[Golden Monkey]

I'm looking to put together a nice high-end portable system.  I've narrowed down the choices (below) considerably, but could use some help making the final decisions.  Consider a budget of approx. $1,300 (excluding an interconnect and maybe a few accessories, but including shipping)
 
Background:
My current (and hardly ever used) portable setup is Creative Zen Xtra > Cardas HP > Headroom Total Airhead > Ety ER-4S.  Compared to options out there today, this setup is bulky, but sounds ok. It's about as portable as an old school cassette Walkman, lol. This rig also lacks much musicality and excitement...
* The Ety's are nice and neutral, but a bit dry and sterile.  I also can't wear them for long periods, as they are a little uncomfortable.  Also, very microphonic cable make for annoying listening on the move.  Isolation is almost TOO much.
* The Zen Xtra has nice capacity, but I'm in the process of reripping my collection as FLAC files, and this can't play those files.  Also, the user interface and features are boring, it's slow to power up, and the HDD takes forever to access files. 
* The Total Airhead isn't BAD, it just doesn't do much.  Crossfeed is really nice however, and helps a lot with fatigue. 4 AAA batteries means it's about as big as the Zen itself, and I feel like there's simply too much circuitry in the signal path, contributing a good degree of coloration.
 
What I'm looking for in a new setup:
* Overall sound quality is paramount.  If I could put my home rig (see sig) in my pocket, I would. Synergy between all components is crucial.
* (DAP) Portability is important, but usability (UI) and capacity (either large onboard, or expandable via SD slot) are just as high.  Primarily concerned with best SQ source.  Extra features are nice, but games/readers/FM tuner is less important than audio/video.  Format compatability - needs to play lossless (FLAC), easy ID3 tagging, and preferably the ability to edit track info.  Sexiness is a plus.
* (AMP) I liked the crossfeed in my old amp, and would prefer if a new amp had this, but it isn't a deal-breaker if it doesn't. Small size. Primarily for IEMs, but if it can handle higher impedances (up to 300 ohm) that would be cool.  Adjustable gain, impedance switching, or multiple outputs are not necessary.  Neutrality and transparency (although a bit of warmth or tubelike sound would be great).
* (IEMs) I've come to love the Ety sound, but would like something with more musicality, warmth, impact, detail, and imaging. Speed and accuracy also important.
 
Ok, now on to my possible choices!:
* Sources - Pretty much down to the Cowon J3.  The new Cowon X7 is intriguing, but the size is a bit much.  At 160GB, the capacity of the X7 is amazing.  The J3 has the expandability though... Also, Apple, Zune, and Sony need not apply...I don't want to be limited in formats or be a slave to iTunes.  Also, the S:Flo is out, due to horrible UI, but if the SQ is better than the J3, I'd consider it. As noted above though, sound quality is the most important aspect...which also brings me to considering the HiFiMan HM-801 as a single-box top of the line solution.  I'm a bit put off by its size, lack of internal capacity (considering I'd have to spend another approx. $100 per 32GB card), and clunky UI.  Still, it's an uncompromising performer in the sound department.  And yes, I'd go for the amp section upgrade...
* AMP - Narrowed down to three, and this is the hardest decision of all...
     RSA "The Shadow" - love the digital volume control, Ray's history of build and sound quality, and Skylab's very favorable review of the P-51.  Least "feature packed" of my three choices, but lack of caps in the signal path sounds great...I like minimalist designs.
     HeadAmp Pico Slim - Another digital volume control, and reviews are great.  Length of wait-time for one is a little offputting though.  Concerned about reports of turn on thump and hiss.  Also most expensive of the three amps.
     Headstage Arrow 12HE 2G - Most features, including crossfeed, adjustable gain, impedance switching, bass boost, and auto-signal sensing (no power switch).  Probably best option for variety of headphones/IEMs.  Also much less in price than the other two.  ALPS pot, meh.
* IEMs  - I love my HD650, but would prefer a balance armature design for my IEMs, however, Senn IE8's are very high on my list.  Also considering Westone 3 or UM3X but I think I would prefer the less "reference monitor" sound of the 3.  Top of my wish list though, and it'll be a hard sell for anything else is the EarSonics SM3. I'm open to suggestions here though.
 
Closing thoughts:
So there you have it...I'm currently leaning towards the Cowon J3 > RSA Shadow > EarSonics SM3 combo, OR the HiFiMan > upgraded amp module > ES SM3.  If anyone can compare or contrast the amps (from experience please, not just guesses), and comment on the synergies of any of the combinations I would greatly appreciate it.  I'd gladly consider other items than those listed, but I've read and searched around here quite a bit, and feel that SQ-wise, I can't do much better than any of the above...if cost wasn't a consideration (and please no Lisa III or custom fit IEM suggestions, lol), what would you spend my money on?  As ever, thanks in advance for any help, and thanks for reading all of this...

 

[jackmccabe]

Honestly you are much much better off spending money on a pair 0f jh16's than an amp especially if the dap doesn't have a line out
I would suggest you get a pair of jh16's  jh13's or westone es5's
and then I suggest you get something like a sansa fuze or clip pretty much anything by cowon or if you don't mind a fairly buggy ui a s:flo2

 

[midoo1990]

i would ditch the idea of amp.if you basically want hd650 in your pocket,then ie8 is the best choice as they basically have the same tonality.ie8 a bit warmer and heavier in bass(midbass) but with shalow fit,its very airy with huge soundstage(wider than the 650) and very open.you dont have to worry about comfort with ie8.they were basically the most comfortable universal i had.
 
as for the pmp,i would go for something cold and a bit bright to match the ie8.the ipod 2g was perfect with it imo.but you can ask other headfiers about the j3 sound as i dont know it.
if you want something better than your home rig,i would go with jh13 or westone es5 and sansa clip or any flat player with little hiss.
 
