[jmills8]

Dude... I ordered on Amazon.jp the XB90EX and I was thinking about getting the ASG 2.5 from a local store today. Should I hold back on the ASG and wait for the SONY to come first? 

get both, I have the 90ex, 2.5, Harmony and Z5 each has their unique sound and bass.

 

[dauhak]

Any iem with as much sub bass quantity as zero audio carbo basso and overall sound quality as good as duoza.
No budget constraints.

My duoza has less sub bass rumble.

Thank you.

 

[jmills8]

Any iem with as much sub bass quantity as zero audio carbo basso and overall sound quality as good as duoza.
No budget constraints.

My duoza has less sub bass rumble.

Thank you.

Sony 90EX, Aurisonics 2.5,Forte, Harmony, RD3.

 

[eR1k]

Considering:

ASG G2.5
Sony X90 (bass kings)
Tralucent Ref 1 (had and loved)

Have considered several other TOTL IEMS
Roxannes
Lear 4.2b custom (only considering these in custom due to universal sounding so poor)

 
I want to shime in and give you my (subjective) impressions on (custom) JH Audio Roxanne versus the Sony XB90EX from a 'basshead' perspective. I primarily listen to very bass heavy music and movie/game soundtracks.
 
For full enclosure, my setup is as follows: PC -> Asus Xonar Essence One (Toslink) -> JDS C5 -> IEM.
- I use the XB90EX I use with high gain on the C5 amp, and maximum bass boost.
- I use the custom Roxanne with the bass dial on maximum (blasphemous to some , low gain on the amp because there is some background noise present on high gain, and maximum bass boost. The Roxanne do not distort when using the bass boost on the amp.
 
In terms of bass the Roxannes actually produce an acceptable quantity of (sub)bass, it has very good low end extension. However, when comparing them directly to the XB90 in terms of bass impact, the Roxannes are not on the same level. I think that is caused by the fact that BA's physically don't move any air, whereas the large dynamic driver in the XB90 moves a whole lot of air. The bass on the Roxanne is very good soundwise, but it is no where near as visceral as the bass from the XB90.
 
In practice, this means that I prefer to use the XB90 for bass heavy music and the Roxanne's for soundtracks. When you use the XB90 with bass boost turned off, it's actually quite remarkable how close the XB90's are in terms of clarity when compared to the Roxanne's: instruments sound very lifelike. In the end, I prefer to use the Roxanne for listening to soundtracks, because instruments sound even a tad more lifelike and the imaging is exceptional.
However, taking into account the huge price gap between these two IEM's the XB90 are a no-brainer; the XB90s are versatile and fantastic for bass heavy music and other types of instrumental music alike. If you have the money to buy custom IEMs, spend a bit more and buy the XB90 as well.

 

[BMan18]

Newby here. I've got the XB90EX for almost half a year now. Quite happy with them, but I think (know) that they can do so much more when driven with an amp instead of my Xperia Z1C.
 
So what basic portable amp would you recommend to drive these beauties icw the Z1C? Something around the € 100,- mark to start with. Not looking for (even) more bass, but I would like to improve SQ.

 

[jmills8]

Newby here. I've got the XB90EX for almost half a year now. Quite happy with them, but I think (know) that they can do so much more when driven with an amp instead of my Xperia Z1C.

So what basic portable amp would you recommend to drive these beauties icw the Z1C? Something around the € 100,- mark to start with. Not looking for (even) more bass, but I would like to improve SQ.

read up its been asked many times.

 

[flashmp3]

Sometime eqing is enough to improve Sq when the earphones lack of highs for example... Increasing the 8k,10k,12k,14h can give that feeling. Try that first. Then as the xb90 are not that needy I don't think an amp would give you so much improvement. Maybe you should look more at Dac/Amp combo... Have a look at fiio products for example

But I insist on equalizer first if you listen to music with flat eq...

 

[BMan18]

read up its been asked many times.

 
I did that already. But I was wondering if some XB90 users had some better than expected results with some specific amps or app/dac's. I can imagine that some amps complement these IEM's better than others.
 

Sometime eqing is enough to improve Sq when the earphones lack of highs for example... Increasing the 8k,10k,12k,14h can give that feeling. Try that first. Then as the xb90 are not that needy I don't think an amp would give you so much improvement. Maybe you should look more at Dac/Amp combo... Have a look at fiio products for example

But I insist on equalizer first if you listen to music with flat eq...

