FidelityCastro
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2014
- Posts
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***
Disclaimer 1: I'm not affiliated to any equipment manufacturer or music website.
Disclaimer 2: This is all just my ears and opinions. No science. My only credentials are being a music fan and also a musician (guitarist of too many years in bands and some session work). I also have a little home recording studio.
Disclaimer 3: this is all entirely based on portable, mobile listening. I haven't delved into home hifi setups because I do most of my music listening on the move, and at home I tend to use my studio gear and monitor speakers.
***
Prologue:
In the last four weeks I've covered the ground from 'man with iPhone and cheap earphones' to newbie audio junkie with an iPhone, a dedicated digital audio player, a good quality portable digital to analogue converter ("DAC" - the wizardry that converts ones and zeros into something you can hear) and portable amplifier (which helps headphones do their thing properly), into very good quality ear- and headphones. There are a lot of folks out there wondering whether it's worth buying posh headphones, or separate portable DACs and amps, so I thought I'd share my experience and that might help other people, and possibly save them some money in the process.
Specifically:
BEFORE: Crap quality iTunes MP3s via iPhone 6 into cheap in-ear 'phones (Sennheiser CX300II - probably one step up from the infamous Apple earbuds).
AFTER:
Music files that aren't so compressed, meaning they retain more of the original production. I.e. The highest quality files off iTunes (a bit better than MP3, closer to Spotify files) and "lossless" files (Apple's version called ALAC and the non-Apple version called FLAC, downloaded from the Tidal streaming service andHDTracks.com) via:
1. iPhone 6, into Chord Hugo DAC/amp, into Denon AH D7000 headphones.
2 (a). An even more portable rig in the shape of iPhone 6 with the decent quality files (as above), into Onkyo HA200 DAC/amp, into Shure SE535 in-ear monitors.
2 (b). Another portable rig: Dedicated music player (reasons below) called Astell & Kern AK120 straight into FitEars earphones or via the Onkyo HA200.
Chapter 1: upgrading music files
This short but frantic journey started because I have always felt that MP3s are too compressed, flat and muffled. A few weeks ago I read a short review, in a music magazine, or a portable digital-to-audio converter and headphone amp that apparently makes your music - even MP3s - sound much better (Classic Rock magazine's review of the Onkyo DAC HA200). This set me off on a high speed mission to improve my mobile music experience and has taken in a few other DAC/amps and trying lots of headphones along the way - all in a month.
After reading the review of the Onkyo portable DAC / amp, but being away on business so unable to get my hands on it, I hit the web and thought I'd try to at least improve the quality (I.e. reduce the compression and keep more of what the band and producer wanted us to hear) of the tracks I was listening to on my iPhone 6 through my cheap earphones.
That lead me to Tidal, a Spotify-type music service that launched a couple of months ago. You can stream CD-quality music and also download it to your device to listen to offline. The difference in quality was fantastic - just like ripping a CD to your computer and downloading it, without compressing it, to your music player. The files obviously take up more room (say, 80mb rather than 5mb for a single track) but the payoff is much better sounding music. And with my iPhone boasting 128gb of memory, and other having memory card slots, space for big files is not so much of an issue anymore.
Chapter 2: Upgrading the ears kit
When I got home, the next thing was to upgrade my 'phones. Bearing in mind that this is all about music on the move, I went for a set of in-ear 'phones (as opposed to headphones that cover your ears and have a headband).
I wound up with the Shure SE535 in-ear monitors ("IEMs"). I bought that model because I had read some good reviews about them. They were also the only ones from my shortlist that were available in the shop I found myself in, so please don't think that I'm recommending them above any others in the same price bracket.
The difference versus the fairly cheap earphones - whether listening to compressed MP3 tracks or better (less "lossy") music files was MASSIVE. My cheap Sennheisers were more bass-boomy, with tinny/thin treble and sounded one-dimensional. Better earphones have MUCH more space and separation. I will come back to this point, but have no doubt that upgrading to a good set of ear- or headphones is by the far the quickest and best way to a huge jump in listening pleasure.
[By the way, in-ear monitors are the ones that you see bands wearing onstage in the last 10 years or so. They are called monitors because they replace the angled monitor speakers (often called "wedges" in the music industry) that you see at the front of a stage which face the band not the audience (think of the 1980s heavy metal guitarist or bass player standing at the front of the stage with one foot on the monitor), and are designed to let the musicians hear a mix of the whole band as they play. In big venues, it's hard for the musicians to hear what the others are playing, especially when they are standing in front of their own amplifiers, so monitors, whether on the floor or in the ear, help solve that problem.]
The IEMs have thicker, higher quality cable. They are harder to put in and out of your ears than normal in-ear phones because they tend to be shaped to sit in your outer ear as well as the ear canal, and the cable tends to come out facing forwards and upwards, and then is wrapped over your ear from front to back. This can be fiddly if you're taking them in and out a lot.
And, as with all in-ear phones, it's very important to get the right in-ear placement, (a bad fit will usually mean they either fall out or you lose the bass; a good fit will bring the bass back). Try all the tips that come with nice earphones - you will be shocked at the difference you hear between the worst fit and the best fit.
