[Tacanacy]

I asked iFi customer support in September about which output impedance was correct, and they told me 1.5 ohms.

 

[PureViewer4t1]

I have had this little buddy for about 3-4 months and I couldn't find a use for it because I had everything I needed. BUT I just found it useful. I have an HTC U11 which doesn't have a 3.5mm headphone jack, but comes with a USB type-C to 3.5mm jack adapter. I don't know if it's a DAC/Amp or merely an amplifier (somebody tell me please). EDIT: It's a DAC/Amp; a good one actually (for its size).

At first I used my iFi Nano iDSD (the old silver version) with iFi's OTG cable to listen to music via FiiO EX1 2nd Gen, but it had its own hassles: The silver Nano iDSD doesn't have a USB type-A male like its Black Label version, so you can't connect it directly to the OTG cable and you need to use its stock blue cable which is long in portable standards. Add the strange look of people and their questions (which I have answered ten thousand times with the same wordage) and so I preferred to use HTC's adapter instead. But I had to lower the digital volume of my phone because at its fullest, it pierced my ears with EX1.
Then today I thought, what if I add EarBuddy and leave the phone volume at the maximum? I did, and the final result was exactly what I wanted: The volume is exactly what I usually use, and I did a quick test and it seemed that the sound is more "live" this way.

The downsides? It still cannot surpass the quality of Nano iDSD (but it's close) and in-line remotes don't work anymore.

 

[iFi audio]

I asked iFi customer support in September about which output impedance was correct, and they told me 1.5 ohms.

The 1.5 ohms was a misprint. It should read 2.7 ohms (max).

 

[iFi audio]

.
Then today I thought, what if I add EarBuddy and leave the phone volume at the maximum?

Exactly. Your smartphone's vol should be set to maximum in order to not decrease sound quality.

 

[terrav]

Anyone tried both Earbuddy and IEMatch with Andromeda? I'm using IEmatch for my DX200/Andromeda and still want brighter sound but i'm not sure about the difference from 2.5ohm (iematch) and 2.7ohm (earbuddy)

 

[BrotherKathos]

I just got my ear buddy today. It works like a charm. I can now listen to my massdrop/ nuforce edc3 iems with an actual usable volume range with my d1 dac. The sound signature is not altered at all as far as I can tell, but when I briefly used the ear buddy with my iphone’s internal hp output i could swear it sounded a bit better when i got it turned up past 65-70%. Normally i could only listen to them at 30% volume. I’m very happy with this little gadget.

It does what it advertised, is a small form factor not much bigger than the apple lightning to hp dongle, and is priced well. Thanks to ifi for putting this out in the market! Now I’ll continue my enjoyment.

 

[iFi audio]

I just got my ear buddy today. It works like a charm. I can now listen to my massdrop/ nuforce edc3 iems with an actual usable volume range with my d1 dac. The sound signature is not altered at all as far as I can tell, but when I briefly used the ear buddy with my iphone’s internal hp output i could swear it sounded a bit better when i got it turned up past 65-70%. Normally i could only listen to them at 30% volume. I’m very happy with this little gadget.

It does what it advertised, is a small form factor not much bigger than the apple lightning to hp dongle, and is priced well. Thanks to ifi for putting this out in the market! Now I’ll continue my enjoyment.

Sure thing, thanks for your feedback!

 

[H20Fidelity]

I purchased an Earbuddy to use with an Aune T1SE that has 10ohm output impedance.

I don't know the exact impedance of my Tralucent 1Plus2.2 IEM but 10ohm would definitely be too high.

The improvement adding Earbuddy was extremely positive. It added refinement, treble/bass control, coherency and a darker background while the sound signature remained completely intake.

I've also tired Earbuddy with iBasso DX90 and had a very positive result. If you have low impedance IEMs within the x8 rule @ 2.7ohm (Earbuddy output impedance) I highly recommend it.

Now I'm really tempted to try IEMatch out of curiosity seeing it has different settings.

 

[avitron142]

I purchased an Earbuddy to use with an Aune T1SE that has 10ohm output impedance.

I don't know the exact impedance of my Tralucent 1Plus2.2 IEM but 10ohm would definitely be too high.

The improvement adding Earbuddy was extremely positive. It added refinement, treble/bass control, coherency and a darker background while the sound signature remained completely intake.

I've also tired Earbuddy with iBasso DX90 and had a very positive result. If you have low impedance IEMs within the x8 rule @ 2.7ohm (Earbuddy output impedance) I highly recommend it.

