Amp for IE8 w/ walkman a845

[sjondenon]

Hi there,

I'm looking for some advice. I"m looking for an amp which gives some more subbass to my ie8 and some more treble and clarity... It would also be nice if the amp can be used as a sound card for my pc, but this is not necessary. I already looked into the Fiio e10 but i think this one sounds too warm. I think I need a 'cold' sounding one. my budget is up to €200 and it would be nice if the amp is available in the netherlands. This might be a good site (http://www.hifitogo.com/nl/versterkers.html)

thanks in advance!

[dfkt]

A normal amp won't give you more bass and treble with the Sony and the IE8. It will only make the sound louder. Well, you could get the ZO or Arrow, which both have nice bass boosters, but I don't know of any decent amp with a treble booster. Just use your player's EQ instead.

[tienbasse]

Having the IE8 and an A847 myself, I'm not sure what you hope to achieve with an amp.
The IE 8 has very low impedance, and this is one of the best combos of IEM+pmp that I have tried so far, I didn't have to equalize at all except a small push in the treble, and the clarity and soudstage are just excellent as they stand.

For more bass, try the small knob on the IE8, I kept mine at minimum. You should also get more bass by equalizing, the Sony can be very "boomy" with Active Bass at 2/2 and the last equalizer band at maximum, if this is what you like.

I can achieve more bass and clarity by using my JVC HA-FX700, but then you lose in soudstage and the treble can be overwhelming with the A847. The FX700 is way more agressive and gives better results with Cowon players because you can "open" the sound with BBE, which is not available on Sony's players.

PS: how do you wear your IE8? Over the ear or just hanging down? My IE8 sound like crap when I wear them hanging down because I can't get a good seal with my big ear canals. Wearing them over the ear, the results are much much better. I'm using Comply Tr400 foams (spherical foams, not conical) and the seal is excellent, none of the provided silicon tips is big enough for me.

[sjondenon]

Seal is okay for me, even when i wear them down the ear (using stock single large). I actually don't want boomy bass, I just want some more power in the 20-80hz region.. I already eq'd down the midbass and eq'd up the treble... The walkman is a warm player, just as the IE8 is a warm IEM and an neutral amp might give me the sound i'm looking for.. or am i wrong?

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by sjondenon

... am i wrong?

I think your question has been answered in post #3, if you have questions about what an amp can do, read here. If it's more bass your looking for I'd go with dfkt's recommendation of the ZO or even the Arrow amp (has bass booster) but increasing treble is not something an amp does.

[h1a8]

Originally Posted by sjondenon

Hi there,

I'm looking for some advice. I"m looking for an amp which gives some more subbass to my ie8 and some more treble and clarity... It would also be nice if the amp can be used as a sound card for my pc, but this is not necessary. I already looked into the Fiio e10 but i think this one sounds too warm. I think I need a 'cold' sounding one. my budget is up to €200 and it would be nice if the amp is available in the netherlands. This might be a good site (http://www.hifitogo.com/nl/versterkers.html)

thanks in advance!

The Sony's eq works wonders! You don't need an amp.

The clear bass setting is around 50hz (deep bass), the 2.5khz area is for clearness, the 1khz area is for more forward vocal, and the 6khz area is for more treble. Lift each up 1 notch (not 2 or 3) in the eq to get your desired sound (the 6khz is optionally since the ie8's treble should be fine).