[JiPod]

It seems to be the general consensus with Head-Fiers that a portable amp will further bring out the potential of your IEMs. Is this true even during commute via public transportation? or can you only distinguish the differences between amped and unamped during the luxury of critical listening?

 

[elfary]

In my humble opinion noisy environments like the subway or the train tend to veil many sound details even with good sealing IEM's so i do not think a portable amp is worth for that kind of commute. Fortuntately when you reach your quiet office / home you can belt out that stuff and appreciate every sound detail.

 

[Sonic 748i]

I could still hear the huge amount of details in my music but the experience is much better at home.

 

[james444]

I don't think this kind of environment is suited for analytical listening and attention to detail. On the other hand I can still easily discern improvement in bass control and impact from an amp, even when on the move.

 

[Hentai11]

To put it mildly, a train isn't an ideal listening room. You can go very, very far toward mitigating ambient noise with good fit, but you're still using headphones in a noisy place--a critical listening no-no.

 

[mobbaddict]

Subway is awful for sure but train & bus are really OK for critical listening, i find it even more impressive to enjoy such sound quality with an ultra portable rig like the Clip + IEMs. I wouldn't bother with an amp though.