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Best Amp for High Sensitivity IEMs - None?!? - Page 2

post #16 of 30
1/10/10 at 1:29am
well a 20 dollar amp for a previously over $300 iem :P
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post #17 of 30
1/10/10 at 2:48am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rawrster View Post
well a 20 dollar amp for a previously over $300 iem :P
Yeah, it seems there's a good reason I never saw that amp before.

Anyway, I've found a lot of discussion about the iBasso T4, which is supposedly "made for IEMs" but numerous people have found unacceptable hiss with UEs, and a volume pot that is good at 2 and "very loud" at 3 on a scale of 1-10 does not exactly strike me as an "amp constructed for IEMs". Call me crazy, but I want an amp that has a normal volume at 5, very loud at 10, and quiet to very quiet at 3, 2, and 1.

The minibox D seems to have better synergy, but I can't find as much about it. And Xin's amps seem impossible to source - I'm not giving my credit card number to someone and waiting 18+ months...
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post #18 of 30
1/10/10 at 2:59am
which UE's? I don't hear any hiss out of the triple fi's if I plug it straight into my netbook which I found surprising. Also lots of amps tend to get loud unless you have a very inefficient iem like a stock im716 so its not a big deal about that.
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post #19 of 30
1/10/10 at 3:58am
Thread Starter 
Just found this in the iBasso T3 forum from a trusted long-timer "HeadphoneAddict":

"I look forward to the reportedly increased clarity of the T3, and hope it sounds closer to the iPhone headphone output which is a little better than the T4 (although not as warm or powerful, the 3GS is more detailed and spacious)."

And elsewhere:

"I have reported before that I found the T4 to be good with bright IEM when trying to pair them with a brighter sounding Nano or Touch, but not really offering sound quality that much better than an iPod. As a matter of fact, my iPhone 3G and 3GS headphone out sounds more detailed and balanced than the T4. Yet the T4 is not a bad amp at all, it's just not as good as the iPhone 3G/3GS which I think is the best sounding iPod ever made."
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post #20 of 30
1/10/10 at 7:04am
HeadphoneAddict's review of the T3 can be found just a bit further down the page: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f105/m...le-amp-458844/
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post #21 of 30
1/10/10 at 7:26am
i picked the pico slim to use with my jh-13's, at least for now, since everyone that has heard it says it has no hiss. But ill hopefully be able to pick out a desktop amp at can jam the GS-1 and Sonett are my top two so far though
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post #22 of 30
1/10/10 at 8:34am
have you received your pico slim?
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post #23 of 30
1/10/10 at 8:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by shigzeo View Post
have you received your pico slim?
oh no, sorry if thats the impression i made, just that its going to be the amp i use. All the impressions ive read from meets says that it has no hiss. but i guess it still could, everyone has different thresholds for hiss, but im the guy that gets upset if someone leaves a tube tv on in the next room lol so hiss bugs me alot.
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post #24 of 30
1/10/10 at 9:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by AVU View Post
Thoughts on synergy between your Filo E5 with your tf10? I never saw that amp before.
erm going off memory (not used the E5 in forever) it helped a fair bit, for its dirt cheap price its worth a go.

i dont recall a night and day omg difference
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post #25 of 30
1/19/10 at 4:18pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mark2410 View Post
my answer is it depends.

se530 not that much difference, tf10 i felt opened up so much it was a big surprise the first time i amped them.
Hey Mark, I just got my T3 in and tried it with my new TF10 customs - I totally agree, it's a huge difference! I was actually not expecting any difference. But amped with the iBasso T3, gain 0, about 4-5 volume, the instruments were better separated and defined, there was more energy and sparkle, the bass was tighter, and everything was just generally more articulated. I did a couple A/B tests to be sure, with different types of music, and it's totally undeniable - it's significantly better going through the LOD to the T3 than just through the iphone 2gs headphone out (which is supposed to be quite good on its own, for all you apple-haters out there

I'm still piecing my system together, with parts are still coming hopefully the end of this week. I'll give my impressions of the T3 as opposed to the filo e5 and the Meier XXS, just for kicks.
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post #26 of 30
2/3/10 at 3:15am
I enjoy my Denon AH-C551 with my RSA The Hornet.
The SQ was improved when I started using a LOD.
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post #27 of 30
2/3/10 at 4:23am
The Hornet is probably one of those classic HP amps. Was it 2006 or 2005 it came out? Cannot remember other than to say that it stirred the waters then and it is still a punchy, powerful amp. I think for iem-only setups, there are better amps available now, but that one is a classic. Saying that, I'd rather own the SR71a - which remains imo, one of the best portable HP amps ever.
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post #28 of 30
2/3/10 at 4:33am
I like The Hornet because you can change the battery with a spare one so you can run it more if you want.
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post #29 of 30
2/3/10 at 11:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rosgr63 View Post
I enjoy my Denon AH-C551 with my RSA The Hornet.
The SQ was improved when I started using a LOD.
LOD is easily the most important upgrade. Thats when you can trully hear the difference from amp to amp. The ipod/iphone lod puts out a lot of juice, the better amp will have better control.
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post #30 of 30
2/4/10 at 2:48am
Whith a LOD you are bypassing the intrnal iPod amp and feed the analogue signal to the external amp, so the SQ is better.
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