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Portable amp for use with iPhone 4 + Shure SE535s with custom sleeves and where to demo

post #1 of 4
1/7/11 at 1:46pm
Thread Starter 

Hi,

 

I've been using Shure SE530s with custom sleeves for a while now and loved them and recently had them replaced with the 535s after the 530s broke.  I use an iPhone 4 now and have been satisfied with the audio quality as most of my music is lossless ripped from the original CDs.  However, I recently had the chance to test the 535s with an expensive sound system and was amazed with what I heard.  The bass on the 535s has never been incredible on the iPhone; just okay but on this system, the bass was great.  It boomed without ruining mids and the highs; the clarity of the iPhone remained but with added 'oomph'.

 

I know I'll never replicate the sound of a dedicate home sound system using an iPhone but still want to do what I can to enhance the sound so I have been thinking about an portable headphone amp.  The three I looked at were the:

 

-iBasso D10

-pico slim portable amp

-Fiio E7

 

Which would you recommend for the 535s and iPhone 4? 

 

I understand that choosing an amp can be down to personal preference and a demo of these amps would probably be the best option.  Does anybody know of anywhere I can demo portable headphone amps?  I live in Manchester in the UK.

 

Any replies are appreciated,

 

thanks very much,

 

Pindi

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Shure SE530 Sound Isolating Earphones
Shure SE535-CL Triple High-Definition MicroDriver Earphone with Detachable Cable...
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post #2 of 4
1/8/11 at 3:51am

Hi Pindi

Firstly sorry for your wallet

 

I currently use SE530 a RSA Hornet Amp fed from an ipod classic with a LOD (Line Out Dock) and can honestly say that the money was well spent. I use this rig every day on my commute to work.

 

No demo of the hornet available AFAIK (watch out for meets in your area) but given the quality of your headphones it would be nice to use an amp considering you already have custom tips? (if you can justify the cost of the amp).

 

My advice would be buy one that you research well at worst you can sell it on if you need to the Ibasso and hornet have good resale values if you dont like them sound wise.

 

One word of caution though if using an iphone as a DAP with an amp beware as the circut can pick up the radio signal from the phone and cause interferance (the kind you may here when the phone is near speakers) this is a common problem with using a phone as a source. 

 

You may be surprised how close you can get to the sound you discribed using an amp and your phone (and maybe in the future a dedicated DAP)

 

Hope this helps

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post #3 of 4
1/8/11 at 8:26am
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the reply.

 

Yeah, my wallet has taken a beating, especially since I had to have ear impressions and sleeves made up again for the 535s.

 

I've had a look at some RSA amps and am liking what I hear in reviews and the newer amps are nice and small too.  The ones I was thinking of were the following:

 

-Protector

-Predator

-Shadow

 

Which would you think?

 

I've heard some say that the SE530s and SE535s don't really improve much when amped but surely a good amp could improve any set of phones right?

 

What would you recommend; spending £200-£300 on a good RSA amp for the 535s or spending that money on a pair of bass heavy headphones from Ultrasone, Beyerdynamics or maybe even one of the Dre Beats line although I've only spent a minute or two with the Beats.  The bass was impressive but can't say much for clarity and I'm wary of Monster products and heavily branded items like the Beats.

 

Thanks

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post #4 of 4
1/9/11 at 1:12am

Pindi

 

I have not heard any of those amps but rest assured any you choose will sound very good

also the warrenty is second to none 3 years no questions asked and transferrable to next owner ( hence the good resale value) and RSA are exelent to deal with.

 

I picked the Hornet as it came out very well in any review or comparison i have read and is exelent value for money (Charger and two batterys included) and rated very highly for a number of years

 

With regards to improvment to the 530 / 535 i would agree that there is not a day/night difference but what does change is the control of the sound (more accurate and better sound stage and seperation) similar to the qualities you mentioned in the OP when you listened through a hi-end system.

The protector is only useful if you intend to run your phones in balanced configuration ( more cash mr wallet please for new cables)

The shadow is tiny compared to the hornet( which is a little larger than a pack of cigaretts)

the predator as far as i can tell is a hornet with a DAC and some sound tweeks.

 

Given the choice again i may sway toward the Shadow (only because of its size) but i am more than happy with what i have and have not been tempted to change. 

I would say buy the amp and a good quality LOD as you can then try different headphones with it and experiment that way (Some good news for you wallet).

I did not like the Beats when i tried them to bass heavy for me ( guess i have been spoiled by the shures which still have the ability to surprise me)

 

hope that helps

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Shure SE530 Sound Isolating Earphones
Shure SE535-CL Triple High-Definition MicroDriver Earphone with Detachable Cable...
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