Is there something good for less than the cost of entry of a Benchmark ($1600-ish)?Thanks IEM-friendly (read: low noise & switchable gain) a plus TYIA

Magni 3 on closeout $59 on Schiit's website in the 'Last Call' section.

Thanks!

It doesn't take much... Magni 3+, sorry. Will correct.

I waded through the whole post and feel like I have a semi-decent grasp of the distinctions between the Magni 3+ and the Heresy (Did Kiipsch call you yet?), but not what the differences between the 3 and the 3+ might be. Just wondering as Amazon has the 3 for $74 over Black Friday Weekend...

Haven't been able to find any info on what improvements Schiit claims for the 'Plus' version. Also, with the Heresy, Schiit is competing against themselves for the same market space. Seems like that is going to confuse people. As I write this, Amazon has the Magni 3 (not the new 'Plus') on sale...

The write-up describes a way to adjust the gain but I lack the engineering know-how to do it, plus without switchable gain this would be a one trick pony

Does this (WHAMMY) 'play nice' with sensitive IEMs like Etymotics? The 'pitch' implies that it will work with 'anything' but I mean with acceptable noise levels and usable volume control range. I know it will work fine with my 250Ω Beyers but I need to use IEMs at certain times. Looks like an...

My experience after having several sets made for several different IEMs by two different vendors is that yes, they are very overrated. It may have to do with the shape of my ears (neither of the makers shipped a product that went all the way to the second bend of their canal which is supposedly...

I have had success cleaning them with baby wipes/hand wipes etc. Squeeze excess moisture out befor using so they are just slightly damp. Just a quick wipedown every so often, don't let the wax build up too much in between, let dry. All cleaning methods I have tried affect the pliability somewhat...

Reviving this ancient thread... Wow, look at all these cobwebs... Kind of drifted away from Canz3D after one MacOS update or another broke it somewhere along the line (and Vox came out with a player that had good built in crossfeed) but was reminded of it by a crossfeed thread on audiocircle...

Yes, thanks. I was too lazy to walk to the kitchen so I grabbed some baby shampoo which also seems to work well.

Heard the Beyer Amirons at a show yesterday & was really impressed. They more than held their own against the more expensive Focal Elears and even the MUCH more expensive Utopias. Plus my tastes seem to be changing due to influence of my other 'phones, all of which are more 'neutral'. I may be...

They don't have the same issue right out of the jack (a typical moderately loud listening level would be about 1/2 to 3/4 full scale, depending) but the sound does seem to 'tighten up' somewhat through the Dragonfly, which is why I was looking, The CEntrance Dacport Slim has a gain switch, a...

Music Alchemist, maybe $149ish. Don't wanna spend big bucks bc I don't listen as critically on the go as at home, but do want something better than right out of the jack. I remember seeing something kinda similar but with switchable gain but forget what it was. ProtegeManiac, the problem is...

(Posted this in the wrong area.... sorry.) Anyway: ...It is designed much more with full size headphones in mind, I think. I don't want to take full size cans on the go. It swings 1V into 32 ohms which would split your head open with IEMs like my Ety hf's or Shure 535's. I like the form factor...

User error

Have a friend looking for wireless earbud or in-ear headphones that are separate, ie no connecting cable between the two earpieces (which of course means a separate receiver and power source in each side). A quick look on HeadRoom and Headphone Solutions turned up nothing but I'm pretty sure...

My current collection:   Full size open:   Sennheiser HD 650 as you probably could've guessed from my reply to Alu.) A classic that can still hold its own against many newer 'deep-end' priced cans. As indicated in my previous post, a little judicious EQ when needed and the 'veil' is gone...

+1 on the HD650. Dissing this particular headphone is practically a subgenre of the hobby but more than 10 years after its release, it can still go toe to toe against more expensive cans. Although frequently maligned for the supposed 'Veil', the high-end range of these headphones is actually one...

This is an Indiegogo project with a $200 preorder pricing. Street price going forward will apparently be $250. Who knows if they're any good or not; kind of hard to tell about build quality from what you can see in the photos and video. I'm fine with paying the extra $50 after they hit the...

Had an E5 and was very impressed. Looks like Son of E5, which I consider a good thing!

I have the O2 and have run a borrowed pair of K701's with it; it has all the power I need.   My other full size cans are HD650s and while the 701s are probably the more technically 'accurate' of the two, I never really 'bonded' with their signature. I found myself "respecting" their sound more...

Amp no problem. Got that covered.   Not going to buy aftermarket cables for a $199 headphone. Just trying to see if I can get a 'read' on whether these are as good as the Austrian ones or whether aKG cut any corners like driver matching (like with the 601 vs the 701) and was hoping someone...

A Chinese-production version of the "Anniversary" edition of the K702 (AKA "K712") are on Massdrop right now for $199. They list it as "K7xx". They are very cagey about not being specific about where it is made but they do say it has a "$650 MSRP"... And here is where my BS detector starts to...