[Vidal]

Can anyone reccomend me the best dac/amp around 100-150$? Thanks

 
We'd need more info.....
 
* Portable/Desktop
* Compatibility
* What's it going to be used with

 

[trumpethead]

They seem to be different.. the banned always posts (to mauritius) via China Post and AK posts via SG post (which i prefer) as i get issues with CN post..

I know they are different sellers, however AK is apparently carrying items supposedly manufactured by the"banned seller"...Check AK Ali site, it's not like they are trying to hide it or anything.

 

[Vidal]

  I don't see Senzer H1 headphones on Amazon.  I search Senzer H1 and I get some SE640 or something.... is that the same thing?

 
Nope, that's a cheaper model.
 
Amazon.co.uk and .com had them but looks like .com have sold out

 

[VinceHill24]

A8 vs K3

Brief blurb, as I'm up way past my bedtime because of working very late trying to catch up.  But, while I was working away at the computer, I was doing several hours of listening and going back and forth and then back again.

I keep coming back to the A8 and K3, and it took me quite a bit of listening to be able to verbalize a good comparison.  At times, I thought the K3 was may be better, but more times than that, I thought the A8 was better.  The bass on both is definitely "felt."  The bass is fun and engaging and plays very well to my genre of music; electronic (chillout, melodic progressive, liquid dnb, chillstep, downtempo, etc).  However, I found myself getting a little frustrated with the K3.

 The highs, although detailed, are just too elevated.  Consequently, the A8's highs sounded more realistic and natural.  At the same time, the A8 gave me more texture.  The soundstage on the K3 was a little bigger, IMO, but everything else was hard to pick out because of those highs.

Finally, I gave in.  I brought everything from 2K to 8K down about 2 notches.  That's when I found the K3's really shined.  Suddenly, there was that potential giant-killer/giant-competitor that I was hoping for.  The mids came out and showed me their detail, the instrument separation seemed more spacious, and the lows could flex their biceps.  I like them more now, and I can see myself going to them frequently. 

I'm not a particularly high-sensitive person, but these are definitely peaking in that range.  Its not in a way that's only for an audiophile to appreciate, its in a way that is unnatural.  Maybe the K3 isn't consistently so on every unit manufactured (which would be a Quality Control problem), but the ones I have can pierce the skin at times.

The genre makes a big difference though.  With electronic, you've got a lot of high-hats and miscellaneous blips and tweets that reoccur in that range.  When I put something like Skylar Grey on, with more of a hip-hop sound, the highs don't seem to need tweaked as badly.  But, if you've got a lot of highs in your music, be forewarned.  If your music mostly is in the low and mids, the highs, when they appear, may seem fun and refreshing to you.  However, when Skylar Gray sings a "..so much.." in an emotional moment, that 'S' is very sharp.

Alright, so I am going to back off from the long-winded tirade of the K3 highs.  I wish there was a way to permanently adjust a headphone's tuning, because they were just 2db's off in the highs from a phenomenal headphone.  Now its a Ferrari with a big dent in the fender.  Still looks nice and you'd like to take it for a drive, but you still say 'aw, its too bad that dent is there...'  But, if you can EQ just a smidge, then its like taking a plunger and popping that dent right out.

Without the EQ, I'll take the A8.  In fact, I may take the A8 anyway, but counting the EQ in the picture, I'm not so sure.

The K3 houses the Knowles BA TWFK30017 so i'm not really surprised with your comment about the high. Probably there's soemething with this "house" TWFK sound that either people love it or hate it i guess.

 

[SuperMAG]

At 1clearhead, i though the memt were the best, how come they are not in first 3 lol.

 

[TwoPalms]

memt is a stepchild. It can not be the first lol

 

[abhijollyguy]

Which A8 you are talking about?

 

[groucho69]

 

Best use of headphones.

 

[mochill]

Which A8 you are talking about?

cardas a8

 

[docentore]

After 2 months of waiting I have received my KZ ED-9. Bought them only for the nozles so I can play around on Magaosi K1.
 
Decided to give them a go. Seriously? This sound from 10$ IEMs? WOW

 

[Keller1]

  After 2 months of waiting I have received my KZ ED-9. Bought them only for the nozles so I can play around on Magaosi K1.
 
Decided to give them a go. Seriously? This sound from 10$ IEMs? WOW

Yup. KZs are great.  I liked the ATE. I Love the ZST.

Gonna give some senfers and tennmaks a try aswell tho.
 
They've convinced me to order whatever the ZSR is going to be on day0.

 

[docentore]

  Yup. KZs are great.  I liked the ATE. I Love the ZST.

Gonna give some senfers and tennmaks a try aswell tho.
 
They've convinced me to order whatever the ZSR is going to be on day0.

 
After 30 minutes with my first KZ's ZST are on the top of my list. 

 

[Podster]

After 2 months of waiting I have received my KZ ED-9. Bought them only for the nozles so I can play around on Magaosi K1.
 
Decided to give them a go. Seriously? This sound from 10$ IEMs? WOW

LOL, I love when that light comes on. When I got mine I'd say to myself that I had better sounding iem's but not for $10, not even $25. I know some may disagree but IMO the ED9 can hold their own with many an iem at two and three times their price to this day

Plus you sure can't beat the $10 Magaosi upgrade as well

 

 
And remember that Beatles song and the "ED9....ED9...ED9..."

 

[Lurk650]

MadMusicJunkie, listened to the K3 plenty with my Galaxy S7 which gave a bit more low end and also my Opus #1 which does tend to smooth things out up top. I will do more listening through my Burson Air which is a more neutral DAC but so far I haven't personally heard over extension up top, I'll listen and EQ like you suggested just to see if I can hear the difference. FWIW I believe in using Spiral Dots on mine

 

[1clearhead]

  At 1clearhead, i though the memt were the best, how come they are not in first 3 lol.

 
I was only comparing my top three "hybrids".

  For a 6mm dynamic though, they compete very well against the K3, and the hi-905 and comes mighty close to the M1221. So, no worries.....the X5 can clearly compete with the top 3!
 

memt is a stepchild. It can not be the first lol

Haha! That's exactly what they sound like.

 .....the X5 is a force to be reckoned with for a dynamic!