The result of upgrading to these decent quality IEMs was an exaggerated version of upgrading from MP3/ to CD quality music files. Yet another veil was stripped away from the music and we're into a sound that seems more spacious and feels more like you're in the recording studio or in the audience at a live gig.
I used loads of tracks to test these headphones. In some cases I switched back and forth not only between old and new earphones, but also between MP3 and CD quality versions of the same songs, Here are a few of them:
Get Lucky - Daft Punk
Little by Little - Gregg Allman
One Track Mind - Tedeschi Trucks Band
Jack Daniels - Eric Church
Slow It Down - TFDI
Same Old Blues - Matt Woosey
Let's take Get Lucky by Daft Punk as an example of the difference these first two audio upgrades (better earphones and better quality music files) can make:
This track was recorded in the last couple of years with modern tech but using real musicians (not least the iconic Nile Rogers) playing real instruments. It's also one that you can listen to over and over, or split into sections (to compare and contrast against MP3 or cheap earphones, swapping back and forth), that doesn't get boring because it has such a great groove.
With proper ear- or headphones the difference, to me, was the biggest jump in sound quality and listening pleasure of anything I've tried on this speeded up journey.
Words that spring to mind with good earphones and better quality file: the track floats; it glistens; it breathes; it sounds like I'm there with the musicians; the bass punches harder and the groove actually...grooves.
As well as that extra punch and zing, the song has vastly better stereo separation - the instruments seem much more separate and defined, rather than being a nice sounding but all-on-the-same-plane mishmash (imagine standing in the studio and seeing/hearing the musicians physically apart from one another in the room).
Right, so we've got better quality music files and some good portable earphones. We've started reading audiophile websites like head-fi.org, and our wallet has suddenly run for the hills, credit card cowering in the corner as it prepares to take a battering. It's time to look at decent headphones.
Chapter 3: proper headphones
There are many, many experts on the web forums who write amazing reviews of headphones, so I'll just offer an overarching thought and a couple words on a few models that I've tried in the last few weeks.
Overall, a good set of cans is worth another big chunk of sound quality and probably DOUBLE the enjoyment. As with all the percentages/numerical leaps I've mentioned, they aren't scientific in any way; so don't for one second take my word for it, go try some yourself. I'm just trying to illustrate the improvement (or not) in sound quality to my ears.
Let's start with portable headphones, i.e. those that you can easily imagine toting around in public with your little rig without looking like a muppet or wondering where to store them. These are some of the ones I tried (which have had good reviews from professional reviewers and experienced audiophiles, so take my comments with a pinch of salt, and remember that I was just using a little iPhone and a Chord Hugo DAC/amp):
Oppo PM-2: good for portability; nice looking; didn't blow me away for the price.
Ultrasone Edition 8: nice and portable but not knock-out at that expensive price.
Beyerdynamic T5p: average for the money.
B&O Beoplay H6: nice portable package. Perfectly acceptable.
Sennheiser Momentum (on-ear and over-ear models): decent semi-budget 'phones but not "special".
The problem with the ones above is that while they are all a huge, huge improvement over cheap ear/headphones, they don't necessary blow good in-ear monitors away (and IEMs are even more portable, obviously). So when I listened to them, I was deciding whether the potential sound quality improvement and price increase was worth the hassle of not being able to pocket them. To make things worse, all of the above suffer once you step into audiophile-land, which leads us to....
Big bucks (and big-size) headphones (SPOILER ALERT: look away now if you want to protect your bank balance):
Audeze LCD 2: natural, smooth, really high quality mid-range frequencies that make vocals sound incredible. Easily the best all-rounder for a wide range of music. Heavy to wear and open-backed so probably restricted to home listening.
Fostex TH900: amazingly crisp, punchy; big, defined bass. Lovely at first - these were the first ones I listened to after my Shure IEMs and the jump in quality and separation was mind-blowing - but I think the bass could be tiring after a while. Very comfortable though.
Denon AH D7000: less bass-heavy than the TH900 (I believe Fostex used to make these for Denon). Otherwise quite similar. Less tiring than TH900 after prolonged listening. Very comfortable.
I tried a few others but forgive me as I didn't write down the model numbers, and none of them struck me as significantly better than the ones listed above.
One thing that I would add here: once you've got over the WOW factor of all the really high end 'phones compared to budget or mid-price in-ear 'phones, and start to listen to the differences, it becomes clear that there are very few that are best with ALL styles of music. I realise that my favourite music leaves out jazz, classical and lots of other important music that shines with great 'phones. So let me just say that I sat and auditioned the Fostex TH900 and Audeze LCD-2 - both very expensive, highly regarded headphones - for more than an hour, playing the same songs over and over. And while the sheer quality was the same, the actual sound (the "signature") of the two products was very different, and they beat each other on different types of music.
Note that the Fostex and Denons are closed-back - they block a fair amount of outside noise and stop most of your music from bothering other people - while the Audeze are open backed, so other people will hear enough to practically work out which song you are listening to (and probably ask you to turn it down). Open-back 'phones are often considered better; you just need to decide when and where you will use them, and how important it is to block out noise from outside or stop your music bothering your partner / fellow travellers / co-workers etc.
