Thanks for the comments. I will definitely purchase both T3 and D4. Can't wait to try them. Hope they start making some D4's real soon...

And yeah, I'll go and do some research on D2000 and HF-1/2.

Nice. Just bought the T3. So excited! My first amp!

Bit off topic but I found a local seller for a used HF-2 for $520. I know I shouldn't but I'm soooooo tempted T_T My first headphone! ha ha I would just get it if it was like $400ish.

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EDIT: Received my parcel in two business days from China to Canada. Wow what can i say... it's FANTASTIC. Love iBasso, love the T3. It's so tiny... smaller than a zippo lighter, and smaller than my iAudio7. The details, depth, separation, bass, treble... if it gets better after burn-in... i think it'll be the best $140 that i've spent in a long time.

The T3 really is a great amp, especially considering the size, cost and clarity of the output. Nice purchase!

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I find that with some burn in the T3 gets even more transparent. That seems like a bit much for the HF2 but then they are a limited edition and market determines value. Look at some Atari games going for 10,000 to 40,000 dollars. :^) And i had one at one time. :^(

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Jam, PM me about the ATARI stuff...I have a box full of my old games, etc in my parents attic!

[New guy here ]
I just got my t3 today along with my ZY ipod line-out dock cable and hooked 'em up with my ipod touch and Klipsch image s4.
 
 
Once I connected 'em up, I listened to some new age female vocals. I noticed that separation of instruments is slightly wider and also small improvements in clarity. The difference was noticeable but wasn't as big as I'd hope for.
 
 
Then I listened to pop and electrohouse and the most obvious change that stood out was the bass. It's tighter and firmer, but also abit too aggressive for my tastes. 
 
 
I mean... the image s4 is already notorious for its bass heavy elements hence when I read reviews that the t3 boosts the trebles and controls the bass, I thought getting the t3 will give me a much balanced sound on the klipsch. But somehow it didn't... :S
 
 
Don't get me wrong, the first time i listened to electrohouse on the amp I was pretty impressed with the sound, especially the bass pounding on my head. However, after half an hour of listening it started to get into my head and gave me a slight headache.
 
Maybe it's just my problem. But what do you guys think? Maybe my klipsch just isn't meant to be hooked with the amp?
 

Hi guys
this is a great post....but would really appreciate if i could get some help
 
I have a shure se530 and have been using the fiio portable amplifier for all this while( yes yes i know...probably crap compared to the high ones here)
I am looking for a decent but inexpensive upgrade that will suit the soundstage of the shure's
 
Just letting you know, I am a HUUGGEEEE fan of trance/dance/house music...so i am looking with very good bass obvsly that compliments and brings the best out of the shure's
 
I read quite a few treads and found that the t3s seem to be a good option, but i am also thinking of the d2+boa.. but i have head the latter is more suited to full headcans and not iems, is that true?
 
are there any other amps out there that will compliment to the shures, and to the type of genre that i usually prefer listining to??
 
I hope someone replies to this...as this tread seems to have died and no activity for a good 4 months or so
 
any help is appreciated , planning to buy an amp as a birthday gift for my self
 
thanks in advance

Quote:

cooldhanveer said:

Hi guys
this is a great post....but would really appreciate if i could get some help
 
I have a shure se530 and have been using the fiio portable amplifier for all this while( yes yes i know...probably crap compared to the high ones here)
I am looking for a decent but inexpensive upgrade that will suit the soundstage of the shure's
 
Just letting you know, I am a HUUGGEEEE fan of trance/dance/house music...so i am looking with very good bass obvsly that compliments and brings the best out of the shure's
 
I read quite a few treads and found that the t3s seem to be a good option, but i am also thinking of the d2+boa.. but i have head the latter is more suited to full headcans and not iems, is that true?
 
are there any other amps out there that will compliment to the shures, and to the type of genre that i usually prefer listining to??
 
I hope someone replies to this...as this tread seems to have died and no activity for a good 4 months or so
 
any help is appreciated , planning to buy an amp as a birthday gift for my self
 
thanks in advance

Click to expand...

There are a lot of amps that would suit the SE530, and the T3 would be one of them.  I think the T3 a little better balanced amp than the older D2 I had, but slightly below the D3 or D4 and D10.  It's size is great and ensures that you would actually take it with you and use it.  
 
I would not use the iBasso T4 though, as it may make the SE530 too dark although it was just right with a borrowed pair of K702.  And the Icon Mobile may remove some of the bass that you love so much.  
 
But the Vivid V1 should also be a good match for SE530, although much larger than the T3 for the same price (and worse battery life).  If you were also driving full size high impedance phones like HD600 the V1 might be a little better choice.  Surprisingly the T3 still drives and HD600 to decent listening volumes, although not nearly as loud as the V1.  Over all the T3 may sound a little better balanced with a wider variety of IEM, and with TF10Pro or Denon C700 the T3 beats the V1.
 
