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Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Where did all the custom IEM rigs portable rigs go?! I don't see many pictures of 'em posted these days...
One of the nicest rigs regardless of form factor on Head-Fi IMO I personally wouldn't carry so much stuff out of the house so for me it wouldn't qualify as a truly portable rig, but it's definitely manageable on-the-go without looking like too much of a geek. It would be a superb rig for a long intercontinental flight or an Edinburgh-London train journey where one is stationary for most of the time. Do you actually use it portably, or just in the office? The only possible hassle I can think of is the long headphone cable and the bulkiness of it all.
This (my own) and Towert7's (very nice btw!!) rig is what I would call truly portable
I guess you could add a small amp and LOD to either rigs and still manage to fit it within your trousers pockets without any discomfort or awkward bulkiness.
That's a pretty large transportable rig! I'm sure it sounds great, but I simply wouldn't use full-sized headphones w/ portable DAC-amp on-the-go unless someone was driving me or I'm on a long train/plane journey.
I'm particularly intrigued by your "Itos" cable. Did you mean to braid the cables?
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Now that is what I can portable.
For my particular setup above on a previous page and comparing it with this ultra-portable, it is hard for me to not use my UE9s everywhere that I take my small setup since the music is so much better on them than with my other headphones but no I don't walk around the mail with them or walk actually anywhere with them. I am a fairly sedentary guy who thinks office use is portable or around the house. I have walked around the office areas while having them on. This is not quite a problem as when I had the much larger W5000s. The UE9s are about mid-size when it comes to any size comparison with regular headphones. Their heritage (Proline series and DJ) is that of being a working (mixing. etc.) headphone after all.
My iMod and Amp can fit inside my shirt pocket without any problems. The size is only 1.5 inches thick and the max width is the iPod frame. I leave the cable end out when placed into the shirt pocket. I tuck the rapped part of the cable inside my shirt and I am good to go.
I do have a long term interest in the UE10s but this will have to wait till I set aside more funds out of the normal flow. In the meantime I have ordered a Yuin PK-1 to see how they work for me. These would be more portable but I would not use them in any more portable setting than I use the UE9s now. I do find the ATH-ANC7 sometimes better at work especially when my A/C dampers close and the background noise level goes very high. But then again, when using the ANC7s these are no more portable for me than the UE9s. They are just a bit smaller overall in size.
Yes, I agree the ultra-portable iPod and UE10 is the ultimate in portability but I still would go with the iMod and Reference even with the UE10 just because of what the iMod does for me. Oh, in this case I would consider the ultra-small Xin Supermini as a potential option over the Reference once Dr. Xin carries the design discoveries of the Reference across his product line. The Reference has a very good gain setting for my headphones and a nice variable volume control that is not proportional, so I don't think it would be required that I change this for the UE10s. The UE9s are 40 ohm impedance but fairly insensitive at about 96 dB. I listen to them between a 12 and 3 o'clock on the Reference. With the UE10s this may need to be lowered somewhat.
Once I get the PK1s, I will be able throw in the iBasso T2 (very nice sound for the price) with the iMod and see just how this stacks ups. It certainly will be more portable than with the UE9s. This is part of the fun I have in this hobby, attempting to optimize the setups. This is the fun side while listening to music is both fun and very pleasurable. Enjoying the music first is first my objective though. It appears that I am headed to physically downsize even my home headphone system with the Reference being so good and having the iMod. The Reference with iMod is good enough to be my home system for my purposes. One never says never in this hobby I have found. Sometime in the future I can see myself selling my home amp and collecting the money for a UE10/UE11(?). I certainly don't know next what I will do in this hobby. Keeping what I have is always an option.
