ipod + headphone amp + headphone amp


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cwtan12

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After having Shure SE310, I am still not satisfied with the sound. Most of my music are convert directly from CD.. I don't know what is lack but the sound is definitely not to my liking.

Thinking of geting a headphone amp and also a headphone. I know the different combination gives different audio quality and individual preferences but I have no experience with headphone amps. I think the problem with headphone and amps is I cant test them like normal hi fi seperates. So any recommendation from those who has tried?

I used to have seperates setup and I stopped with ML No 383, B&W 805 and Transparent cables after upgrades. So I would like to get headphone setups towards that kind of sound. I know with ipod it's not possible but just an indication of the type of sound I prefer

Any combination that any of you recommend? I will short list a few and do my own research and teting if they allow. If not, there are just too many models around. Budget depends on the quality of the sound. Something light is the best because I travel and move around very often.
 

After having Shure SE310, I am still not satisfied with the sound. Most of my music are convert directly from CD.. I don't know what is lack but the sound is definitely not to my liking.

Thinking of geting a headphone amp and also a headphone. I know the different combination gives different audio quality and individual preferences but I have no experience with headphone amps. I think the problem with headphone and amps is I cant test them like normal hi fi seperates. So any recommendation from those who has tried?

I used to have seperates setup and I stopped with ML No 383, B&W 805 and Transparent cables after upgrades. So I would like to get headphone setups towards that kind of sound. I know with ipod it's not possible but just an indication of the type of sound I prefer

Any combination that any of you recommend? I will short list a few and do my own research and teting if they allow. If not, there are just too many models around. Budget depends on the quality of the sound. Something light is the best because I travel and move around very often.

Junk the iPod and get a Sony or iRiver instead.. ;p My opinion of the iPod is that the sound lacks punch.. it sounds... it sounds..... fluffy? ;p
 

Wrong title. Supposed to be Ipod + Headphone amp + headphone
 

Junk the iPod and get a Sony or iRiver instead.. ;p My opinion of the iPod is that the sound lacks punch.. it sounds... it sounds..... fluffy? ;p

can consider.. haha will go to test test if i leave office earlier today.. i saw sony just below my hotel.
 

can consider.. haha will go to test test if i leave office earlier today.. i saw sony just below my hotel.

Ask them to put in a familiar song. Copy the song into a thumbdrive or something like that. ;p I'm using the S610 series. Drum transients sounds great, especially with the Sony EX90 earphone. It sound even better with the Sony MDR-7506 headphones! I haven't heard iRiver though..
 

Welcome to the world of head-fi.

You start playing with headphone amps, you'll be facing like what you face with hifi:

1. Different headphone amps have different sound signature
2. Different earphones/iems/headphones have different sound signature
3. Different types of interconnects also will tend to colour the sound depending on the type of cable.

I'm in the process of deciding whether to get a headphone amp or not as the investment would be heavy (not to mention more bulk/weight added to my pocket/bag) :rolleyes:
 

Welcome to the world of head-fi.


1. Different headphone amps have different sound signature
2. Different earphones/iems/headphones have different sound signature
3. Different types of interconnects also will tend to colour the sound depending on the type of cable.

4. different combos are give huge difference in sound quality even though all are from the same range.

I am aware of that because it should be the same as hifi seperates. I just need a few combo recommendations so that I dont have to waste my time testing hundreds of combo.
 

4. different combos are give huge difference in sound quality even though all are from the same range.

I am aware of that because it should be the same as hifi seperates. I just need a few combo recommendations so that I dont have to waste my time testing hundreds of combo.

For me, I choose to go uncoloured.. So I'd prefer studio grade pro audio stuff rather than audiophile stuff.. Less problematic with combinations... ;p
 

any recommendation?
 

any recommendation?

I am using S618 player with EX90 and EX85 earbuds. EX85 is slightly coloured but sounds a little warm, so it's kind of nice but EX90 sounds flat enough for me with good transients but may sound too clinical at times and I still prefer it over the EX85. I can't bear to throw the EX90 around because I can't find them on the shelves anymore. Still prefer their MDR-7506 headphones. Otherwise, I'll listen over a pair of studio monitor speakers which is ultimate in terms of imaging.
 