 
Thxs flashmp3. I'll try that some more. But I'm still interested in experiences from other xb90 users with their amps or amp/dac's. 

 

[jmills8]

I did that already. But I was wondering if some XB90 users had some better than expected results with some specific amps or app/dac's. I can imagine that some amps complement these IEM's better than others.


Thxs flashmp3. I'll try that some more. But I'm still interested in experiences from other xb90 users with their amps or amp/dac's. 

Arrow amp

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

  Newby here. I've got the XB90EX for almost half a year now. Quite happy with them, but I think (know) that they can do so much more when driven with an amp instead of my Xperia Z1C.
 
So what basic portable amp would you recommend to drive these beauties icw the Z1C? Something around the € 100,- mark to start with. Not looking for (even) more bass, but I would like to improve SQ.

 
I find the iDSD to be the one that really opened my eyes to the potential.
 
Wrap your head around the guy above talking about the Roxxanes which are very fine and very expensive. He/She is not noting a drastic decline in enjoyment from a set 1/10th the cost.
 
Consider that.
 
Seriously.
 
The stage is huge. It picks up lots of detail when fed off a good amp/dac. These were used sometimes before the iDSD nano and always after.
The power of the iDSD is not like a C5 or remotely near the iDSD micro but it is enough to get pretty loud....and very clear.
It's a personal choice but this one hit it for me.
 
True story:
I never noticed that I had been rocking them off my best setup until I posted a pic and realized....hey that's the xb90ex in the pic.......until that realization I had just been rolling along listening to my best files of some hard to resolve guitar both fast (rock) and slow (acoustic 70's stuff)
 
 
For the money it's a no brainer. It will hammer and it can sing.

 

[jmills8]

I find the iDSD to be the one that really opened my eyes to the potential.

Wrap your head around the guy above talking about the Roxxanes which are very fine and very expensive. He/She is not noting a drastic decline in enjoyment from a set 1/10th the cost.

Consider that.

Seriously.

The stage is huge. It picks up lots of detail when fed off a good amp/dac. These were used sometimes before the iDSD nano and always after.
The power of the iDSD is not like a C5 or remotely near the iDSD micro but it is enough to get pretty loud....and very clear.
It's a personal choice but this one hit it for me.

True story:
I never noticed that I had been rocking them off my best setup until I posted a pic and realized....hey that's the xb90ex in the pic.......until that realization I had just been rolling along listening to my best files of some hard to resolve guitar both fast (rock) and slow (acoustic 70's stuff)


For the money it's a no brainer. It will hammer and it can sing.

hows the bass on the IFI compared to the Arrow?

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

hows the bass on the IFI compared to the Arrow?

 My experience with the Arrow was not great.  Any bass enhancing with the iDSD nano would be via EQ/V4A
 
I owned them both and only own one of them now. Though I did buy the iCAN nano to stack at home and the iDSD micro for insanity bass in IEM and Over ear.
The iDSD nano with V4A is good enough and clear as a bell from 20Hz to 16Khz (my hearing range)
 
 
So there is none...you gotta make it with EQ,V4A

 

[BMan18]

Both the Arrow and iDSD are a bit above budget at the moment. Just looking for a "simple" amp/dac around the €100,- / $100,- to get my feet wet.....
Thinking of the FiiO Q1, SB E3, iBasso D-Zero Mk2, AQ DragonFly, etc.

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

  Both the Arrow and iDSD are a bit above budget at the moment. Just looking for a "simple" amp/dac around the €100,- / $100,- to get my feet wet.....
Thinking of the FiiO Q1, SB E3, iBasso D-Zero Mk2, AQ DragonFly, etc.

 
Some folks say the e18 has some noise
 
Of course some folks are addicted to crack rocks too.....so there's that

 

 

[warrior1975]

I should have never sold my e18. First portable amp I owned, did research here after I purchased it. Read the reviews how it was only a decent amp at best, ALO and RHA were so much better. I loved my Intruder, but I do recall thinking it didn't sound that much better, if better at all than my Fiio... Plus no bass boost. Lesson learned. Never buy an amp without boost again. Take head-fi reviews with a grain of salt.