Amplifier for Headphone / Sound system

[azvnoit]

I need an audio amplifier to enhance the audio output from my laptop or phone. The details I've mentioned below.

Audio Source : Laptop, Cell Phone.

Sound Output : 2.1/5.1 Sound System. Headphones and earphones mostly. I own Razer Electra, Cowon EM1, Sound Magic ES18.

Audio genre : Mostly Rock, EDM, I need amp with good bass boost that can enhance loudness as well without over powering the treble.

Budget : ~5000. Need amp that are currently available for delivery in India. Also needs to be portable not something big.

Thanks.

 

[mukherjee]

You can go with either Fiio E6 fujiyama @ 1.8k or Fiio E11K kilimanjaro @ 4.1k from proaudiohome FiiO

 

[$hadow]

Go for e6 I already have one and it is best for budget.

 

[mukherjee]

I have e6 too. But gave option keeping in view op's budget.

 

[layzee]

Dunno about the Razer Electra but neither the Cowon EM1 nor the SoundMAGIC ES18 will benefit from amping. Maybe a bit more volume but thats it.

 

[The Incinerator]

E11K2 f on FiiO ...... Amen. Its the very best and sports a sound that's way beyond the price it sells for. Yes I have one and I own a Cayin HA-1A so I know what I'm talking about.

 

[Minion]

Both Cowon EM1 and Sound Magic ES18 doesn't need any AMP.

 

[High-Fidelity]

OP asked for the portable AMP and everyone is started recommending except [MENTION=125133]Minion[/MENTION] without/even after knowing the fact that the IEMs which OP has doesn't need any sort of amplifier to sound at its best.

Better you invest that 5k in any good IEM.

 

[The Incinerator]

OP asked for the portable AMP and everyone is started recommending except [MENTION=125133]Minion[/MENTION] without/even after knowing the fact that the IEMs which OP has doesn't need any sort of amplifier to sound at its best.

Better you invest that 5k in any good IEM.

Razer Electra & Cowon EM1 sound their best when amped. You cant expect 40 mm and low sensitivity drivers to move on their own.
Guys please don't get judgemental.Read properly what gear OP has and hence why he requires help before commenting on others posts.

 

[High-Fidelity]

Razer Electra & Cowon EM1 sound their best when amped. You cant expect 40 mm and low sensitivity drivers to move on their own.
Guys please don't get judgemental.Read properly what gear OP has and hence why he requires help before commenting on others posts.

Actually TS has nowhere mentioned that he needs this AMP for Gaming purpose which negates the need for powering up his Razer headphone and even then going by the specs of his Razer headphone, it is not power hungry.

So you are saying that the TS can get better sound quality by introducing an AMP in the chain rather than investing that 5k in good IEM which he specifically said that he needs it mainly for music like Rock and EDM so here TS needs an IEM which has balanced to slightly v-shaped sound signature.

And you said that ~INR500 needs an AMP of costing ~5K to sound at it's best doesn't sound right to me whereas 5K IEM can give him day/night difference in SQ.

 

[The Incinerator]

Actually TS has nowhere mentioned that he needs this AMP for Gaming purpose which negates the need for powering up his Razer headphone and even then going by the specs of his Razer headphone, it is not power hungry.

So you are saying that the TS can get better sound quality by introducing an AMP in the chain rather than investing that 5k in good IEM which he specifically said that he needs it mainly for music like Rock and EDM so here TS needs an IEM which has balanced to slightly v-shaped sound signature.

And you said that ~INR500 needs an AMP of costing ~5K to sound at it's best doesn't sound right to me whereas 5K IEM can give him day/night difference in SQ.

Yes exactly, Cowon EM1 a Rs 675 to be exact iem sounds way way better with a FiiO E11K2 a Rs 4695 to be exact amp. I own both of them so I just happen to have a little more know how on those two,exactly. Its not Rs 500 requiring Rs 5000 but a bit more technical and having the EARS for it. Now coming to the Razers please refrain from making statements like "they are not powr hungry" . Have you done an A to B testing with them ? No loose talks please. Buying a Rs 5K iem / headphone is plain foolish without a DAP or Amp in between them again. EDM sounds very good on a Razer with a amp in the chain. Just a Rs 5K iem won't make day in to night or vice versa ,your source needs to be of high quality and so does the amp. What if OP decides to buy a Havi B3Pro1 iem.....ha , we all know what a good amp does to them,don't we? So get outta those myths that iems don't require amps its may be you don't have a first have experience as of yet. I had been through that phase too!

