Hello.

I'm kinda over my E5. I'm wondering which one you'd choose. They're kinda close in price, but I'm not sure about quality. The USB DAC functionality of the Boa doesn't appeal to me since I already have a uDAC and am very happy with it. I want one of them purely for their mobile headphone amp ability. I do like how slim the Arrow is though..

I'll be using one of them with a Fuze with the silver wire LOD from avarage_joe, and some Etymotic ER4S's.

The budget for the headphone amp is going to try and stay in the $200 range. Plus or minus $25.

Advice or other, more appropriate IEM's would be appreciated.

Thanks,

J.

I use a Corda Headsix amp with my ER4S phones (via an iPod Classic) and it works wonders. I've got an Arrow on order though, so am hoping its even more of an upgrade.

Rather than the D2 Boa, I would wager the Ibasso P3+ would be a better bet since its a pure amplifier rather than a dac+amp

The arrow has got more features - crossfeed, selectable gain, better battery etc it has a fixed opamp, while the p3+ has rollable opamps which allow you to tweak the sound to get the best synergy with your gear.(Plus the P3+ has a couple of opamps bundled so you can tweak the sound without spending on additional opamps.

So choose what suits you better. The P3+ is a great amp (I use one) and judging from the numerous glowing reviews of the Arrow, I would wager that it too is a really good amp.

IMO AD8397 op-amp based amps have fairly similar sound signatures. The Arrow's auto voltage swing, size/form and feature set is what sets it apart. It appears the Arrow's on for $229 if you pre-order so you're not stretching your limit. (There's a wait for the P3 as well from what I've read.) I know I've said this elsewhere, but I really can't imagine someone not liking the Arrow for the price, as it's as good to my ears a many much higher priced amps.

^^ I dunno why you say there is a delay with the P3+ ? Its not shown as stock out on their website ( like the D4 Mamba which was stock out a month ago). - iBasso

@ OP - As I had suggested in my earlier post. Both amps I am sure are very nice sounding ones. However they have different strengths and weaknesses

For e.g. The Arrow is slimer (and hence more portable) and comes with a bevy of features like crossfeed, selectable gain (with the P3+ you have to open the case to change the gain), voltage swing etc.

The P3+ is bulkier and uses AAA batteries instead of the li-ion battery on the Arrow. However the P3+ has the option of swapping the OPAMPs to tune the sound so that you can ensure synergy with any headphone/source combination. With the Arrow you are stuck with the default sound signature.

The Arrow is fine with RE0, PK1 and AKG K271 all of which are little bit on the bright and bass-shy side. The HD 580 is still fine, but sounds almost a bit too dark and full for my taste. Its predecessor, the Lyrix (same opamp!), was designed for the AKG K271!

The Arrow's bass boost settings are highly welcome for RE0, PK1 and AKG K271. Higher impedance settings take away the spike on the highs. No need to use higher impedance settings to remove hiss. So there is a limited choice of parameters to adjust sound signature, but no way to tame bass heavy or dark sounding earphones.

I glued the Arrow to the back of my iPod classic. The package is easily fits into my jackets' inner or outer pockets, but of course LODs stick out. iBasso D2 or P3, old Headstage Lyrix or Meier Headsix are too thick for this.

The Sansa Fuze is a tad smaller than the iPod classic, so I would consider the iBasso T3 as alternative rather than D2 or P3. I would no longer want to bother with rechargeable AA, AAA or 9V batteries (Lyrix, Headsix, P3 etc.,), no need to carry spares, AC adapters/chargers or worry about memory effect.

Z

Does anyone know of any pictures with a T3 and Fuze together?

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My mistake...I apologize. I got the models/numbers confused..I was looking at this:iBasso and this iBasso
I think it was primarily the second one I mixed up as it is a "D"3 not a "P"3

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The AD8397 is a very popular op-amp (even among higher priced amps). If you're into op-amp rolling by all means get an amp with which you can swap them. I have always liked the full sounding AD8397, which IMO when used without any bass boost has a pretty flat (but admittedly full) response.

Arrow: 98 x 56 x 8.4 mm, 75g
iBasso T3: 64.5 x 37 x 10 mm, 28g
Zippo lighter: 57 x 37 x 13 mm, 60g
Fuze: 79 x 48 x 8 mm, 59g
iPod classic: 103.5 x 61.8 x 10.5 mm, 140g

cut a stack of paper to the size of Arrow or T3 to imagine its size compared to your player, do not forget to imagine cables and connectors

The Arrow definitely seems like it'd be more comfortable in the hand if attached to a Fuze. I've also been getting some more opinions elsewhere. I think I'm going to keep my eye on the Arrow more than any other amp.. Thank you for all your thoughts.