[Galaxy358]

Haha I know what you mean about the X2 having bang for the buck I own a pair hehe. I just wanted a headphone for portable use but also capable for home use with an amp. How is detail retrieval on the Sine compared to the X2? If it is much better than the X2 imma pull the trigger and get them

Detail I think is more existent on the SINE compared to the X2, but not by much. I can really really hear every instrument separation, very detailed. I would give it a 9/10.

As an upgrade from the X2, I would say you need some time to notice the differences other than the bass quantity, not jaw dropping. If it's in percentage I would say a maximum of 15% upgrade. The thing that's not perfect about it is isolation and comfort. If this thing seals good I would give it 10 out of 10.

 

[SmtAudio]

actually portability is not an issue. i even like headphones when they are big and bulky.

 

[SmtAudio]

  The EL-8 is better, and can make notes delicious, but is not portable.

actually portability is not an issue. i even like headphones when they are big and bulky.

 

[arrakian]

  The Fostex TH-x00 is known to have a ton of bass, that goes to very low frequencies. The Sine just doesn't do that.

You're saying the Fostex does very low bass at very high volumes, right? Because I know the Sine plays bass to 20Hz from my test disc.

 

[exsomnis]

I've auditioned the Sine with cipher cable recently with my iphone6 plus. My initial impression was "good" and I did have the Sines on my wishlist.

I don't rate the Sine cable/DAC at all. It is bright, artificial and doesn't really provide enough power to the cans. If you do decide to get the Sines, you'll find that it does fantastically with the right amplification and source, with the standard cables.

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

Detail I think is more existent on the SINE compared to the X2, but not by much. I can really really hear every instrument separation, very detailed. I would give it a 9/10.

As an upgrade from the X2, I would say you need some time to notice the differences other than the bass quantity, not jaw dropping. If it's in percentage I would say a maximum of 15% upgrade. The thing that's not perfect about it is isolation and comfort. If this thing seals good I would give it 10 out of 10.

Imma go for it and make the purchase but maybe within a week or two as things came up. Think the Aune B1 2016 version would be a good amp for the Sine?

 

[Galaxy358]

Sure but just don't expect a ton of upgrade from X2. As whether using that amp will increase the SQ or not, I could not answer because I never tried that amp. I almost exclusively use the SINE with the cipher cable connected to an iPhone 7 plus And to me that sounds better than X2 connected to a Fiio E17K. But if I have to compare between using the cipher cable to using the DAC in Fiio E17K, I say I couldn't notice any notable difference except that Fiio can produce higher volume.

Hope that helps.

 

[AlanU]

I don't rate the Sine cable/DAC at all. It is bright, artificial and doesn't really provide enough power to the cans. If you do decide to get the Sines, you'll find that it does fantastically with the right amplification and source, with the standard cables.

 
I can imagine many folks buying the SINE with cipher caple at the Apple store thinks its the best combo in the world for their iphones. For a quick outing with no fuss I think the cipher cable works for the iphone 7 with no headphone jack. The Cipher cable doesn't sound as analytical as a concero dac/amp but I appreciate an engaging experience rather than hyper ultra details. I wouldn't be all excited about buying a cipher cable / sine combo. 
 
Still trying to figure out why Head-fi folks haven't taken the Peachtree shift amp/dac as a very musical powerful portable amp.  
 
I'll admit the Denon MM400 is coloured a bit "dark" with very good bass response with smooth rich sweet mids with no shrilling treble. The Sine is much more neutral with great details. 
 
After auditioning alot of headphone quickly lately I'll have to say there's alot of headphones that are not even close to a Sine headphone SQ in that price range. I tested a similar priced Final Sonorous III for giggles and it was a very pleasant experience while a person using a Dragonfly RED would be floored in how a highly efficient Final Sonourous X (7 grand CDN) would sound. The DFR with my Denon's was a huge disappointment. I'm curious what a sine would sound like with a  DFR. I know my Price range goes all over the map but I think like any audio world that combo is one of the key tricks to getting max SQ.
 
I feel for slightly larger on ear portables my Denon and the  Sine are very impressive. 
 

 

[exsomnis]

   
I can imagine many folks buying the SINE with cipher caple at the Apple store thinks its the best combo in the world for their iphones. For a quick outing with no fuss I think the cipher cable works for the iphone 7 with no headphone jack. The Cipher cable doesn't sound as analytical as a concero dac/amp but I appreciate an engaging experience rather than hyper ultra details. I wouldn't be all excited about buying a cipher cable / sine combo. 
 
Still trying to figure out why Head-fi folks haven't taken the Peachtree shift amp/dac as a very musical powerful portable amp.  
 
I'll admit the Denon MM400 is coloured a bit "dark" with very good bass response with smooth rich sweet mids with no shrilling treble. The Sine is much more neutral with great details. 
 
After auditioning alot of headphone quickly lately I'll have to say there's alot of headphones that are not even close to a Sine headphone SQ in that price range. I tested a similar priced Final Sonorous III for giggles and it was a very pleasant experience while a person using a Dragonfly RED would be floored in how a highly efficient Final Sonourous X (7 grand CDN) would sound. The DFR with my Denon's was a huge disappointment. I'm curious what a sine would sound like with a  DFR. I know my Price range goes all over the map but I think like any audio world that combo is one of the key tricks to getting max SQ.
 
