[precisionmike]

Hello All,
 
I am currently using a Iphone 6 with Itunes, lossless music.  I have a pair of Noble K10s.  The set up sounds good, but Iam looking to see what else is out there.  A while back I had a Fiio X5 with their E11? amp.  Overall, I felt the Iphone was a bit warmer, without giving up too much detail.
 
Also, other than EQ functions, is there any SQ difference in the program I use?  I have used the Kaisertone app, but didn't notice any difference vs the apple music app.
 
Are there any other phones that are better sounding than the Iphone?  Or are there any new DAC/Amps that would compliment the Iphone?
 
TIA, Mike

 

[RPB65]

Jump over to the Chord Mojo thread and get settled in for a very long read! lol
My simple set up is in my signature below. Mojo > iPhone 6S+ > Noble Encore U's

 

[Ruben123]

  Jump over to the Chord Mojo thread and get settled in for a very long read! lol
My simple set up is in my signature below. Mojo > iPhone 6S+ > Noble Encore U's

Or dont... for in-ears the iPhone is perfectly capable and has plenty of output.
 
I'd try another (free?) music player and EQ your earphones a bit to your likings.

 

[nmatheis]

I haven't found that iPhone can outperform mid-tier or higher DAPs or DAC/AMPs in my collection. Of course, YMMV...

 

[mrazik]

What player are you have on Phone? I got noticeable improvement with Kaisertone or Hiby Music.

 

[nmatheis]

What player are you have on Phone? I got noticeable improvement with Kaisertone or Hiby Music.

Haven't tried Hiby on iPhone but have used KaiserTone. It's interesting, but I'm not sold on it. It does a lot of processing that I feel tries too hard to make the music sound detailed. Kind of like when a photo is oversharpened. Just the feeling I get from listening to it. Doesn't mean others won't enjoy it.

I actually liked using the CanOpener app on my iPhone. Not the EQ but rather the crossed settings. I felt they were very well implemented.

I've moved on from iPhone to OnePlus 3. It doesn't sound as good as my old iPhone, but I like the overall experience better.

 

[headfry]

I love Kaisertone, together with Mojo, AQ Jitterbug and iPhone 6s+ using USB3 CCK (newer, larger
camera connector kit, which I recommend over the smaller original - more reliable).
I don't do any extra upsampling
in Kaisertone, just use it to play iTunes and hires files to Mojo at their native resolution.
 
The Mojo is a huge step up in SQ from the iPhone's headphone jack - I would definitely recommend auditioning it(!)
Kaisertone's eq works extremely well and I use it to subtly tweak my Grado's sound.
Kaisertone is frequently updated and well supported,
and I love its sq, feaures and stability.
 
I don't use IEM's but my on and over-ear Grado's are extremely resolving (325e and GS1000i)
 
Without a good upgraded DAC such as Mojo, Kaisertone wouldn't give any significant
upgrade on its own to your iPhone in my opinion. With Mojo, I would say Kaisertone's quality and features
are about as good to my ears as Audirvana Plus 3 on the Mac - A+3's SQ is almost universally raved over.
 
A possible annoyance is that any moving of the gear can cause pausing of playback
or loss of communication, sometimes requiring measures such as restarting the track
or possibly rebooting the DAC. If using at home and the equipment is stable - such as 
in my case - non-issue. Also, Chord's cable accessory pack is worth investigating and 
is supposed to fix the issue as well.