[Dsnuts]

Quote:

These IEMs are very surprising, I think I love these things. I didn't expect them to sound this good, I can't wait to get the dac. The bass might be close to my HA-FX1Xs when it comes to techno.
 
Is the ELE amped at all?

Yes it seems to have some power to the unit. It doesn't really need a separate amp portion..It goes around %130 percent of regular volume from your laptop. Much louder than standard volume. which also explains why sounds are more expanded on the unit.
 
A little update on the FXZ100/ FXZ200.. Tenso got my earphones and. I hope they will ship that out as soon as possible. But it only ended up being around $24 for shipping and handling. Which is a lot less than I though they would charge me. and with EMS shipping I should have my earphones hopefully by next week.

 

[waynes world]

Quote:

Yes it seems to have some power to the unit. It doesn't really need a separate amp portion..It goes around %130 percent of regular volume from your laptop. Much louder than standard volume. which also explains why sounds are more expanded on the unit.
 
A little update on the FXZ100/ FXZ200.. Tenso got my earphones and. I hope they will ship that out as soon as possible. But it only ended up being around $24 for shipping and handling. Which is a lot less than I though they would charge me. and with EMS shipping I should have my earphones hopefully by next week.

 
I can't wait to hear how they compare with the xba3's. I am listening to them now, and it will be hard to believe that the 100/200's will sound better. But stranger things have happened 

 

[Ghostfit]

Quote:

I think it's at least 1 step up from the Sansa Clip sound.
BTW, I've used Sansa Clips of various versions for years, and really like them.
Given many of them for gifts.
~BG

 
I agree with that too, the Ele dac give a more expanded sound and stage over the Sansa clips.
 
...incidentally, I went thru a mini DAP spending spree a week back and will report back/share the experiences later.

  ...No worries, they all cheapees Sansa clip / Fuze wannabes so your wallets shouldn't be feeling any pain.

 

[vsls]

I'm so happy that I decided to pull the trigger on ELE-Dac last week and after reading only DSnuts reviews since now I see that everyone wants one of them.
I'm still waiting S500 from Japan and now ELE from HK. Please no more suggestions outside the EU

 

[rickdohc]

Quote:

I'm so happy that I decided to pull the trigger on ELE-Dac last week and after reading only DSnuts reviews since now I see that everyone wants one of them.
I'm still waiting S500 from Japan and now ELE from HK. Please no more suggestions outside the EU

 
Still waiting???  its like, forever!

 

[kova4a]

I'm waiting for both of them too. I hope the ELE from HK will come faster than the ones from China as lately I've been waiting for close to a month to receive stuff from China Post to EU. At least I know exactly when my S500 is coming - on 22nd and I don't mind the wait as a friend of mine is bringing it from Japan and it cost me only $37-38 and I obviously won't be paying for shipping. I should ask him if he can audition the fxz100 and 200 but he's an ATH fan and he said that the fxd80 was very bad. He was really impressed with the s500 though.

 

[kova4a]

BTW, if someone has a friend in  Japan or can use some sort of middleman service the fxz200 is discounted and is like $205 now here  http://item.rakuten.co.jp/e-earphone/4975769408038/ . I'm kinda tempted

 

[Dsnuts]

Some good news and bad news. The good news. I have been frantically searching the garage to find some tools to open up my Ha-Info and Fire Phoenix as I got my 3 new Op amps. Found what I needed and I am about to open these up to try out some new chips.

 
Regular op amp chips look like the ones that are sitting on the pink foam. The dual op amp is literally 2X op amps that are sitting on the white foam. These are the chips that are in much higher end amps and such. But smart folks just buy it off of ebay to try it out on their $43 DAC AMPs.! Thanks goes to Kiteki for the suggestions. Will report back with how they sound.
 
 
The bad. Japan was hit by a 7.3 magnitude earth quake yesterday and Tokyo felt the shocks. I have hope for the best for the people of course. As the last thing they need is another tsunami..How this will affect my recent purchases I have no idea. But to be honest that is not so important in the whole scheme of things..My thoughts are with the people of Japan.

 

[kova4a]

It won't affect it at all. Seriously, I was literally chatting with my friend in Japan about JVC headphones and my s500 when the earthquake occured and he didn't even mention it and afterwards when I found out about it he was like "oh, yeah, it happened earlier while we were chatting but nothing out of the ordinary - you couldn't even surf on that so called 1-meter tsunami)

 

[Dsnuts]

WOW!

My goodness. I seem to have found a great match with this Ha-info. I had no idea just how much you can tweek the sound by changing op amps. But what I am hearing right now.
 
I went from Stock Opa2604 to the dual LT1028 and I ran into a bit of a problem. The dual op amp is sitting too high so I couldn't get the case to fit.

I plugged it in anyway.. Hmm. A bit on the bright side. Not feeling it. Then I tried the 2nd chip. The AD8273N.

 
Booya. WOW. This chip makes this little unit sound too good not to keep that chip in there. So even without trying out the 3rd. This chip will stay in here. This sound I am hearing went from good to...... My best sounding dac? Lol.. It has to be. I am amazed just how much this jives with the stock AD1852 DAC chip. Shocking..It simply sounds too good to be true. Lol.  Now onto the Fire Phoenix.
 

