Hi guys!
It’s been a while since my last post on the forum, nearly 3 years I believe. For what it is worth, I’ve been listening to my i4 + Beat Audio Billow cable since their release and they still blow my mind as much as they did on day one (with proper EQ obviously). I have yet to find something that could be considered as an upgrade in the portable world. I’ve tried quite a few nice iems (64 Audio 12, 16, 16s, 18, fourte, noir, VE 8, VE Elysium, FiR M5, EE Odin, KSE 1500,...) while they are very good, in my opinion they don’t provide the overall experience the i4 provides and didn’t trigger my GAS just yet! That’s been nearly 4 years guy!!! What?!!

I guess, what I’m trying to say is : ”well done Audeze” big time!
Anyways... As you can tell I’m not here to find a replacement for my i4s but to improve my setup for them. So here are a few questions for you :
- Which DAP would you recommend for the i4? My current DAP is my old Ibasso DX200 with Amp 3. It’s a pretty decent sounding DAP but the hardware is quite clunky (battery drains fast and volume button broken) and software UI feels dated. So far I’ve tried few DAPs like AK SP2000, L&P P6, DX220 Max, Cayin N8 and LPGT Titanium. From my brief listening session I’d say they are all awesome sounding and I’d be happy with any of them, but my sonic preference leaned slightly towards LTPG Titanium and DX220 Max. Now where things get more complicated is that the i4 needs EQ and except DX220 Max, none have satisfactory PMEQ. The SP2000 PMEQ is useless, it has very little effect on the sound for some reason... L&P P6 doesn’t have custom EQ, N8 doesn’t have PMEQ and LPGT Ti has a decent PMEQ but it only seems to have 5 bands, 3 filters and a Q# that can’t go beyond 1... The only one that does it right is DX220 Max but it’s huge, heavy and it’s sold out...
I’m currently waiting for the DX300 to be released and try it out. I’m not sure if it could compare to the DAPs mentioned above though... they are not really in the same price range... If you guys have other suggestions I’d really appreciate!
- Do you know of any successful upgrade mod for the Cypher cable V2? My cable is broken so I’m wondering if replacing the cable with high grade cables and modifying the DAC and amp could provide substantial improvements. Also, I remember reading a comment, from
@normie610 I believe, stating that he’s got awesome sound with the cypher plugged on his Hibi R8. So if the cable can be upgraded that could be a great option for ultimate portable i4 sound!
Thanks in advance for your help!
Cheers,
Julien.