 

[High-Fidelity]

Yes exactly, Cowon EM1 a Rs 675 to be exact iem sounds way way better with a FiiO E11K2 a Rs 4695 to be exact amp. I own both of them so I just happen to have a little more know how on those two,exactly. Its not Rs 500 requiring Rs 5000 but a bit more technical and having the EARS for it. Now coming to the Razers please refrain from making statements like "they are not powr hungry" . Have you done an A to B testing with them ? No loose talks please. Buying a Rs 5K iem / headphone is plain foolish without a DAP or Amp in between them again. EDM sounds very good on a Razer with a amp in the chain. Just a Rs 5K iem won't make day in to night or vice versa ,your source needs to be of high quality and so does the amp. What if OP decides to buy a Havi B3Pro1 iem.....ha , we all know what a good amp does to them,don't we? So get outta those myths that iems don't require amps its may be you don't have a first have experience as of yet. I had been through that phase too!

I own so many things and I don't like showing off. Hence, I will not tell that what I own and what not. I have mobile with 3.5mm outs, many low priced yet amazing IEMs, mid-priced IEMs and high end IEM. Own mid-priced cans and as well as orthodynamic cans too. I have very small mp3 player(don't want to name it) as well as high end DAP(again don't want to name it) why coz I really don't want you to think that I have high end inventory so I know better than you.

What I am saying is a simple plain universally acclaimed truth that investing in better IEM rather than on better source would give day and night difference and I am saying this because OP have low-end IEMs.

 

[The Incinerator]

I own so many things and I don't like showing off. Hence, I will not tell that what I own and what not. I have mobile with 3.5mm outs, many low priced yet amazing IEMs, mid-priced IEMs and high end IEM. Own mid-priced cans and as well as orthodynamic cans too. I have very small mp3 player(don't want to name it) as well as high end DAP(again don't want to name it) why coz I really don't want you to think that I have high end inventory so I know better than you.

What I am saying is a simple plain universally acclaimed truth that investing in better IEM rather than on better source would give day and night difference and I am saying this because OP have low-end IEMs.

Yeah man you dont show off at all and know better than us all put together .... its in your name man..... we are humbled

And one more thing....OP dosnt have low end IEMS OP has very good and sensible IEMS, and they are great at what they do beyond their price points. Audio aint related with money at all. Good gears need not be expensive and expensive gears might not end up sounding great, I have told this many a times its more technical and you have this habbit time and again of co relating expensive with Good and affordable being bad. Get over it man it dosnt work like that in Audio. Small highend eg a Rs 6 Lakhs Harbeth can sound ten times sweeter than an mid end Rs 36 Lakhs Kharma speaker or Rs 3000 Sony IEM can sound 10 times more ill defined than aRs 799 Mi Piston, got the drift? AAhh lastly do you drive all of your high mid and low end IEM war chest without ammuna...err an amp?

 

[High-Fidelity]

Yeah man you dont show off at all and know better than us all put together .... its in your name man..... we are humbled

And one more thing....OP dosnt have low end IEMS OP has very good and sensible IEMS, and they are great at what they do beyond their price points. Audio aint related with money at all. Good gears need not be expensive and expensive gears might not end up sounding great, I have told this many a times its more technical and you have this habbit time and again of co relating expensive with Good and affordable being bad. Get over it man it dosnt work like that in Audio. Small highend eg a Rs 6 Lakhs Harbeth can sound ten times sweeter than an mid end Rs 36 Lakhs Kharma speaker or Rs 3000 Sony IEM can sound 10 times more ill defined than aRs 799 Mi Piston, got the drift? AAhh lastly do you drive all of your high mid and low end IEM war chest without ammuna...err an amp?

Well yours posts are no more making any sense to me so lets leave it on OP on what to choose. I don't want any fight with you on such silly things and to show any kind of superiority.

What I saying was a simple plain truth.

