"The Hunter" - Mastodon

I believe I can hear a difference with my rigs, so tend to rip as flac for the home setup and then convert to 320k mp3 for my pmp. It can play flacs, but I have found I prefer to squeeze more songs onto the limited memory.

Quote: I've never tried the HiFiMAN player, but I do have the J3 / B2 combination and am very satisfied with the setup. I chose the J3 over the Hifiman due to the smaller dimensions and the much longer battery life and I certainly do not regret the decision. I would guess that for...

Darn it. I should stop reading reviews for things I can't currently afford. :P Might have to scour the local hi-fi stores for trial units and see if any pop up on the second hand market. Would love to A/B them vs my K701s to see what the extra price premium buys.

Quote: Oh, I saw that post too. I wasn't worried so much about availability to purchase, more about the ability to try before buying. Being a limited run I don't fancy finding them anywhere locally. It is an unfortunate fact that I don't have the spare cash to take a gamble on them.  ...

It's probably a bit late now, but I'd like to put my name down for a trial if a Euro trial is ever arranged. I have an iBasso D10 to compare it against.   I currently reside in Munich, Germany.

The new amps are looking good on paper!   It looks like I have a good excuse to make the shortish train ride to the showroom early next year and try everything out for myself :)

I am far from an expert in portable amplification, but perhaps adding amplification could help you achieve a more favourable sound signature from the earphones that you already enjoy. Assuming that the sound you want isn't too far away from what you are getting from your current earphones that...

Very, very pretty headphones! Unfortunately it looks unlikely that I'll get a chance to try them out over here in Europe :(

I was pretty happy with the sound that I could get from my T50Ps for the type of music I listen to predominantly (rock & metal, i.e. not bass heavy music generally). Unfortunately, like was mentioned in the review and by many others, the position of the headphones is super important to getting...

Ibanez RG prestige...   or if we are talking headphone gear only then I wouldn't mind finding a pair of Beyerdynamic T1's under the christmas tree :)

Quote: Maybe take a slight gamble and order from Japan then? It is very unlikely that they will be disappointing and even if they aren't to your taste you should be able to get most of your money back by reselling them.   Unfortunately I don't have the cash handy to take my own...

Quote: I also own a pair of W1000X and must admit I have not been particularly worried about the wood cracking from heat / dryness. The wood is treated, not raw and thus more resistant. If you are really worried you could consider buying a portable air humidifier, which would allow...

IMO if you only intend owning one set of phones you should be considering more than just sound quality.   To try and answer your question though: I get much more enjoyment from my amped K701s than from any IEMS that I've owned. Of course that is not a particularly fair value comparison when...

I don't fit all of the specified criteria that your company is looking for primarily because I am new to the mid / high end audio scene. I am a scientist by trade so I think I could do a good job at writing an objective review.   Other details that you asked for:   Country: Australia...