The RSA Tomahawk was a good match for the SE530, although slightly bright or grainy for a few other IEM like my Denon C700 which worked better with a Meier Headsix.  The Headsix sounded good with many IEM, and would also be on the level of the iBasso D3 and above the D2 or T3.  The Headsix is a little warmer and smoother sounding than the Tomahawk, and would likely be the next step up from the T3 that wont break the bank.

thanks a lot man, it seems you really know your stuff, really appreciate your response on this. i am actually confused among the t3 and the ibassode+ boa. what is the real diffrence among the two, with respct to the shure se530's. is it really worth spending the extra 40 bucks? do you recommend any other amplifier that might suit the shure se 530's and my type of music( trance/dance). i am completley confused with the options out there. i was ok spending upto 400 bucks on an amp, but just when i finnaly got my mind around to actually spending that sum, my ipod crashed( probbbly the saddest day ever) and now i have to buy another one, and actually considering not bying an ipod now( my 2 one in 3 years, not a good track record i would say) . i am looking to spend somwhere around 120-160$ for an amp. would really appreciate if you help me out with some decent options, i am still very new to this. Thanks a lot man...trully appreciate this.

Quote:

cooldhanveer said:

thanks a lot man, it seems you really know your stuff, really appreciate your response on this. i am actually confused among the t3 and the ibassode+ boa. what is the real diffrence among the two, with respct to the shure se530's. is it really worth spending the extra 40 bucks? do you recommend any other amplifier that might suit the shure se 530's and my type of music( trance/dance). i am completley confused with the options out there. i was ok spending upto 400 bucks on an amp, but just when i finnaly got my mind around to actually spending that sum, my ipod crashed( probbbly the saddest day ever) and now i have to buy another one, and actually considering not bying an ipod now( my 2 one in 3 years, not a good track record i would say) . i am looking to spend somwhere around 120-160$ for an amp. would really appreciate if you help me out with some decent options, i am still very new to this. Thanks a lot man...trully appreciate this.

Click to expand...

If you are having to replace the iPod, I would consider just getting the biggest iPod touch (64Gb) you can afford, and add an amp later.

I'm seriously considering getting the iBasso T3 with their CB05 cable to work with my iPods. There's a reason for this: I just got the Etymotic Research mc3 headset and it really needs more headphone amp "oomph" to make that IEM sound better. So is the T3 a good match for the mc3?

I have the MC5 and T3D. I don't see why they couldn't work together, except for the fact that you can't use the mic on MC3 anymore. Also, the MC series is fairly easy to drive so the real benefit, from my point of view, is that you can use the line-in from your iPod. That is where you will see the improvement most.

Hello All,
I just got my T3, and listened to it out of the box with my new MC5s. My question is how long does it take to fully burn these in? I am asking this question because I have been listening to my new MC5s with my old D2 Boa, and the Boa's Sound stage is 2X wider and deeper. According to the author of this post, he states that this amp is better than the D2 out of the box? I have only listened to the T3 for about an hour so I am not expecting much.

Quote:

themaestro335 said:

Hello All,
I just got my T3, and listened to it out of the box with my new MC5s. My question is how long does it take to fully burn these in? I am asking this question because I have been listening to my new MC5s with my old D2 Boa, and the Boa's Sound stage is 2X wider and deeper. According to the author of this post, he states that this amp is better than the D2 out of the box? I have only listened to the T3 for about an hour so I am not expecting much.

Click to expand...

Actually what I said was, "I gave it 250 hours of un-monitored burn-in, but it sounded fine right out of the box."  I didn't say it was better than D2 out of the box, but it didn't sound bad before burn-in.  Unfortunately because I just played music 24/7 for over 10 days without listening, I can't say what changed with burn-in or how long it needs, sorry.
 
And I wrote, "The T3 is not overly bright, nor too forward/too recessed, nor bass-lite - it doesn't seem to do anything wrong, to the point that I may actually prefer the amp section over the iBasso D2 Boa. I'd say it's probably closer to the sound quality of the iBasso D3 or Meier Headsix which is a step up from the D2 Boa.  The T3 drops to 2nd tier based on it's detail and transparency vs the top tier amps like Pico, etc, but not based on colorations or frequency response issues."  There I said may and probably because I sold the D2 Boa about 1 week before I got the T3, although I had recent memory of the D2 sound and notes about the sound in my big DAC/amp review, and the D3 was sold once I got the D10 long ago.
 
The D2 Boa had a nice warm sounding lower mids, but it sounded a little thinner in the upper mids, which made it seem a little tipped up in the bass and treble vs the mids.  The T3 is a little more level in it's frequency response, so I was able to enjoy it with Grado RS-1 or HD600, despite their different sound signatures.  I do feel the T3 has a more intimate soundstage than some other amps, and the D2 Boa's frequency response characteristics help contribute to it's deeper or more distant soundstage.  To me, soundstage is not always the most important thing I look for, as I also look at frequency balance, and transparency/detail.  The D2/D3 may be more detailed than the T3 (the D4 certainly is) but I don't have them to compare anymore. 
 
I would give it at least 100 hours, but many of the amps I have reviewed didn't fully open up till 250-300 hours, some even longer.

I find the ibasso T3 is a good match for boosting my sennheiser earbuds, but the amp (w/LOD) coupled with the ATH-ESW9 headphones seems to be good on some songs and not so good with others(then the ipod headphone out is better).
 
Which amp would be a good match for ESW9s? -also thinking of rockboxing my 30gb 5thgen ipod.