I'm using an "old" iRiver H120. And the sound quality is still better than the newest iPods, and it has fibre-optic input/output too.
 

After having Shure SE310, I am still not satisfied with the sound. Most of my music are convert directly from CD.. I don't know what is lack but the sound is definitely not to my liking.

Thinking of geting a headphone amp and also a headphone. I know the different combination gives different audio quality and individual preferences but I have no experience with headphone amps. I think the problem with headphone and amps is I cant test them like normal hi fi seperates. So any recommendation from those who has tried?

I used to have seperates setup and I stopped with ML No 383, B&W 805 and Transparent cables after upgrades. So I would like to get headphone setups towards that kind of sound. I know with ipod it's not possible but just an indication of the type of sound I prefer

Any combination that any of you recommend? I will short list a few and do my own research and teting if they allow. If not, there are just too many models around. Budget depends on the quality of the sound. Something light is the best because I travel and move around very often.

What format and quality are your digital files?
 

What format and quality are your digital files?

i am not sure.. just convert them to mp3 from my cd using itunes. any better way?
 

I'm using an "old" iRiver H120. And the sound quality is still better than the newest iPods, and it has fibre-optic input/output too.
I really would like to experience how good the iRiver actually is. ;p
 

i am not sure.. just convert them to mp3 from my cd using itunes. any better way?

You have to set iTunes to rip the CD to the highest quality of AAC or rip to flac if you have space to spare on your HDD.
 

I really would like to experience how good the iRiver actually is. ;p

good.. :p

i did a blind test with a slimX, imp550, with my dad, and a couple of other people.. they didnt believe it was a mp3 cd player that was giving the signal output to the audio setup.

but then again it was running on battery, and that the imp550 pre-rips the cd and copies it to memory as a buffer etc.. very clean sounding

subsequently i got myself an iriver-h10 6gb which i'm using for the past few years. :D

my room mate, after hearing the imp550 wants one too :bsmilie: i find that particular cdp interestingly good sounding, even better than my mp3 player when i burn mp3s to cds
 

not sure what the latest is but i have tried both pocket amp 2 and go-vibe (not sure if still produced). both improve ipod sound quite significantly esp when you use the audio line signal from the dock connector. if i recall price is about us$80 each. a worthwhile investment in my opinion.

i love the go-vibe cos the opamps are socketed. so you can replace them with other pin-compatible opamps to have different sound quality.

for headphones, the shures are good but quite ex. if you dun mind a bit more bulk, the grado sr80 is really sweet.
 

Extremely good. :D

I just heard iRiver from a shop. It sounds good with SRS WOW HD. But there seems to bo no way to bypass the SRS. So that means that I am probably not listening to the original mastering of the music because the sound has been altered. Also, there is a tinge of artifact from the crash of cymbals... My Philips GoGear exhibit this artiifact also, a wobbly kind of sound as the cymbals or drum tail off. Then again, without putting my own test tracks into the iRiver, I am unable to make too much comment because I don't know how the original pieces should sound like.

In this sense, I'd still put Sony in front in terms of preserving the audio quality of the original source. I'm still for uncoloured sound.
 

I just heard iRiver from a shop. It sounds good with SRS WOW HD. But there seems to bo no way to bypass the SRS. So that means that I am probably not listening to the original mastering of the music because the sound has been altered. Also, there is a tinge of artifact from the crash of cymbals... My Philips GoGear exhibit this artiifact also, a wobbly kind of sound as the cymbals or drum tail off. Then again, without putting my own test tracks into the iRiver, I am unable to make too much comment because I don't know how the original pieces should sound like.

In this sense, I'd still put Sony in front in terms of preserving the audio quality of the original source. I'm still for uncoloured sound.

My H120 has full equalizer settings, and I can disable the SRS WOW.

Also, there's 3rd-party firmware with even more features.
 

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