[H20Fidelity]

Trying this now for you. Yes, C3 can drive ER4S, you'll be using more volume to get them moving though they sound fine. Bass is all there, full mids, treble, just needs a bit more volume than lower impedance IEM. I have the volume set on 35/40 and it's decently loud.

As for amping C3 sure the headphone is very clean so there's no problem. Many members use C3 with the C&C BH amp and love it. Though others report lesser success with some other amps.

Personally I would go the C3, not any apple product can touch it in sound quality IMO.

 

[musicbased]

That's great, thanks very much for trying them out.

 

[H20Fidelity]

That's great, thanks very much for trying them out.

But really, if you want the best from your ER4S you should be considering Studio V 3RD Anv which is the best portable player I have heard for ER4S. Not cheap though.......

 

[Gintaras]

Trying this now for you. Yes, C3 can drive ER4S, you'll be using more volume to get them moving though they sound fine. Bass is all there, full mids, treble, just needs a bit more volume than lower impedance IEM. I have the volume set on 35/40 and it's decently loud.

As for amping C3 sure the headphone is very clean so there's no problem. Many members use C3 with the C&C BH amp and love it. Though others report lesser success with some other amps.

Personally I would go the C3, not any apple product can touch it in sound quality IMO.

+1, impossible to beat for the money ... mind this i did not hear x3 so another DAP worth audition. in the end you decide which one but for me C3 and BH are pairing excellent, total cost about 200$ which is still cheaper and better sounding than Ipods or Cowons i had before.

 

[waynes world]

Quote:

+1, impossible to beat for the money ... mind this i did not hear x3 so another DAP worth audition. in the end you decide which one but for me C3 and BH are pairing excellent, total cost about 200$ which is still cheaper and better sounding than Ipods or Cowons i had before.

 
Damn, I would have liked to do it. Also knowing how you feel about them plus the H-200. If only the functionality restrictions wouldn't present problems for me. I have the X3 on pre-order, and it will annoy me if the SQ isn't as good or better than the C3+BH.

 

[H20Fidelity]

+1, impossible to beat for the money ... mind this i did not hear x3 so another DAP worth audition. in the end you decide which one but for me C3 and BH are pairing excellent, total cost about 200$ which is still cheaper and better sounding than Ipods or Cowons i had before.

I've been A/Bing C3 / BH up against players like Cowon J3, iPod Classic, Clip+ (amped) and there really is no comparison, the combo leaves them in the dust easily. To put this in perspective... C3 already leaves the Cowons, Apple, Sansa behind by itself, though when you add the C&C BH amp it accurately pulls away to far to compare them. Better detail, refinement, bass texture, separation, dynamics, pretty much the whole kit (using the LF switch) simply can't compare. The only player truly that pulls away from C3 / BH combo in my inventory (with a different flavour of course) is my Studio V.

For $200 to put this rig together and the flexibility of tweaking with the amps features and selection of interconnect you have yourself a mighty fine rig that's small enough to fit in your pocket really only needing the C3 charged every 17 hours,as the amp will run for 80 true hours if not more.

 

[waynes world]

Quote:

I've been A/Bing C3 / BH up against players like Cowon J3, iPod Classic, Clip+ (amped) and there really is no comparison, the combo leaves them in the dust easily. To put this in perspective... C3 already leaves the Cowons, Apple, Sansa behind by itself, though when you add the C&C BH amp it accurately pulls away to far to compare them. Better detail, refinement, bass texture, separation, dynamics, pretty much the whole kit (using the LF switch) simply can't compare. The only player truly that pulls away from C3 / BH combo in my inventory (with a different flavour of course) is my Studio V.

For $200 to put this rig together and the flexibility of tweaking with the amps features and selection of interconnect you have yourself a mighty fine rig that's small enough to fit in your pocket really only needing the C3 charged every 17 hours,as the amp will run for 80 true hours if not more.

 
And the big questions... how does the C3/BH combo compare against the X3?

 

[H20Fidelity]

And the big questions... how does the C3/BH combo compare against the X3?

