[mobbaddict]

Smells good

 

[schneller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pi3guy /img/forum/go_quote.gif hey guys, former owner here. Going to be my b-day soon and thinking about rebuying pfes. A couple questions: 1. Is the newest revision v1? Does anyone know if v2 exists or is coming out soon? 2. Does audeoworld stock the newest revision? 3. Want to kept the mids and highs of the pfes grey filter with some more bass quantity, but same quality. Is the mini3 or the ibasso t4 best for the job? Or am I forever stuck wishing for the um3x, which I can't currently afford(and I would be hesitant to take them outside)?

1) Newest is v1.
2) Most certainly.
3) Not he best one to ask.

 

[Bullseye]

Hmm DFKT, smells like INTERESTING (don't know how that smells, though)

 

[tstarn06]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dfkt /img/forum/go_quote.gif Damn you and your good memory! I have to check back what I'm allowed to tell, and I'm doing a short writeup soon. BTW, just to make clear - I never said anything about an IEM prototype back then, and they indeed didn't send me an IEM... You just mentioned two examples of the worst EQs available - both Sansa and Winamp are major suckage when it comes to EQing. No wonder you don't like them. Good thing there are ways around that. For the v1 Fuze there's Rockbox, which has arguably the best phase-aligned parametric EQ you can find on portable players, and for Winamp you can use any professional VST studio-quality EQ plugin you want. I recommend Winamp VST Bridge with the free Kjaerhus EQ. A portable amp won't do anything overly noticeable for the PFE in my experience. It might be a waste of money.

Wow, that's pretty strong. I found both the MiniboxE+ and the IBasso T4 to be very good additions to the PFEs, and in fact felt the PFEs were appreciably better with a portable amp. I just didn't want to carry and amp, so I sold the PFEs. I would have liked to hear the PFEs with the Sony X Clear VBass EQ, which in my view is very good for an onboard EQ.

 

[mobbaddict]

I didn't hear any improvement with a Headsix out of a CDP or of a LOD. Do you need stellar sources to make an amp sound right?

 

[tstarn06]

Not sure, but I remember back when I got the PFEs that they improved much with the Minibox with bass boost (and later with the T4), and that was with a high-quality LOD and the Touch (which I also sold). I don't think I was alone in finding the PFEs responding to an amp, but I have lost touch with the entire PFE thread. I know I am not crazy, though.

 

[dfkt]

The bass boost of the MBE+ is pretty bad, IMO - very muddy and uncontrolled, totally out of phase. It's certainly not a reason to get an amp - but actually would be reason to get a decent MP3 player with a good phase-linear bass booster, like a Cowon with BBE Mach3Bass (which beats pretty much every other mobile bass booster available, quality-wise).

 

[schneller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dfkt /img/forum/go_quote.gif The bass boost of the MBE+ is pretty bad, IMO - very muddy and uncontrolled, totally out of phase. It's certainly not a reason to get an amp - but actually would be reason to get a decent MP3 player with a good phase-linear bass booster, like a Cowon with BBE Mach3Bass (which beats pretty much every other mobile bass booster available, quality-wise).

Any comments on the Cowon iAudio9?

 

[tstarn06]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dfkt /img/forum/go_quote.gif The bass boost of the MBE+ is pretty bad, IMO - very muddy and uncontrolled, totally out of phase. It's certainly not a reason to get an amp - but actually would be reason to get a decent MP3 player with a good phase-linear bass booster, like a Cowon with BBE Mach3Bass (which beats pretty much every other mobile bass booster available, quality-wise).

Well, it's been awhile, but I don't remember that at all when I had the PFEs hooked up to the MBE+/Touch via LOD. And same for the T4, I remember it actually bringing the PFEs more to life, especially the bass. Whatever. Makes little difference to me since I no longer have any of that gear on hand. But in the early days of the PFE, I distinctly remember several owners saying they improved via amping. I don't feel like digging back in the threads to find it. I think GreatDane was one of those folks (he turned me on to the T4, since the MBE+ was too bulky to carry).

Also, I wasn't suggesting anyone get that amp, or any specific amp, and I don't disagree that maybe using a very good EQ (S9, which I had, or the Sony X, which I have) would eliminate the necessity for an amp, but I do believe that it's not accurate to say no one found amping the PFEs a worthwhile endeavor. I actually wish I had the Sony X for the PFEs back then, but I didn't (it didn't exist, nor did the S9), so I sometimes used an amp and found it had a positive impact on the PFEs.

 

[dfkt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by schneller /img/forum/go_quote.gif Any comments on the Cowon iAudio9?

It's exactly the same as the S9, with the same newest-gen BBE ViVA enhancements. I like the stock BBE M3B preset on the S9/i9 very much with the PFEs. Leaves everything as-is, just adds the desired quality low-end boost.

Tstarn06 - I didn't want to put words in your mouth, I was just talking in general. Also, neither did I say what you implied, or read between the lines from my sentences...

 

[tstarn06]

Then I guess I am not sure what you are saying. You did say the PFEs don't benefit from an amp ("it might be a waste of money"), and you said the MiniboxE+ bass boost basically sucked (to your ears). Sounds pretty specific to me. Be that as it may, no problem. I don't own the PFEs any more, but I still believe using an amp can improve their sound if anyone cares.

 

[mobbaddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tstarn06 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not sure, but I remember back when I got the PFEs that they improved much with the Minibox with bass boost (and later with the T4), and that was with a high-quality LOD and the Touch (which I also sold). I don't think I was alone in finding the PFEs responding to an amp, but I have lost touch with the entire PFE thread. I know I am not crazy, though.

Well i remember as well that many people here have recommended pairing the PFEs with several amps such as the T4 or even the E5, so yeah you're not crazy

Actually i'm glad to see i'm not the only one who found no or little improvement while amping the PFEs.
However i think you need to specify if the PFEs only benefit from the bass boost or also from the extra power of the amp. To me they didn't benefit from the power of the Headsix but of course they did benefit from the E5 bass boost (well, not so much as i think it makes bass sound bloated, but it's still an option for bassheads).

 

[tstarn06]

I always felt the PFEs were underpowered (needed to be near max on most of my DAPS ... Touch, Clip, Zune). So both, some bass, but just as much power, and with that power, to me, came some added richness of sound, detail, depth, at least with the two amps I owned (I never cared much for the E5 with any of my phones).

I mean, I started this thread, and I know I was not alone saying the PFEs were hard to power. And Phonak had their reasons. But I also rated them high without an amp, they just sounded much better overall to me with my humble amp duo, the MBE+ first and then then T4.

 

[yeahx]

My 2 amps make them sound less weak, but when Im forced to listen without amp, they are still pretty good.

 

[dfkt]

Yeah, they're quiet, there's no denying that. Phonak being mainly a hearing aid company just can't ignore those arbitrary EU SPL laws like all other companies do. Or else they might get accused of creating their own future hearing aid customers.

Out of my Sansa Clip/Clip+ they definitely need an amp to achieve acceptable volume levels, these players are just too quiet. Out of any Cowon I perceive no difference in sound quality, be it with or without a Headsix, Minibox, Fiio, iBasso, or whatever have you. Well, of course I perceive that the FiiO makes them sound worse in some aspects, but that's besides the point. At home they don't sound any different from the headphone-out of my Indigo, my AudioFire4, or straight from the jack on my stereo amp...