Bodhi01
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2015
- Posts
- 59
- Likes
- 24
Hi folks, after a fair bit of research & auditioning, I decided on a high end setup for 'on the go' listening. I was after a number of things which seem mutually exclusive; I was looking for excellent value for money, excellent build quality & on the DAP side, a user friendly interface. Sound-wise, I was aiming for natural, well balanced sound with excellent resolution, sound staging and imaging. Basically a well balanced package with no weak links, and upgradeable storage.
The guys at Addicted to audio recommended the Campfire Audio IEM's. I had a good first up audition of the CA Nova's which were smooth, well balanced and quite natural sounding. Not the last word in resolution or imaging, but very good for the money. But even their entry level model has excellent build quality and comes with a very nice detachable litz cable & lambswool-lined leather carry case.
I originally planned on running a pair of CA Nova's with my Iphone paired with an Oppo HA2, but decided I needed to move further up the foodchain in IEM's to get closer to good over the ear headphones. I also realized I could get a much better DAP and headphone amp than an Iphone/Oppo combo for not much more outlay, and carry around one component instead of two.
The CA Andromeda's seemed like a no-brainer given they're CA's best effort & weren't that much more outlay in the scheme of things. I also really liked the green anodized finish. So I decided to jump on an available pair when I was offered them. CA IEM's are hand-made in small quantities, but the Andromeda's in particular are scarce, atleast in the first run.
Looking around at DAP's was actually a short, easy process. In my price range, I was initially tempted by the Questyle QP1R due to it's excellent sound, but after reading some reviews, I realized the A&K AK300 was very close in sound to the QP1R, but was a better DAP overall, particularly it's UI. And after auditioning both players, the AK300 was clearly the winner imho. It's UI, screen and build quality all kill the Questyle.
AK300 vs AK320. I did an a-b comparo today playing the same music. The guys said with very good headphones you can hear the improvement with the 320, but with the Andromeda IEM's atleast I could not perceive any significant different between the two. Perhaps a very subtle improvement? But definitely not $1500AUD better. That makes the AK300 a bargain imho. I also like the fact it has upgradeable 64gb memory which gives you plenty of storage to tide you over until it's time to upgrade.
I also picked up a pack of Spinfit tips to put the icing on the cake. As the photos show, this gear is really nice quality & sexy looking! I'll update the thread with some pics of the UI once i've had a chance to load up some albums and run in the Andromeda's
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The guys at Addicted to audio recommended the Campfire Audio IEM's. I had a good first up audition of the CA Nova's which were smooth, well balanced and quite natural sounding. Not the last word in resolution or imaging, but very good for the money. But even their entry level model has excellent build quality and comes with a very nice detachable litz cable & lambswool-lined leather carry case.
I originally planned on running a pair of CA Nova's with my Iphone paired with an Oppo HA2, but decided I needed to move further up the foodchain in IEM's to get closer to good over the ear headphones. I also realized I could get a much better DAP and headphone amp than an Iphone/Oppo combo for not much more outlay, and carry around one component instead of two.
The CA Andromeda's seemed like a no-brainer given they're CA's best effort & weren't that much more outlay in the scheme of things. I also really liked the green anodized finish. So I decided to jump on an available pair when I was offered them. CA IEM's are hand-made in small quantities, but the Andromeda's in particular are scarce, atleast in the first run.
Looking around at DAP's was actually a short, easy process. In my price range, I was initially tempted by the Questyle QP1R due to it's excellent sound, but after reading some reviews, I realized the A&K AK300 was very close in sound to the QP1R, but was a better DAP overall, particularly it's UI. And after auditioning both players, the AK300 was clearly the winner imho. It's UI, screen and build quality all kill the Questyle.
AK300 vs AK320. I did an a-b comparo today playing the same music. The guys said with very good headphones you can hear the improvement with the 320, but with the Andromeda IEM's atleast I could not perceive any significant different between the two. Perhaps a very subtle improvement? But definitely not $1500AUD better. That makes the AK300 a bargain imho. I also like the fact it has upgradeable 64gb memory which gives you plenty of storage to tide you over until it's time to upgrade.
I also picked up a pack of Spinfit tips to put the icing on the cake. As the photos show, this gear is really nice quality & sexy looking! I'll update the thread with some pics of the UI once i've had a chance to load up some albums and run in the Andromeda's
