portable head amp for Grado Sr80i

[mpw]

Hi

I use youtube for music on my hand phone and use the handphone IEM's

I like to use my Grado SR80i but i find the handphone finds them hard to drive

what would you suggest a good headphone amp which is

portable and easily carried in my backpack
small form factor - to connect to my android mobile phone
preferably available in India
something that allows me to walk around in my hotel room while i listen to music / youtube music

A budget of maybe 10k ?

thanks
mpw

 

[Moimanuh]

Hi

I use youtube for music on my hand phone and use the handphone IEM's

I like to use my Grado SR80i but i find the handphone finds them hard to drive

what would you suggest a good headphone amp which is

portable and easily carried in my backpack
small form factor - to connect to my android mobile phone
preferably available in India
something that allows me to walk around in my hotel room while i listen to music / youtube music

A budget of maybe 10k ?

thanks
mpw

try this https://www.headphonezone.in/collec.../ifi-audio-nano-idsd-le?variant=1230958657543
it has native dsd support. it should drive your headphone easily

 

[mpw]

which usb cable do i use to connect to my android phone ?

 

[arj]

Hi

I use youtube for music on my hand phone and use the handphone IEM's

I like to use my Grado SR80i but i find the handphone finds them hard to drive

what would you suggest a good headphone amp which is

portable and easily carried in my backpack
small form factor - to connect to my android mobile phone
preferably available in India
something that allows me to walk around in my hotel room while i listen to music / youtube music

A budget of maybe 10k ?

thanks
mpw

would you prefer a blutooth headset instead ? I use an old BW P5 connected to a wireless XB10 while travelling and at home I have a Senn HD650 ..

My brother in law uses this (a beyerdynamic portable dac+amp) and it drived most easy load headphones...but this is not wireless.

 

[mpw]

arj

i prefer to stick with the Grado Sr80i - rather like the presentation

i will look at the Beyerdynamic but i will opt for the one closer in my budget and that looks like the ifi Nano DSD LE

regards

 

[arj]

I understand on the Sr80. BTW i tried out the XB10 with my Senn HD650 and it went very well. it is really small and being bluetooth no hassles of carrying cables.

 

[elangoas]

to connect to my android mobile phone

Which android phone do you use?..

 

[mpw]

vivo s55 or v55 i think - about 2 years old

 

[elangoas]

vivo s55 or v55 i think - about 2 years old

Ok.. Consider this if you like this idea..

If your phone supports USB-OTG, then getting a USB-DAC like Dragonfly (portable headphone amp) or equivalent models and connecting to your phone to the DAC thru 3.5mm should make it really portable.. I mean tiny device & easy to carry around..

 

[mpw]

Ok.. Consider this if you like this idea..

If your phone supports USB-OTG, then getting a USB-DAC like Dragonfly (portable headphone amp) or equivalent models and connecting to your phone to the DAC thru 3.5mm should make it really portable.. I mean tiny device & easy to carry around..

Will I need the OTG functionality to support the ifi nano idsd LE too ?

My phone is a vivo 1603 dual sim

An trying to look up the net if my phone supports this...

 

[elangoas]

Will I need the OTG functionality to support the ifi nano idsd LE too ?

My phone is a vivo 1603 dual sim

An trying to look up the net if my phone supports this...

I think yes, you need OTG functionality to send digital out to DAC thru USB..

If this is your mobile - https://www.gsmarena.com/vivo_y55s-8588.php , there is a mention of USB-OTG..

Anyways, download this app from playstore to check if your phone has USB-OTG functionality - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.faitaujapon.otg&hl=en

 

[manniraj]

I have the Oppo HA-2se hardly used and pretty new brought some months back. Should have used couple of times when I travel with my HD598. Let me know if it interests you.

Thanks

 

[mpw]

Thanks all....

regards

 

[Moimanuh]

Thanks all....

regards

I have ifi nano idsd le. You will need something like this https://www.amazon.in/dp/B072VDYFD6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_3QReCbZYRGW3Q. Also dragonfly will require the same adapter. I agree that dragonfly i more compact and portable then ifi. But ifi one supports native dsd and dxd . not sure if dragonfly supports dsd

 

[hifitoaster]

I understand on the Sr80. BTW i tried out the XB10 with my Senn HD650 and it went very well. it is really small and being bluetooth no hassles of carrying cables.

