Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphone Amps (full-size) › I hate sibilance: what portable amp?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

I hate sibilance: what portable amp?

post #1 of 17
4/8/08 at 8:55am
Thread Starter 
I need a portable amp that doesn't boost the 6kHz-8kHz area. The iQube was no good for me, while I'm waiting for the Minibox E+ to burn in to test it. Out the box I hear too much 'sssss' for my liking.
How do the Lisa III and SR-71 perform in this regard?
Reply
post #2 of 17
4/8/08 at 11:18am
That would be a pretty terrible amp design if there was roll off 6-8kHz. You would be much better served using your DAP's EQ (and, no, using EQ is not like selling your audio soul to the devil).
Reply
post #3 of 17
4/8/08 at 11:27am
Thread Starter 
I'm not sure I don't want a rolloff. My Triple.fi have never been so harsh before (non-iMod daps). Some people find the Minibox E+ to have forward midrange, while I found the iQube to have too pronounced highs, and not to be just neutral.
Right now I'm hearing sibilance in 80% of my vocal-based songs.
Reply
post #4 of 17
4/8/08 at 12:56pm
I was just going to purchase some triple fi's to go with my iQube because I thought they would pair good with it, I like treble Maybe I should stick with my e530's, they sound very smooth with the iQube. I think my iQube has about 80 hours on it, and seems to have smoothed out a bit, still the treble on the thing extends way out. I think the imaging and bass and treble are all better on the iqube, than my mini box e+ which should be fully burnt in (200 hrs). Skylab would be the one to know which amp might have less treble presentation, although I never heard an "ssss" out of my iqube, with my shures or my senns- smooth as silk. I guess just bad chemistry with the triple fi's.
Reply
post #5 of 17
4/8/08 at 1:18pm
Thread Starter 
Actually I tried the iQube with the Super.fi 5 Pro, and while the Super.fi are already a bit harsh on their own, coupling them with the iQube resulted in a sibilant mess. The Triple fi should do much better, I've heard very good reports about the pairing from slwiser. Plus many people seem to like how the iQube sounds with the UE11, which should have very similar sound sig to the Triple.fi. The Triple fi are usually very forgiving in regards to sibilance.

Anyway it seems my Minibox E+ has some sorts of spike in the 6-8 kHz area, but I will wait for it to fully burn in before emitting a judgement. Imaging is nice but I agree, it's superior on the iQube. To be fair, the iQube beat everything I heard at imaging.
Reply
post #6 of 17
4/8/08 at 2:55pm
Thread Starter 
It's getting better with more listening and comparisons. I'm using songs that I know very well and sibilance doesn't seem to be worse than in my previous experiences.
Reply
post #7 of 17
4/8/08 at 3:01pm
I haven't noticed any sibilance with my iQube. It is the most neutral portable amp I've heard and consequently not very forgiving of the source/recording. It doesn't add anything, it doesn't remove anything. I also find the iQube to have excellent treble extension. Clean and absolutely grain free. So I reckon the sibilance you're hearing is not from the amp.

At any rate, it just seems to me you're after a warmer sound signature. Have you auditioned the Voyager ? It is also a v.nice amp. It has a relatively warm sound signature. Check it out.
Reply
post #8 of 17
4/8/08 at 3:09pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by musicmaker View Post
I haven't noticed any sibilance with my iQube. It is the most neutral portable amp I've heard and consequently not very forgiving of the source/recording. It doesn't add anything, it doesn't remove anything. I also find the iQube to have excellent treble extension. Clean and absolutely grain free. So I reckon the sibilance you're hearing is not from the amp.
Interesting how opinions may vary. Do you hear any sibilance or a metallic sig in your HFI 780 and HD-25?
Reply
post #9 of 17
4/8/08 at 3:32pm
The HD25s have a slightly problematic treble. A bit tinny and metallic sounding IMO. Mine had the HD650 cable.

The HFI-780 have that extra treble energy and midrange aggressivenesses that some may not like but I wouldnt call them sibilant. Of course I've noticed sibilance through them at times and that to me is not the headphone but the recording.
Reply
post #10 of 17
4/8/08 at 7:36pm
HeadRoom amps are very warm and would definitely be a good option for you. RSA amps are good too. The tomahawk lacks just a touch of the bass that the HR Micro has but is still very impactful without being overblown.
Reply
post #11 of 17
4/8/08 at 9:17pm
Since I have the Triple.Fi and the iQube combo, let me say that given the characteristics of the iQube I would not want to match them up with the Ety's earphones that I had at one time. That would be asking for sibilance mess..

But the more mellow Triple.Fi does well with the iQube. Now I also like the ALO-780J which has a lot of high frequency energy so take my comparison in the light. Maybe I am a bit more tolerant of high frequency energy than some others but I still do not like sibilance at all, it hurts.

Based on my experience with the Xin Reference beta that would be a possible candidate. Since the Reference is difficult to fine maybe one of Dr. Xin's Supermacro's with the right combination of op-amps would be near the Reference with a tuby like warm sound that I found that the Reference had.
Reply
post #12 of 17
4/8/08 at 10:47pm
I would suggest a Headsix or CordaXXS (same amp, different names). Buy the Headsix if it' still available; some of the proceeds go to head-fi.
Reply
post #13 of 17
10/22/11 at 8:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by musicmaker View Post

The HD25s have a slightly problematic treble. A bit tinny and metallic sounding IMO. Mine had the HD650 cable.The HFI-780 have that extra treble energy and midrange aggressivenesses that some may not like but I wouldnt call them sibilant. Of course I've noticed sibilance through them at times and that to me is not the headphone but the recording.


did the hd650 cable make the sibilance less on the HD25's because I was choosing between buying an amp for my HD25 or changing the cable. On both my on board Gigabyte UD3 sound card, and on my iphone their is a great deal of sibilance. 

Reply
post #14 of 17
10/22/11 at 8:39pm

There is really no way to "amp-out" sibilance if it's already present in the recording (bad mastering) or a limitation at the source level.  You really need to address those things first to improve overall SQ before you're trying to doctor the sound out by changing headphones and even worse, using EQ.  Amps increase the gain structure of the input signal but if that is of poor quality, the undesirable harmonics will also get amplified along with everything else.

 

My two cents.

Reply
post #15 of 17
10/22/11 at 9:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by warp08 View Post

There is really no way to "amp-out" sibilance if it's already present in the recording (bad mastering) or a limitation at the source level.  You really need to address those things first to improve overall SQ before you're trying to doctor the sound out by changing headphones and even worse, using EQ.  Amps increase the gain structure of the input signal but if that is of poor quality, the undesirable harmonics will also get amplified along with everything else.

 

My two cents.

good i thought I was just crazy for not liking EQ, I tried it for my M50's at first, but idk I kinda hated it. I feel like good headphones should already be balanced to their strongest areas. 
 

 

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Headphone Amps (full-size)
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphone Amps (full-size) › I hate sibilance: what portable amp?