Portable Audio

Bonnie has taken an interest in the iPod Shuffle that I bought a few months back when they were discontinuing the nice one that had a built-in volume control. I left it on her desk and she has started using it. This is the first glimmer of interest she's ever shown in anything headphone. She's fascinated by speaker rigs (especially those that we can't afford) but thus far she's been bored by headphones if she notices them at all. So... I want this Shuffle thing to go well. Early reports are the the Apple earbuds sound like shit (expected) and fall out of her ears at the gym. Recommendations anyone? We would be looking for something small, inexpensive and decent-…

Just came out of Walmart and found flyer on windshield about Apple authorized sale of normally 199.99 ipods for 39.99 tomorrow in parking lot of Best Western Motel. Limit 10 per customer. Choice of pink, blue, black, green, silver, or red. They look like last years nanos. Was always curious about what happened to all the old stock when new models came out. Only thing that throws me is the red one. I remember a special version that came out with proceeds going to AIDS research or something, but I thought it was the video model. Must check this out just for curiousity.

Hey everyone I am looking to buy a pair of full-size closed-back cans that are sort of portable. I have a pair of Koss PortaPros that I've owned for about 7 years now and am looking to upgrade. I want closed-back as the sound from my PortaPros obviously leaks which isn't ideal when listening at my desk at Uni, and in turn isn't great for walking around town with traffic, etc. I have narrowed the list down to these alternatives: Phiaton MS 400 Ultrasone DJ1 Ultrasone HFI-680 I was also considering the Audio Technica ATH-A900's but unfortunately I don't think they are portable enough for my uses. I will mostly be listening through my laptop or Ipod mini, …

Makes you wonder if they're really worth a shit... Or if perhaps they're the IEM equivalent of the latest and greatest overpriced Ultrasones... and that some numbskull who doesn't know crap about headphones (IEMs in this case) simply chose to rave on like mad about them because he figures high price = great sound. http://www.avguide.com/blog/the-best-earphones-youll-hearone-day?utm_campaign=Weekly+Email&utm_medium=email&utm_source=email-270&utm_content=Surround+Speakers+from+MartinLogan,+Paradigm,+and+Wharfedale+ Any "review" that makes absolutely no reference to any other comparative products is pretty useless. It just demonstrates the reviewer's la…

Just a tad expensive, though. http://aloaudio.com/store/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=53&products_id=150

AMP3 DESIGN PHILOSOPHY: The AMP3 is the first product to be introduced to the audio marketplace by Hisoundaudio, a China-based company that, by their own description, is dedicated to producing audiophile-grade players that incorporate the oriental concept of music and art being inseparable. The AMP3 is designed to address the audio shortcomings of the current portable audio marketplace. Its design goals are to produce a player that incorporates the following characteristics: sound resolution, separation of the sound stage, a sense of power, and the flow of the music. Hisoundaudio flatly states that it is their design goal to produce audiophile-grade players…

It's a good start, anyway: http://anandtech.com/show/8078/smartphone-audio-testing-htc-one-m8-and-samsung-galaxy-s5

Android 5 finally allows USB audio out. It was available in various forms on Samsung products, but is now baked directly in to Lollipop. In attempting to connect my Pico dac/amp directly (no hub) to my Lollipopped Galaxy S5, I am unable to send the digital audio out to the dac. The Onkyo app actually has a setting for USB Audio, but the phone just hangs and shows no love. I've had my Pico for years now, so maybe I need a newer version? Most googling sends me to the other site or to Korean sites with posts about other dacs. Google is not my friend. Justin - is this something you are familiar with? Is there a way to update my beloved Pico?

hi. i know there probably isn't a 'best' as its all subjective, however your input will be appreciated. i'm looking for the 'best' mp3 player. i don't care about the video features as i'll never be watching video or looking at photos with it. i'll be listening to mp3 format. pop and classic hard rock will be the main music, and audiobooks too. flash drive. plenty of bass is required.[very important.] so as you can see, its all about the SQ of the music, that i care about. my current player is the clip+, and i like it a lot. i've read that it is regarded as one of the best sounding players out there, however i'm hoping there are some better. my IEMs …

I have most of my CD's backed-up/ripped in ALAC. While this works well if I want to burn some songs or albums on to CDR, I really don't need to these files to be in ALAC for my iPod. I suppose I could just convert them all to lower bitrate onto another hard drive, but I really don't want to do that (i.e., lazy). Are there any OSX software that would down-convert the music as I put them on my iPod?

