Considering I own a 100$ pair of Audio Technia headphones, about 25% of that seems about right. Im not an true audiophile but I would like my headphones to get a bit louder like the beats by dre with built in battery powered amp. I think my headphones would really shine with a small power boost. Could even DIY one
DIY side: http://tangentsoft.net/audio/cmoy-tutorial/
The budget is too small for anything pre-built that is worth buying. About the lowest I'd recommend is the $60 Fiio E11: http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E11-Porta...words=fiio+e11
I know you said nothing portable but those are usually the cheaper units. Another option is a used receiver on craigslist with headphone out.
Edit: It looks like you can pick up pre-made cMoy units on ebay for around $30, might be worth a shot. Just search for cMoy.
Thansk a ton. OPA2134 or OPA2227? Is he difference noticeable for 5$?
LP-2020A+ Lepai Tripath Class-T Hi-Fi Audio Mini Amplifier with Power Supply
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
If you don't want to DIY, you can buy a pre-made CMOY off eBay - just search for "altoids cmoy". You can usually get them shipped for around $50. Other than that, I really like the headphone amps from Headamp:
http://www.headamp.com/pico/index.htm
Do you have a budget in mind? You can also get ones with USB DAC's built-in so you get an even better quality of sound.
thats not a headphone amp.
@Sohaltang
Why do you feel the need for a headphone amp? What are you using to drive them? Anyway, fiio has some under $100 portable amps
I really liked some 300$ beats by dre I demoed at frys. After reading some reviews and asking here most people said I could buy something superior for a lot less. I purchased some audio technia phones that I really like but they are not as loud as the beats. Did a little research and the beats has two batteries. One for noise cancelation and the other for a built in amp. My general thought was if I could push a bit more power to the headphones they would perform as I want them to.
look at the impedance level of your current headphones. There is no magical thresh hold number but if you are over 100 ohms (most companies test at 1kHz) and working from a portable unit (cell phone, walkman, etc.) then you will notice the difference from adding a headphone amp. If you are operating from your computer or stereo, then you should be receiving enough power to adequately "feed" the cans.