[audiocookie]

I agree completely. I'm quite content with my FiiO cables.

Same. I have the l9 lod that works perfectly. I can understand that there's an upgrade from my 10 dollar lod (if any, however, it's going to be so barely noticeable I don't see how it's justified), but the upgrade shouldn't cost 30 times as much. For the materials involved in making that couple inches of cord, there's no way, at least I can imagine, that the best materials and craftsmanship, etc, would run over maybe 50 bucks.

 

[audiocookie]

But maybe I just don't have a hardcore enough audiophile mindset.

 

[audiocookie]

But maybe I just don't have a hardcore enough audiophile mindset.

 

[Hi Rez]

I'm just curious if true audiophiles hear a huge difference between their equipment and say a good 500 dollar rig?

Yes.  At home I don't have a high end headphone rig, however I do have a high end speaker system.  The difference between 320 Kbps and 16/44 (CD quality) on an audiophile rig is very apparent.  
 
I personally can't consistently tell the difference between 320 and 16/44 on my iPhone 4s > Pico > ES5.  Maybe the iPhone 4s just isn't resolving enough.  And this rig is well beyond the figure you quote above.  I haven't tried testing my "hearing" since adding a Solo -dB to my portable system, probably should, but maybe it just makes the 320 and 16/44 sources both sound better and I still won't be able to tell them apart!
 
Quote:

As I said the difference is subtle or perhaps another way of saying it is 'minimal'...

Completely agree that on most portable systems, the difference will be subtle.  Subtly enhanced details.  Definitely not huge differences.  At a big cost in file sizes.
 
 
Quote:

Thanks and yea I have that turned off. And I'm pretty sure it stayed lossless because 3 CDs chewed up over 1 gigabyte of my space, and as far as my ears can tell, I don't notice any discernible difference from that to 320 Kbps.

Over 1 GB seems a bit much for 3 CDs.  How are you ripping your CDs?  With iTunes, Apple Lossless will give you the best compression rate for lossless storage.

 

[Hi Rez]

Quote:

Over 1 GB seems a bit much for 3 CDs.  How are you ripping your CDs?  With iTunes, Apple Lossless will give you the best compression rate for lossless storage.

Ignore.  I just reread your first post....

 

[audiocookie]

When you say "cd quality", what do you mean? When I transfer CDs, they always come out to be 128 Kbps or at max 256 Kbps, unless I specify apple lossless, which is 16 bit and around 1000 Kbps. Thanks for the clarification on the speaker system. I have a Sony speaker system that sounds pretty nice. I was wondering if I could use my fiio e11 amp with it. Like if I had my receiver set to receive tv audio while playing Xbox, could I put my e11 on the output of the receiver and hook my headphones to it to amplify my Xbox noise? Thanks

 

[audiocookie]

Yes.  At home I don't have a high end headphone rig, however I do have a high end speaker system.  The difference between 320 Kbps and 16/44 (CD quality) on an audiophile rig is very apparent.  

I personally can't consistently tell the difference between 320 and 16/44 on my iPhone 4s > Pico > ES5.  Maybe the iPhone 4s just isn't resolving enough.  And this rig is well beyond the figure you quote above.  I haven't tried testing my "hearing" since adding a Solo -dB to my portable system, probably should, but maybe it just makes the 320 and 16/44 sources both sound better and I still won't be able to tell them apart!

I just tried out 2 of the same song (creed-higher) on my Sony surround system (5 speakers, 1 sub) one in 256 Kbps, the other in lossless, and the difference is MUCH more apparent than on headphones. And I have good headphones, but I guess they are different. Thanks. I've never tried it on my speakers before, I always thought if I was gonna hear a difference, it would be on my sennheisers:/

 

[ROBSCIX]

CD quality means 16/44.1 or a lossless copy equivalent.
If you transfer a CD and it is 128 up to 256, that is just lossy encoding.  If you want the best sound quality possible, lossless is the way to go.
So go with the Apple lossless or flac..etc. Avoid Mp3 or other lossy encoding methods.

 

[Hi Rez]

Quote:

When you say "cd quality", what do you mean? 

Songs on CDs are stored at 16 bit resolution with a 44.1 Khz sample rate - thus the 16/44 abbreviation.  Apple Lossless is just a compressed version of the same - but bit perfect to the original CD.  When your iDevice plays the lossless file, it is decoded and played at the same resolution as the original CD - 16/44.1.  So cd quality, Apple Lossless, and 16/44 all mean the same.
 
 
Quote:

Thanks for the clarification on the speaker system. I have a Sony speaker system that sounds pretty nice. I was wondering if I could use my fiio e11 amp with it. Like if I had my receiver set to receive tv audio while playing Xbox, could I put my e11 on the output of the receiver and hook my headphones to it to amplify my Xbox noise? Thanks

If your receiver has a RCA line outs, you could get a RCA > mini cable that would let you use your fiio e11.  

 

[Ic3M0nk3y]

Sometimes i just wish that the standard format used by the masses was around 500kbps instead of 256/320. That would make things so much more simple :L. 

 

[Hi Rez]

Quote:

Sometimes i just wish that the standard format used by the masses was around 500kbps instead of 256/320. That would make things so much more simple :L. 

But then how would audiophiles differentiate themselves from the masses?  

 

[audiocookie]

Sometimes i just wish that the standard format used by the masses was around 500kbps instead of 256/320. That would make things so much more simple :L. 

Most people couldn't tell the difference between 320 and 500. I don't think I could. It's the jump from 320 to 1000+ that I notice, and its only on my speaker system.

 

[audiocookie]

If your receiver has a RCA line outs, you could get a RCA > mini cable that would let you use your fiio e11.  

 

[audiocookie]

That's the front of my receiver. A headphone jack (3.5) and an audio in jack ,also 3.5. A picture of the back:

 

[Hi Rez]

Quote:

I just tried out 2 of the same song (creed-higher) on my Sony surround system (5 speakers, 1 sub) one in 256 Kbps, the other in lossless, and the difference is MUCH more apparent than on headphones. And I have good headphones, but I guess they are different. Thanks. I've never tried it on my speakers before, I always thought if I was gonna hear a difference, it would be on my sennheisers:/

I would think your headphones would be good enough to hear the difference, but your ipod / LOD / e11 may not be.   Welcome to to the club and a soon to be very expensive hobby!