itshot
100+ Head-Fier
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- Jan 1, 2011
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@HideousPride
How does the soundstage of the C4's compare to that of the 4.Ai's?
How does the soundstage of the C4's compare to that of the 4.Ai's?
Thanks HP for the great review, I really appreciate the time and effort you spent to share your experiences.
I've just ordered a set of C4s to go with my Cowon J3 and was planning to get an O2 but what you've said in the quote above concerns me. In your experience is the J3>O2>C4 (w/o the ODAC) combination not an upgrade to the J3>C4?
Cheers,
O.
@HideousPride
How does the soundstage of the C4's compare to that of the 4.Ai's?
Hi O! Thank you for the kind words. Out of the 3 sources I originally tested, the J3 was firmly in the middle. I preferred the Sansa Clip+ pairing to it, and that ended up causing me to sell my J3. The J3+C4 sounds nice as is, and is portable to boot. I would not recommend picking up an O2, as it destroys the portability and does not do much (if anything positive at all) for the sound to my ears. Of course, YMMV, but I'd recommend saving that money and putting it towards your next source if you find the sound to be lacking somehow. The hope is that they sound incredibly satisfying to your ears with your current setup, thus saving a pretty penny!
I'll hold off on an amp. I've been researching higher quality sources but the field seems pretty limited. The DX100 looks like a possibility, but from what I've read other DAP's seem to have some shortcoming: e.g. Tera - no display, Colorfly C4 - ugly; Hifiman - 'dark' sound, etc. Hopefully in the months to come others will share their experiences with the C4 and things will become a bit clearer.
I have the RWAK100 with me and it is the DAP with the least amount of compromise but with a SQ able to compete with the other great portable rigs out there.
I have just mailed out my ear impression to FB this morning via EMS. The C4 may take another 5-6 weeks to reach me. Then, I may be able to say something about their pairing (hopefully).