[Lurk650]

Just a heads up anybody still considering the LG V10 or even the V20. After less than one year my V10 had died due to boot loop error. Even after a few months my finger print scanner had stopped working. The rubber backing peels way too easy at the edges. I got a refurb for my dead device and upgraded to the Galaxy S7 Edge. DAC is of course not as nice but never really used my phone for music anyways.

 

[Roen]

Large tips shallow insertion?

Not a fan of shallow insertion.

 

[Cinder]

Anyone heard the Chord & Major lineup? I just got some in and they are pretty good so far.
 
Same for the AP60. Powerful little bugger it is.

 

[peter123]

In what way? Biased? Unknowledgable? Paid for...? I'm not on here often enough to hear what people say?

He was banned from here so maybe not the best site to link too or talk about here.

 

[peter123]

Sorry double post

 

[mebaali]

He was banned from here so maybe not the best site to link too or talk about here.

 
Couldn't agree more.
 
 
(On a side note, there is an active thread herein Headfi with loads of pages discussing budget Chinese IEMs having its OP with multitudes of links directing to this website)

 

[ozkan]

**** 4in1 or Macaw RT-10?

 

[farisq]

  Anyone heard the Chord & Major lineup? I just got some in and they are pretty good so far.
 
Same for the AP60. Powerful little bugger it is.

can u do comparison for ap60?

 

[Saoshyant]

Ok, while I'd be curious to try a truly budget dac/amp like SMSL Ivy, I'm even more curious what the heck the $205 installation charge Amazon offers entails for a $29 amp that plugs into your phone's usb port.

 

[Vidal]

**** 4in1 or Macaw RT-10?

 
Two very different beasts! From memory.
 
RT-10 has bigger sound stage than 4in1 but less impactful mid bass. It does have lots of sub bass though. Its highs are less intense than the 4in1 but they still have a fair bit of sparkle. It's a single dynamic with a carbon fibre driver.
 
4in1 a great hybrid (BA and Dynamic) earphone if you can handle the intense treble, some can't. Lots of post on here regarding the 4in1 if you do a quick search you'll see it's strength and weaknesses.
 
Build quality on both is excellent although the **** comes with a generic MMCX cable which can be it's weak spot (ask @Harry501501). Better option might be to buy another cable separately but obviously not £100 worth.
 
The Macaw is lighter in weight as it's plastic compared to the ****'s metal construction, feels solid though. Macaw do the GT100 which is metal, but from what I've read it's quite heavy. RT10 has interchangeable panels which are a bit of gimmick really, but you can colour code the left and right to make it more obvious. They're a big earpiece with a narrow nozzle so takes a bit of effort to get them in the right place but once in and the cable over the ear they very secure.
 
They do stick out so you can't use them in bed, the **** can be used in bed as they're fairly flush - based on my ears which are fairly small.
 
If you're buying for a gift the Macaw have a great unboxing experience whilst the ****'s don't even come with a box.  

 

[Holypal]

  Ok, while I'd be curious to try a truly budget dac/amp like SMSL Ivy, I'm even more curious what the heck the $205 installation charge Amazon offers entails for a $29 amp that plugs into your phone's usb port.

 
I bought a budget usb dac/amp, but soon gave it up. I don't think it will improve the audio much.  A budget amp alone might be better.

 

[Saoshyant]

It's really more just based off curiosity @Holypal just to see what kind of quality is there, if any.  At that low a price, it's not exactly a big loss if it's kind of pointless.  It might be interesting to see what kind of sound something like the Ivy attached to a truly budget phone can achieve.

 

[Vidal]

  It's really more just based off curiosity @Holypal just to see what kind of quality is there, if any.  At that low a price, it's not exactly a big loss if it's kind of pointless.  It might be interesting to see what kind of sound something like the Ivy attached to a truly budget phone can achieve.

 
The sound on my Huawei P9 was a little off even with EQ, but using the Fiio K1 it turns it into a credible DAP.

 

[Holypal]

  It's really more just based off curiosity @Holypal just to see what kind of quality is there, if any.  At that low a price, it's not exactly a big loss if it's kind of pointless.  It might be interesting to see what kind of sound something like the Ivy attached to a truly budget phone can achieve.

 
I see.
 
The problem of Android smartphone is the 48kHz re-sampling of 44.1kHz. But if you look at the data sheet of SMSL Ivy, it looks like also re-sample everything into 48kHz.

 

[Saoshyant]

Yep.  I could always use my Encore mDSD for this purpose if I wanted, or have the excuse to buy a Fiio Q1 which has their short cable I'd love to buy.  I'm just curious what a truly low end dac/amp can offer, the K1 being another alternative.  I'm sure there are other choices as well, but the K1 and Ivy are the two main ones at this price range that come to mind.  Then again, I believe Shanling's new M1 can be a dac/amp for phone as well, so that'd be an interesting dap to pick up.  But yes, the whole bit is just curiosity.