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Amp recommdations

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Happy weekend all- I bought the EDC3 iems last weekend, now thinking about a portable headphone amp. Looking at the Topping NX5 and the Objective 2, both on Massdrop for under a hundreD currently. Any thoughts or experience here with either? And I should add my 58 year old ears have taken a beating from concert amps and gunfire over the years, so I’m not sure if I could tell the difference between a hundred dollar set ofIEMs or a 500 dollar pair. Thanks for any comment or recommmendations
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GunsOfBrixton
911
Mar 11, 2018
Unless you're using a very low end phone, my suggestion would be to try them on your phone first. If you get enough volume, then an amp isn't going to do much for you. The EDCs were designed to work well without one. Bottom line, all an amp really does is provide more volume. If you want to color the sound, its more flexible and cheaper to eq through your player.
If you really want to play with amps, the Topping NX1S is an inexpensive, decent place to start.
As to your question about $100 vs 500, the answer is definitely yes. The real question is whether the difference is worth it.
It's less difference than, say, a stock government model and a Kimber 45, if that's a useful comparison :)
Brigar
28
Mar 8, 2018
What will you be using for music on the go? Phone? Might try the EDC3 first. I’m on that drop and curious about them myself.
I use a massdrop Objective2 for desktop listening. Good value for that application. For efficient IEMs look at the lower gain version. Also, it’s kinda chunky and you’ll need to add specific batteries to go mobile.
The Topping looks good (form & specs) though i haven’t tried the NX5.
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