Should I upgrade something with my gear? JH16, hm602, pico slim, sr71b

You have a better rig then me, be happy

This is a joke, right ?

If not, you might be part of that small percentage of audiophiles who will simply never be happy with their kit. Sure, there will always be something 'better' out there, but I suspect that you have reached the point where returns begin to diminish. Fast.

More or less you've basically maxed out the portable rig (at this time).  If you really want to blow more cash, look into the Algorhythm Solo DAC to put between your nano and your amps.

If I had as much disposable income as you appear to have, I'd start working on a home rig.

LOL your current rig is like my "dream rig" 

Quote:

Originally Posted by andyph666@gmail.com 

No but I'm quite new to head-fi so I'm not sure what's around. I was considering getting ES5 for single ended and then the jh3a cause it has to have an amp with it. Would the boomslang be a lot better than the macbook pro -> hm602 option?

Looks like you've been here for about 2 1/2 years

Quote:

Originally Posted by andyph666@gmail.com 

haha yea been lurking around reading about the old rsa predator amps, pico etc but haven't really started till now. I would build a desktop rig but i travel all the time. I'd rather use speakers when I'm at home. Not sure if I want to carry a third box with my rig though its pretty big as it is. Do you think it will provide better sound than a whipmod?

Hey listen, I travel all the time also.  There are times when i am not able to get upgraded and get stuck in the economy class of a 15 hours transpacific flight (3-5 times a year), I just want to disappear into my own world and forget about my predicament.  There are really two kinds of portable setup.  The first kind is what I call the real portable rig, it is the ultimate rig with the best sound that you can do anything with it.  For me, I have the Nano 6g paired with a Ultra Micro TWag LOD to a Pico Slim and to JH13 .  The whole thing is not larger than two stack of gums but give 90 percent of the bigger portable rig.  And than the other portable rig is portable only in the sense that it is portable but you really has to be sitting down to enjoy the setup.  For me, either one will work in airplane.  The bigger portable rig that I am in the process of completing is:  Ipod or Nano 6 g or Ipad if you do video to Solo (2-3 more weeks of waiting) spdif to Boomslang then balance to SR71b and then balance to JH 13 or a highend closed phone like the ED8.  I am getting to the point like Skylab that I am only keeping my last pair of iem (jh13) just so I have a pair of iem. I find with the new crop of highend amps like SR71b, they can drive fullsize can to the level of desktop set up.  And I find I can be immersed with a pair of fullsize can much better than any iem.  You seem to have almost everything to put together an excellent rig.  Good luck.

The only thing I would change is to recable your TWag OM into SR71b balance connector and make another adaptor to go from the balance connector to SE mini so you can use you JH16 on both the Pico Slim and the SR71B.

you have to upgrade your Source and cable.

HM801 and Nordost vahalla mini to mini should be ok (I've found HM801 sounds  better to my ear  than the combination whipmod+FatBoy )

ES5 is not better than  JH16.They are different. You have to upgrade your CIEM,but you have to buy the ES5,if you want best of both world

Quote:

Originally Posted by andyph666@gmail.com 

hey Jalo. Thanks for the input! How do you like the boomslang, I think that might be my next purchase and just stick with that for a while I suppose. How did you connect the boomslang with the sr71b? Sound like a nice rig you got there. The nano 6g looks tiny and apparently I read that it has pretty good sound. I already have it in balanced with the balanced to SE connector, sorry about that. I find larger headphones a little annoying because a) they are pretty big b) the cable is usually really long and c) they use 1/4 plugs and leak out music most of the time. I listen to pretty loud levels I guess. I would not mind getting an LCD2 down the road. I have ruled out the whipmod as it can only be used on older generation ipods and the solo supports the newers but I'd have to carry an extra box.

I love the Boomslang (DB1), but I heard the DB2 may be coming so you may want to hold on for now.  Seriously, I put my optical out from my computer to my Boomslang and to SR71B and the sound is equal if not better than my $3,000.00 desktop setup.  And then I have the option to take it on the road with a nano 6g and a Solo, and I'll have a desktop sound in the size of a paper back book.

I understand your point about full size headphone and I agree with those points.  However, most of the time when I listen on the road it is on an airplane where I don't need to move much for hours.  I am like you having been chasing the perfect portable rig for the last three years and now finally the technology has caught up to the point where very highend desktop sound can be had in a portable system, so why not go there.  There was a post on another thread someone was saying he is all about immersion.  If he cannot immersed in music with his headphone, it doesn't matter how good the SQ is.  I totally agree with that statement and that is why I am going to fullsize portable phone like the ED8 over the JH13 for an immersion experience while I am on the road.  Believe me, my portable journal started 8 years ago with the Ety er4s, to two pairs of UE10 pros, Triple fi 10, to JH13 and ATHESW10jpn.  At this point I am just drooling over the big involving sound from phones like 800, LCD2 etc but open back doesn't work on the road, so I am looking for the best close phone out there.  I agreed with you on the Solo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolcat 

you have to upgrade your Source and cable.

HM801 and Nordost vahalla mini to mini should be ok (I've found HM801 sounds  better to my ear  than the combination whipmod+FatBoy )

 

ES5 is not better than  JH16.They are different. You have to upgrade your CIEM,but you have to buy the ES5,if you want best of both world

When the Solo finally comes out in about 3 three weeks.  I think we need to have another match with different portable systems instead of individual components.  

Something like:

1.Ipod/Iphone/Ipad--Solo--Dac(optional)--Amp

2.HM801/601/602--DAC (optional)--Amp(optional)

3 Imod/whipmod--AMP

4.  DAP--JH-3A

5. Cowan D3/Or any other favorite DAP by people--amp

and then we put the winner in a desktop match and see how it fair.  Sounds fun?