[twiceboss]

Nice photo

So I have the same setup with the new V3 Green Andros, an iPod Touch 7th Gen and the new Smokey Litz Cable.

I have a lot of CDs loaded directly onto the stock music.app but to me it sounds harsh and I can pickup sibilance with many tracks (not terrible) and I can’t turn the volume up past 5 volume steps before it’s too loud. They are ripped as ALAC files. Using sound check makes the above worse to my ears and crushes dynamics.

I downloaded Spotify and using volume normalisation set to “quiet” I can get more steps of volume at a comfortable listening level, the harshness/sibilance seems to be gone and dynamics seem to be really good (obviously it’s 320Kbps Ogg/Vorbis not CD quality).

From your photo you seem to be listening pretty loud by the volume slider and I’ve read from your previous posts that you like the sound of CDs played using this setup.

Am I missing something with the stock music.app and does the Effect Audio cable you’re using make a difference?

Thanks for "quiet" setting. It makes a huge difference!

 

[smok88]

I just ordered to try out. If its bad. I would return it!

The iEMatch works with the stock cable well and reduces the hiss. Sound stage is not too impacted on the ultra setting. However, when I got the SXC 8 cable, I noticed that the hissing had reduced by more than 50% without the iEMatch so I listen to the Andromedas without the iEMatch - on the SXC 8, it sounds a lot more open without the iEMatch. Just my thoughts.

 

[jonathane40]

Nice photo

So I have the same setup with the new V3 Green Andros, an iPod Touch 7th Gen and the new Smokey Litz Cable.

I have a lot of CDs loaded directly onto the stock music.app but to me it sounds harsh and I can pickup sibilance with many tracks (not terrible) and I can’t turn the volume up past 5 volume steps before it’s too loud. They are ripped as ALAC files. Using sound check makes the above worse to my ears and crushes dynamics.

I downloaded Spotify and using volume normalisation set to “quiet” I can get more steps of volume at a comfortable listening level, the harshness/sibilance seems to be gone and dynamics seem to be really good (obviously it’s 320Kbps Ogg/Vorbis not CD quality).

From your photo you seem to be listening pretty loud by the volume slider and I’ve read from your previous posts that you like the sound of CDs played using this setup.

Am I missing something with the stock music.app and does the Effect Audio cable you’re using make a difference?

Go to the Settings app and search for Volume Limit. You can use a slider there to lower the max volume. This will give you better control of the volume level.

 

[theveterans]

Nice photo

So I have the same setup with the new V3 Green Andros, an iPod Touch 7th Gen and the new Smokey Litz Cable.

I have a lot of CDs loaded directly onto the stock music.app but to me it sounds harsh and I can pickup sibilance with many tracks (not terrible) and I can’t turn the volume up past 5 volume steps before it’s too loud. They are ripped as ALAC files. Using sound check makes the above worse to my ears and crushes dynamics.

I downloaded Spotify and using volume normalisation set to “quiet” I can get more steps of volume at a comfortable listening level, the harshness/sibilance seems to be gone and dynamics seem to be really good (obviously it’s 320Kbps Ogg/Vorbis not CD quality).

From your photo you seem to be listening pretty loud by the volume slider and I’ve read from your previous posts that you like the sound of CDs played using this setup.

Am I missing something with the stock music.app and does the Effect Audio cable you’re using make a difference?

Thank you! I just like to use my DSLR from time to time instead of it collecting dust lol.

I personally don't use Spotify, but the harshness and sibilance are most likely due to unoptimized settings IMO. I optimized mine for music playback by removing all unnecessary apps, turn off all background app stuff and just use music player and other music streaming apps only. With all that optimization, it sounds closer to more expensive DAPs and has no harshness that I detect unless the recording has it. I don't think it's the cable though since I myself can't distinguish clearly between IEM cables. I use the EA Lionheart cable because it's very flexible and has less microphonics than the stock litz from Andromeda CK Blue. I compared both stock and Lionheart and both sound almost the same to my ears except Lionheart might have a tinge more dynamics but maybe placebo to my ears. Then again, better DAPs might reveal more, but I cannot live without Apple Music hence me using iPod Touch and the sound itself from the Andromeda when optimized satisfies me completely.

 

[twiceboss]

So, it's been 2 days of listening to Andro.

One thing that i do concern now, is there any way to tame the bass aside the vocals? like hd800. Other that the vocal/bass problem, i think it is almost hd800+eq to me. But that vocal mix with bass really annoys me in certain tracks.

 

[theveterans]

So, it's been 2 days of listening to Andro.

