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Originally Posted by davidhunternyc /img/forum/go_quote.gif
^^^ Are you saying you prefer the SE530's straight from the headphone out in the iPod Classic? You prefer this set-up to using the iPod with the iQube? Well, it certainly would save a lot of money and space to not buy an iQube. But this is the first time I heard such a thing. From what I've heard, the iPod Classic's amplifier is mediocre at best. I would love it if you could elaborate about the sound quality with the iQube and without the iQube.
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Yes, for now, with only a couple of albums under my belt with the Classic/Shure combo, sans i-Qube. One thing to remember is that IEMs are easy to drive. The i-Qube may be essential for driving standard, over-the-ear headphones like the Sennheiser 650s, given the relatively high impedance of the iPod headphone amp circuits and the considerably lower sensitivity of the Sennheisers. They're much higher in impedance than the IEMs, but I haven't seen a graph of their impedance by frequency.
Since these iPods sound so different from each other, a blanket recommendation may not be in the offing. I will be listening to the Classic/Shure combo at some length over the next three days while on vacation. When I've come to a more certain opinion based on many albums of various types, I'll report back. I feel guilty about launching into an extensive review of the i-Qube before testing it with various combinations, but I stand behind what I wrote because I mentioned I was using an iPod Touch. A professional reviewer, which I'm not, would probably have forewarned readers to keep that in mind. I've certainly learned my lesson about overly simple test situations. I'm not used to such wide variation in sources and amps from past experience with home system gear. Usually the differences are more subtle than the differences between the Touch and the Classic. And to be even more careful, remember I'm talking about the 16GB Touch and the 160GB Classic that's labeled the 6th generation. I've also read that Apple has issued some software upgrades in recent times aimed at, among other things, fixing the sound of some of the iPods. I don't recall which were involved. My quick estimation that the Classic sounds warm on the Shures is based on two albums I listened to last night with which I am very familiar. This is admittedly a limited comparison, but not naive, and I usually find that first reactions are true, although not always well understood as to their cause. Don't be dismayed. The audio journey has its ups and downs, as with life in general. Whatever you do, you shouldn't rely on any one user/reviewer. I didn't, when I purchased both the Shure and UE IEMs. I did the unusual thing by purchasing the Shures after the UEs, having read another set of reviews by an apparently knowledgeable source. I wish I'd bought the Shures first, but that's for now. Who knows? In the future I may be glad to have the UEs.
By the way, there's a store on ebay selling the Shure SE530s for $279. The model with the by-pass switch/microphone is a little more. That's cheaper than I paid for the UE Triple.fi 10 pros.
Happy Hunting,
Curt Raney