Portable Audio

This gizmo has popped up like one of those after-the-rain mushrooms in other threads, so I'm doing the taxonomy thing and giving it a thread of its own. Three of us have one. We have each used it in different ways. So here's my experience: First off, my copy changed character in its first hours of operation, enough so that trying to figure out what was going on with it was frustrating. I think it's odd for electronics to "break in" much. If they change at all, they just seem to get "a little better." This thing sounded yucky and differently yucky every time I picked it up. I'd recommend a few days in the picnic cooler before listening. Once I got it figur…

So a few weeks ago I used my last pair of foamies for my long-loved ER4Ps. No big deal, I think, and march off to Amazon to order a bag to make sure they'd get here in time for the 30hrs of plane flights that I have in the next week. So the new tips arrive and I immediately notice that the foam is different and the inner tube is now thicker. But whatever, what difference can it make. I toss a pair on and head down stairs to workout with some tunes... WTF is this? :mad: They sounded like shit, seriously congested, muffled and so far from their crystal clear selves that I knew something had to be wrong. But eff it, I'm in the middle of a half hour ride and I mig…

Hey guys, I'm thinking of getting a flight case to protect my Qualias and I was thinking the Pelican 1200 looked like a great case or some other pelican. They are a lot more reasonable than I thought. Any ideas?

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-…

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 picked up the Chord Mojo as a B-day gift to myself and wasn't expecting to be blown away but so far after 2 days I am pretty stoked. Bests the portable players I have here like the Sony NW x2, iBasso dx90, Caylx and the 901. Sucks that it is not a full dap and I have to strap it to a note3 or iPhone or computer but worth the hassle. Anyone else here take the plunge on this, it so far has kicked ass with the JH13 and 16s as well as my LCD X and the AT W3ks, Lots of texture and spatial cues with the mojo. More info t come if anyone is interested. Pairs very well with IPAs and pale ales!

I broke my ipod and didn't want to spend another 250 for a player that I'll probably break again in under a year. I decided to pick up a sansa clip+ from best buy since it was on sale for 40 bucks. I had a 8gb micro sd card sitting around that I could use on it to expand the storage to 12 GB. One of the best features of this player is that it's the only MP3 player that has an expansion slot that integrates both the internal library and the library on the expansion card into one library, or at least the only player that I"m aware of. The audio quality is the same as my old original sansa clip which is the best that I've heard in a contemporary portable. It has an incre…

I guess its a 'transportable' question than portable, but was wondering how some of you (if you do) carry a decent USB outboard adapter / soundcard with a notebook without having to effectively set out your stall each time you fish it out. Maybe even a proper docking arrangement? Just looking for ideas. I occasionally carry e.g. the Babyface for site recordings but also more rarely for listening on the (semi) move - and while the Babyface comes with a pouch, I was wondering if there was a more elegant way to quickly snap on a quality audio outboard to a notebook that doesn't result in a jumble of cables or having to juggle many boxes, even if just for listening purpos…

The two top neutral kings in the custom earphone line up goes head to head. Who's going to win? Watch the video and find out! Please rate, comment and subscribe! Click HERE to watch the video. Also, here's an unboxing video of the Westone ES5. Click

My 40gb iPod photo has been acting up the past few weeks, and this morning, it died for the fourth time as I tried to listen to my audiobook during my commute. I had bought this from Best Buy (don't ask me why), and still had their protection plan in place so I took it to their customer service. If I'm lucky, they'll accept it as a lemon and I'll receive a comparable product from the current production as a replacement in 6 weeks. If I'm unlucky, they won't accept it as a lemon and they'll return it to the store in 6 weeks (at which point I can choose to get it repaired). So either way, I'm without my iPod for 6 weeks and we'll see how long before I break down and end …

"Three Weeks 'Till iPhone!" OR "Convince Me Otherwise!" An Adventure In Expensive Gadgetry No One Really Needs Our family plan with Verizon ends January 21st, and my dad and mom are switching to Cingular. I'd like to switch over to Cingular as well, since I speak with them on the phone probably more then anyone else. Of course this also presents a great opportunity to buy my first fancy ass phone: the iPhone. I have been staunchly anti-fancy phone my entire life. In fact when I went with my Dad to sign up for our Verizon plan two years ago, I was adamant that the phones we received not have cameras in them. I just wanted a telephone, damn it. But the iPhone…

Writing reviews is something I really enjoy. I've been doing that in Brazilian forums for a while, but as there are so many amazing reviews of them in English, I never really thought about posting one. But then I reckoned it would be good to try and write one to see what you guys think, especially since there is a larger number of experienced people here that can hopefully give me some feedback - I'm definitely opened to criticisms! I'll be happy to read what you guys think of this review and obviously even happier it it helps anyone. I wrote it originally in Portuguese and I translated it just now. It's been a while since I came back to live in Brazil, so I'…

http://shop.hoodiebuddie.com/ there was a vendor trying to sell these things on campus...

Hello, Can any RSA Shadow owner tell me their experience with the potentiometer on the Shadow? I've read that some have found it unreliable/awkward while others love it. One thing I can't find out (and I've searched a lot) is what the "push" aspect of the lever/push potentiometer control is for. Is it necessary to push the switch to adjust volume either way to prevent accidental adjustment or does it have a separate use. (It's confusing as there is already a power switch)

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/

the design for it is horrible! My ears are still in pain from them pushing on the insides of my ears. Excluding that, its probably the best IEM that I've heard (heard things that I didnt even hear with my 225s) even though it has for the weird sibilance and the fatiguing treble (especially with like rock songs ex. ted leo's stuff) So the question is, what sounds like a ER4P/S with a better design that wont destroy my ears? the im716?

Watching a very messed up Ustream of the ongoing Apple keynote. Difficult to see, but did a new, tiny, touchscreen nano just get released?

http://schiit.com/products/fulla $79! Game Over Geek Out ? Yay for competition? ...

I enjoy my iPhone 6s+/Oppo HA-2 combo, but now I'm looking for an all-in-one solution. My Freq-Phased JH-16s are what I use on the road, and I've been looking around at various DAPs to find one to pair with the JH-16s. I don't want to get too spendy, and I've arrived at something around the price of the the AK100ii as the sweet spot. Does anyone have experience with this combo, or could recommend something decent around the same price range ($800)? I can't believe I'm contemplating spending even that much just to have a somewhat slimmed down solution, but This Is Head Case and all that. Any advices?

Somehow I never heard about the Red Wine iMod until just this week. I'm wondering if this is still considered a first-rate upgrade. If not, is there another iPod mod that's better? I use a 4G iPod, Apple Lossless files, RSA Hornet, Westone 4s and Sennheiser HD650s. And, as of this week, my Westone ES5s are on order. Should I get my iPod iModded?

Well, I posted all the ad copy a while ago in the last-thing-you-bought thread, but I thought I'd follow up after a while actually listening to it. Short answers: Yes, it's ridiculously tiny. Yes, it really does sound ridiculously good for its size. I would say it does honest bass down to the specified 80Hz and then some, which is quite an achievement for something that weighs all of 9oz. Mids and treble are clear and pleasant. At three feet or so, it will play louder than I'd care to listen for long. Remarkable given the physical constraints. Could you do better for $199? Sure, a pair of Audioengine A2s will make mincemeat out of it. Could you do better for …

http://gizmodo.com/340518/itransport-is-worlds-first-purely-digital-ipod-dock

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.

First the pic, which immediately got my attention: It's a portable player AND a DAC. Discuss. (I saw it in the current [May 2011] issue of Hi-Fi Choice.)