Originally Posted by nickknutson
How does the PA2v2 effect your ER-6i's, does it work well with the line-out? Did you have Gary adjust the gain at all?
Cherio!
Keep in mind that I am new to all of this, but to me, the amp is a necessity for the ER-6i. Without the amp, I find the highs in these IEMs to be a bit shrill for me. The PA2V2 tames them fantastically, adding some low-end and bringing the high-end in a bit. There is a significant difference between the line-out and the headphone jack, specifically with the low-end. Through the headphone jack the ER-6i sound somewhat hollow (my KSC-75 don't have this problem) but the amp brings them right back to a comfortable place to me where it sounds very natural. It's still a brighter sound than with my KSC-75 and my PX-100, but it's a comfortable sound for me, and I enjoy it very much.
Gary didn't do anything with the gain, as I didn't have IEMs when I bought the amp, though after a long listening session today, I'm considering it. With the ER-6is I have to keep the volume very low on the PA2V2, and as you have probably seen posted here, at low volume levels the PA2V2 has channel balance issues. You have to find a volume where the channels balance out and still give you the level you want in your ears.
Today, I had my rig out while I was running my leaf blower for 2 hours and it was fantastic. I was using the tri-flange tips and the blower was nothing but background noise. I went trough the entirety of Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger and Alice & Chains - Dirt and they sounded fantastic the entire time.
I have to fly from Detroit to Amsterdam plus a connection to Stuttgart, Germany next week and I am ecstatic to have these IEMs to take with me. I have never had the pleasure of isolating phones on a flight and as much as I hate sitting in a tiny tube for 9 hours, I'm looking forward to spending some time with my Etymotics
As an unsolicited plug, I absolutely love my Qables line-out. Hans got it to me in 8 days from The Netherlands to the US and as far as I know, he is the only game in town for a line-out from a Zen. I can't say yet whether or not I hear a difference between his connector and my Cardas mini-mini out of the sync adapter, but the convenience alone is worth it to me. I hate carrying around the extra part.
I hope my newbie comments help you out! I also hope this answers dropkickduffy and HighLife's questions as well. I have the more expensive Qables connector with the Switchraft jack. I can't speak on the performance line that uses the alternate jacks. I had $50 sitting in my PayPal account so it didn't hurt so bad to me to spend the extra cash on the "nicer" cable.
Linear Mode