I feel for slightly larger on ear portables my Denon and the  Sine are very impressive. 
 

 
This is why I resigned myself to not using my Sines with my devices, Apple or not. Until I get a decent amp\DAC again, I guess - though this is a stretch because I gave up portable amps a while ago. The inconvenience of adding an amp (and the extra device that needs to be charged) to the pocket with cables and stuff vetoed increased fidelity while on the go.
 
The Peachtree Shift sounds interesting and given their quality and success with hifi stereo gear, they have the pedigree. So the problem will have to be with marketing and awareness. Until you mentioned it, this was the first time that I'd even heard that Peachtree were now doing portable personal audio. I suspect many other Head-fiers don't know it too. Peachtree are also fighting for mindshare with brands that have already been doing portable personal audio for years upon years. Brand loyalty has already been established with many headfiers...

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

Sure but just don't expect a ton of upgrade from X2. As whether using that amp will increase the SQ or not, I could not answer because I never tried that amp. I almost exclusively use the SINE with the cipher cable connected to an iPhone 7 plus And to me that sounds better than X2 connected to a Fiio E17K. But if I have to compare between using the cipher cable to using the DAC in Fiio E17K, I say I couldn't notice any notable difference except that Fiio can produce higher volume.

Hope that helps.

I may hold off a little as I am in search for an iem truly and i've been reading on the iSINE 10 and it's got me very interested..... might get both

 

[AlanU]

   
This is why I resigned myself to not using my Sines with my devices, Apple or not. Until I get a decent amp\DAC again, I guess - though this is a stretch because I gave up portable amps a while ago. The inconvenience of adding an amp (and the extra device that needs to be charged) to the pocket with cables and stuff vetoed increased fidelity while on the go.
 
The Peachtree Shift sounds interesting and given their quality and success with hifi stereo gear, they have the pedigree. So the problem will have to be with marketing and awareness. Until you mentioned it, this was the first time that I'd even heard that Peachtree were now doing portable personal audio. I suspect many other Head-fiers don't know it too. Peachtree are also fighting for mindshare with brands that have already been doing portable personal audio for years upon years. Brand loyalty has already been established with many headfiers...

I've been in and out of headfi forums as life is busy. I've recently revisited my favourite local headphone store.   The peachtree has a lot of juice to run larger headphones. The new RHA amp seems to be a very promising product as it has 2 dac chips iirc. I tested an ifi Nano iDSD and it was literally a lateral performer to my iphone 6+ and I was underwhelmed. The Peachtree shift had this warmer rich presentation that was very pleasing. It was not hyper detailed with layers upon layers of separation but was a very noticeable difference to my iphone 6+. The soundstage in the peachtree is average but it's not artificial like a Resonessence Labs presentation of your soundstage environment. I'm not pimping Peachtree as I'm just describing my take on the product. It has alot of juice where a Dragonfly red would fall on its face shrilling your ears due to lack of power output. 
 
My application of a portable amp would be for my work desk during lunch hours or chill out time. I'm not sure what approach I want to take. This is why I haven't run out to buy a Mojo , peachtree or any nice headphone portable amp. I'm more of a hifi stereo guy at home but I'm struggling to decide just to buy sine as a different headphone for a change in portable sound signature and live with my iphone 6+ output.
 
I'm not sure what I want yet. There are so many amazing options these days.....

 

[AlanU]

I may hold off a little as I am in search for an iem truly and i've been reading on the iSINE 10 and it's got me very interested..... might get both

 
Its an IEM that is actually more for stationary seating. It just hangs off your ear canal so if you go for a walk I think you'd be fighting them from falling out. 
 
From what I've been told most folks jump for the iSine 20 after auditioning the iSine 10. 
 
Apparently the ISine 20  are freakishly fantastic but not meant for running around. To me this is a limiting product with good intent.

 

[Galaxy358]

I also heard that because of it's an open design, there's barely any sound isolation with that? Is that true? Most people agree they sound fantastic though.

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

Its an IEM that is actually more for stationary seating. It just hangs off your ear canal so if you go for a walk I think you'd be fighting them from falling out. 

From what I've been told most folks jump for the iSine 20 after auditioning the iSine 10. 

Apparently the ISine 20  are freakishly fantastic but not meant for running around. To me this is a limiting product with good intent.

Oh dw I got tricks up my sleeves but from what I heard people prefer the iSINE 10 a little more over the 20. I shall give both a listen

 

[xoxiax]

  can any fellow headfier help me out to pick one between sine with cipher and EL8 open ? or if there are anything other than this i should consider. im looking for something easy to drive plug and play kind with wide soundstage and ya planer too. any help will be much appreciated. thanks in advance. 

I'd say Sine is not what you're looking for, i've only loved it sound when amped (even with the fiio e6). I don't know easy plug and play planars anyway, but my experience with them is vey limited...