Are you using a phone with Aptx HD? I found the XB 10 very grainy digital sounding, compared to my Samsung S8s headphone out and a venture electronics Odessey. I really wanted to like it because of its convenience,but ended up returning it at the end due to its harshness in sound. With bright Grado, I suspect you will have a earbleed if I am not wrong. I bought it for PUBG gaming, but it didnt work out as the device goes to phone mode while gaming due to ingame chat, which has a radio like sound quality. But I was impressed by the bass and seperation. I am pretty sure it would have worked been better



Again, been there experience from me is : None of these solutions are really portable, rather transportable. Nothing will fit into your pocket to walk around. I had FiiO e18, JDS labs c5d, Leckerton audio UHA 6s MK1 & Meridian Explorer II. Upgraditis took me to Chord Mojo now. I travel a lot, and always have the problem of forgetting to charge the DAC. The most convienient of the lot was the Meridian explorer as it wasnt a stack, but rather became a part of the cable. As a spare thing, I bought a VE Odessey. But to say, it is literally the most used device in my list, as its almost equal to having just a cable itself. Though it is an improvement to my phone, I dont know if your vivo orginally have a better sound than s8 which may lower your improvement. Its very smooth with the vocals, slightly rolled off with treble, but has good midbass, though not the tightest. For me, it fits the category of "good enough", "can live with it" while being extremely portable than any of the boxes letting me to use it very easily. After reading some impressions on another forum, i bought one only to make sure that they were overhyping. But it turned out to be good. May be you can try that too, I dont think it would hurt anyones pocket.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Ven...lgo_pvid=721be337-760c-4bde-9ca3-30f14f56663b

Limitation is CD quality, but thats where all the Indian music gets at the maximum. But, to my ears, its really smooth, listenable, free from the digital glare of cheap dacs.

Will I need the OTG functionality to support the ifi nano idsd LE too ?

My phone is a vivo 1603 dual sim

An trying to look up the net if my phone supports this...

 

[arj]

Are you using a phone with Aptx HD? I found the XB 10 very grainy digital sounding, .

You may be right as I use this only for you-tube videos/skype calls. The BW P5 i use with it is not particularly resolving and lean itself so the combination of all of this keeps expectations low anyway

This is no comparison to the headphone output on my Leben CS600 which is where i have used the Senns the most for the better content. I would not even compare the 2

For the convenience it gives, the XB10 is far better than even the headphone out of my Macbook pro in power and resolution. And when i do use it with my phone its to play 256/320 rips hence dont expect much.

The Added Microphone option helps !

 

[hifitoaster]

You may be right as I use this only for you-tube videos/skype calls. The BW P5 i use with it is not particularly resolving and lean itself so the combination of all of this keeps expectations low anyway

This is no comparison to the headphone output on my Leben CS600 which is where i have used the Senns the most for the better content. I would not even compare the 2

For the convenience it gives, the XB10 is far better than even the headphone out of my Macbook pro in power and resolution. And when i do use it with my phone its to play 256/320 rips hence dont expect much.

The Added Microphone option helps !

Its resolving no doubt about it and bass is awesome, but the sound profile was very very glary on my Beoplay H6. But with HD 650, you should be right, the sennheiser weil beautifully would cover the glare! I sold my 650 recently before I got the AK. It must be the best small bluetooth dac out there compared to earstudio es 100 and colorfly BTC1 and FiiO BTR3. I have not listened to the others, but read the comparisons before getting the AK, and it was too cheap for a AK product(70€, amazon.de).

 

[arj]

its funny..I bought it by accident as I was looking for a Bluetooth module for phone calls where I could connect my own head/ear-phone than those with integrated ones . I bought it primarily for the microphone but the sound quality was way beyond what I expected

 

[mpw]

so finally it is the ifi iDSD Nano LE version for me..

 

[blackscorpio]

sorry if I am hijacking. Since BT portable dongle are being discussed, I have been looking for one for the Senn 598, primarily for music from laptop & phone, and for taking skype calls on laptop. I want to keep it below 3k but can go beyond for something excellent. Currently I have mpow BT dongle but its quality & range are not good.