 

[cute]

Quote:

WOW!

My goodness. I seem to have found a great match with this Ha-info. I had no idea just how much you can tweek the sound by changing op amps. But what I am hearing right now.
 
I went from Stock Opa2604 to the dual LT1028 and I ran into a bit of a problem. The dual op amp is sitting too high so I couldn't get the case to fit.
 
I plugged it in anyway.. Hmm. A bit on the bright side. Not feeling it. Then I tried the 2nd chip. The AD8273N.
 
 
Booya. WOW. This chip makes this little unit sound too good not to keep that chip in there. So even without trying out the 3rd. This chip will stay in here. This sound I am hearing went from good to...... My best sounding dac? Lol.. It has to be. I am amazed just how much this jives with the stock AD1852 DAC chip. Shocking..It simply sounds too good to be true. Lol.  Now onto the Fire Phoenix.
 

 
Booya, WOW.....you have discovered the same effects as tube rolling, tip rolling, pad rolling, amazing changes to fit your sound preferences!

 

[BGRoberts]

Welcome to the opamp rollers club!
You can have similar fun rolling tubes. too.
I've got enogh of both waiting to be tried to get me thru most of the winter.
Glad you're enjoying the fun!
~BG
 
Quote:

WOW!

My goodness. I seem to have found a great match with this Ha-info. I had no idea just how much you can tweek the sound by changing op amps. But what I am hearing right now.
 
I went from Stock Opa2604 to the dual LT1028 and I ran into a bit of a problem. The dual op amp is sitting too high so I couldn't get the case to fit.

I plugged it in anyway.. Hmm. A bit on the bright side. Not feeling it. Then I tried the 2nd chip. The AD8273N.

 
Booya. WOW. This chip makes this little unit sound too good not to keep that chip in there. So even without trying out the 3rd. This chip will stay in here. This sound I am hearing went from good to...... My best sounding dac? Lol.. It has to be. I am amazed just how much this jives with the stock AD1852 DAC chip. Shocking..It simply sounds too good to be true. Lol.  Now onto the Fire Phoenix.
 

 

[Dsnuts]

Excuse my noobish excitement.
 
So the Fire Phoenix using the Cirrus Logic CS4398 chip. Had a decent headphone amp in the JRC4556. Nothing too crazy as this is the same chip that the Cmoy uses in their altoid amps. I threw in the dual op amp LT1028 and the sound. Went from a stereo type output to a surround type one is the best way to put it. Everything has dimensiality to it. The same clarity is there but now it has layers and more layers of it.
 
Quite the sound change. I didn't like how this chip sounded on the Ha-Info but on the Fire Phoenix it actually gives a completely new take on the Cirrus Logic sound..So I decided to keep this chip in place over the Opa2132p. This chip sounded great too but I immediately noticed I lost that unique layering and fullness that is on the LT1028.. So LT1028 it is.

 
 
Now I am gonna listen to these using some different cans just to get a better understanding of the sounds..Considering I spent $17 on this dual op am and about $5 a piece for the other 2. Getting this sound in combo with the 2 DACs with swapable op amps. This is yet another great way to upgrade the sounds...By the way, actually taking out the screws on the housing is more work than changing out the op amps..Was definitely worth it.
'
So I am getting used to this sound change. My brain is adjusting to it and..Previously I thought. Sounds great. Now I think this CS4398 chip is being optimized..The sound is energetic.. Almost too much imagery. People that love their full surround like stereo sound...In some slow times it is good to discover something this cheap that does something amazing..Pair this sound with a well balanced can and it is starting to kinda freak me out. I wasn't prepared for this much of a sound change.. For the guys that have the Fire Phoenix..This sound has to be experienced. Then the sound started to smooth out. Some harshness was detected on first try. I am not hearing any. Absolutely a clean sound and I just have it on 16bit audio using the USB..
 
After several more hours use. I am detecting the tone to be changing in the sound.. Much more smoother. Sound tighter. Tonality a touch more neutral than the slightly bright sound I was hearing  Other words the refined version of what I was hearing earlier. Lol. I am left speechless.

 

[mingamo]

Im just throwing this out there D's/
 
Today my buddy at school who 'records' metal bands with triggered drums in his home studio, and normally listens to Skullcandy Titans (poop),  Brought in some of these AKG ear-buds (like apple) that genuinely impressed me.  
 
They are literally more flat than my CAL's (which are a lil bass heavey) and reminded me of the higher end AKG semi open phones. They fit quite bad, and when you actually press them in or manage to get a good seal with big ears; they sounded AWESOME.
 
These blew away my Ckm-50's in airyness and in the mids. I'd say the highs were not 'rolled off' but rather didnt extend very high. - This is only my take after 2 minutes of listening on Spotify with some Dave matthews playing. AKA no brain burn-in.
 
Anyway, i wouldnt say GO BUY THEM, but if you have a chance and have big ears, these sounded !!! good.
 
Model was either the K- 311 or K- 309  both look the same. 13 bux.

 

[Dsnuts]

Ya actually I have to admit I have pretty much overlooked AKG earphones but if you think about it those guys definitely have the know how to make a great sounding earphone. Could be something to explore.