[estreeter]

Quote:

80GB capacity with 10000 lossless songs? Each song is only around 8MB? That's some compression you've got there.

That seems to be the figure I get when I compress a WAV file to 128K mp3 for DBT.  Teenagers dont seem to mind 128K, but for the rest of us ...

 

[Sumpfkraut]

Quote:

What ever floats you down that river of bliss. Sometimes it is the wind in the trees. It's portable and free. All these electronickey things. I wonder if T Rex would have rocked out? :^)

I can't imagine myself listening to portable sources other than on summer camps or comparable occasions. I enjoy listening to nature and chatter in the tram way too much. Yet still, I want that to sound good, so I'm gonna get some reasonably good gear anyway. Nothing like what an experienced audiophile would call good, but something someone whose most advanced audio purchase was a 170€ 5.1 system would find good. And certainly that's not a great strain on one's budget...

 

[munkyballz]

Haha, great thread.  Surprised didn't discover this earlier.  Honestly, as anything thing, this certainly is a niche hobby with its unique pluses and minuses (and attitudes/opinions).

 

[gus6464]

I just got some PFE 112's and they sound damn good on my ipad 2 which is what I carry with me now everywhere I go. When I am on a plane/train it is all I need but when I am at a hotel I miss my DT770's. Only reason I want a portable amp is to listen to my Beyers while laying on a hotel bed. Other than that I can't really see the need for a portable amp and even then why would anyone want to listen to music with some HD650/DT770/880/990/701 or any other big cans while on a train or flight is beyond me.

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

I just got some PFE 112's and they sound damn good on my ipad 2 which is what I carry with me now everywhere I go. When I am on a plane/train it is all I need but when I am at a hotel I miss my DT770's. Only reason I want a portable amp is to listen to my Beyers while laying on a hotel bed. Other than that I can't really see the need for a portable amp and even then why would anyone want to listen to music with some HD650/DT770/880/990/701 or any other big cans while on a train or flight is beyond me.

Read ljokerl's epic thread on universal IEMs then come back and tell us if you can see why some folk might want a portable amp. Note that he is fundamentally opposed to the idea of carrying an amp for the sake of it, but read the entire thread. Note also that some of us are more intent on finding a 'transportable' rig such as the one you have described than on portable use - I can plug my a-Jays Three straight into my Nano for that.
 

 

[SH0RTBUS]

I'm just a goober. I enjoy gadgets, thingymajigs, thingymabobs, etc. An ipod by itself is just to simple for me. I almost bought the Ibasso DB2 and PB2 just because I like the way it would look with the fat balanced IC and big plugs. I am picky about the looks and feel of items I buy. I would pay more for an amp because of something like the inputs/outputs being in locations that are more aethetically pleasing to me, or more for a cable because I like its texture, size, color, etc.
 
I don't believe for a second that high dollar cables, LODs, or plugs sound any better than an inexpensive, good quality component. I work daily with high dollar (millions of dollars each) products. These items don't use fancy, high dollar wire, but they work exactly as they should.  I'm also not one who believes in things like cable burn-in, cable risers, or other special treatments for my wires. As long as they are quality copper they seem to work just fine for me. I want to be impressed with each product right out of the box. If it doesn't do this I am disappointed.  I do believe amps can improve the sound. My ipod alone is too quiet with my UE4 pros, with the Fiio E7 it is great.
 
These are just my thought as this is a new hobby for me. Like most everything I go into, I go in full speed and run out of gas and interest relatively quickly. I'm sure this will be no different.

 

[calipilot227]

You make some very good points. I've never been a fan of portable amps because of the added bulk. It's not that hard to find portable headphones or IEMs that are easy to drive.
 
I think the only part of my portable rig that will ever change is my IEMs, but that won't be for a while.
 
I am currently perfectly happy with my iPod Classic (or Sansa Clip+ if I'm traveling light), FiiO E5, and UE Triple.fi 10s. The ONLY reason that I even bother with the E5 is to boost the mids of my triple.fi's slightly (probably my only gripe about their sound signature), as the iPod's EQ only adds distortion. I would never carry around an amp that costs as much or more than my DAP.

 

[estreeter]

I've only ever taken one amp to work that elicited 'oohs' and 'aahs' - the iBasso T3 - and that was because the other cubicle captives couldnt believe that such a big sound could come out of something so small. Anything larger just didnt seem to register as 'cool' with the masses.
 
Personally, I would happily carry the XP-7 or even the HP-2 to a hotel room to get the sound I want.

 

[AVU]

I'm going to be doing a review of the balanced iBasso Toucan, iBasso T3D, the RSA Shadow, and the Headamp Pico Slim on my JH13s this week, if anyone's interested, but one thing I can say already in preliminary testing: there is a HUGE difference between what I can hear in the dead quiet of my apartment and what I can hear when I'm out walking around NYC, in the subway, etc.  Even with the great isolation of the JH13 customs, differences that seem pretty obvious between the three, and even amped vs unamped from my iphone4, pretty much vanish in real world usage.

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

I'm going to be doing a review of the balanced iBasso Toucan, iBasso T3D, the RSA Shadow, and the Headamp Pico Slim on my JH13s this week, if anyone's interested, but one thing I can say already in preliminary testing: there is a HUGE difference between what I can hear in the dead quiet of my apartment and what I can hear when I'm out walking around NYC, in the subway, etc.  Even with the great isolation of the JH13 customs, differences that seem pretty obvious between the three, and even amped vs unamped from my iphone4, pretty much vanish in real world usage.

Can someone point me to said review, please ? It must have come and gone from the first page of 'Portable Amps' very quickly - surprising given the number of people who wants comparisons with the Shadow and Pico Slim. 
 

 

[AVU]

hey, sorry - didn't do it yet.  Ordered a balanced TWcu from Craig at Whiplash cables, and after a few weeks, finally arrived - single ended!  So it had to be sent back, and I've been without a balanced cable to hear the toucan.  I could give impressions on the other three, but the Toucan is the one I'm really curious about, so I'm waiting waiting waiting on craig...

 

[estreeter]

OK - ta. I suspect that you are comparing apples with oranges, but I'm sure you have your reasons - I will look forward to it.
 
My E9 should be here by Thursday - plan to put together a brief comparison with my portables on the basis that we are constantly told that portables cant compete with entry-level home amps. Maybe mine cant - I guess I'll find out soon enough.

 

[WindowsX]

Yes it's silly. And now it's stupid talking about low powered balanced conversion with great deal of THD added.

 

[estreeter]

Who you calling 'stupid', fool ?
 
Mr T 

 

[WindowsX]

Oops sorry. I didn't meant to say anything to posts in this thread. It's just I got fed up with balanced hype for poor conversion from single-ended.