FWIW,i had um3x and i sold it in two weeks.that can give you an idea of how i liked it

 

[Uncle Erik]

Just get the JH13 and plug them directly into an iPod/DAP. That's what I'm doing. I'm a little torn over the JH3A... I might add one, but have been going back and forth.

 

[Golden Monkey]

Hmmm...I get the JH16's being awesome and all that, but why no amping?  Is it that a portable amp just isn't necessary, given today's better DAPs, or is it because the gains are minimal due to signal loss/degradation due to interconnects and circuitry?  What makes the JH's NOT need them?  The 16's are pretty much my entire budget, and I'd still need a DAP, but if that was it, I could probably do it...A Cowon J3 + JH16's sounds...interesting.

 

[jackmccabe]

I personally found that unless your dap for whatever reason is struggling to poower your headphones there are minimal improvements.
But mainly there is no point getting an amp if your feeding it via the daps headphone out as I have found this just degrades the sound quality.
Also jh16's will exceed any universal iem even if they were paired with the best source money can buy.
Also I would take a serious look at the westone es5's as they are a bit cheaper than the jh13's or jh16's and many people prefer them aswell.
But then again if you are looking for a similair to your hd650's I believe the jh16's would be the best as they have a fair amount of bass.

 

[xXFallenAngelXx]

Don't the JH16s have a low impudence anyways?

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

Don't the JH16s have a low impudence anyways?

 
If the impedance is too high or too low then there can be need for an amp.

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

I personally found that unless your dap for whatever reason is struggling to poower your headphones there are minimal improvements.
But mainly there is no point getting an amp if your feeding it via the daps headphone out as I have found this just degrades the sound quality.
Also jh16's will exceed any universal iem even if they were paired with the best source money can buy.
Also I would take a serious look at the westone es5's as they are a bit cheaper than the jh13's or jh16's and many people prefer them aswell.
But then again if you are looking for a similair to your hd650's I believe the jh16's would be the best as they have a fair amount of bass.

Not necessarily.....some DAPs have good clean headphone-outs.

 

[jackmccabe]

Quote:

Not necessarily.....some DAPs have good clean headphone-outs.

Yes but even if they have a very clean headphone out you are still double amping them for iems which generally do not need much power

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

Yes but even if they have a very clean headphone out you are still double amping them for iems which generally do not need much power

Some IEM's actually do need a lot of power....the ones with super low impedance perform better amped.

 

[Golden Monkey]

Jeez, you guys are awful...I ask for help deciding which four door sedan to buy, and you guys tell me to just get a Bugatti Veyron...THANKS! (lol...I'm kidding...).
 
Ok, so I get the "amp not really necessary for some IEMs" thing...and looking at the JH's, I'm obviuosly reconsidering a few things.  Here's a hypothetical though.  Help me understand how this would work:
What if I went with the JH16's with the JH-3A DSP amp option and a HiFiMan HM-801 ?  I mean, if you're going to get the Veyron, you might as well not get the diesel one, right?  Now, what I'm wondering is this: the HM-801  has a fantastic DAC section and from what I understand, a nice amp board as well.  It's capable of outputting analog line out, amped output, and digital out.  The JH-3A accepts both analog and digital input, and it doesn't really matter, because even if the input signal is analog, it gets converted back to digital, processed, THEN output again as analog.  What I want to know is which would sound best (theoretically)...:
HM-801 line out to JH-3A
HM-801  analog out (amped signal) to JH-3A
HM-801  digital out to JH-3A
HM-801  feeding a non-3A JH16
No HM-801,  

 

[Golden Monkey]

Jeez, you guys are awful...I ask for help deciding which four door sedan to buy, and you guys tell me to just get a Bugatti Veyron...THANKS! (lol...I'm kidding...).
 
Ok, so I get the "amp not really necessary for some IEMs" thing...and looking at the JH's, I'm obviously reconsidering a few things.  Here's a hypothetical though.  Help me understand how this would work:
What if I went with the JH16's with the JH-3A DSP amp option and a HiFiMan HM-801 ?  I mean, if you're going to get the Veyron, you might as well not get the diesel one, right?  Now, what I'm wondering is this: the HM-801  has a fantastic DAC section and from what I understand, a nice amp board as well.  It's capable of outputting analog line out, amped output, and digital out.  The JH-3A accepts both analog and digital input, and it doesn't really matter, because even if the input signal is analog, it gets converted back to digital, processed, THEN output again as analog.  What I want to know is which would sound best (theoretically)...:
HM-801 line out to JH-3A
HM-801  analog out (amped signal) to JH-3A
HM-801  digital out to JH-3A
HM-801  feeding a non-3A JH16
No HM-801, but justr a Cowon J3 feeding the JH-3A.....

 

[midoo1990]

I don't think Hm801 has a digital out.I think I read it somewhere in the jh3a thread.you will have to buy something like the solo algorithm(not out yet) which is capable of digital.
Honestly I would go for a small dap and kh13 or es5.I honestly don't know why you would want something as huge and heavy as jh3a and HM801(you complained about the bulk of your current rig).

And yes IMO jh13 doesn't need an amp.the difference between my wa6 and iPod touch is so small when using jh13 and most of the time I just use my iPod touch even at home because I prefer it's cold analytical sound.wa6 is better with a full size headphone.

 

[Golden Monkey]

Lol...yeah, the overall size would be completely silly and almost not portable.  It would be like carrying around a shoebox.  It was mostly an exercise in expensive thinking.  It would sound nice though!