Portable Audio

Just got an iPod photo with the iMods from Redwine Audio. I've also kept my original iPod photo, so I have an identical stock unit to compare to. I won't be able to do any real comparisons until the Black Gates burn-in, but initial impression is that attack is faster, low-end is deeper. It seems to be a more dynamic player as well. More details once the sound settles down. Even now, I've heard worse sources that cost a lot more.

Hey everybody, I obsess over music, yet I know very little about the mechanics of amps, headphones, etc. However, I believe I have narrowed the headphones down to a pair of Senn HD 595's. They seem to be popular among the audio community. My real problem is deciphering between all the amps! Here is what I am contemplating between(by the way, i'm on a budget--college kid): 1) JDS Cmoy/BSG Cmoy- I have read pretty solid reviews about these, and I like the price point 2) Neco Soundlab Cmoy- It is a little more expensive, but the reviews seemed to be fantastic. 3) Mini3- This was even more expensive, but I hear this amp gives more advanced amps a run for their money. 4…

I'm looking for a iem to use while jogging mostly for speedy techno and bassy music so nothing expensive, about 50$ should do it. I was thinking in the senn cx270 but dunno if there's something better I should look into, what do you guys use ?

Techmoan does it best (he didn't mention that the high-end PCDPs had line-out and mini-Toslink optical outputs for outboard DACs, but it's not an audiophile channel):

At the NYC meet, I was talking to Aaron and he mentioned the D10 and how much he likes it with the iriver/esw10 and I was wondering if anyone heard it or have any comments about the circuit. It seems like the only portable amp/dac that is battery powered and takes spdif that I know of.

I don't understand portable audio. Excellent sound quality will never come out of a portable DAC no matter how much red wine you pour on it (or drink for that matter). I understand the greater public at large being obsessed with their iToys, but I don't understand why the audiophile community continues to rant and rave about their hornets and tomahawks and all that bullshit. I swear, every other fucking post at Head-Fi is "omg my fucking tomahawk arrived its so awesome out of my new nano lol sonic excellence yay". I'm definitely no expert on audio, but I think I know enough to know that you will not get great sound out of a portable player running mp3's with a subpar DAC.…

I have a few microSD cards with DSD files that work fine in the Chord Mojo, Fiio M7 and a Cayin player. But when I put them in the 1A, it goes through building a database routine, but then does not recognize anything in the card. If I plug the card back into any of the other listed above, the music shows up as usual. Is the Sony player different in terms of formatting? Suggestions appreciated! Thanks Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Anyone else can't wait for the Zune HD to come out? I've been wanting a portable web browser with music/video playing capabilities without having to use iTunes for a long time. In case people don't know what it is, it's like an iPod Touch, with less/crappier apps, at least initially, but has HD radio and a better screen. Prices are estimated to be around 250 for the base 16 gig model and maybe 100 more for the 32 gig version. There's rumors about a trade-up program Microsoft might be setting up where you can trade your old Zunes for credit for new ones. I'd love for that to come to fruition since I have an old 30GB I don't use much anymore.

Fang from Head Direct has loaned me a HiFiMAN HM-801 portable player. I am waiting for the Kingston 32GB SD card I purchased from Newegg to start trying this player. I would like to load the SD card w/ FLAC files however I first would need to convert the music I have in Apple Lossless to FLAC files and I would appreciate your help in which converter I should use. I have spent the last two days doing searches and I am dizzy with all the names (foobar, dbamp, etc). Look forward to your suggestions. Thanks.

A buddy of mine asked my opinion of these today. I told him I like the way the 801 sounds, but I haven't heard the newer, cheaper ones. Has anybody heard them?

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.

A couple of months ago I finally got a DIY iMod. It's a 4th gen unit, modded with blackgates from the headphone out, and with a cap-less modded signal path from the lineout, that goes into a Sonicap dock (same as Vcap dock, but smaller & cheaper). I have been seeing lots of headfiers raving about the iMod for more than an year, and until two months ago I was a "portable only" guy, so I decided to invest my money into one and see myself if the enthusiasm was justified. My past experience with mp3 players has been with a Rio Karma (overrated sq), two Kenwood HD daps (very good sound quality but really expensive) and a JVC XA-HD500 (Kenwood-like sound, reasonable p…

I have ordered a Fostex HP-P1, DT1350 and an iPod Touch for new portable setup. Looking forward to receipt of components.

