Home preamp for headphones

[RevolutionUnion]

Hi guys i am new here i need a pre amp for a pair of headphones i am getting. I have a nice receiver but i want a pre amp next to my bed so i can play these to full power. I have a FLAC player on my iPhone so anything built for IPHONE would be cool. Hope to hear from you guys my budget is around 100. If i cannot afford a nice pre amp still give me suggestions i will just save up if 100 will not cure my audiophile status i want coming out of these headphones.

Headphones - ATH-M50s

TYPE Closed-back dynamic
DRIVER DIAMETER 45 mm
MAGNET Neodymium
VOICE COIL CCAW (Copper-clad aluminum wire)
FREQUENCY RESPONSE 15 - 28,000 Hz
MAXIMUM INPUT POWER 1,600 mW at 1 kHz
SENSITIVITY 99 dB
IMPEDANCE 38 ohms
WEIGHT 284 g (10 oz) without cable and connector
CABLE 1.2 - 3.0 m (3.9' - 9.8') Coiled, OFC litz wire
CONNECTOR Gold-plated stereo 1/8" (3.5 mm) connector with strain relief and professional screw-on 1/4" (6.3 mm) adapter
Thanks,

Grant.

 

[jp_over]

Here's a solid product that I have used:

ART HeadAmp 4 | Sweetwater.com

By the way, I have those phones too and they're very efficient. I just run them direct off my laptop most of the time. However, your post has inspired me to check them out on my receiver's headphone out.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Fiio E1 for iDevice amp

But after I recently tested ATH-M50 - I neither liked the too snug fit or overly bassy response... but YMMV

just saying ...

 

[agarwalro]

Based on specs alone the M50's don't "need" an amp. Grant has the same cans and he can chime in on that.

The Audioengine D1 fits the job perfectly. It was reviewed by AH recently.

 

[FirstReflection]

FiiO has their E9i as well, which is an iPhone dock with the features you want. Build quality seems to be a little suspect on that unit though. Lots of reports of failing parts or bad connection jobs. But FiiO has worked to improve their quality recently, so there's some hope that maybe the E9i is better now.

 

[RevolutionUnion]

Based on specs alone the M50's don't "need" an amp. Grant has the same cans and he can chime in on that.

The Audioengine D1 fits the job perfectly. It was reviewed by AH recently.



Beautiful i have no doubt these will work just fine!

 

[RevolutionUnion]

Fiio E1 for iDevice amp

But after I recently tested ATH-M50 - I neither liked the too snug fit or overly bassy response... but YMMV

just saying ...

I have a smaller head so the tightness was not a problem for me, the sound was breathtaking. My dads friend has a pair of these and "Sennheiser HD595 Dynamic High Grade Performance Premiere Headphones" which are 400 dollar headphones. I am not saying the m50s are better but i went from m50 to HD595 and the difference was not enough for me to justify a 200 dollar difference. Now if i had money to blow that would be a different story but for the price i cannot beat the m50. Listening to same songs in FLAC on nice receiver to so the comparing was not un balanced.

I will be using with ATH-M40s when traveling ext.

^^^^
Amazon.com: FiiO E6 Headphone Amplifier with Micca Y Cable: Electronics

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I have a smaller head so the tightness was not a problem for me, the sound was breathtaking. My dads friend has a pair of these and "Sennheiser HD595 Dynamic High Grade Performance Premiere Headphones" which are 400 dollar headphones. I am not saying the m50s are better but i went from m50 to HD595 and the difference was not enough for me to justify a 200 dollar difference. Now if i had money to blow that would be a different story but for the price i cannot beat the m50. Listening to same songs in FLAC on nice receiver to so the comparing was not un balanced.

I will be using with ATH-M40s when traveling ext.

^^^^
Amazon.com: FiiO E6 Headphone Amplifier with Micca Y Cable: Electronics

like I said YMMV, many,many folks like these... I directly compared ATH-M50 ($150) vs Sony MDR-SA5000 (On sale $370)vs my Fostex TR50P (currently $74)

My #1 preference was Sony as far as sound transparency and fit and comfort was simply amazing - second to none. My Fortex didn't loose much to Sony, sound is as you said is breathtaking and fit is good too. Like I said I considered M50 dead last in this mini comparison due to bad fit and overly bassy sound which btw: is nicely confirms to Headroom measurements..

p.s: My collegue and friend (which is smaller frame and head size and big AHer as well) also came to very similar conclusions.

 

[its phillip]

I have a smaller head so the tightness was not a problem for me, the sound was breathtaking. My dads friend has a pair of these and "Sennheiser HD595 Dynamic High Grade Performance Premiere Headphones" which are 400 dollar headphones.

The 595s had like a $250 msrp and regularly went on sale for much less. Hopefully he didn't pay $400 for them lol.

 

[RevolutionUnion]

The 595s had like a $250 msrp and regularly went on sale for much less. Hopefully he didn't pay $400 for them lol.

I just did quick check on amazon they where 400? Huh... guess i will never buy from amazon again lol

 

[FirstReflection]

Nah, the HD595 were discontinued, so they're hard to find is all - hence the higher price on Amazon right now. The replacement model is the HD598, which are, once again, $250 on Amazon (and slightly less elsewhere )

 

[bikemig]

The ATH m50s don't need an amp with an iphone. I use mine for travel mainly with an ipod without an amp and it works very well. It doesn't cut all the sound out on a plane but it does the job.