4sound
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2008
- Posts
- 283
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- 10
Here are some pics of my portable rig. I've tried a variety of headphones, LODs and small amps to achieve something very portable with great quality sound over the last year. So far this is what I've come up with.
The Shadow has +400 hours and sounds better than any of my other portables. I still like my iBasso P3 Heron for opamp flexibility and its warm dynamic signature but it's big compared to the Shadow. My iBasso T4 pairs nicely in size with the Nano, sounds warm, but the sound is colored, isn't as dynamic and wide compared to the Shadow. However, the cost of the Shadow is also 3x. T4 is still a great small form factor amp for the price.
I made a clear sleeve for the Shadow to protect the case. I basically took a piece of hard wood, cut it to the dimensions of the Shadow and used clear heat shrink around the wood.
As far as phones go, my favorites right now for portable use are the Yuin G2a, RE0 and Klipsch X10.
RE0 have great detail and sound stage but when I'm on a plane with a lot of background noise, the X10 sound better to me. I think it's because the X10 insert deeper in the ear and have a little better isolation. X10 is a lot more bass heavy but for some music I like that vs the more refined qualities of the RE0.
G2a sound wider and capture really nice clarity across the spectrum. With the Shadow, I swear the G2a sound better than a lot of full size, more expensive phones. I can't think of a better headphone for under $50. G2a just doesn't work too well on the plane unless I'm cranking it to really high levels. At that point the clarity is lost fighting with plane noise.
The Whiplash Micro SCSCag LOD with Viablue IMO is the coolest LOD in the land. I have accumulated a bunch of LODs over the last year and even made a couple myself. The sound is enhanced/refined with the Whiplash Micro. I attribute the sound enhancement to either the Cryo SCSCag wire, Viablue 3.5mm or the combination of both. Bass is definitely not lost with this silver based wire. The size, build quality and styling is like nothing else out there.
Attachment 23504
Attachment 23505
Attachment 23506
The Shadow has +400 hours and sounds better than any of my other portables. I still like my iBasso P3 Heron for opamp flexibility and its warm dynamic signature but it's big compared to the Shadow. My iBasso T4 pairs nicely in size with the Nano, sounds warm, but the sound is colored, isn't as dynamic and wide compared to the Shadow. However, the cost of the Shadow is also 3x. T4 is still a great small form factor amp for the price.
I made a clear sleeve for the Shadow to protect the case. I basically took a piece of hard wood, cut it to the dimensions of the Shadow and used clear heat shrink around the wood.
As far as phones go, my favorites right now for portable use are the Yuin G2a, RE0 and Klipsch X10.
RE0 have great detail and sound stage but when I'm on a plane with a lot of background noise, the X10 sound better to me. I think it's because the X10 insert deeper in the ear and have a little better isolation. X10 is a lot more bass heavy but for some music I like that vs the more refined qualities of the RE0.
G2a sound wider and capture really nice clarity across the spectrum. With the Shadow, I swear the G2a sound better than a lot of full size, more expensive phones. I can't think of a better headphone for under $50. G2a just doesn't work too well on the plane unless I'm cranking it to really high levels. At that point the clarity is lost fighting with plane noise.
The Whiplash Micro SCSCag LOD with Viablue IMO is the coolest LOD in the land. I have accumulated a bunch of LODs over the last year and even made a couple myself. The sound is enhanced/refined with the Whiplash Micro. I attribute the sound enhancement to either the Cryo SCSCag wire, Viablue 3.5mm or the combination of both. Bass is definitely not lost with this silver based wire. The size, build quality and styling is like nothing else out there.
Attachment 23504
Attachment 23505
Attachment 23506
