[Badd99]

Hey, looking to get into the portable DAC/AMPS and would like to spend about 250. I would be paring up with a 160g iPod 7th gen and remolded Triple.Fi's with an upgraded cable from Null Audio.

Was looking at:
Pico amps (not sure price and what one)
iBasso amps (not sure price and what one)

Any others? Im not sure what to get, Please help!

 

[Rain100]

The Pico dac/amp would be out of your price range (even used). I would go for the iBasso D2+. It has good performance for iem's, and with 38 hours battery life, it's a better choice than the D4 (~9 hours).

 

[Badd99]

would be looking for used amps to get the best bang for my buck.

Id also like it to be a pretty good DAC that I could use at home to run to my Preamp.

 

[mesasone]

I tell you what, I really like my iBasso T3 with my TripleFi 10. I don't get the luxury of a line out with my Cowon S9, but even when feeding with the headphone out I notice some improvement in clarity and detail, and more forward mids/vocals which I think really help to round out the TF10. I have a Logitech USB dongle DAC that come with a headset I bought sometime ago, which produces a nice clean sound, and when I feed that into my T3 I think it really sounds great.

I actually have a couple of fourth gen iPods sitting here for a project, so I might try to find a LOD cable and see how the T3 does with that. If the headphone out on your iPod is anything like the ones on these fourth gens, it'll probably be a major improvement.

 

[estreeter]

Agree that the T3 offers a marked improvement with the iPod HP-out, but with a budget like that I have to suggest the D4, based purely on consistently glowing reviews from longtime Head-Fiers. FOTM or no, its hard to go past something at that RRP when the competition is often hundreds of dollars more. iBasso are kicking some goals for cash-strapped Head-Fiers.

Disclaimer : I dont have the D4 because I have been saving for a compact desktop amp due for release in 2 weeks time, but my resistance is wavering by the day.

 

[Mojo777]

I really am enjoying my iBasso D4 with matched up with the SE530's and LOD iPhone.

 

[Badd99]

I cant find a solid street price for a used D4?

 

[estreeter]

If you can even find a used D4, buy it. At worst, its a few months old - short of serious abuse, what could the owner have done to lessen its value in that time ? I'm willing to bet that any HD800s that appear for sale are being snapped up - supply and demand.

 

[TheWuss]

iBasso
it appears the d4 is out of stock at the moment.
it sells for 219 usd, plus a hefty shipping fee from china. 22 buck i think, or something in that range.
it only takes two or three days to arrive at your doorstep, though.
i strongly recommend the d4. the dual wolfson dac setup is pretty darn nice.

 

[3DCadman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Badd99 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey, looking to get into the portable DAC/AMPS and would like to spend about 250. I would be paring up with a 160g iPod 7th gen and remolded Triple.Fi's with an upgraded cable from Null Audio. Was looking at: Pico amps (not sure price and what one) iBasso amps (not sure price and what one) Any others? Im not sure what to get, Please help!

I would look into the Meier Audio 3Move. Well respected for quite some time and it's only slightly above your price. HeadphoneAddict has placed it tied for 4th place in his amp/dac thread, right along with the Pico at 4th. Skylab has it at 3rd in the amp only review thread.

It's the amp I'm close to pulling the trigger on, if I can't find a suitable amp in the used section.

 

[Badd99]

The thing is this will be 90% used hooked up with my ipod and LOD so the DAC is almost pointless....wondering if I should get a D2 viper for cheaper or T3?