 

[$hadow]

Well yours posts are no more making any sense to me so lets leave it on OP on what to choose. I don't want any fight with you on such silly things and to show any kind of superiority.

What I saying was a simple plain truth.

A truth is a truth if proven and also man cool it man.

 

[The Incinerator]

Well yours posts are no more making any sense to me so lets leave it on OP on what to choose. I don't want any fight with you on such silly things and to show any kind of superiority.

What I saying was a simple plain truth.

AMEN to that.

 

[azvnoit]

Thanks for all the inputs.
I do own other IEMs of higher price but what EM1 and ES18 brought to the table, that too at a low price was unanimous. Also, probably the audio source was not powerful enough to provide for the IEMs. Sticking to the best of the lot, and adding an amp might help enhance the experience.
Looking at my budget, I think, it'll be enough for a good amp (from the suggestions I received here) and a better new IEM as well.
Thanks once again for the help.

 

[mukherjee]

Guys, if I might add my two cents here. U can see from my signature that I own a few audio devices including an ath t500, brainwavz m4, b2, r1 and also got a tpeos h150 recently. I got a fiio e6 since last 3yrs. In my limited testing I found that amping to increases the fidelity of most of the phones that I own, plus adds to the max volume. Yes the elcheapo e6 might not have all the bells and whistles, but it works.
And I believe whether the phone costs you 50 or 5000, if you cant drive it well(read amped) then u are doing a great disservice to yourself and the phone. It all depends on your pocket and ears buddy. But an amp helps.

 

[azvnoit]

Update : I purchased Fiio E11K Kilimanjaro2 (got it for 39xx) and will be getting an IEM upgrade as well. Thanks for the help and suggestions. Since there were some disagreement I found it useful to fill in with some information as well.
The Fiio E11K Kilimanjaro, in short, is a beast. Tested it with Cowon EM1, Sound Magic ES18, Razer Electra, Philips SHE6000, Sony MDR XB90EX.
Philips SHE6000 - just received a boost in volume.
ES18 - couldn't tell the difference, bit louder and lows and mids were improved.
Sony MDR XB90EX - again mostly volume and bit more bass.
Razer Electra - this is where i experienced the full potential. Added more to the sound spectrum, the surround sound experience was improved. The lows and mids were powerful, compared to before amp it was greatly multiplied. The volume and treble were also amped so the bass didn't overpower.
Cowon EM1 - greatly improved the output of the earphones. The lows, mids and highs, all were amped without any distortion. Volume was more than I can take. The amp really brought out this IEM, and I think a 4-5k IEM alone will not match this amped EM1 (+E11K).
Further, I tried E11K with my 2.1 and 7.1 sound systems and again 2.1 sounded way better than before. While 7.1 gave experience (it sounded great without the amp anyways) with a major volume boost.
Anyways, will be getting better IEM soon for the E11K to power.

 

[$hadow]

Update : I purchased Fiio E11K Kilimanjaro2 (got it for 39xx) and will be getting an IEM upgrade as well. Thanks for the help and suggestions. Since there were some disagreement I found it useful to fill in with some information as well.
The Fiio E11K Kilimanjaro, in short, is a beast. Tested it with Cowon EM1, Sound Magic ES18, Razer Electra, Philips SHE6000, Sony MDR XB90EX.
Philips SHE6000 - just received a boost in volume.
ES18 - couldn't tell the difference, bit louder and lows and mids were improved.
Sony MDR XB90EX - again mostly volume and bit more bass.
Razer Electra - this is where i experienced the full potential. Added more to the sound spectrum, the surround sound experience was improved. The lows and mids were powerful, compared to before amp it was greatly multiplied. The volume and treble were also amped so the bass didn't overpower.
Cowon EM1 - greatly improved the output of the earphones. The lows, mids and highs, all were amped without any distortion. Volume was more than I can take. The amp really brought out this IEM, and I think a 4-5k IEM alone will not match this amped EM1 (+E11K).
Further, I tried E11K with my 2.1 and 7.1 sound systems and again 2.1 sounded way better than before. While 7.1 gave experience (it sounded great without the amp anyways) with a major volume boost.
Anyways, will be getting better IEM soon for the E11K to power.

Good to hear that.