Is iMod still competitive with "audiophile" DAPs (only interested in SOUND QUALITY)?

I just got brand new IEM's (se535) and I love them, but of course now I want to upgrade my iPod Touch to something a little (or a lot) better. I read so many reviews that say this-or-that DAP just blow the iPod away, and I'm so curious about how the sound could get much better.

First, I 'm using the Equilizer app for the touch, no amp. The EQ app is nice but doesn't seem to really help the sound *quality* (i.e., it doesn't affect clarity, power, soundstage, hissing, etc), but it does let me add a lil bass here, or treble there.

I've read through a million posts about the S:Flo2, HM-601,602,801, Sony X, Cowon J3, iMod 4g, 5g, Colorfly, etc. I'm VERY confused!

I've ruled out the hm801 because it's too expensive and unwieldy. I've ruled out the sflo2 because I'm too spoiled by Apple interface. And I haven't been able to find much about the Colorfly ck4.

So, I'm mostly interested in how the iMod (probably 4g, just because I don't want to be forced to by the $200 Alo cable for the 5g), compared to:

    1) iPod touch amped and unamped

    2) Cowon J3, unamped

    3) Sony X, unamped

I'm not interested in anything but music and sound quality (dnt care about video, wifi, photos, etc). Obviously I appreciate a good UI, which is why I don't even want to go down the sflo2, hifiman route (not dissing those, I'm sure they are awesome, but I'm just too lazy and tech retarded to risk it).

I'm the most curious about the iMod versus amped iPod, I would really like to hear from people who have heard both. I know there are threads about this and I have read them, but most of them are 4-6 years old, and I'm wondering if opinions have changed at all.

I know how the iMod works (kind of), and I know that on paper it is clearly better than an iPod with amp, but I want to know what the difference in sound is (blacker background? bigger stage? better bass? better detail retrieval? etc.), and how big the difference is.

As for the Cowon, I'm confused because people say that the sound is clearly better than an iPod, but then they say something that suggests that it's only better because of the all the BBE EQ presets. Well, if this is the case, then that seems moot since the iPod has the EQ apps that are pretty decent. Are there any other differences in sound quality?

Finally, if someone could just confirm that an iMod is clearly and substantially superior to either a Cowon J3 or Sony X, then I can cross them off my list and focus on iMod versus amped iPod.

Sorry for the long post, I did as much research as I could, but I'm still left with these questions. Is there a way to audition an iMod? That would be ideal.

bump? anything?

bump, please ... just a little help, a few words ...

The latest version, and I have both apps but use Equalizer, not EQu.

So this is what gets me! The clip costs ~$40, the hifiman costs from $260-800 ... I understand that people have different priorities, portability and usability being tough contenders against marginal differences in sound quality, but is the difference between something like the clip and the hifiman THAT marginal? If so, why in gods name would anyone get the hifiman?

I guess the best thing would be to go try some of these dap's using the same music file with my IEM's. An iMod is a huge investment and for some reason I can imagine being totally let down after spending so much and waiting for so long.

I should have put in my first post that I bought a TTVJ Slim to power my iPod touch because I was unhappy with the headphones I had at the time (Shure 840 full sized), hoping the amp would help. I literally could not tell *any* difference at all except that the phones were easier to power. They were not clearer, the bass was not deeper, the highs were not angelic, the soundstage may have been a little wider but for most pop/rock it wasn't noticeable. And yes, I let the amp burn in for at least 100 hours just to be sure.

So this is why I'm so hesitant to invest in iMod. But nearly ALL the old posts say the difference between iMod and iPod is HUGE and NOT marginal. And since the DAC in the iPod touch is sure not better than the 4g classic, wouldn't the iMod still be impressively better than iPod touch? so confusing.

Same goes for the Cowon/Sony/iRiver, etc. Everyone says they are *soooooo* much better than ipod (not everyone, actually, probably just the people that use them), whereas some people say ipod has "caught up" in terms of sound quality. I guess what I'm wondering about this comparison is how would an unamped, unEQed Cowon J3 sound compared to an unamped, unEQed Touch? Would it be clearly better, or just different? Or would there be no difference?

I'm not stuck on apple, but if the iMod is clearly and noticeably better than the others I'd prefer to be able to keep using iTunes and enjoying the simple solid UI. If the iMod is comparable to the Cowon, and both are clearly and substantially better than the iPod touch, then I would go for a Cowon without thinking twice!

Ugh, sorry, but it's just so confusing.

Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate it. Seems like maybe the whole thing is a wash in some ways. I'm so tempted to try the iMod, maybe I'll look out for one on here, buy, try, and sell if not impressed? Or I'll put in a few years of solid posting and bug someone to let me try their spare! LOL ...

Thanks again. I'll just focus on expanding my lossless collection and enjoy what I got! Of course that won't last long, hehehe ...

One last bump ... is no one going to vouch for the amazing-ness of the iMod?!?!

No one can say for sure that the RWA iMod is superior to amped iPod touch?

Come on! : )