I just bought myself a pair of Sennheiser HD595 headphones. Do I need to purchase a headphone amplifier to get the bang for my buck?

I owned a pair of 595s years ago and was fairly underwhelmed by their punch. I was then told repeatedly that I would need to buy an amp to really let them shine, which I didn't feel like doing so I wound up selling them.

Would I need to buy... an expensive amplifier? I've seen some that are only in the $15-25 range.

Would something like this be good enough?
http://cgi.ebay.com/E5-Amplifier-AMP-3-5mm...bayphotohosting

The technology to make a high-quality headphone amplifier is actually quite trivial these days. What you are looking at is probably just fine.

Alright, I'll probably go for that one then, thanks for the reply.

I am quite happy with this guy's amplifiers: http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIt...1955&_rdc=1

Sorry for the late response.
I have the Sennheiser HD595 too and I have never experienced or perceived a significant boost in terms of quality when adding a Headphone Amp into the chain. If your setup can deliver music with enough volume, the amp is not necessary. I even tried to change the opamps of my amp (supposed to be better overall), no difference in the sound signature to my ears (sorry, no ABX here).
Then again, it's only my opinion. It's nice to have old skool volume knob, don't have to change the volume from the mixer.

EDIT: Oh, the amp I bought cost me about 25 bucks per attached headphone

I believe the Fiio has a RMAA measured bass boost even with the bass boost option off. So you will hear a difference, but it's a EQ change, not a gain from having an amp.

I agree with wallu.. . If you've got enough volume (without distortion), there is no need for an amp. NOTE - Some "audiophiles" will make claims of improved sound with particular headphone amps, but the job of an amplifier is simply to amplify.

What are you using as a source? A portable player? A computer? A receiver?

Also, an amplifier will amplify everything including background noise. So, if you turn-up the gain to the point where you're actually getting amplification, you will amplify the noise. (The amplifier will also add a small amount of noise.) OTOH, if you use the headphone amp's volume control to reduce the gain, you will reduce any background noise from the source.

While I didn't actually obtain a FIIO E5 headphone amplfiier and test it, the analysis that I can do of it from the eBay ad indicates that it has considerable potential.

Its maximum output voltage of approximately 1.5 volts RMS is IME a good match with headphones of the type that you intend to use with it. Powering it from a USB port should work out for you.

I'll second this! I bought an op-amp from "Biosciencegeek" as well and have been VERY happy. It's a tad pricy, but you get to pick out your tin, the volume knob, the LED, he has it wired so that it shuts off if the headphones are disconnected, and it has a jack for a wall-wart (plugin) and it won't drain your 9-volt battery. I paired one of these with an iPod and some Audio Technica ATH-M50's and they SMOKE now. Possibly the single best investment I've ever made.

In case you're in the US, here's the link.

Hi,

I've been using a pair of the HD555s with a FiiO E5 connected to an M-Audio Transit. As the Transit only does line-out, I find it doesn't quite go loud enough when connected directly to the headphones. With the E5, I can get the volume up a bit higher to the levels I prefer, and, so far, I haven't noticed any distortion. It also works well when using an iPod.

On the practical side, the amp is powered by rechargeable battery that you can recharge via usb. Also, if you're only planning to use it at home, you can just leave it plugged into the usb all the time so you don't have to worry about charging it.

A laptop computer with integrated audio.

I am a fan of amps and have owed and built a few. In your case I would suggest that improving the quality of the source with a USB DAC. I find my laptop's audio out (Dell 820, Vista) to be noisy and actually quite poor compared to the Bantam DAC I use.

I understand that some laptops have a noisy output, but have you done any sort of a volume controlled test to make the claim the Dell laptop output is "quite poor" versus your Bantam DAC? Did you take an RMAA measurement of the laptop output?

If you understand that some laptops have a noisy output then you should understand that listening to something with a very quiet output would in general sound better to the listener. I do not have RMAA graphs of the laptops output I use it for listening not measuring. Here are RMAA for the Bantam VS the EMU 404. The Bantam is no slouch. Measurements are a good thing I use an RTSFA and an SPL meter to set up my car and home theater systems and am always tweaking them (just ask my wife). Doing measurements on headphones I am not setup for however I do attempt to do as accurate a comparison as possible and am very aware of volume differences as they relate to the impression of "quality". Measurements however will never, ever describe how something sounds, for that you need to listen to it yourself.
The OP asked about an amp. I would generally say yes as I own several, he later stated that he listened through his laptop. I have direct experience with a laptop of high quality and his exact model of HP, therefore I offered my opinion on what for me made an improvement that many people in my world have experienced and comment on. An amp is an arguable proposition, what I offered, I believe is not.
The OP also expressed an interest in DIY, another reason for my reccomendation. I am not trying to push magic beans here just a $40.00 widget that will improve the enjoyment of the OPs listening with his new cans.
BTW I would also suggest foobar with asio4all and the crossfeed plugin. Crossfeed for me is key to headphones it really seems to help cut down on listening fatigue and gets rid of that to distinct sound images you can get with cans

My experience with laptops is that they are noisy when no music is playing but this noise is inaudible when music is playing unless you are using a sensitive pair of IEMS. Unless somebody sits with headphones on their head with no music playing the noise would not be an issue. In such a case a USB DAC with less noise would not be required.

