Amplifier advice for Cowon J3

[tovarnak]

I am big fan of good sounding and a bit stylish audio equipment. I have been using Cowon i7 with Audio-Technica ATH-EW9 clipons for few years, but few months ago I lost (well, it got stolen, but result is the same) my beloved i7 so I bought myself Cowon J3 to replace it. I am more than satisfied with J3 + ATH-EW9 combinations. But since I need something for louder environment, I am getting Monster Miles Davis Tribute IEMs. Eventhought I dont have any problem with ATH-EW9 I am not quite sure how it will perform with MMDT, because I found somewhere that they are 286 ohms (dunno if I can trust this, but there are no numbers on Monsters site unfortunatelly), which is already a bit high (much higher than 28 ohms of ATH-EW9). Since I have basically no knowledge about amps and how exactly they are affecting sound quality (well, I am not that naive to think they will turn every #$*& into earcandy...), so my question is whether I need an amp for this (J3+MMDT) and if yes, which one would be the best. Budget would be around 150$, any help and suggestions is appreciated.
Thx in advance

[WalkGood]

Personally I’d pass on the monster md IEMs because for that price or less I think you can find plenty good or better IEMs where the manufacture doesn’t hide specification information like sensitivity, impedance, frequency response and other information. That said, they are designed for portable use, so I doubt they would be hard to drive from any portable player if that’s the way you truly want to go. As far as an amp, I don’t think you need one but that’s your call, you can read “What Can Portable Amps Accomplish” here and make up your own mind.

[tovarnak]

well, I have discussed Monsters (MDT and MTPC) in another thread and with todays amazon prices, besides IE8 there is basically no IEM to be compared with them, because there are issues either with shipping (incredible import fees or its just not possible to ship them to my country) or not enough ambient noise isolation (case of IE8) or they are much more expensive.
I ofc know what a good amp can accomplish, I just meant that I have no general knowledge about which ones are worthy to buy, which brand is making the best, which ones are overpriced or which one is good for J3. I wouldnt be thinking of getting one (as u said, portable IEMs are designed for portable use, easy as that) but I got kinda shocked that I saw about MDT impedance, kinda big number to see for these kind of phones. Thats why I ask for help, I am not sure if I can rate myself as audiophile but I definately want the best of it, but I have never been interested in this area of audio business. Nevertheless, its always better to ask for help than just trying and failing on my own

[TimYoung]

From what I have read, it doesn't need an amp but an amp should improve the sound. To what extent I do not know. I think it would be best to get it first to see if you feel an amp is needed.

If you feel you don't than don't bother buying one. I always feel amp money is kinda a waste and should be spending that on headphones instead. Saying that, I am looking at a portable amp myself 'cos I do think I need one for my headphone as it kinda sounding underpowered on my mp3 player. Looking at JDS Labs CmoyBB for $60 atm.

http://www.jdslabs.com/store.php

It seems to have a good review on headfonia:

http://www.headfonia.com/music-on-a-...amps-shootout/

esp interested because I want a warmer sound for my cold headphone.

The only thing is that the amp seems kinda big and they are producing a new one out in the next couple of months so might just wait for that.

[F900EX]

I own the J3 + E11 amp and the Monster turbine coppers and over time I am starting to warm up to it.

Fact is there is no magic i-win amp out there, E11 is sightly warm with a dark sound signature, I like a wide sound stage with lots of color from the sound.

I have bought a few amps within the $100-$200 range and yet to find I love.

On a side, while not a AMP the ZO v2 looks very promising and I intend to buy it once it comes out. So does the new JDS labs amp.

That said for $60-$70 the E11 is not bad for what your paying.

As I write this listening to Adele, Set fire to the rain and it's not to shabby with the J3/E11 combo.

[tovarnak]

E11 looks good, but maybe I could take E7 instead and use its DAC for my laptop as well. Will see if I will be getting one, depends on how much money I am gonna spent on gadgets this summer, amp is not a priority atm

[saratoga]

I don't think using an amp with a J3 makes all that much sense. I also really doubt you'll need an amp to drive any pair of monster IEMs ever made to ear splitting levels.

[dfkt]

What Saratoga said. None of my IEMs show any audible difference with any amp, paired with the J3. The player goes loud enough, and most amps will just add background hiss to the dead silent output of the J3.

[tovarnak]

well, I still can get decent amp with dac and use it with my laptop, because its audio output is killing me. I looked a bit and found smth which appears to be good choice for that, Hearroom Total Bithead. Any experiences with it?

[DYstinct Sounds]

Originally Posted by dfkt

What Saratoga said. None of my IEMs show any audible difference with any amp, paired with the J3. The player goes loud enough, and most amps will just add background hiss to the dead silent output of the J3.

maybe its placebo, but i noticed a difference with my j3 and westone 4s. so much so, that the EQ setting i had on the j3 unamped sounded weird. i had to redo the EQ and then it sounded much better.

(sr71b used. waiting on a pico slim from Justin)