Looking for Good Portable Amps under $120

Chef Freeman on 16/07/2019 - 21:43

Hey guys, I have some Sennheiser Cx 3.00, which I use with comply foam tips, I've noticed that they don't get loud enough on my Samsung S9+, and when they do the sound becomes all muddled together, but when they are on my gaming pc they have more than enough volume to go around,I assumed this was the fact that my phone isn't providing enough power? (Correct me if I'm wrong), so I was looking at amps to help fix this problem, a quick research online pointed me in the direction of the Fiio A3 which is reasonably priced and has good reviews, I would like to know what you guys think of my situation and let me know what you suggest/ think of this, (I also use Spotify premium on the highest settings, not too sure if this will help with audio quality)
Many thanks
Morgan

Electrical & Electronics

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Comments

  • thebadmachine on 16/07/2019 - 23:42
    +1

    Topping NX4 if you can stretch for it.
    By the way the NX4S is on its way and will have ES9038Q2M chip.

    Edit: sorry I just looked up your earphones, thought they were hard to drive Sennheiser headphones. NX4 may be overkill.

    I was looking for small cheap DAC/Amp myself and narrowed it down to Audirect Beam, although it is expensive for what it is, head-fi reviews were good and I think it is all you will need for your earphones.

    • Chef Freeman on 16/07/2019 - 23:50

      They're nothing special of earphones just need something to give it the extra power, what amp would you recommend?
      Edit:
      Thanks I posted as you updated your comment, I will take a look at that

      • thebadmachine on 16/07/2019 - 23:51
        +1

        Just edited comment to include compact solution which runs off your phone power (head-fi review says Beam consumes very little power). Here is a Amazon AU link if you want to pay extra for better service (returns / warranty). Edit: it seems the eBay listing for Beam is +$21 postage, so may as well go with Amazon AU third party seller.

        Head-fi reviewer quote “The BEAM its litteraly Magical when it come to power consumption. I think my Wi-fi use more phone battery than this device, as I just can't tell something is plug to it.”

        Here is another cheaper option the Sabaj da2 (which consumes slightly more power from your phone battery)

        A plus for Sabaj da2 is Fulfilled by Amazon.
        Also the Beam comes with 3x types of braided USB cables so they can plug into any phone, high quality cables too, so I think they are worth the extra price. (Sabaj comes with 3x types cables too but normal quality)

  • thebadmachine on 17/07/2019 - 00:30
    +1

    By the way before you buy check one thing. Go into your phone settings and make sure the setting ‘volume limiter / limit volume’ (or something similar) is off.

  • jace88 on 17/07/2019 - 01:38
    +1

    I use the Sound Blaster E5 for powering my headphones on the go but I have to admit in recent times I switched to just using Airpods for convenience :)

  • thebadmachine on 19/07/2019 - 15:36
    +1

    I have one more option if you are good with troubleshooting etc (you may need to flash the firmware using a PC to get best output & also adjust settings in different music player App’s).
    https://www.hidizs.net/products/dac-cable
    https://www.amazon.com/HIDIZS-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier-S…
    Options on Amazon AU are around $129 Delivered. From official site or Amazon US may be cheaper.
    If you can deal with setting it up, it’s a lot more simple physically (although Beam and Sabaj da2 are still tiny). It may be a bit down on overall output power & sound quality compared to the other options I mentioned.

    • Chef Freeman on 19/07/2019 - 15:48

      Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it, I spent the extra and went with the beam, sounds much better now :)

      • thebadmachine on 19/07/2019 - 16:07
        +1

        Good to hear. The Beam had the most positive’s IMO as well, with the best one being it’s low power-consumption. The last thing you want is something consuming more power from your phone than you need it to.
        And even with the low consumption it still puts out a reasonable amount of power (49mW@32ohms) which is almost double what you get from Google/Apple’s USB-C to 3.5mm adapters.

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