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best headphone amp for bass

#41
I have been searching for a good headphone amp for a long time and spent $$$ trying to find it.So far this is what I have:
Pockit rockit: Sux bad sound and hiss
Dean Bass in a box (it was free) Sux to muddy and bad Hiss
Vox: sux bad worse than the Dean
I have a Tascam MO-BT1 : I love it for everything but as a headphone amp, Bad sound and hiss. It is not to bad on my passive basses but the sound with my active ones sux bad, I can't even use it.
I called BC to order a Cafe' Walter. Hope it woks, WTH another $184.00
 
#42
A lot of the time headphone jacks are looking for headphones not ear buds or in ear monitors.
For any headphone amp it is important to pick the right phones for the amp or vice versa in terms of impedances if you want good quality sound . If you want to use ear buds instead of full head phones it's even more important to check out the impedances of the devices. Often hissy or other poor sound quality is due to impedance mis-match. Walter at Cafe Walter can advise about this. My Korg Pandora will handle some ear buds well.
 
#43
Bassmec said:
Righto! over here in jolly old Blighty we have been developing just such a thing, as a matter of fact here is photo of our plucky assistant Gertrude
testing our latest model:
Invalid Link Removed
This is found to be almost as compact and convenient as the passive model released somewhat earlier:
Invalid Link Removed
Toodleoo!:D:D
Click to expand...

Put me down for the active model!
And hey... how can I get a date with gertie? :D
 
#44
Buzz Grim said:
A lot of the time headphone jacks are looking for headphones not ear buds or in ear monitors.
For any headphone amp it is important to pick the right phones for the amp or vice versa in terms of impedances if you want good quality sound . If you want to use ear buds instead of full head phones it's even more important to check out the impedances of the devices. Often hissy or other poor sound quality is due to impedance mis-match. Walter at Cafe Walter can advise about this. My Korg Pandora will handle some ear buds well.
Click to expand...

I started with a pair of i pod ear buds and thought it was them so I got a set of Shure SCL-2 buds, still bad, so I laid out for a pair of Sony MDR-7506 headphones. The songs I have loaded in my MP-BT1 sound great, the bass sound is so bad. As soon as I plug in my bass (any one of them) he hiss starts (Monster bass cable) No mater what tone setting I use in the BT1 it sounds like I am running through a reverb (cranked up) My practice room is lit with florescent lights and I have neon beer signs. Thanks to the help from some people on here and the tech help at Stew-Mac I have all my basses shielded good enough that I get NO hum or sound out of them. May be it is just my BT-1?
 
#47
Lowtonejoe said:
A BIG +1!


I use this:
TascamMP-BT1.jpg



Tascam really knew what they were doing when they made this little guy. It is everything you need in a headphone amp. You can store the tunes you want to learn, add all the effects/eq you want on your bass, speed up or slow down the song in any key and it sounds fantastic!

(Plus it loops phrases of the song, all levels are adjustable, recharges off of a power supply or your computer like an IPod...tons more features!)

It is the best investment I have ever made in a practice tool.

I own the:

1. Raven Labs PHA-1
2. Fender B-Dec
3. BOSS ME-50B
4. KORG Pandora PX4D

And it tops them all!
Click to expand...
Hey Joe
Sounds like you'ved done your homework
Does the Tascam unit for CD's work as well as this unit?
Not an MP3 guy but the hiss will make me crazy
I've got an ancient Ibanzez unit (that also plays cassettes; remember those?) that has less hiss than some of the new gadgets
 
#49
Dont get me wrong. I LOVE my BT-1!!! It is the best practice tool I have found. If you cannt find a score or tab you can slow it down enough to pick the song apart. I went to Best Buy and got a powered computer speakers with the best bass sound I could find and run it through them. It sounds great!!
 
#50
eekmeg said:
If you can find one, they are great headphone amps and pre amps. The company went under several years ago.
Click to expand...

I have been using my PHA-1 for several years now for all kinds of projects, not just as a HP amp. Great product. The company didn't go under, as that implies a negative thing; Steve retired and closed the business, however support, repair, and parts and accessories are still available. Plus, there is a possibility of the PHA-1 coming back to market at some point.
 
#52
Jim C said:
Hey Joe
Sounds like you'ved done your homework
Does the Tascam unit for CD's work as well as this unit?
Not an MP3 guy but the hiss will make me crazy
I've got an ancient Ibanzez unit (that also plays cassettes; remember those?) that has less hiss than some of the new gadgets
Click to expand...

Heh heh, we've come a long way since those cassette units. But they were the Shizzle of their day that's for sure!

I have a freind that has the guitar version of the cd trainer. The hiss is as absent in it as it is in the MP3 trainer...which is to say very negligible. The only time I hear any hiss at all is in an MP3 that was recorded at a too low level in the first place.

As mentioned before, you just need to match up the phones you use with the trainer. It sounds complicated but it's not. Almost ALL the earbuds I looked at had an impedance, sensitivity and frequency response ratings on the package. Match the impedance for no hiss, get lower sensitivity for better bass response and get as wide of a frequency response as possible for better depth of field.

My Personal reccomendation for the MP-BT1 are the JVC HA-FX34 earbuds. With the bass boosted on the trainer at level 1, the JVC HA-FX34 earbuds do an absolutely fantastic job with my MP-BT1 trainer. They are extremely comfortable, sound fantastic and are only $20 at Wal Mart.

Well worth the bucks.

:D

Joe.
 
#53
I've also used a Raven Labs PHA-1 for a couple years with my Blackberry if mobile, or hooked to my computer if sitting here.

Looking at the BT1. Can't find the impedance spec anywhere. I'd like to be able to use my Westone UM2 IEMs with it and not get any hiss. The UM2 seem more sensitive than Shure E4's this may not be a good fit for the BT1.
 
#54
jmain said:
I've also used a Raven Labs PHA-1 for a couple years with my Blackberry if mobile, or hooked to my computer if sitting here.

Looking at the BT1. Can't find the impedance spec anywhere. I'd like to be able to use my Westone UM2 IEMs with it and not get any hiss. The UM2 seem more sensitive than Shure E4's this may not be a good fit for the BT1.
Click to expand...

Is this what you are looking for?

MP-BT1Phones.jpg



:D

Joe.
 
#57
I was looking for the thing you are. Get the Cafe Walter, it will not disappoint. It is a little on the expensive side but the transparency it provides is incredible. To me, that alone almost makes it worth it. It's also sturdy and well built, smallish (roughly the size of boss stompbox), and made in the USA by a married couple. Have I tried other headphone amps? Don't think I need to, this one does everything I need, amplify what I put in as cleanly and clearly as possible through a pair of headphones.
 
#60
Derk_Falsco said:
I was looking for the thing you are. Get the Cafe Walter, it will not disappoint. It is a little on the expensive side but the transparency it provides is incredible. To me, that alone almost makes it worth it. It's also sturdy and well built, smallish (roughly the size of boss stompbox), and made in the USA by a married couple. Have I tried other headphone amps? Don't think I need to, this one does everything I need, amplify what I put in as cleanly and clearly as possible through a pair of headphones.
Click to expand...

I agree completely! I own a CW s#178 and it has never failed not once.. simply the best sounding, straight forward headphone amp ever made!
 

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