We don't know yet, we haven't been able to put those two in a room together that I know of. I keep hearing X3 is warm which I'm personally not a fan of. I keep hearing mixed opinions on the FiiO, some say they rather it over AK100 and others comparing it to Clip+. So where does that leave people who haven't actually heard both? :rolleyes: We'll get to the bottom of it eventually though for now remains a mystery. I will say though (with confidence) C3 / BH should hold it's own, however that's only entirely going of what I've read about X3.

The thing you should be taking into consideration is that Gintaras, SkyBleu and myself all confirm H-200 / C3 / BH is one dangerously good combination Wayne.

 

[waynes world]

Quote:

We don't know yet, we haven't been able to put those two in a room together that I know of. I keep hearing X3 is warm which I'm personally not a fan of. I keep hearing mixed opinions on the FiiO, some say they rather it over AK100 and others comparing it to Clip+. So where does that leave people who haven't actually heard both?

We'll get to the bottom of it eventually though for now remains a mystery. I will say though (with confidence) C3 / BH should hold it's own, however that's only entirely going of what I've read about X3.

 
Sorry, I thought you had the X3. Hopefully someone gets to the bottom of it soon, so that I can cancel my preorder if necessary.
 
Quote:

The thing you should be taking into consideration is that Gintaras, SkyBleu and myself all confirm H-200 / C3 / BH is one dangerously good combination Wayne.

 
Dammit, that's mean! But why why why can't the C3 do things like "advance to next folder", "shuffle all songs", or just handle playlists for the SDcard (which would essentially solve my problem)? It is basically "pick an folder/album and play it" if I recall. Maybe, just maybe I could live with that...
 
But this is an important one and I can't remember the answer... can the C3 handle 64GB micro sdxc cards?

 

[H20Fidelity]

But this is an important one and I can't remember the answer... can the C3 handle 64GB micro sdxc cards?

Yes, C3 can handle the 64GB cards, long as they're formatted to FAT32.

 

[waynes world]

Quote:

Yes, C3 can handle the 64GB cards, long as they're formatted to FAT32.

 
Dammit lol! Thanks.

 

[Gintaras]

Quote:

 
Sorry, I thought you had the X3. Hopefully someone gets to the bottom of it soon, so that I can cancel my preorder if necessary.
 
 
Dammit, that's mean! But why why why can't the C3 do things like "advance to next folder", "shuffle all songs", or just handle playlists for the SDcard (which would essentially solve my problem)? It is basically "pick an folder/album and play it" if I recall. Maybe, just maybe I could live with that...
 
But this is an important one and I can't remember the answer... can the C3 handle 64GB micro sdxc cards?

 
yes, C3 is a Spartan player with no bells or whistles and UI can be pain in the rear....  but C3 is musical sounding and makes you forgive it for shortcomings while BH puts it on the whole new level for me. yes, C3 UI designer was surely a sado-maso addict.

 

[cyberalpha11]

Quote:

 
And the big questions... how does the C3/BH combo compare against the X3?

I'm also waiting for this question to be answered.
 
If X3 better than C3/BH combo, is it marginally better or  significantly better that worth for upgrade?
 
This is the main reason I'm on-hold to my purchase for the next DAP.
 
Another interesting comparison is between C3/BH ($215) combo vs. HisoundAudio Studio V Anniversary ($450).
Unfortunately I have never come across for this thread.

 

[waynes world]

One thing I would miss is the lack of auto-turn off for when falling asleep.

But something that I don't know that I can live without is playlist handling. I have a "favorites" playlist that I often listen too. It contains a lot of songs, so the idea of copying them to a separate folder does not appeal to me as it would waste precious card space. Darn.

 

[olddude]

The unit can be set to play through once and then stop.  It will act "off," even if it is not.  However, with the battery life of this thing that shouldn't be a problem.  Just charge it at night while listening to it, or do it when you go to work.  I also have a favorites file.  I keep it on a card.  You can swap out cards easily.  Coming from an iPhone, the GUI was a real turnoff for me.  But the sound quality was worth it as a trade-off for that.