[davidmiya]

5th Gen Ipod
Pocketdock w/hardwired Silver Dragon
RS Audio "Hornet"
UE-10 Pro

All music... Apple Lossless.

The only thing I might considering upgrading after this are the internal iPod components. Besides that.. this IS the ultimate rig... It wasn't cheap though...

Ipod: $400
Pocketdock with SD: $80
RS Audio "Hornet": $350
UE-10 Pro: $900
Ear impressions: $50
Shipping for all items: ~$50

Total cost for the best portable rig in the world: ~$1800

You need to buy this... you'll never want a home rig after hearing this...

 

[The_Duke_Of_Eli]

Apart from showing off the goods, I think this is an interesting thread. It makes you think whether a home rig is really practical if you're already spending 1800$ on the perfect portable rig. Makes you wonder. I'd go for the same thing, but scratch the Ipod video for a Zen Vision:M and go for the ES-2. It's really temping me. These customs that keep popping up make my decision hard...

 

[russdog]

I think you have a fine combination of goods. I also think it's a bit much to decree that it's "the best in the world". There are very reasonable grounds for disagreeing with some of your choices.

I'm sure what you have is very good, and I'm glad you are happy with it.

 

[jjcha]

Sorry to break it to you, but I beat that rig a long time ago.

iHP-140 - $300
HeadRoom Overture - $300 (also this has been modded)
SR-71 - $400
Sensaphonics 2X-S - $800 (in the US - I paid $1200 in Japan)

This doesnt include cabling, cost of modifications to the HeadRoom Overture and other costs and what not...

And neither of these rigs beat my home rigs.

I heard the Redwine modded iPod - I don't think it holds a candle to the HeadRoom DAC. Especially a modded one.

Now what's interesting is getting a portable rig around my Stax SR-X mk. 3. One of these days...

Best,

-Jason

 

[nsjong]

I think this is definitly overdoing it.
I think no real "portable" rig should be that huge.

But I do like the appeal. Too expensive to replace though...

 

[peter_josephina]

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidmiya Pocketdock with SD: $80 RS Audio "Hornet": $350 UE-10 Pro: $900 Ear impressions: $50 Shipping for all items: ~$50

Hi, what is a Pocketdock, RS Audio "Hornet", Ear Impressions?

thanx

 

[Zanth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by peter_josephina Hi, what is a Pocketdock, RS Audio "Hornet", Ear Impressions? thanx

Pocketdock = small doohicky that connects to a proprietary output jack on the Apple Ipod and has a line-out on the other side so that a mini-mini or a mini-rca cable can be used with a real line-level signal to an amp.

RS Audio Hornet = the amp in question!

Ear Impressions = custom ear molds for the in-ear-phones.

 

[peter_josephina]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth Pocketdock = small doohicky that connects to a proprietary output jack on the Apple Ipod and has a line-out on the other side so that a mini-mini or a mini-rca cable can be used with a real line-level signal to an amp. RS Audio Hornet = the amp in question! Ear Impressions = custom ear molds for the in-ear-phones.

Awesome. thanx!

 

[redshifter]

replace that hornet with an sr-71 and you're in business (yes i've auditioned both side by side).

 

[lan]

The most I've used was my modded imp550 into modded Overture DAC into my modded Baby Orpheus.

I have 2 other rigs in the works which are a bit smaller. Balanced DAC to balanced portable amp to balanced portapro. Then there's my portable "tube" amp which i wear around my neck along with my gold chains.

It will be the day when I finish these projects.

 

[jjcha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan The most I've used was my modded imp550 into modded Overture DAC into my modded Baby Orpheus. I have 2 other rigs in the works which are a bit smaller. Balanced DAC to balanced portable amp to balanced portapro. Then there's my portable "tube" amp which i wear around my neck along with my gold chains. It will be the day when I finish these projects.

You weren't using one of those monster car batteries to power the HEV70 were you?

Technically, the K 1000 rig we had was a portable one!

Best,

-Jason

 

[MD1032]

To be honest, I really hate the sound of the ipod. My friend brought over his ipod and he happened to have some files on his ipod that I also had on my computer, so I would play it on his ipod and then switch inputs to my EMU 0404. The ipod's output, simply put, has an absolutely fuzzy, bloated sound, in comparison (I made sure EQ was off). Sure, there was more bass, but the quality of the sound was degraded severely. Not to mention the thing also puts out quite a lot of hiss, and I mean a really bad amount. I didn't get a chance to plug my E2c's, but I'm sure it would be noticeable if I plugged them in. I should have compared to my X5L, but it wasn't on the priority list at the time and I wasn't feeling in a comparative mood (we were just listening to tunes and I just noted my observations on the sound).

So really, if you were to get a better portable rig, I would suggest changing that ipod source to something else. Let's face it, with all that stuff, you're not going for convenience anyway.

 

[yellafella321]

its a very very nice rig no doubt, but its definitely not the ultimate rig. For one, running an iriver-> micro dac would definitely be better, and of course, there is that overture. Also, there are many better portable amp choices than the rsa hornet. I personally would go for the supermacro IV. The supmicro v3 stomps all over the hornet, I can only imagine what a IV would sound like. The sr-71 would also have been a much better choice.

So, I guess my "ultimate rig" would be:

Iriver IHP-140 -> optical out -> headroom micro dac -> xin supermini IV -> X.
(people have very different ideas of a "portable" phone, I have no problem wearing my hf-1's around, and in fact, i do!)

Nevertheless, still a very very nice portable rig you got there!!

Also, I'd like to add that I don't think its proper to add "modded" equipment...lets keep it all at stuff you can buy from a store.

 

[bl4cksh33p]

Pleese, Pleese, you don't want to go toe-to-toe with me

ipod 60gb 320 aac
audiolineout standard
PA2v2
MS2i

nah, I know my rig isn't the best, but it suits me fairly well.

 

[dr.morton]

A home rig and a portable rig are very different things.
Although the sound of a rig like yours cannot be beaten by a home rig for the same price (and I mean one without headphones but speakers instead), there are always components to beat a system.
I recently compared an iModed iPod to a reference CD player by Marantz and of course (it would have been strange otherwise) the iPod lost. And it was not even close.
It is only matter of money.
There are also tunes which sound much better on my crappy and cheap Creative computer system then on my portable rig (and it is very similar to yours).
For example Sneaker Pimps - Low place like home. This song needs a real feelable subwoofer. Something no headphone rig can deliver.