hey guys, first post after many years. I have a pair of Hifiman HE-500s that I powered through the original Schiit Lyr and Schiit Bifrost DAC. from very early on I was quite disappointed with the amplifier due to its high noise floor, static noise and an annoying high frequency buzz that came...

Hey guys,  I have been happy with my audio gear and have not come here in a long time. As a result, I am no longer in the know about which portable audio players are good.  last week my trusy sansa clip + died after 3 years and now I am looking for another audio player but I don't know which...

Hey guys,  I am thinking about upgrading from Shure SE535. I listen to a lot of classical and opera. I need an IEM with good soundstage and seperation. the reason I don't want to venture to customs is because: 1- they seem quite expensive 2- the added costs of impressions and shipping...

Good day folks, I hope you are doing well.  I need advice as to which DAC and Amp I should use to get the bets out of HE-500 headphones. please don't feel you have to spend all of my cash! but the budget is around $800.  my source is a computer with a poor sound card. I have the SE535 IEMS...

Hello folks.    I was wondering if there some some IEM experts and veterans here who can help me pick a next IEM for myself.    I have had the SE535s since the summer but It never really cut the mustard. I want an IEM with MUCH more bass. the detail of the 535s are decent but the bass...

Hi folks,   recently I have been considering an upgrade for IEMs. I used to own (just sold) Shure SE315 and I was very happy with the build quality and comfort, however I thought the sound could be more transparent, more detailed and overall more clear. the soundstage is rather poor for...

Hi Guys, I am a computer engineering student in university and I recently learned about the difference between Synchronous and Asynchronous digital circuits in my studies. I had been wondering about these for a while and I thought maybe it is good to share the knowledge.   basically a...

Hi there folks, I am here to seek advice regarding my options for IEMs. currently I am using Shure SE315 IEMs with my Sansa clip+ playing flac files. I am rather dissapointed with the detail and transparency these IEMs have to offer. which IEM should I go for next?(budget ~500$)  Thanks

Hi there, I need adivce from you guys. I have a sansa clip and Shure SE315 IEM's I was wondering wether I should invest my money towards a portable amp or towards better earphones (my eyes are on Shure SE535) Thank you

Hi there everybody! I have gotten myself a Sansa clip+ and I appreciate that it can play flac, and I can put micro SD music in it on the fly.  however I think it sounds very weak and flimsy and feeble.  I am a broke student and my financial situation does not allow a pair of Shure SRH 840s...

Hey Guys, I thought since there are a lot of Audiophiles here maybe there are quite a few instrumentalists as well.  there are pictures from my Santur gear. feel free to post your musical instruments.  This is My main Santur. I built the Table myself to my own height. I built a little...

Hi people. I hope you are all doing well.  from what I heard on Headfi AKG 501 headphones are worthy headphones if you can supply them with enough amplification and they are specially prominent when it comes to playing classical music. that makes me wonder why they stopped making them.  was...

Hey guys, I was watching a video on youtube about USB dacs and computer as a source of music and I came across this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmsJ6l8DtZw&playnext=1&list=PL0A746E5ACBB3772C&index=3   basically this gentleman says that computers are meant to do computation and they...

Hey guys. I was wondering if there are any of you out there who can help me with this. I dont own any fancy headphones or audio equipment yet but I am doing some research and auditioning to figure out what I like. I currently listen with my laptop (dell vostro 3700) and sony MDRJ10L...

Hey guys, I hope you are doing well. I am thinking about an ibasso as dac/amp to improve the SQ of my laptop. I was wondering if any of you know if the ibasso D2+ or D4 support 24 bit 192 or 96 kHz sound. their rival is NuForce uDac-2. I cant find any information on the website and I...

Hi there, I am learning about audio equipment and I have been wondering if portable vs desktop price/performance is the same deal for audio rig as it is for personal computers.   it goes without saying that a 1000$ custom built desktop computer can compete with +2000$ laptop computers in...

Hey Guys (and girls), I was wondering if there is any way i can get a superior sound from my laptop. I have a Dell Vostro 3700 and I have USB, FireWire 1394 connection, HDMI and eSATA. I know that there are external DACs that I can use but I have bad feeling about USB. first of all,  USB...

Hi! I am trying to learn about components of audio systems and I notice that there is not as much debate about the digital audio sources as there is for DACs, amps and headphones. does any CD player do just fine? is the DVD slot on my laptop as good as any other CD player out there? Thanks...

Hi there, I hope everyone is having a good weekend. I apologize for asking the stupid question but I am curiuous why there are portable amps to be used with DAPs but there are no portable DACs . are DACs not as crucial for audio quality? is it because DAPs dont have a digital output to be used...

Hey guys. I am NOT an audio expert, I am an instrumentalist. What I am stating about the device is only my opinion. please pardon my N00bness   I used to have an 8GB ipod nano and I was pretty happy with it but it got stolen. I decided to buy a cheap mp3 player for now and I decided...

Hi there everybody I am really curious to know the role Impedance plays in the sound of IEMs and earphones. I understand that higher Impedance headphones need higher voltages to operate, and they probably need an amplifier to supply them with enough power. But does Impedance of a headphone...

Hi there everybody a while ago I posted a thread and asked about a portable music player which delivers the best sound for my budget (around 500$) almost everybody agreed that I should buy a sansa clip+ and rockbox it. I was almost ready to get one but now I am reading these reviews saying...

I am a beginner and I dont really know much about DACs, preams, headphone amps, sources, and all of that jazz I am very confused and I would highly appreciate it if you could give me beginner instructions on what these things are and what they do.   by the way I am not recording anything I...

Hi. I have a Dell Vostro 3700 Laptop. I am not too sure about its audio quality but it is an overally decent laptop (core i7 CPU, 6 gigs of DDR3 RAM, 1 GB of dedicated Graphics,...) I have no clue about the audio quality, so I dont know if I should invest in some better quality headphones...

Hi, I am not an expert in mp3 players, but from reading what audiophiles say, apparently ipods (which are the norm here in Canada) are not that good for audio quality. well, to me audio quality is the important thing, I dont care about apps, video display, games, podcasts, camera...