Seems kinda like the DIY version of the iMod. Seeing as how it removes the PCB board traces, replaces caps, etc. But instead of using the HP jack, it still uses the dock connection. http://ipastudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2905 Seems like it could be fairly easily done on your own. I haven't seen the pics myself, as I'm not a member of ipastudio, but this was on another forum, and was curious if any of you DIYers did this? how do you think this SQ wise compares to the iMod? "Will it sound as good as my meridian CDP????" lol.

Apogee have a new USB DAC / Amp Constant Current Drive™, Ultra-smooth frequency response for any headphones Quad Sum DAC™, 4 DACs per channel for highest dynamic range and lowest distortion And Bling versions .. The Groove 30th Anniversary Edition will feature a custom machined aluminum body, performance enhancements and will be available in silver and gold. http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/groove

Apogee Electronics > Products > ONE Mac based, usb sound card with built in microphone, 1/8" headphone/line out. Not for needledrops, but apogee converters for $250 retail.

I'll miss having the option of an inexpensive iPod... my 3G 4GB iPod Shuffle is serving me well, but sales have probably fallen off a cliff in recent years.

Seems pointless to the end user, but they're probably a-fixin' to eliminate the 3.5mm (1/8 inch) jack: http://9to5mac.com/2014/06/03/apple-introduces-mfi-specs-for-lightning-cable-headphones-support-arriving-in-future-ios-update/ Obviously, this could lead to new headphone and accessory sales (again – moar DACses?). Bluetooth still seems to be a muddle re: sound quality: http://www.cnet.com/news/can-aptx-give-you-better-sound-over-bluetooth/

I was set on a set of hd800's but I'm thinking a set of customs would be a more versatile option. I owned the 13's before and sounded nice but the fit was OK and ended up selling them. Planning on using it as a primary phone from the dsha 0 as well as iPhone. Budget is about $1000, it's been awhile since I've really been into the whole IEM thing so not really sure what people are using nowadays.

May be of interest to some: http://andrewkelley.me/post/quest-build-ultimate-music-player.html

I think I'd want one if my Sony D-EJ2000 went kaput. Has anybody tested one? Cry me an iRiver: http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/couple-nice-improvements-astellkern I'm a little confused at the specs – shouldn't all the players support 64GB micro SD capacities?

Has anybody tried the new AudioQuest DragonFly Red DAC? It has been getting good reviews and it seems to be the perfect form factor and price for me. I bet AudioQuest has been making a lot of money from this gadget in the last couple of years.

I want good headphones for my ipod, but i am getting confused with all this recommendations to get an amp even for IEMs. I don't want an amp, even the ipod is to heavy in my pockets. Please recommend me headphones sounding best directly driven from the ipod. Cheers

So I made a comment about how the portable DVD player my mom got for Christmas was neat. So now they're getting me one for my b-day. I don't know too much about them other than the fact that non of them seem to have decent screens. So any advice on which I should get. Mom's got a Sony and it seems nice, but are there any models that stand out among the rest?

I'm a budding audiophile. I just attended CanJam NYC and was blown away by all the amazing options for beautiful hi fidelity sound. My first purchase a few months ago was the ATH IM-02 IEM's. I also picked up the 1more triple drivers for times when a need a little more bass or just want to be rough and don't want to injure the ATH's. I am using an iPhone 7 with the provided Apple lightening to audio adapter and listening to Apple Music. My question... what would be the next step towards improving my sound? What would be the most noticeable? - adding a DragonFly Red or Black with Apple CCK? - up-grading to high quality source …

Once again, a new wireless standard is rolling out. The ISOAL lossless audio codec sounds interesting... I doubt many manufacturers will implement it, since Apple AAC and Qualcomm aptX have bigger install bases: https://www.soundstagesolo.com/index.php/features/481-bluetooth-6-0-is-here-sort-of

Discuss