That would be a statement of your personal inability, and not a general statement that applies to everybody.

This is true on several levels.

(1) If you have a product that measures as well as say an eMu 0404, then you know how it sounds - it sounds like whatever you attach to it because within a very wide range operating conditions, it has no sound of its own.

(2) Various distortion profiles that are so large as to be readily audible, (both linear and nonliner) do each have a characteristic sound that trained people can identify by looking at the corresponding test results.

For example, I assert that I can look at a frequency response curve and make some pretty reliable prognostications about what that frequency response curve will make the corresponding system sound like.

Now you might say who would be so bold as to make such a claim, and the answer is someone with 100's even 1,000's of recording and live sound gigs under his belt, one who routinely alters the frequency response of systems and recordings in order to obtain a desired sound quality.

I believe you, to a point. However to make a statement that seems to me to state that if I don't have measurements to back up my opinion, therefore it (my opinion) is invalid is nonsense, This is true especially when the statement is made that it is only noisy when the music is not playing, and when the music is playing you can't hear it and therefore the noise has no effect on the overall quality of the sound. This is the reason I made the above quoted statement. Just because you cannot hear it does not mean it is not still there, and actually I think a measurement might actually support this.
You state that you are a professional in the field of sound reinforcement, it is in my mind then your job to be able to shape the sound of a system to your desire and as such know how a system will sound under a given set of circumstances and conditions. Freq. charts I am sure come into play. I use RTSFA and an SPL meter to setup competition sound system in my car (I used to compete, anyway) and my home theater system, I do know the value of measuring. I still hold to my beliefs and have heard, even if it is subjective, the difference in the sound of my laptop, with the OPs brand and model of headphone when played through the Bantam DAC and the built in headphone jack. I am also sure that you would hear this same qualitative differences. Dare I say things like broader, deeper sound stage, better defined highs, I can actually hear the different bass notes, etc.
I know that I have entered into the territory of the feud between scientific "If I can't measure it you can't possibly hear it" and the other extreme that invests in esoteric snake oil tweaks because "I know it just sounds better". I beleive there is a middle ground where my and you statements have validity and meaning.
I will go away now and stick to my foobar forum and stop offering my unmeasurable opinion.

Measurement is a necessity for proper subjective evaluation of DACs. For example, without exact level matching* your evaluation is worthless, also if it wasn't (double) blind. The effects of omitting this are well researched for decades. So sorry if not many people give a shit, when you claim to hear difference in a sighted, roughly level matched comparison. Too many of these "clear" and "obvious" differences have turned out to be non-existent when done properly. Look at how many claims about DVD-Audio have been made. There's not a single positive result until today when tested under proper conditions (double blind, time synched, level matched), but still the net is full of claims that sound exactly as yours.

If you're sure about what you hear, feel free to document a level matched, double blind comparison on this forum. Many around here would be thankful and happy to discuss your results and methodology.

* I would be surprised if a SPL meter for car audio competitions is gauged for the needed 0.1 db precision; those are very expensive. But voltmeters with the necessary precision are quite cheap.

How about recording the output from the laptop headphone jack through your Bantam DAC and creating a time aligned level matched copy of the original for an ABX test? An RMAA test of the headphone output would be interesting too. Otherwise you can't really be making these claims. A few years ago I had similar thoughts about a Sony laptop I have. I did the tests and found it was all down to expectation bias.

The response of Headphones can be measured. The technical specifications of any headphone output influences the sound of the headphone plugged into that output more or less via the impedance which directly has an impact to the frequency response. Therefore the key measurement for that sound is impedance. Look it up here under "impedance optimisation".

I purchased a headphone amplifier back in the days when I was listening via my external Live! 24 from Creative. The headphone output of that card was very weak and the volume I could reach with my beloved Sennheiser HD-600 was very low. A headphone amplifier can drive your headphone considerably louder. Compared to the output of my old Creative the headphone amp sounded different apart from being much louder. If it is properly constructed it also shouldn´t introduce a change in frequency response.

Now I´m listening a lot with my headphones over the output of my external E-MU 0202 USB. It´s not as loud as my headphone amp but the sound is equally good (subjective opinion: headphone amp more compact with less bass from 20-80 Hz and less high frequencies beginning with 13 kHz). If you have a decent soundinterface like the E-MU 0202 or the E-MU 0404 (a bit louder) with a good enough built-in amp then you won´t need a seperate headphone amp. Since I have the 0202 USB I don´t have much use for my headphone amp anymore.

Furthermore, your Sennheiser has only an impedance of 50 Ohm which isn´t that difficult to drive compared to my Sennheiser HD-600. My Sennheiser is a ghastly, power hungry beast compared to yours. If you use your laptop internal interface, well it could already be enough for it.

I use a Dell laptop to drive a DT880 (250 ohms) to volumes that are quite (subjectively) loud. The DT880 has a lower sensitivity than the Sennhesiers. I've also tried the HD600 with laptops and you can get a decent (subjectively) amount of volume from a a laptop's built in sound.