal experience, and portable audio is very subjective to say the least. What works for you or me, may not please others, so it is really hard to argue what is the best source for any particular ear piece or audio gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bliss53 Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Just got my mode headphones and listened without my fiio amp. They sound very good with my iPhone alone. I will try with the amp tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaiser SET say Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Klipsch headphones don't really need an amplifier. They are incredibly sensitive and amplification can sometimes make their bass response a little too much. I totally disagree on this. I've have the x10's S4's and Custom 2's. All of them are more refined with a headphone amp. I have the Headamp Pico. The reason I say this, is that your iphone and most other portables devices cheap out on the amp section to have the battery last longer. With the Pico, I find that I get a stronger, tigher/deeper response. The headphone amp is like a capacitor you put next to you sub-woofer amp in the car. It helps give the headphones the proper juice they want/need. I agree. Even an inexpensive amp made a big difference for my X5, X10, Grado 325 and Shure 840s. I went with a Fiio E11 for about $70. I'm with you Bliss, I can't do any phones anymore without external horsepower[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bliss53 Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 I am really liking the Mode M40s with the FIIO amp. They do not sound as good as my X10 without the amp. They are almost as good as the X10 with the amp. The X10 are a slight bit more dynamic. I would put them in the same class as the Sennheiser PXC450. The cables are very nice and the fit and finish is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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