Have a chance to upgrade portable setup...worth it?

Well, I can't offer any personal experience, as I don't use an ipod, but you might want to take a look at this thread here , with some favorable reactions concerning the ER6i + PA2V2 combo. But I don't know whether that would be an improvement from the Airhead you already have.

I have the ER6is, but have not been amping them much, as they are usually for my minimalist rig with the Zen Micro. But I may fool around with it soon, as I now have 3 amps to compare (Portaphile, Little Dot II, Little Dot Micro) & the LD Micro is a nice size to pair with the Zen. If I notice anything interesting I'll post impressions in a new thread.

Just from what I've read, the 4Ps would be a nice step up in the headphone department. So the real question is, would the Airhead/4P combo sound good. Hopefully, someone who has heard this combo can comment. I doubt the ER6i by itself would be a huge improvement over the ER6s you have, unless there's something in particular in the 6i sound signature you're looking for.

While I don't think the ER6is need an amp to shine (especially with my Zen Micro, which does not have a line-out), others here say they perceive a discernible benefit from amping them. I understand the ER6 is a different can (again, based on reports -- I haven't tried the ER6), so you might do a search in the amps forum to see what people pair with those.

For amps, I'll tell you that I like the Portaphile V2, although be warned -- it is (to my ears anyway) a highly detailed, fairly forward sound. But if you like Grado SR-80s (as I do, very much), you might enjoy the Portaphile a lot. But check here (both amps & headphone forums) to see what people think of that combo. Also, again, I'm not sure how much of an upgrade the Portaphile would be compared with the Airhead.

Hopefully you'll get a better reaction from someone with more experience (I'm real new at all this, so my estimation, and my ears, could be way off.)

Good luck!
Tom

I used to am the Er6i with a PAV2 and the sound was fantastic. I have upgraded to an AE-1 and it is awesome. I concur with htbyron in that the PAV2 may not be much of an upgrade over the Airhead. However it would be smaller and the batteries would last longer.

May be you tell us which version of Airhead you have? Current four AAA battery version also has green and red LED lights, not sure which one you have. If you have an older version of Airhead, newer version of Airhead sounds much better and more dynamic. To me, Airhead's strength is its versatility in driving two headphones in parallel, crossfeed, and able to switch to DC for MUCH improved sound while you are away from home. To my ears, when Total Airhead (Airhead should be fairly similar) is powered by my 13V DC walwart adaptor, its sound nearly approaches Gilmore light. It does lack a bit of definition in bass, slightly less transparent (more noticeable using high impedance cans), but excellent considering TAH is a mere portable amp.

Frankly, I rarely use my portable amp while I'm on the road with the portable phones. I often carry my iPod on a belt-clip case and plug ER-4S without the amp when I'm on the domestic flights (especially walking between terminals during connection flights). I'm quite satisfied running Ety ER-4S directly from my iPod (4th Generation). I have compared running ER4S directy from iPod and using few different amps including Headroom Max w/ Stepped Attenuator. Amps do improve the sound, definition, amount of bass, transparency and details, but I find ER-4S without amp still sounds pretty darn good off iPod. Of course, if I go international flight, I do take my TAH.

Now, this doesn't mean you will get satisfactory results with ANY portable device using ER-4S. I would not dream of using my Rio, single AAA battery powered Sony MD player, nor typical personal CD players with ER-4S. You can barely hear the music and sound degraded considerably with that option. ER-4P version is supposedly better for its low impedance rating, but I didn't like its overall sound when I compared with 4S version using iPod w/ or w/out the amp. Your mileage may vary so take this as a few grains of salt

I think the best bet is to upgrade to ER4S.....it really is an improvement over the ER6, more transparency and silkier highs and mids. Overall, it would be a noticeable and obvious improvement (or at least change)

I don't think a change to the 6i's would be necessarily for the better if you are already getting good results from your Airhead/6 combo. Cleaning up the source (Sik Din) is an excellent move, but moving to 4S (or even 4P if you intend to run unamped) would really move the listening to the next level.

Honestly, I wouldn't upgrade anything at all. That sounds like it served you in good stead and technology hasn't improved to the point yet where an additional $150 would take giant steps over that rig. Instead I'd look into an external USB DAC to go with your laptop to listen to your tunes when you're off the plane and at a desk (or on the bed in the hotel room, whatever your preference), assuming you have all your tunes on your laptop, or that you use a laptop alot. This way you can access your whole library of tunes, and have improved DAC as a source, and will serve as a "transportable" option to your already excellent portable rig.

If you like the airhead, you could always keep with the Headroom mode and get the new Bithead - it has a USB input and acts as an external DAC and headphone amp, and still has crossfeed and two headphone outputs I believe. Sounds like a fair incremental upgrade to me for your laptop/portable usage.

The Micro sounds amazing with the DM, but it's quite a bit larger in size compared to an Airhead, and battery life is only a few hours with rechargeables.

But having an option to get the DAC module later makes it a great little system to start with. The DAC is a league ahead of the one built into the Bithead, but of course, you would expect it to be since the combo would be $600

Did you get the amp? It's a fine choice and what I was thinking of suggesting. It should synergize pretty well with the Etys. Did you get the desktop module? It cuts the battery life in half but really ups the sound quality.

Congrats! That's an excellent choice. The Micro w/ Desktop module is an excellent battery-powered amp. I've been using mine with the MicroDAC, and using output from a portable DVD player, iPod, or an iRiver iHP-140. In transit, I use an iPod into MicroAmp into ER-4S. In hotel, I use pDVD, MicroDAC, MicroAmp, and Grado RS-1's. Nice rig with the option of watching movies as well as music listening. The only time I need to plug anything in is to recharge batteries.

Just don't let your husband steal your rig!