[dbdynsty25]

What source are you using? Can you not adjust the balance on there?

Also, couldn't you have tested whether it was your ears or your equipment just by turning your headphones around? : P

 
Multiple sources.  On my X3 I don't use an amp and I can balance it out.  On my iPad via line out to my e17 or my BH2, I cannot do any adjustments.  Same thing with my Nexus 5...no adjustments.
 
The weird thing is I don't notice the imbalance of my hearing on IEMs...only on headphones.  My Philips L1, my M100 and my M50s...all feel like they are louder in my right ear.  So maybe it's just how my ears adjust to the full sized cups that surround my ears, but I shot that theory down when I tried a Monster DNA and a M80...both of which were similar, and they are on-ears.  Who knows.  I'm a mess.  
 
And yes, I've tried to turn the headphones around and the same issue persists...which is why I am pretty confident it's my ears.

 

[Zenthelld]

Multiple sources.  On my X3 I don't use an amp and I can balance it out.  On my iPad via line out to my e17 or my BH2, I cannot do any adjustments.  Same thing with my Nexus 5...no adjustments.

For your Nexus 5 you could download the PowerAmp app. It's an awesome player and includes the ability to adjust channel balance. I'm sure plenty of other players have it as well, but PowerAmp is my favourite.
Does a similar app not exist on the iPad? I don't know as I'm not an Apple guy.

That is weird about IEMs being fine. Have you seen a doctor?

 

[dbdynsty25]

For your Nexus 5 you could download the PowerAmp app. It's an awesome player and includes the ability to adjust channel balance. I'm sure plenty of other players have it as well, but PowerAmp is my favourite.
Does a similar app not exist on the iPad? I don't know as I'm not an Apple guy.

That is weird about IEMs being fine. Have you seen a doctor?

 
Most of the time I'm streaming Google Music, so using an extra app/player is not the answer.  But for locally stored music, that's a great idea.
 
As for the doctor...the imbalance is so slight, it's not worth the time.  If I adjust the balance on the X3 or one of the Fiio DACs...it's one or two clicks to the left...that's it.  In fact, if I listen to a headphone for over ten to fifteen minutes, I get used to it and it doesn't bother me as much.  I just don't think there is a good answer...I'll just have to stick with the DACs and sources that have the adjustment possibilities.  
 
Thanks for the ideas!

 

[ostewart]

Listening to the C5D with my laptop and some Alessandro MS1 I recently got, sounds really good. The MS1 is not at all bright (as some think), the C5D is brilliant with them.

 

[H20Fidelity]

So I'm pretty much sold on the C5 amp, giving me good results with my cans and IEM's. I'm demoing C421 next week and will decide which one to purchase. I also have Leckerton UHA760 on loan but I need  more time with it to form any real opinions, I'm not terribly blown away with all pairings only a few in particular stood out. I'm finding C5 to have solid control and refinement, also gives a nice boost in detail plus it sounds clean, also seems to have a certain timbre that I like the sound of. 

I'll tune in further once C421 arrives.

 

[White Lotus]

  So I'm pretty much sold on the C5 amp, giving me good results with my cans and IEM's. I'm demoing C421 next week and will decide which one to purchase. I also have Leckerton UHA760 on loan but I need  more time with it to form any real opinions, I'm not terribly blown away with all pairings only a few in particular stood out. I'm finding C5 to have solid control and refinement, also gives a nice boost in detail plus it sounds clean, also seems to have a certain timbre that I like the sound of. 

I'll tune in further once C421 arrives.

 
Keep note - it's the 2227 edition you'll be listening to. 

 

[H20Fidelity]

Keep note - it's the 2227 edition you'll be listening to. 

Yes! I keep forgetting.

 

[zachgraz]

  So I'm pretty much sold on the C5 amp, giving me good results with my cans and IEM's. I'm demoing C421 next week and will decide which one to purchase. I also have Leckerton UHA760 on loan but I need  more time with it to form any real opinions, I'm not terribly blown away with all pairings only a few in particular stood out. I'm finding C5 to have solid control and refinement, also gives a nice boost in detail plus it sounds clean, also seems to have a certain timbre that I like the sound of. 

I'll tune in further once C421 arrives.

I am looking forward to reading your impressions. I compared the C5 to the C421 2227 too and there was one winner for me.
I am using it every day now, great little thing - I will tell you later which one I kept and why

 

 

[SkyBleu]

I am looking forward to reading your impressions. I compared the C5 to the C421 2227 too and there was one winner for me.
I am using it every day now, great little thing - I will tell you later which one I kept and why :bigsmile_face:  

I looked into your profile, and I know exactly which one you kept, and probably why.

 

[luisdent]

The c5 is "clearly" better. Pun intended.

 

[miceblue]

I'm confused with the whole C421 thingamabob. Were there physically different versions, or was the op-amp the only thing different? I'm usually against "op-amp rolling" since a circuit for op-amp A might not be optimised for the same circuit for op-amp B.

 

[ostewart]

Just a different opamp, i had the AD8620 and loved it.

 

[luisdent]

Posted part one of my in depth c5 review...
 
http://handtokey.blogspot.com/2014/01/new-video-review.html

 

[H20Fidelity]

  I am looking forward to reading your impressions. I compared the C5 to the C421 2227 too and there was one winner for me.
I am using it every day now, great little thing - I will tell you later which one I kept and why

 

I have C421 (OPA2227) with me, I'm really liking the sound it's giving me with my headphones. It seems to lean a touch cooler in tonality and clarity, sounds clearer than C5 in comparison, soundstage seems wider. However it doesn't seem to have quite the same (close) refinement/control as C5 though overall I like C421. Until....I plug my 10ohm Dunu DN-1000 hybrids into the amp. The high 10ohm (roughly) output impedance of C421 caused some rather obvious problems. My Dunu sounded hollow like someone sucked the mid range out or like the singer was coming through a tunnel. Go back to my fullsize headphones I really enjoy it.

So I guess this will depend on a few factors which I decide. I think what C421 does to my headphones is worth the purchase as it sounds great, however losing the ability to pair with a majority of my IEM collection kind of takes away the glory. I'll pair C421 up with ER4S this afternoon once it's charged again and consult this further.

So in a nut shell C421 great with my full-size headphones better than C5 to my ears minus some refinement but the high output impedance is really a bummer.
 

 

[White Lotus]

 
I have C421 (OPA2227) with me, I'm really liking the sound it's giving me with my headphones. It seems to lean a touch cooler in tonality and clarity, sounds clearer than C5 in comparison, soundstage seems wider. However it doesn't seem to have quite the same (close) refinement/control as C5 though overall I like C421. Until....I plug my 10ohm Dunu DN-1000 hybrids into the amp. The high 10ohm (roughly) output impedance of C421 caused some rather obvious problems. My Dunu sounded hollow like someone sucked the mid range out or like the singer was coming through a tunnel. Go back to my fullsize headphones I really enjoy it.

So I guess this will depend on a few factors which I decide. I think what C421 does to my headphones is worth the purchase as it sounds great, however losing the ability to pair with a majority of my IEM collection kind of takes away the glory. I'll pair C421 up with ER4S this afternoon once it's charged again and consult this further.

So in a nut shell C421 great with my full-size headphones better than C5 to my ears minus some refinement but the high output impedance is really a bummer.
 

 
Perhaps try it on a full charge (if that matters). The C421 2227 was my "go-to" for IEM use for a number of months..