Hi i'm a new postee to the Forum, not an audiophile but know what I want to achieve from my current portable rig and would greatly appreciate guidance from those in the know on how to achieve it.
My portable set-up is normally Ipod Touch 3g 64gb driving either UM2 or MTPC from the headphone out. I find the UM2 work very well at lower volumes but the MTPC require me to crank up the volume far more and I sometimes resort to using a Fiio5 with Fiio LOD to achieve the extra volume, I really don't notice any major enhancement in sound quality/modification.
I've never been happy with the EQ settings on the iTouch as I find them very artificial and usually use either Off, Acoustic or Treble Booster. I don't find any one of them to do the ideal job all of the time but then my music tastes vary a lot between Classic/Heavy Rock, Acoustic, Female/Male Vocal, Pop, Country... you name it.
What i'm looking for is not a miracle cure but the possibility of being able to enhance/control the sound quality in a more natural manner than Apple's efforts and have been looking into the 'higher quality' portable amp (upwards of the Fiio5) route of equalisation, having the Ibasso T3/T3D or NuForce Icon Mobile in mind for the similar price range in the UK.
Shigzeo's comments in this thread indicate that the Ibasso T3/T3D would drive the UM2 (balanced armature) better and would not really be beneficial to the MTPC (dynamic), this intrigues me as I find that the UM2 appear easier to drive at lower volumes than the MTPC, maybe i'm misunderstanding what Shigzeo is explaining.
Anyway, I would very much value your opinions on whether a portable amp of this type would:-
1. Provide me with the ability to beneficially equalize my sound (to some degree, as I appreciate that it's not an EQ device) using a LOD
2. What limitations an amp would impose on sound modification (from what I understand the Ibasso facilitates gain control but doesn't this simply allow control of the bass but nothing else)
3. If I went down the Ibasso route, what are benefits/limitations between the T3 and T3D (is it just that the digital volume control on the T3D allows less control over the volume as it works in predefined increments
Sorry the post has been long guys but I really value your opionions. Many thanks in advance.