Sorry, if this is a repost! I’ve been thinking about buying in-ear headphones, and I found theSennheiser IE8. But those were too expensive, so I did my research and found two in-ears that are less expensive-the CX980 and the MX980. The only problem right now is which one I should get. Some factors I will be considering include- Accessories- While I usually don’t use the accessories too much except maybe the carrying case and the sports clip, if the headphones do include accessories. Fortunately, that’s about all both the headphones come with. The only question I can ask is how good they work with the headphones. Build Quality- I want these in ears to last as lo…

it should say on the home page that this site is for snobs, it would really help people decide that its not for them, unless they're cunts like your good selves. no doubt it is the american influence, the rest of the world knows you are all pricks! please turn off your pc and go fuck your mother up her shit-laden arsehole. oh, and don't forget to lick your mummy's arse out first.

http://highrestech.com/microstreamer I just saw an ad for this thing. They claim it will work with an Android tablet or phone. If so, it might be a dandy gadget, assuming of course that it sounds good. I just spent some time scanning threads elsewhere. That made me older, but not wiser.

I just got these from a computer store for about $90. Since I got my iPod Shuffle 3G (4GB) last year, I've been looking for a reasonable upgrade from the stock iBuds. The Klipsch X10i were about $280 in the same store, which was tempting, but I thought the S4i were more appropriate considering my "active" lifestyle and my use of lossy compression. It also seemed freakish to buy headphones three times more expensive than the humble Shuffle. I plan to burn these in at a lower volume and gradually ramp up to normal levels. I rip tracks at 320 Kbps AAC using iTunes, which may not be the audiophile's preferred method, but it works for me. As a reference, I compare the sound …

Has anyone heard these? If so, what say you? http://www.x-mini.com/

I made a long and detailed post elsewhere. The high points are: The new model is moar better. More extended on top, better detail throughout the band, better background (or microdynamics), removable cable and nicer physical design. They need a crapload of break in - a couple hundred hours at least - and as they break in, they may actually sound worse than straight out of the box. I used a Richard Cheese album as an audio reference. I was a hopeless fanboy for the 420, so if you don't like the 420, don't listen to me. Shure SE-420 vs SE-425 (long) - Head-Fi.org Community

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

... either the Droid, iPhone, Nokia N900 or the HTC HD2? The gear4 Blueye is the closest thing out there I've been able to find but it doesn't multipair. What I'm looking for probably doesnt exist, but I'm throwing it out there to see if anyone can recommend a way to do this. - Wired remote. i.e. connects to headset socket or dock, and allows for play/pause, track skip and track fwd/rwd functions. - Jacked Bluetooth headset. i.e. built-in mic, 3.5mm jack. - Multi-pair: The ability to pair with multiple phones (>2), stay connected as headsets and take incoming calls from any of them on a first come, first served basis. In a nutshell, I want a wired …

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, …

Okay, so now that I have had my Sextett's for almost two weeks I have fallen in love with them. This means that my little PA2V2 is sadly not going to cut it as my only portable amp. Oddly enough, the headphone output from my Macbook Pro has better quality than the PA2V2. It is not as loud, but the PA2V2 was having trouble in the midrange and it sounded really bad. Anyway, back to the point. While I don't currently have the money to spend on a Pico, I want to know if I should just save up the money to get a Pico or save a little money and get an iBasso offering or something similar? I will be using my cans with my Macbook Pro mostly and every now and then with my …

I go to turn on my Zen Vision:M this morning (at 5am ) for the exciting trainride that is about to ensue.... It freezes at the 'ZEN' screen. I reset it a few times, nothing. :mikey2: :mikey1: :mikey1: :mikey1: It does the same thing. I get to work a few minutes ago, and I reformat. I reset. I fondle. I cry. I swear. I reload firmware. Yatzee. That did it. Thank God, cause I just yesterday I spent a lot of cash on headphones, and don't want to buy an other MP3 player. :dance: :dance: :dance: FUCKING GET HIM! HES THE DEVIL! :police: :police: :police: