[seankonnery]

Please let me know how I can upgrade SQ on my portable system if money wasn't an issue.
Be honest and detailed.
Thanks in advance, guys!

 

[The Smokester]

Your iRiver->SR-71->ER-4's is one combination I have. Don't know if this applies to you but maybe one thing to consider is to get an H340 (i.e. more disk space) and then use less compression when ripping from CD.

Another possibility is to upgrade the ER-4's to UE-10 Pro's.

 

[IstariAsuka]

His profile says UE10s are already coming.

Therefore, I must recommend a portable DAC.

 

[seankonnery]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Smokester Don't know if this applies to you but maybe one thing to consider is to get an H340 (i.e. more disk space) and then use less compression when ripping from CD.

I don't need more space now. I am only interested in sound quality right now.

 

[seankonnery]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Smokester Don't know if this applies to you but maybe one thing to consider is to get an H340 (i.e. more disk space) and then use less compression when ripping from CD.

But I don't compress the files when I rip into wav, correct?

 

[Mr Iriver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by seankonnery Please let me know how I can upgrade SQ on my portable system if money wasn't an issue. Be honest and detailed. Thanks in advanced, guys!

Great rig when you get the UE10s. It is hard to think of a way to improve it, but if you find old audiophile CD players portable, that would be an improvement.

 

[The Smokester]

seankonnery,
Right. Wav's are not compressed.

Actually, for portability I think you're there.

 

[seankonnery]

How about portable DAC?

 

[erikzen]

You might want to try different portable optical transports to use with the portable DAC. I'm using the SlimX imp-550, which at least one person on these boards has said he likes better than the iRiver. That's probably a matter of taste more than anything. I like the optical out of my D-303 better than the SlimX but that's not a portable option. The Sony D-EJ1000/2000 I believe have optical out. I'm not sure it's going to be better than the iHP and you will sacrifice all the storage space of a hard drive player.

While many people think of the SR-71 as the best portable amp - and it is a great amp - it's possible it might not be the best for your ears. If you get an XP-7 you can roll opamps and possibly find something with more synergy. That might be too big to carry around. There is also the Larocco Pocket Reference that will be coming out soon. It may or may not be better than the SR-71.

 

[robk]

Also consider trying out a super macro if you are going to try a bunch of different portable amps.

rob

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by seankonnery How about portable DAC?

When I read your profile I thought that the portable DAC was part of the equation. While this is the route I'm taking right now, time will tell if this is practical given the improvements over a good line out to quality amp. If you do use a portable DAC it greatly reduces your choices for a transport as you need to have optical output.

There aren't too many truly portable DACs available either, although HeadRoom is hinting at something new. There's the Overture, but there are only a few of those in "circulation". Aos has the Flute but there aren't many of those around either since they're no longer in production. While the Flute does have the amp built in to the DAC, you still need to carry around a battery pack for it. I guess that's the same as having to carry the Overture plus an amp. It's still two boxes.

 

[philodox]

I love my AOS Flute, but unfortunately they are not being made any longer so I cannot recommend it.

Right now we have a shortage of portable DAC's on the market. I would suggest waiting for the new offerings from Headroom and Meier Audio.

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox I would suggest waiting for the new offerings from Headroom and Meier Audio.

I'm assuming HeadRoom is going to release something similar to the Overture. However, if you're referring to the new Porta Corda, it will be USB input only for digital signals.

 

[philodox]

There is always the chance that the final design of the porta corda will be a little different. I'm not sure what Headroom has planned, but I'm sure they will have at least one DAC in the near future.

 

[erikzen]

In a recent post by Dr. Meier he stated the new Porta Corda would only have USB input because the chip does not support S/PDIF and there is no room for optical jacks. Of course, he is entitled to change his mind.

I agree, that I think HeadRoom will be coming out with a portable DAC, especially since their Coda/Overture stack seemed to be a big hit.