[Cotnijoe]

  After testing the UE Buffer Jack, I find that it significantly lowers (if not eliminates) hiss from hiss-y sources.

 
Which IEM were you using with it? What are your thoughts on the sound? I'm definitely interested in hearing what everyone else's thoughts of it are. I know I endorsed it quite hard haha but I'm also not denying that they're not perfect

 

[tusing]

   
Which IEM were you using with it? What are your thoughts on the sound? I'm definitely interested in hearing what everyone else's thoughts of it are. I know I endorsed it quite hard haha but I'm also not denying that they're not perfect

 
I'm using the UE Buffer Jack with the Cerberus III (custom, low-sensitivity). I usually play very soft piano-type songs to identify hiss, as it's easy to make out during the falloff between notes and pauses in between notes. After putting the buffer jack on, I couldn't hear any hiss - it might still be there, but it's certainly not audible.
 
I'm not noticing any loss in sound quality. Highs, of course, sound better now that the hiss is gone, and quiet songs, too, sound way better.
There seems to be a very slight reduction in bass. Almost indistinguishable, and within the realm of placebo, so I'm not sure about that.
 
These are tiny enough that their size is negligible, making them perfect for travel. Another plus is that they add 3-4 inches to your cable.
 
On the downside, I have to almost double the volume slider to get the same amount of volume, but that's to be expected.
 
In short, if hissing is a problem for you, this is probably the best solution. These will improve your highs by removing hiss, make quiet songs sound as intended, and have no noticeable otherwise impact on sound.
 
Edit: Organization, formatting, minor additions.

 

[Cotnijoe]

 
I'm using the UE Buffer Jack with the Cerberus III (custom, low-sensitivity). I usually play very soft piano-type songs to identify hiss, as it's easy to make out during the falloff between notes and pauses in between notes. After putting the buffer jack on, I couldn't hear any hiss - it might still be there, but it's certainly not audible.
 
I'm not noticing any loss in sound quality. Highs, of course, sound better now that the hiss is gone, and quiet songs, too, sound way better.
There seems to be a very slight reduction in bass. Almost indistinguishable, and within the realm of placebo, so I'm not sure about that.
 
In short, if hissing is a problem for you, this is probably the best solution. These will improve your highs by removing hiss, make quiet songs sound as intended, and have no noticeable otherwise impact on sound.
 
 
On another note, these are tiny enough that their size is negligible, making them perfect for travel. Another plus is that they add 3-4 inches to your cable.

 
Haha im glad they worked out well for you! I'm curious though, what source and amp are you using? You had some hissing even with low sensitivity?

 

[tusing]

   
Haha im glad they worked out well for you! I'm curious though, what source and amp are you using? You had some hissing even with low sensitivity?

 
Galaxy S6 (GSMArena's DAC measurements below). It has a pretty decent DAC for phones. However, I almost always listen to these through my Dragonfly 1.2, from which I hear no hiss.
 
Here are the S6 DAC measurements, in case you want to compare:

Test	Frequency response	Noise level	Dynamic range	THD	IMD + Noise	Stereo crosstalk
Samsung Galaxy S6 (headphones)	+0.02, -0.05	-92.6	91.9	0.0025	0.042	-83.4

 
So not the best DAC, of course, but not terrible either.

 

[rwalkerphl]

Can anyone say perfection? Apollo X's and my Mojo neatly fitting in the box supplied by Jack - Freakin' Awesome!

 

[nmatheis]

Can anyone say perfection? Apollo X's and my Mojo neatly fitting in the box supplied by Jack - Freakin' Awesome!

 
You lucky duck!

 

[ezekiel77]

Certainly looks like they're in cahoots lol

 

[Cagin]

woah those are abalone 3 faceplates right !?!

 

[FlySweep]

I've had the Apollo-X for about a week now..and I continue to enjoy them immensely.  The soundstage is unique.. very expansive and enveloping at the same time.  I love how effortless and clean it sounds, as well.. it's almost planar like, in this regard.. but the X also possess very natural dynamics and wonderful texturing ability (which I think great dynamics (when ably driven) like the HD650 & HD800 excel at).  The X has a certain finesse that's very engaging.  It's also really nice to hear such resolved upper frequencies that aren't fraught with uneven tuning and artificially boosted freq. bands.  The tuning, to my ears, is closer to the olive-welti reference curve than it is the diffuse-field reference curve.

 

[tusing]

Does anyone else here use an equalizer? I've been messing around with an equalizer and I found that these mesh really freaking well with good EQ settings.
 
I asked Jack about this and he mentioned that it's because the drivers are unfiltered. That's pretty interesting!

 

[QBoQBo]

Can anyone say perfection? Apollo X's and my Mojo neatly fitting in the box supplied by Jack - Freakin' Awesome!

 



Please dial 1-800-888-#### to report CIEM cruelty.

 

[Malevolent]

Can anyone say perfection? Apollo X's and my Mojo neatly fitting in the box supplied by Jack - Freakin' Awesome!

 
They certainly look like they're made for each other. 

 Nice!
 
Btw, is the supplied box a Pelican case?

 

[Zenifyx]

   
They certainly look like they're made for each other. 

 Nice!
 
Btw, is the supplied box a Pelican case?

 
It's not.
It's made by s3cases.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/786335/empire-ears-wasnt-built-in-a-day/90#post_12062593

 

[Mimouille]

I have been listening to the Zeus again and switching tips as well as source.

The verdict on the tips is that medium spinfit are the best for me. These benefit greatly from deep insertion. Besides other tips with a wider mouth, like the Spiral Dots, have a muffling effect on sound for some reason. With the spinfit, the Zeus really sound their best.

The verdict on the source is more complicated. As I said before, I have been using the AK240SS because the Zeus hiss on my Lotoo. But I am starting to think I did the Zeus a disfavor in doing this, because the AK240SS is not such a good pairing and might belittle their qualities. So for the coming days I will use my Lotoo despite the hiss. Lotoo told me they will try to solve this with some gain options in coming firmware.

With the Lotoo, despite the hiss, the Zeus really comes alive more, and its qualities are much more obvious, crazy resolution, depth, separation, dynamics. I will listen more and hope that what I dislike in the mids coloration will also be less apparent.

 

[Malevolent]

   
It's not.
It's made by s3cases.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/786335/empire-ears-wasnt-built-in-a-day/90#post_12062593

 
I see, thanks! I must have missed this post.
 
The case looks pretty high grade. A little nice touch there.