Headphone amp?

[specialk]

My brother recently bought a notebook computer. I'm unsure of the brand but probably a Windows OS. His audio out for his headphones is pretty weak, so he's looking for a headphone amp. With or without an EQ is fine. Any suggestions?

[Feynman]

Mine is old school but I think is still held in decent regard. I have the Creek OBH-11 which I have seen on eBay as low as sub-$100.

It's very simple - RCA in/out, power, volume. It does sound quite good though. These days I'm going through relatively budget Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 phones, and they derive great benefit from a bit more juice. They are really great sounding headphones for the money. You've seen them hanging on my recorder stand in my guitar corner photos.

As far as modern amps go, I don't know squat, but I'm sure JohnnyB and others will have more to offer.

[specialk]

Thanks, Mitch! I'll do a search.

Since this is for a notebook computer, battery power is a requirement. Does the one you suggest use batteries?

[Feynman]

Oops. Nope. Nevermind - I'll be moving along.

Edited to add the obvious - make sure he has the mixer in the laptop set to a nice level....it could be just a matter of it being turned too low in the O/S. Forgive me.

[doody]

try a wireless stereo headset. I have a bluetooth one but there are usb ones as well. I also use mine with my phone for listening to music Mine are Kensington cheapos and work just fine.

[JohnnyB]

My brother recently bought a notebook computer. I'm unsure of the brand but probably a Windows OS. His audio out for his headphones is pretty weak, so he's looking for a headphone amp. With or without an EQ is fine. Any suggestions?

Last year I posted about the Nuforce Icon Mobile, still available from Amazon for a mere $99. For PC use it also has a built-in USB DAC. You can use a USB cable to send the computer music file's digital datastream to the Icon Mobile, which decodes it (usually better than your PC will), and then amplifies it to two headphone outputs. Or it can amplify the computer's headphone signal in the analog domain. There are reviews all over the place. It has a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery that charges off the USB connection. Fully charged it can run unplugged (e.g., with iPod) for 13 hrs.

A company called Headroom offers a range of headphone amps from $99 to $1699, tho' I read one review where the Nuforce was better than Headroom's $99 offering.

[specialk]

Very cool. Thanks for the links and all the good info, JB!

ON EDIT:

Nuforce Icon ordered and on its way!

[burningyen]

The folks at head-fi.org really know their stuff and can recommend some good amps, including homemade ones.