[esolomon]

Hi I recently joined the Head-Fi community after being impressed by the class and general good attitude that its members all seem to have. After looking through joker's multi-iem review I finally decided on getting the Sunrise Sw-Xcapes as my first pair of audiophile IEMs.
 
My question is: are there any amps that would really make the xcapes shine? I am someone who likes to always get the most out of what he has and I'm wondering which amps would bring out the xcapes qualities the most. This is my first post on head-fi so I'm really looking forward to any opinions

 
Thanks for your time !

 

[voicemaster]

I bought FiiO E7 for my portable/DAC. It sounds great pairing it with Itouch 4 through LOD. With the E7, you can use the bass boost and it doesn't distort the sound at all. I definitely satisfied with the purchase and looking to get the E9 for my home setup.

 

[esolomon]

Quote:

I bought FiiO E7 for my portable/DAC. It sounds great pairing it with Itouch 4 through LOD. With the E7, you can use the bass boost and it doesn't distort the sound at all. I definitely satisfied with the purchase and looking to get the E9 for my home setup.

 
Thanks for your help!  I'll definitely look into those when I get the chance.

 
By the way how do you like the xcapes? I'm really eager to try them out, the more I hear about them the more excited I get. Haha
 

 

[Silentnoise]

I have a question about Xcapes...or Sunrise products in general.  Where can you buy them?  I'm looking on their site, doesn't look like you can get it from them.  No listings on Amazon.  The only place I've seen them is eBay, shipping from UK...

 

[utkusu]

     Quote:

I have a question about Xcapes...or Sunrise products in general.  Where can you buy them?  I'm looking on their site, doesn't look like you can get it from them.  No listings on Amazon.  The only place I've seen them is eBay, shipping from UK...

bugden audio has them, ships from Canada.
 
Quote:

Hi I recently joined the Head-Fi community after being impressed by the class and general good attitude that its members all seem to have. After looking through joker's multi-iem review I finally decided on getting the Sunrise Sw-Xcapes as my first pair of audiophile IEMs.
 
My question is: are there any amps that would really make the xcapes shine? I am someone who likes to always get the most out of what he has and I'm wondering which amps would bring out the xcapes qualities the most. This is my first post on head-fi so I'm really looking forward to any opinions

 
Thanks for your time !

I am no expert at all, but people say and I agree that Xcapes don't need an amp. I use them with uDAC  and my fuze and I don't see too much difference in SQ, maybe except for the slightly warmer uDAC. I think I actually prefer Fuze, because of this, especially combined with Fiio E5 (bass boost off). Still, my perceptions might not be right.

 

[esolomon]

Quote:

I have a question about Xcapes...or Sunrise products in general.  Where can you buy them?  I'm looking on their site, doesn't look like you can get it from them.  No listings on Amazon.  The only place I've seen them is eBay, shipping from UK...

I plan on getting mine from http://www.lendmeurears.com/ They're based in Singapore, but seem to offer free shipping.
 

 

[esolomon]

Quote:

I am no expert at all, but people say and I agree that Xcapes don't need an amp. I use them with uDAC  and my fuze and I don't see too much difference in SQ, maybe except for the slightly warmer uDAC. I think I actually prefer Fuze, because of this, especially combined with Fiio E5 (bass boost off). Still, my perceptions might not be right.

 
Oh okay I see. So how do you like your Xcapes? And are there any other ways to maybe increase SQ other than through using an amp? Thanks for all the help by the way.

 

[utkusu]

Again, I don't have exposure to many headphones (you can see the list in my signature), but xcapes destroys any of those headphones hands down. As far as, IEMs go, they do everything much better than both RE2s and M6s for me.(M6 has quite the bass but too much and bloated for my taste). Coming from the cheaper RE2, which have a neutral, very clean and detailed sound, I was surprised how much detail xcapes can produce. And they are much more fun than the RE2s - which sound lean. I find them extremely comfortable with stock tips and they seem to have at least decent build quality. If I have to complain about one thing is the fact it actually have too much detail, "a lot of texture" somebody in a review put it (sorry can't remember where), which makes listening a complex song (metalcore, melodic death metal or a punk song or maybe some messy orchestral piece -though I can't attest this one, they did rock the classic music I listened to.) somewhat fatiguing. But good news, this seems to be dying down with burn-in and I find myself finding them smoother.Maybe I am just getting used to them... Let me warn you again, what I wrote above might be completely off I am still newbie+I am tune deaf.
 
