[Gintaras]

BH out1 vs. out2
 
after some more listen here my conclusions:
 
out1 - best in high gain mode with LF engaged, SF either on or off depending on music genre or quality of recording. overall pleasingly spacious and warm sound but the output is a bit dirty and there is some loss of fine detail. casual listener perhaps will prefer this output still for most of his or her music. pleasing result and more easy listening here.
 
out2 - best in normal gain mode (high mode off), both LF and SF engaged (on). clean and very transparent, nearly analytical. overall pleasing neutral sounding and clean output but less enveloping and lacks a bit in bass and bass attack. this output will be fine for people coming from analytical type of listening who crave for very detailed sound. pleasing detail rich and neutral sound but can be fatiguing in long listening sessions.
 
BH is fine amp which offers nice flexibility and perhaps would suit various types of IEMs, you just need to experiment a bit with outputs before deciding which one is yours. It is a very good amp for its moderate asking price.

 

[H20Fidelity]

H20, yes, i am not going follow you in this as that involves too many in and out trades for which i have no time.
however one idea i am toying is purchasing AK100 + T1 )))))))))))))
people praise T1 a lot and this is not overly expensive like The International or Pico Slim or Predator.

yes, i still wait for my RDB+, takes time from manufacturer, i am sure to love them and when have them will share my impression. i hope RDB+ will be a final stop for me.

as for CK4+ as much as i wish to buy it i found too many quality issues people write about in various forums. so i gladly use C3 which i find to be worth every penny. Rocoo isa  nice player but not cheap and AK100 seems to be a nicer one and amped should have no issues with IEMs. sure AK100 is more expensive but paying once is better than paying twice and Rocoo lacks some features and UI friendliness.

in the end i believe C3 + BH is a great combo... problem is this nice combo made me even more curious and as you know curiosity killed a cat... in my case the cat is my wallet

NB: never could understand why Kova says C3 lacks synergy with BH, but when i have more gadgets to play around perhaps i can see if he was right or not. until now my C3+BH+EB50 is all great sounding that i hardly can wish more for this money.

Well, I hope you find a source that agree's with you.

I'm pretty much done I think, I'll continue using the CK4 / BH combo and stick with what I know works, I really don't want to indulge to much further on sources because I'm running out of options in my budget. I do like the C3 whether it be amped or by itself like your friend that created the thread. and others in the C3 thread.

Everything else I've tried from the list of sources in my profile cannot top the rig I have, and I'm tired of trying to upgrade it only to find I'm side or downgrading (HM-601 for example) I mean lets face it, there's not that many portable high end / mid teir audiophile DAP's, and most of them have problems, then we have an over flooding of IEMs out weighing them. The Rocco is a nice player, surely does things CK4 does not though I'm leaning more towards the BH / CK4 rig.

RDB+ V1 will need something stronger then C3 /BH combo to fully shine so it's best you look into upgrading, I say this because there's a big difference, and I've heard those between the CK4 / C3, but in other ways they sound decent just from C3 alone without any amping. You will need to upgrade that cable though to silver plated and tips are very important. I'm having best results with Sony Hyrbids atm. The stage and separation is going to blow you away.

 

[Gintaras]

thanks H20 for useful information, will take look.
 
actually i am less worry about source because C3 does great job but i plan adding some amps including famous T1. i am also on lookout for impressions about Portaphile 627X and Pico Slim. what i see that some reviewers simply rated T1 as reference amp which is pretty serious claim indeed. you do not call gear to be reference quality unless this truly excels in all sonic areas.
 
as for source what draws me to Ak100 is optical output which can be used direct into external DAC having optical in. i still did not figure out how this can help but hope to find some nice portable little DAC with optical in.
 
so at the time being happily listening to my combo and waiting for my RDB+ with some other nice goodies to arrive soon. will share impressions when have them.
 
for me C3+BH+EB50 is simply amazing combo for sane money so i will see if this can be beaten by some nicer but more expensive gear. first on test will be RDB+ vs. EB50 i know you smiling because EB50 is single BA but listen and read what some audiophiles wrote about EB50 comparing them to some more expensive triple BA IEMs...i think not hearing EB50 it is impossible to imagine how neutral and coherent these little alucans are!!! so lets see how magical EB50 will hold against all mighty RDB+ )))))
 
and when i say beaten i surely compare sound per buck paid... so i will take into account price differences. 
 
yes, my RDB+ will come with better cable indeed, no stock cable

 

[H20Fidelity]

Trust me mate, if you want to get the most out of something like RDB+ V1 you will need to upgrade the source, (and the cable) no two ways about it. You just won't milk them for what they're worth with the C3, you're limiting the possible detail and soundstage they can reproduce. It's like taking them from sounding like a 7.5/10 to a clear 9.9/10 just between changing out the C3. So I wouldn't be putting it off, the BH is more than capable long as it's fed correctly, but the C3 has limitations and those will clearly show because RDB+ V1 will reveal those limits.

It's like putting a rev limiter on them, you need to open the flood gates.

Less focus on amps, more on a good source.

