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Review: Portable amp roundup! 56 portable amps reviewed and compared - FINAL update 12-20-10... - Page 172  

post #2566 of 3234
1/7/10 at 12:03pm
Smashing Rob! I think there are a lot of people waiting for this review.
post #2567 of 3234
1/7/10 at 1:00pm
very funny that some people say d4 and t3 sound almost the same or small difference. when i got t3 i thougt how can they compare it to top amps, it just sounds nice, but not mind blowing
post #2568 of 3234
1/7/10 at 5:03pm
Skylab - great review of the T3. Although I already own it I've been waiting to read your take on it. Seems I must go and buy the D4 now
Thanks again!
post #2569 of 3234
1/7/10 at 5:25pm
Skylab, I have the Shure 840's and am looking for something portable to drive those from the LOD on an Ipod. I am particularly hoping to add some more punch on the low end. Is the T3 a good match for the 840's - even without a bass boost capability? Thx.
post #2570 of 3234
1/7/10 at 5:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by prone2phone View Post
very funny that some people say d4 and t3 sound almost the same or small difference. when i got t3 i thougt how can they compare it to top amps, it just sounds nice, but not mind blowing
Really? I haven't seen those reports yet. I do agree it is nice but not mind blowing, but for the price (and size) the T3 is a good deal. The T3 via LOD with ES3X or JH13Pro or UE11Pro is not a downgrade over the iPhone 3GS headphone out, while the T4 was. To use an HD600 on the iPhone 3GS you will get great sound but not enough volume - the T3 on the iPhone will sound just as good but play much louder. So, it all depends on what you need the amp to do.

In my case I have maintained that the T3 is better than the T4, and closer to the level of the D2 or D3 (or maybe between those), but the D4/D10 and others are clearly better (especially in detail and transparency). Skylab ranked the D2 Boa slightly higher than T3, but when I compared the two side by side the D2 bass was higher than it's mids and it didn't sound as neutral, although the D2 was more transparent due to a little better micro-detail. Still, this allows the T3 to get along with more headphones than the D2 Boa.

Also, remember that Skylab has the one pair of portable headphones he tried, and synergy also rears it's head where to me an amp can sound very different with one headphone vs another.
post #2571 of 3234
1/7/10 at 5:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict View Post
Also, remember that Skylab has the one pair of portable headphones he tried, and synergy also rears it's head where to me an amp can sound very different with one headphone vs another.
that's one of the reasons why people value your reviews - you tried T3 even with hd600
post #2572 of 3234
1/7/10 at 6:53pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ldaustin View Post
Skylab, I have the Shure 840's and am looking for something portable to drive those from the LOD on an Ipod. I am particularly hoping to add some more punch on the low end. Is the T3 a good match for the 840's - even without a bass boost capability? Thx.
I'm not sure it adds a lot of punch that isn't there in the headphones more than other amps, no, but I felt the bass was punchy with that combo.
post #2573 of 3234
1/7/10 at 9:02pm
I have a lot of different amps to listen to and the one thing that makes the T3 fun for me is the fact that it is transparent and with IEM's has great bass punch and speed. Remember it is primarily designed for IEM's. That the T3 will also drive headphones to decent levels is a nice addition but even on the case it says designed for IEM's.
post #2574 of 3234
1/12/10 at 2:55am
Really great review, saved a lot of time. Thank you
post #2575 of 3234
1/12/10 at 11:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skylab View Post
Update 1-7-10

> iBasso T3

Info: iBasso

I received a loaner of the iBasso T3 from Miguel. It was fully broken in when I got it. It’s really designed with IEM’s in mind, but I don’t have any – so I used it with the efficient and low impedance Shure SRH-840’s. The T3 is impossibly small – I actually lost it in the packaging.

.....

There *IS* a price to be paid for a low price and small size. The T3 sounds terrific considering its tiny size and very low price. In its price class, I think it’s the best I have heard. It’s musical and pleasant. But after spending time with its big brother D4, and in comparison to the other top-tier amps I have, it falls short. So I recommend it where price and/or size are a consideration, but it is not state-of-the art performance. For that, the step up to the D4 is needed. If cost is not an issue, but tiny size is, then the RSA P-51 is the way to go. But if you need small AND inexpensive, the T3 will not disappoint – it’s a good sounding little amp.
WOW, nice review! thanks! so, is that 840 with d4 is a better combo than t3 IYO?
post #2576 of 3234
1/12/10 at 2:40pm
Where'd the D4 review go?
post #2577 of 3234
1/12/10 at 2:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kayzo View Post
Where'd the D4 review go?
1--go to page one
2--go to bottom of reviews
3--read the line in red where Rob--Skylab--states that other amp reviews are spread among various pages of the thread because original post is so long and the system's format cannot take anything much longer
4--go back to top of page
5--do a "search" within the thread for d4

Good luck
post #2578 of 3234
1/12/10 at 5:21pm
Thread Starter 
OK sorry, the link to the D4 Review disappeared. I have restored it. So the ranking list now has the link to the review.

All later reviews have to be accessed by the links in the rankings in the original review, since the OP is too big, as TNMike indicated.

Thanks.
post #2579 of 3234
1/12/10 at 5:27pm
I was wondering where the link went. Thanks. (:
post #2580 of 3234
1/12/10 at 7:50pm
Guys, if possible, can we be a bit more selective in terms of quoting large swathes of text ? This is already a monster thread to trawl, and scrolling half a page to see Skylabs list repeated with a single sentence response is tiresome in the extreme.

Tks,

estreeter
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Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Portable Headphone Amps › Review: Portable amp roundup! 56 portable amps reviewed and compared - FINAL update 12-20-10 added RSA SR-71B