Overall, I am pretty satisfied with my purchase. For me, it was a toss-up between them and RE0s, and I decided to try something with a touch more bass. Plus, because Bugden Audio is in Canada, the final price of it was much cheaper for me, and I got it in 4 days. But I think I would be happy with RE0s, too. 
 
 I don't know how to improve the SQ. Maybe this: Make sure that you have high bit rate songs. 128 kpbs songs are not enough, try at least 320kpbs. Assuming you have a decent source, amping is the only option. Xcapes don't need amping, but probably benefits from it. But the improvement in SQ per dollar spent is going to be much smaller compared to your change from old IEMs to xcapes. If you think of upgrading over xcapes in the future and have money to spend, it might be a good way to go. (again: mostly from what I have read )

 

[ClieOS]

Generally I don't recommend amp for Xcape, since it is pretty easy to drive. However, depends on your source (say an iPod nano and such or a laptop), a decent amp via line-out (or USB DAC) can be an improvement over the on board amp section. However, this is more on the topic of upgrading the source rather than amping the IEM.

 

[voicemaster]

It's like ClieOS said, you don't really need an amp to drive the Xcape at all, that's why I only use the amp/DAC for my laptop and my Ipod touch. My laptop sound card sounds like crap (electrical noise - I can even hear the noise when my moving my mouse and E7 or any other DAC totally eliminate that). For my Ipod touch, the reason is really more about curiosity rather than need , I never have an amp before and I think E7 is a good start and it does improve the sound a little bit, especially if you want to use bass boost as Ipod's EQ can distort the sound. 
 
esolomon: If I can describe the sound of Xcape from my other IEMs/HPs that has similar sound to the Xcape, it would be Koss KSC75. The Xcape is better in almost every aspect except the airiness of open HP. For me, they both share similar sound signature, sparkling treble which doesn't sound harsh, mid that is smooth although the Xcape has a little more forward, bass that is tight and accurate IMO (especially kick drum - you don't hear a real kick drum sounds boomy unless you put it through subwoofer), detail is better on the Xcape (Ever since I use Xcape, I can actually hear what the singer is singing especially in a really busy song with cymbals, electric guitars, etc going on at the same time, but with the Xcape, I can hear the singer's voice clearly - good instrument/sound separation IMO and of course bass that is not overpowering the other frequencies attribute to this). I really love this IEM and thinking to buy a second pair or upgrade to DBA-02 if they are in stock .

 

[dfrost]

My Xcapes, purchased after damaging both pairs of DBA-02's due to carelessness, sound very similar to the DBA's. I was able to repair the Fischers with new connectors, so this comparison is based on several back-to-back listening tests. The Xcapes are a but more forward in the upper mids/lower treble, but after 75-100 hours of burn in, they're now just almost as smooth, and bass is pretty comparable. (I'm one of those that feel like there's plenty of bass from the DBA's.) I enjoy both very much, but find myself picking up the DBA's more often.
 
Both fit/seal well (I'm using Shure single flange tips on both), but the DBA's are easier to put in for my rather deep insertion.
 
BTW, in reply to the OP, I'm using these straight from an iPod Classic or Blackberry Curve.

 

[esolomon]

Thanks for all of the input guys

I guess I'll worry about amps and such after the xcapes arrive. Haha

 

[utkusu]

I want to correct something about my other post: uDAC is better than the fuze with xcapes, at least when it comes to bass.  I was listening Amy Winehouse's "You know I am no good" with the fuze and I thought "Hey, this is not how this supposed to sound". The bass/drum at the beginning of the song (which actually runs thru the song) is much richer and impactful with uDAC. I am sorry NuForce!
 

 

[kmhaynes]

An amp option that costs less than the SW-Xcape is the little Fiio E5.  It provides some extra juice to any earphone, sounds very clean, as well as a bass boost and a secret center setting that is a bass and treble boost, all for about $25.  A $100 option that I like best is the iBasso T4, which also has a bass boost.