 

[Gintaras]

do not worry H20, for testing RDB+ i can always borrow Cambridge Audio amplifier of my daughter which has phone amplifier built into it and if i am not happy still i can always call my high-end merchant to bring me home some equip for testing... so do not worry, i can give RDB+ a crazy run with very top sources :-D
 
seriously this is why i am toying with the idea of adding Ak100 or Rwak100
 
but i believe C3 will be able to show something while i trust you that a better DAP will make them sound better, but that's not to say C3 is bad DAP i assume, yeah?
 
as regards source vs. amp i believe both important. actually in musical rigs there is not anything that would be not important, even cables are important. so i believe both DAP and amp will be as important as good IEMs. BUT.... it's all about finding synergy which will sound right to you.

 

[H20Fidelity]

Don't get me wrong, they sound mighty fine from the C3 and I miss my baby Colorfly dearly since sending it on loan, but it's like only having a tap half switched on, water flow isn't allowed to release freely, and once you know it isn't...

You begin pulling some of these...




Because you know it can sound like...




And if it wasn't for the mighty BH amp none of those fireworks would be possible, because CK4 sounds pretty average unless you amp using the line out. So kudos to the little 80 hour champion. (and the LF switch)

 

[Gintaras]

H20 

 thanks for nice graphical explanation. 

 

[H20Fidelity]

Well, I don't want to confuse the members either. For a $150 - $200 IEM, there's not as much benefit upgrading the source, like I was just preaching to you, but when you start tinkering with $500+ earphones like RDB+ V1, 1plus2, FitEar To Go 334, the source matters much more imo.

 

[Gintaras]

H20, perfectly in agreement on this.

 

[oneoseven]

Received my c&c bh yesterday as well as my new xba-30s.. I really was not expecting it to be as small as it is.. Perfect size.. At first I wasn't too impressed with the bh and was considering selling it off but then I turned on the LF and it came alive.. The synergy between the 30's and this amp is just perfection.. Strong bass clear detailed mids and perfectly smooth highs as well as a ridiculous large sound stage both up/down and left/right.. I'm in love currently =)

 

[Lifted Andreas]

Received my c&c bh yesterday as well as my new xba-30s.. I really was not expecting it to be as small as it is.. Perfect size.. At first I wasn't too impressed with the bh and was considering selling it off but then I turned on the LF and it came alive.. The synergy between the 30's and this amp is just perfection.. Strong bass clear detailed mids and perfectly smooth highs as well as a ridiculous large sound stage both up/down and left/right.. I'm in love currently =)

Another one bites the amazing BH dust!

 

[pngwn]

Received my c&c bh yesterday as well as my new xba-30s.. I really was not expecting it to be as small as it is.. Perfect size.. At first I wasn't too impressed with the bh and was considering selling it off but then I turned on the LF and it came alive.. The synergy between the 30's and this amp is just perfection.. Strong bass clear detailed mids and perfectly smooth highs as well as a ridiculous large sound stage both up/down and left/right.. I'm in love currently =)

Another one bites the amazing BH dust!

RIP oneoseven

 

[Kamakahah]

Hmm...BH is 2 miles away. Will be delivered today; hopefully it will arrive in the next 3 hours. *teehee* exited. Wish my CKN-70s were here to see how they pair. Plenty of other stuff to test them on though.

 

[mpawluk91]

Well, I hope you find a source that agree's with you.

I'm pretty much done I think, I'll continue using the CK4 / BH combo and stick with what I know works, I really don't want to indulge to much further on sources because I'm running out of options in my budget. I do like the C3 whether it be amped or by itself like your friend that created the thread. and others in the C3 thread.

Everything else I've tried from the list of sources in my profile cannot top the rig I have, and I'm tired of trying to upgrade it only to find I'm side or downgrading (HM-601 for example) I mean lets face it, there's not that many portable high end / mid teir audiophile DAP's, and most of them have problems, then we have an over flooding of IEMs out weighing them. The Rocco is a nice player, surely does things CK4 does not though I'm leaning more towards the BH / CK4 rig.

RDB+ V1 will need something stronger then C3 /BH combo to fully shine so it's best you look into upgrading, I say this because there's a big difference, and I've heard those between the CK4 / C3, but in other ways they sound decent just from C3 alone without any amping. You will need to upgrade that cable though to silver plated and tips are very important. I'm having best results with Sony Hyrbids atm. The stage and separation is going to blow you away.

How would u stack an ipod 5.5 or iPod touch 4 both using LOD against the c3 or c4? The 5.5 sounds amazing on the bh but I haven't tryed the itouch4 on it yet

 

[Kamakahah]

Well the C&C BH arrived today. Don't have a lot of time today to A/B. Have a few initial impressions/concerns after 15 minutes. 
 
Things I noticed that are odd:
1. SF switch doesn't seem to work on output 2. It does however do 'something' on output 1. I tested this by listening to a steady note for any change and tohear the actual electrical switch over you can hear when normally flipping switches mid note.
2. The volume pot is smooth turning until about 7 o'clock on the dial, then becomes quite difficult to turn until it reaches 12 o'clock. Could be poor assembly or just machined slightly off. 
3. The jacks are a bit 'loose' as mentioned in the first post, but nothing I'd worry about.
4. I got a weird orange rubbery fish (toy?) in my package
 
What I like so far:
1. It's size. It's so small compared to what I had in my mind, even after seeing the pictures.
2. The build. Feels solid with a good heft like a little tank.
3. It can juice up my Mad Dogs w/ Alpha Pads. Still have to mess around with low/high gain and the different outputs on the MDs. I just tried out 1 with high gain. Quality yet to be determined.
4. I got a weird orange rubbery fish (toy?) in my package