[slowpogo]

 
Quote:

because a they are crap.  oh and its not that apple is catching up if anything the difference is widening.  apple used to care about audio quality from them but now they know that their customers dont give a crap about it so neither will they.  if you use an iphone 4 as a source be aware its compromised

Dude, you're in the wrong thread for that stuff. I'm not expecting an audiophile experience while I'm running on a treadmill at the gym. I know there are limitations but I believe that with decent earphones the iPhone can sound reasonably good, and that's all I'm looking to achieve. As far as Apple type debates go I have no stomach for it.
 
Still I've been meaning to ask (and I would ask this regardless of what MP3 player I owned), how much could I expect sound to improve by using a line-out connector, into a cmoy or a similar portable amp?

 

[ProjectDenz]

Close to none, the vast majority of iems require absolutely no ampage, however some people here will have you believe that it is some sort of a necessity.

 

[a_recording]

it depends on the earphones. Generally not, but on some IEM's like the RE0 an amp really is transformative.
 
I don't think the hassle of having a portable amp is worth it though by and large. Home listening is a different matter.

 

[129207]

I'm not a classical-only enthousiast but I enjoy my Dvorak, Satie, Glass and Piazzolla most through the RE0. I've had them for about a year and they still don't show any sign of wear and tear. The sound is transparent, detailed and after proper burn in (I never believed in this but it did wonders for the RE0) the bass comes forward a bit more making them evenly balanced. I now amp them with an Arrow 12HE and it's bass boost on +2 to give them even more body. They are only $80. You could potentially combine them with a Fiio E1 to get some Ipod control in there and still remain below $100. 

 

[nicknyhk]

Quote:

it depends on the earphones. Generally not, but on some IEM's like the RE0 an amp really is transformative.
 
I don't think the hassle of having a portable amp is worth it though by and large. Home listening is a different matter.

Sorry I dont mean to thread jack but do the RE0 really need a portable amp to feel complete? I find them to be rather good on my macbook and ipod touch un-amped. And i usually have the volume on the ipod 1st gen to be about a quater to half the volume.

 

[ProjectDenz]

Any decent amp will probably slightly increase the bass quantity, not worth the extra money and baggage if intended for portable use imo.

 

[a_recording]

It's not so much that the RE0 needs a portable amp to sound good. They sound great straight out of most portable sources, and out of the iP4 sound just fine. However, once amped you not only get more bass, but just some incredible dynamics and greater speed. It's really pretty special.

 

[kmhaynes]

 
Quote:

Any decent amp will probably slightly increase the bass quantity, not worth the extra money and baggage if intended for portable use imo.

Well, a very portable amp like the iBasso T4 with a little bass boost won't add much baggage.  It's smaller than my Sansa Fuze.

 

[slowpogo]

Well, the RE0s seem to be winning at this point. And it seems there are inexpensive options to add the ipod controls if I want to do that. Do they do OK with the stock ear pads, or do people usually get additional pads for them?

 

[Kunlun]

I'm a big classical music listener. Everything from Palestrina all the way up to Mahler and Sibelius. The hje900 would be better than the re-zero. You can do the foam mod (the way I heard them) and they are quite nice.
 
Also, they are more durable with much better build quality and replaceable cables.

 

[neilnpatel]

er-6i is great when the vilume is low but the er-4p are way better, if u can push for themdo it

 

[mark2410]

Quote:

Man why do you all crap on the iPhone as a source so much. Obviously you haven't heard the newer iTouches/iPhones because they sound a lot better in terms of sq than the older ones and sound pretty much the same as my clip.

Times have changed, Apple is slowly catching up. No need to constantly snob them...

Then again it's not like he's going for top-shelf iems so why would he need a 'premium' source?

i was responding to that post asking why apple gets bashed
 
of course people make choices and compromises and thats fine.  i have nothing against convenience so long as people realise its a choice they are making

 

[slowpogo]

After doing more research, reading lots of reviews of both the RE0 and HJE900, I think the Pannies win out for me, even though the RE0 got a few more votes in this thread. Actually, I will probably get the RE0's also, eventually. But the HJE900s sound like exactly what I'm looking for. I also like that they are built like a tank, and have a replaceable cable.
 
I will be doing the foam mod. From what I can tell, the HJE900s with the foam mod become quite similar to the RE0, only with wider soundstage and a tiny boost in the bass. Those are among my major reservations about the RE0. Even those who love them, admit the soundstage is pretty narrow. And one man's "neutral" is another's "bass anemic." There's a fine line and I'm not sure where I'd fall with the RE0. The Pannies, despite the slight U-shaped EQ, are said to sound very natural, and the foam mod (as well as burn-in) are said to improve this even further.
 
I will probably also get some of the other tips people like with the HJE900s, like the Meelec ones, sometime soon.  Anyway, thanks everyone. I occasionally have a bad experience on this forum but it's threads like this one, full of honest help from knowledgeable people, that keep me coming back.

 

[slowpogo]

I did order the HJE900s, and they are on the way. I thought I would mention that I tried to look them up on Amazon just to see if I had missed out on a "cyber monday" deal, and they are actually no longer listed there. JR.com does not show them either. Weird, why would they suddenly disappear?