- Thread Starter
- #21
Hey, guys.
My first time posting here.
I need a bunch of small-but-great headphone amps for my recording studio & also my band, as we use IEM's (not wireless) on gigs. I'd love to go with the Monoprice, and I might, but I need six of them, so... ouch.
I'd love to save and get the SMSL, but there are several things that worry me. Most important is the output impedance. My Studio cans range from 250 to 600 ohms (Beyer DT770's) so no problem there, but the IEMS we all use are the Shure SE846, which are incredible, but sadly 9 ohms.
So of course I want the lowest output impedance possible.
The Monoprice specs say only 0.05 ohms for the single ended output. Nice. SMSL doesn't give thast spec, and ignores my email query, but an independent test says its output is 1.3 ohms. That's a HUGE difference. Couple thatn with only 2 gain settings instead of 3, and I'm a bit worried.
SO A QUESTION: The Drop and Monoprice units don't recommend using a 9 ohm source, anyway. Monoprice says 14 ohm minimum, unless you are very dareful with the output voltage. (And them what about the sound quality?) So maybe I'd be OK, with ANY of these amps, if I added a 32 ohm L-pad to the input of the IEMs?
What do you think? I assume that all of these units would still have ample power. Would this give me a solid frequency response & damping?
Welcome to ASR.
I don't own any of these 3 amps, so I can't provide personal experience. I'll simply add a couple things to note:
- I remember reading on one of Amir's reviews that his test equipment adds about 1.0 Ohm to output impedance. So if the SE out of an amp measures at 1.3 Ohm in his tests it's probably more like 0.5 or lower. Unfortunately I can't remember what review that was, so it's something Amir would have to verify for you.
- If you do end up going with the SP200 I'd suggest checking in with the guys at Apos. They are doing price matching until the end of the year, and many ASR members have had good experiences buying through them. Worth asking them if they'd do a volume discount since you need six of them.