[keepitsimple]

^Sounds good.The app thing sounds cool.  

 

[roman r]

I'm sitting here listening to some classical music (a Noctune album) on my J3 ripped from CD in WMA 320mb format. I'm using an E11 with their included LOD into Grado RS1 headphones.
 
The E11 definatetly adds something worthwile. Sound is a little bigger even though it's currently running at a low volume level.
 
I don't bother with E11 outdoors as I find it too inconvenient. Just use iphone 4 with Ety ER4-p
 
Indoors I like the mobility of a portable headphone amp. I use it much more than my Graham Slee Novo and Lexicon RT20 (SACD mainly) although they're situated near my TV so can only make use of them when I want to totally "kick back" and relax.

 

[WindowsX]

Portable rig is good as long as it's not ridiculously big or expensive. Some people may take portable players too seriously like I used to back then but that could also be one of lesson for life.

 

[zorin]

  Portable rig is good as long as it's not ridiculously big or expensive. Some people may take portable players too seriously like I used to back then but that could also be one of lesson for life.

Of course one should take portable players and rigs seriously, life is a most valuable and serious phenomenon and enjoying fine things in life is most serious too. Life is so short, why should one waste a minute of it by listening to a substandard audio ? Is there anyone who will have this inscription put on his or her gravestone - 'I wish I had listened to a cheap and bad portable' ? 

 

[k3oxkjo]

  Of course one should take portable players and rigs seriously, life is a most valuable and serious phenomenon and enjoying fine things in life is most serious too. Life is so short, why should one waste a minute of it by listening to a substandard audio ? Is there anyone who will have this inscription put on his or her gravestone - 'I wish I had listened to a cheap and bad portable' ?

 
Yes, I say it often. Life's too short for bad hi-fi...
 
Portable? Right now I have a Ibasso DX-50 and AKG 3003 playing hi-rez files (one 64Gb Micro SD card and two 128Gb flash drives, fits in a jeans pocket). It sounds pretty darn good, it's cool to walk the city and enjoy this set up.

 

[bigbeans]

Some excellent points here @Luminette. It's surreal thinking about this in 2022, things have evolved at such a rapid pace and you're right on...the flagship end is a bit bananas.

Silver lining (amid 10k CIEM Le Jardin), the value one can get with portable hifi is quite good these days. From DIY earbud makers to reviewer collab IEMs, the options are excellent on both ends of the spectrum.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

And that brings you straight back to headphones - I think you gave up way too quickly.

I gave up quickly due to my employment and income situation at the time. I was completely unemployed for almost five years at that time (and would not start employment again for another 20 months), and I would not remain at that place I used to live at for much longer. I moved out of there almost seven years ago, and have since lived with relatives.

Now I am slowly getting back into the headphone hi-fi (or even mid-fi) hobby. With my current iPhone 12, I added an iFi Hip-DAC along with my small but slowly increasing collection of over-ear headphones (both closed- and open-back), and also dabbled in wireless Bluetooth headphones (both over- and in-ear TWS). But while wireless headphones are good enough for daily use (even though most of those have a boosted bass response), there are times when I simply must have wired 'phones. And with all the money that I spent on full-sized wired headphones, I realized that I do not have a very good wired IEM (my currently in possession Shure SE310's do not reproduce upper treble well). I could not locate my old Etymotic ER4S, so I decided to order a cheaper currently available Etymotic model (an ER2SE).

Hopefully, the ER2SE will suit my satisfaction without having to even carry around my Hip-DAC around (but instead using just the Apple dongle with the ER2SE). I will still use the Hip-DAC for larger headphones.