One thing that i do concern now, is there any way to tame the bass aside the vocals? like hd800. Other that the vocal/bass problem, i think it is almost hd800+eq to me. But that vocal mix with bass really annoys me in certain tracks.

If it's too bassy, it means the impedance maybe a bit too low. Anything lower than 1 ohm is a tad too bassy for my ears. Actually, 1.7 ohms OI from the iPod Touch 6G is the sweet spot for me. iPod Touch 7G is a little bit bassier, but not enough for me to consider it below 1 ohm OI. I really hope someone measures the OI though for the iPod Touch 7G.

 

[twiceboss]

If it's too bassy, it means the impedance maybe a bit too low. Anything lower than 1 ohm is a tad too bassy for my ears. Actually, 1.7 ohms OI from the iPod Touch 6G is the sweet spot for me. iPod Touch 7G is a little bit bassier, but not enough for me to consider it below 1 ohm OI. I really hope someone measures the OI though for the iPod Touch 7G.

Yes, i run this 1 omh OI thru es100. That's the highest i can have right now which is i hate. I just ordered iematch. It'll be here on Monday. But why ive read a lot of mix reviews for this iematch? I just want to increase the OI

 

[theveterans]

Yes, i run this 1 omh OI thru es100. That's the highest i can have right now which is i hate. I just ordered iematch. It'll be here on Monday. But why ive read a lot of mix reviews for this iematch? I just want to increase the OI

Personally I've never tried it. It's worth a shot though

 

[twiceboss]

Personally I've never tried it. It's worth a shot though

However, too much OI will make andro sounds so thin and peaky... Is it worth getting ipod 5 since it has 1.4 OI. Nearly perfect for Andro

 

[theveterans]

However, too much OI will make andro sounds so thin and peaky... Is it worth getting ipod 5 since it has 1.4 OI. Nearly perfect for Andro

I haven't heard the ipod 5, but I don't think the DAC there is as good as the iPod Touch 6G. We can't really base it off with just the OI. The DAC itself is very important.

 

[twiceboss]

I haven't heard the ipod 5, but I don't think the DAC there is as good as the iPod Touch 6G. We can't really base it off with just the OI. The DAC itself is very important.

True, I would wait for the iematch. The ultra setting on iematch has 1omh<. I can pair it with es100 0.5omh. Equivalent to ~1.5omh

 

[Mirimar]

Go to the Settings app and search for Volume Limit. You can use a slider there to lower the max volume. This will give you better control of the volume level.

The only issue is that I think decreasing the volume limit only decreases the max volume and hence adjusts the actual slider levels and does not lower the gain like Spotify does with volume normalisation (Spotify use Replay Gain). I may be wrong?

 

[twiceboss]

The only issue is that I think decreasing the volume limit only decreases the max volume and hence adjusts the actual slider levels and does not lower the gain like Spotify does with volume normalisation (Spotify use Replay Gain). I may be wrong?

if u dont mind spending $99. es100 has really small volume steps

edit: im currently working on making the OI to 1-2omh instead of 1omh right now. I dont like how the vocal has a slight off upper bass. Im used to HD800 eq which vocal is 100% not mixed with anything else, feels like the singer has its own speaker

 

[jonathane40]

The only issue is that I think decreasing the volume limit only decreases the max volume and hence adjusts the actual slider levels and does not lower the gain like Spotify does with volume normalisation (Spotify use Replay Gain). I may be wrong?

I think that’s right. However, by adjusting the max volume you get a more usable range with each volume click because they don’t change the level so drastically!

 

[Mirimar]

Thank you! I just like to use my DSLR from time to time instead of it collecting dust lol.

I personally don't use Spotify, but the harshness and sibilance are most likely due to unoptimized settings IMO. I optimized mine for music playback by removing all unnecessary apps, turn off all background app stuff and just use music player and other music streaming apps only. With all that optimization, it sounds closer to more expensive DAPs and has no harshness that I detect unless the recording has it. I don't think it's the cable though since I myself can't distinguish clearly between IEM cables. I use the EA Lionheart cable because it's very flexible and has less microphonics than the stock litz from Andromeda CK Blue. I compared both stock and Lionheart and both sound almost the same to my ears except Lionheart might have a tinge more dynamics but maybe placebo to my ears. Then again, better DAPs might reveal more, but I cannot live without Apple Music hence me using iPod Touch and the sound itself from the Andromeda when optimized satisfies me completely.

Do you use the volume limit setting at all and do you have sound check on or off? I think Apple Music sounds better than ripped CDs loaded onto music.app directly which seems weird. What program do you use to rip CDs and in what format?