I'm a semi-audiophile, and I was thinking of this combination:

iPod touch 32 GB or 64 GB (the newest generation)

Altec Lansing UHP326 Backbeat Series (I have an audiotechnica ATH-ES7, but I don't really want to carry it to school, and risk breaking it).

And a Fiio E5 amp (or Fio E3, is there a large difference between the two?)

I was also thinking of Nuforce Icon Mobile, but it's a lot more expensive than the Fiio E5 :[. I technically have a limited budget of around 500 dollars (including buying iPod). Is the Nuforce a lot better than the Fiio? Also, is the Lansing hones any good?

I would do the following:

ipod - $400 for 64GB.

At this point, I say easy to drive phones with no amp. Next time you can put money toward audio, get an LOD an at least an Icon Mobile (I actially really like mine).

For the headphone, I suggest Head direct RE0. Neutral, IMO good for everything. It is good without an amp, and when you do get the amp, you will get a whole new phone. Its actually a very ey opening and nice experience.

-Nkk

EDIT: If you can spare the extra $20 now, the fiio will help, but that depends on the IEMs. For the RE0, they help, but not as much as my Icon Mobile does.

Hmmm i think the noob-iest portable setup for a non-audiophile would be source--> RSA Predator-->CrystalConnect Piccolo--> Caps-->JH13

and thats just the lowest end

Forget the E5. Get a real amp, atleast a Cmoy, nuforce, RSA or iBasso. The E5 will just be a small annoying, sharp square in your pocket, not really improving anything.

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That's not true. It just does not help as much as other things, and it sacrifices some clarity. As I said two posts up, with my RE0s, it helps a little, with a bit more bass (no doubt also because of its warmer nature), but some detail is lost. The point is, very few IEMs actually need an amp to sound good. The ones that do are slightly helped by the extra power from the e5, but not as much as a much better amp.

There's also a huge price difference. Any other really top of the line amp will cost you about 5 or 10 times as much. So for the amp experience you get out of the E5 I would see it as worth it.

Also do the RE0's live up to their "hype" ?

I run an 80gb ipod and a pair of Shure e5c iem. I recently bought a Fiio5. While the instrumentals have some additional separation, the vocals are flat and distant.