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This review is based on a test that I have conducted over the past 3 days since I have received the LOD from ALO audio.
First off, Id like to mention the amazing customer service they provide. Each time I had emailed a request or concerns, a reply took no more than 30mins. So thumbs up for customer service!
I refused to do a A-B comparison if all I had done was just listen with the LOD setup vs another LOD or a headline-out over a 30mins-1hr time frame. In my opinion a LOD vs LOD comparison isnt that much drastically different in terms of SQ, not saying its viable. But I did this because Ive read that on the iPhone 5, the headline is amazing and there was no difference in SQ. This wont be a technical review about how this amps that and/or this bypasses that.
My drive to work every morning is about 40mins, I also listen to music quite often at work, along with another 40mins driving back, so id say about 6-7 hours were critical listening/casual listening at decently loud volumes.
The set up used was: Shure se535, original pico headamp, iphone 5, EQu application.
1st day starting with the drive in the morning, headline out to pico amp was used. Music sounds great, loud, highs were loud, a tad bright, with the mids being very strong. Bass was well controlled and present. During my sessions at work, a slight ringing was present after the IEMs were out from a 1hr session which tends to happen to me when the music was bright and sharp. Seprations were decent, sometimes the mids or vocals were too foward and slightly grainy. But overall, the idea of the SQ being just as great was convincing.
2nd day the LOD was used. Now, because there isnt a 8pin LOD, I bought the 30pin adapter which has the "wolfson" dac. As the drive to work started with pretty much the same playlist of lossless wav files, I noticed that the whole frequency range was just so much more smoother. The sound was very pleasant. The drive to work was rather enjoying. During my sessions at work, I started loving this LOD even more. My music sounded just flat out "clean", begging to be pushed. Comparing, the trebles sparkled and were tamed well with amazing extension on the ALO, where as the headline treble seem out of control and flying everywhere incorrectly. The mids were lush, rich, juicy, sweet and never sour. Using the headline really downgrades the mids that are loved on the 535s.
Bass was friggin "clean", but more importantly, it had much more impact, great texture, and a feeling of "air" being created after a tight bass hit, this was never felt using the headline.
In conclusion, to me an LOD is far superior than the headline. Im guessing that using the headline just feeds the extral amp of the juice from the phone, double amping, I could be wrong. But however its done, I love the green cable. I think ALO made a great LOD for a very reasonable price. I dont believe in spending hundreds of dollars on a cable of this size and this cable does a stellar job.
First off, Id like to mention the amazing customer service they provide. Each time I had emailed a request or concerns, a reply took no more than 30mins. So thumbs up for customer service!
I refused to do a A-B comparison if all I had done was just listen with the LOD setup vs another LOD or a headline-out over a 30mins-1hr time frame. In my opinion a LOD vs LOD comparison isnt that much drastically different in terms of SQ, not saying its viable. But I did this because Ive read that on the iPhone 5, the headline is amazing and there was no difference in SQ. This wont be a technical review about how this amps that and/or this bypasses that.
My drive to work every morning is about 40mins, I also listen to music quite often at work, along with another 40mins driving back, so id say about 6-7 hours were critical listening/casual listening at decently loud volumes.
The set up used was: Shure se535, original pico headamp, iphone 5, EQu application.
1st day starting with the drive in the morning, headline out to pico amp was used. Music sounds great, loud, highs were loud, a tad bright, with the mids being very strong. Bass was well controlled and present. During my sessions at work, a slight ringing was present after the IEMs were out from a 1hr session which tends to happen to me when the music was bright and sharp. Seprations were decent, sometimes the mids or vocals were too foward and slightly grainy. But overall, the idea of the SQ being just as great was convincing.
2nd day the LOD was used. Now, because there isnt a 8pin LOD, I bought the 30pin adapter which has the "wolfson" dac. As the drive to work started with pretty much the same playlist of lossless wav files, I noticed that the whole frequency range was just so much more smoother. The sound was very pleasant. The drive to work was rather enjoying. During my sessions at work, I started loving this LOD even more. My music sounded just flat out "clean", begging to be pushed. Comparing, the trebles sparkled and were tamed well with amazing extension on the ALO, where as the headline treble seem out of control and flying everywhere incorrectly. The mids were lush, rich, juicy, sweet and never sour. Using the headline really downgrades the mids that are loved on the 535s.
Bass was friggin "clean", but more importantly, it had much more impact, great texture, and a feeling of "air" being created after a tight bass hit, this was never felt using the headline.
In conclusion, to me an LOD is far superior than the headline. Im guessing that using the headline just feeds the extral amp of the juice from the phone, double amping, I could be wrong. But however its done, I love the green cable. I think ALO made a great LOD for a very reasonable price. I dont believe in spending hundreds of dollars on a cable of this size and this cable does a stellar job.