Now I'm really tempted to try IEMatch out of curiosity seeing it has different settings.

Hey H2O! It's been a few years.

I have the IEMatch, and my experience with it has been alright. I will say that I do think it changes the bass on the 6XX paired with the Elemental Watson II (which unfortunately is hiss prone when there's lots of electronics, such as at the office). It's good, very good, but when I first tried the Watson with the cans at home I was dumbstruck. Taking it outside the office and trying without the IEMatch again leaves my jaw open once again. With the IEMatch... It's good. But not nearly as powerful - I sold off the rest of my collection just to be with this pairing. I don't get that when the IEMatch is in the middle.

That said, the whole thing can be placebo since I haven't A/B'ed it, just an anecdotal opinion. I haven't really analyzed the differences between high and ultra, but usually keep it on Ultra anyway. And besides, I don't know if the Match was meant for full sized cans in the first place.

Another option would be to get the Pinnacle P1 or another higher ohm IEM. Hiss? None. Pair one with some chi-fi Bluetooth MMCX cable and you're set for portable, zero background noise.

 

[H20Fidelity]

Hey H2O! It's been a few years.

I have the IEMatch, and my experience with it has been alright. I will say that I do think it changes the bass on the 6XX paired with the Elemental Watson II (which unfortunately is hiss prone when there's lots of electronics, such as at the office). It's good, very good, but when I first tried the Watson with the cans at home I was dumbstruck. Taking it outside the office and trying without the IEMatch again leaves my jaw open once again. With the IEMatch... It's good. But not nearly as powerful - I sold off the rest of my collection just to be with this pairing. I don't get that when the IEMatch is in the middle.

That said, the whole thing can be placebo since I haven't A/B'ed it, just an anecdotal opinion. I haven't really analyzed the differences between high and ultra, but usually keep it on Ultra anyway. And besides, I don't know if the Match was meant for full sized cans in the first place.

Another option would be to get the Pinnacle P1 or another higher ohm IEM. Hiss? None. Pair one with some chi-fi Bluetooth MMCX cable and you're set for portable, zero background noise.

Hi mate, yes I've taken a long break.

The main reason I needed Earbuddy was that the output impedance on Aune T1SE was far too high for my IEMs, there was some hiss as well and sensitive volume control. Its been great for my situation turns a sensitive/edgy IEM with many sources into a more robust product. I can't hear degradation in sound apart from a welcomed smoothness that's only slight.

The way I see it is I could spend tons of money finding a source that makes 1Plus2.2 sound this way but Earbuddy has saved me that money using an existing source, the winner here for me is lowering the output impedance.

 

[iFi audio]

The way I see it is I could spend tons of money finding a source that makes 1Plus2.2 sound this way but Earbuddy has saved me that money using an existing source, the winner here for me is lowering the output impedance.

Yup, that's what it does! Lovely compact setup you have btw.

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

I've been interested in the IEMatch for a long time, but a deal for the EarBuddy just came up near me... What's the difference? I do have some amp typically cause hissing when paired with 32ohm headphones, will this help?

 

[H20Fidelity]

I've been interested in the IEMatch for a long time, but a deal for the EarBuddy just came up near me... What's the difference? I do have some amp typically cause hissing when paired with 32ohm headphones, will this help?

They serve the same purpose. The main difference is IEMatch has two sound reduction settings but really, the setting with the lowest output impedance reduced the sound too much for me, even with low impedance IEMs, the other setting is more suited. Earbuddy will accomplish exactly the same thing with the lower build quality and only one locked setting that's a middle ground of IEMatch (between both). Its a good product smoothes the sound over slightly which is great for brittle sounding balanced armatures and it does what's advertised, reduces hiss, replaced bits from digital volume controls and reduces the overall volume for powerful amps / low impedance IEMs.

Give it a try, it will remove the hiss.

 

[iFi audio]

Give it a try, it will remove the hiss.

Yup, that's what it's meant to do.

 

[bachankas]

How does EarBuddy perform agaisnt Dunu adapters and UE Buffer Jack?
I am looking to reduce hiss I hear using iBasso DX50 with Fiio FA1. In the future I may consider an upgrade to CA Andromeda which are great but hiss painfully with many sources.

How do these adapter work? I can just add EB impedance to FA1's impedance and assume that this is the impedance of new "headphones"?