For what it's worth, just yesterday I read a great review by an audiophile of some different headphones, and he or she said (I'm paraphrasing), "Remember, closed-back headphones won't match open-backed for ultimate audiophile quality, but the best closed-back ones are those that are the most FUN, and give you an exciting listening experience." Having auditioned a few last week, I'm inclined to agree. Great advice.
So I wound up with the Denons (which they don't make anymore), because they have some of the punch and fun of the Fostex cans, and won't p*ss off other people at the airport or on a plane. However, I'm saving up for the Audeze 'phones for home alternative home listening.
Also bear in mind that there are tons of other great 'phones out there, as you'll see from an hour's trawling online. The Sennheiser HD800 seem to be the current audiophile benchmark, as long as you shell out on very high quality music and equipment. And there are loads of others, each with their legion of fans.
The other thing to consider is that different headphones work well with different gear. I tried some even more expensive ones with my iPhone / Hugo set up and they didn't jump out at me. Maybe I'd hit the ceiling of what my little portable rig can deliver. Make sure you try a bunch of 'phones with your equipment, if you are able. If you use warm (smooth, mid-range) cans with a warm DAC or amp, it might be too mushy; if you use bright (trebly) cans with a bright DAC/ amp, it might be a bit harsh, and so on.
Summary (percentages purely subjective):
Cheap earphones:
Difference between MP3 and upgrading to CD quality and lossless FLAC is 20-30% improvement.
Upgrading to mid-price earphones:
MP3s sound 50% better.
Difference between MP3 and FLAC is probably 30% improvement.
Upgrading to great headphones:
MP3s sound 50% better.
Difference between MP3 and FLAC is probably 30-50% improvement (really).
Chapter 4: more boxes = DACs and amps
At this stage it's hard to believe that things can get any better. Of course they can. The next stage on the road to mobile audio nirvana is a portable digital to audio converter ("DAC") and / or amplifier (often in the same unit). The former converts the digital ones and zeros to something you can hear as music, while the latter powers your ear- or headphones, giving them more space to work their magic.
Adding a portable DAC/amp - you can buy a little box the size of a chunky smartphone that will either do both jobs or just act as an amp- will (a) allow really good headphones to sing (the best ones need the extra power from a dedicated amp to "drive" them, i.e. really do their best work); and (b) can improve the sound quality by another 10-30% over lossless files versus plugging your posh 'phones straights to your smartphone.
Portable DACs and amps I tried:
FiiO E12a (just an amp): nice and smooth sounding; a noticeable but not mind-blowing difference through an iPhone, with MP3 or lossless files. [I bought one.]
Cypher Labs Theorem 720 (DAC - amp): great reviews but lots of hiss with in-ear 'phones. I haven't tried it with top end headphones but it's apparently great.
Resonessence Herus: minimal difference with earphones.
Chord Hugo: slightly less pocketable but amazing sound. [I bought one.]
Onkyo HA200: good impact for the price. Portable. Easy to use. [I bought one.]
I tried a few others but they didn't seem to make any difference, so I didn't note them down.
There are plenty of others: Sony, Fostex, V Moda, Centrance, Vorzuge etc etc.
Overall, a decent little portable DAC and / or headphone amp probably adds another 10% goodness. In the case of the Hugo, I'd say 20%. Do try a few if you go for high end headphones.
Musical interlude: When listening for differences between different headphones or different portable DAC/amps, don't always focus on the obvious stuff like vocals.
Listen to the hi hat on the drum kit; listen to hear the plectrum on the guitar strings and the bass player's fingers on his or her strings.
Chapter 5: back to reality = one more box - DAP time
And that was supposed to be the end of the story. But within a week I realised I was getting fed up with having my iPhone doubling as a music player with these extra boxes. You wind up carrying a little brick around; the connector cables mean you can't use your phone away from the portable DAC/amp, and the rubber straps (like those wristbands that you get from charities) that hold them together tend to cover parts of the screen - or the 'home' button on an iPhone. In the age of constant messaging, email and web browsing - not to mention phone calls - strapping your smartphone to something two or three times as thick that reduces ease of use is actually a step backwards in terms of usability, convenience and portability.
With that in mind, I realised that I had three options:
1. get rid of the extra portable amps and digital-to-audio converters and just use my iPhone with a good set of earphones - with a better sound versus crap earphones but not as good as having a DAC/amp.
2. find a really good dedicated digital audio player (DAP) to use solo with nice earphones;
3. find a dedicated DAP and use it with my portable DAC/amps that I'd spent a good few dollars on.
The latter two options would obviously free up my smartphone to be just a smartphone again.
I hit the online forums and researched DAPs. As with all of the products listed here, there are a lot of good ones across a wide price range. One thing worth remembering is that if you are planning to use a separate DAC / amp like the (in my case) Chord Hugo or the Onkyo, you will be bypassing those functions on the DAP, so it's probably not worth buying the most expensive DAP unless you plan to use it solo.
I went for an Astell & Kern AK120, which is a couple of years old. Interestingly, while I gained on convenience by freeing up my iPhone, as an Apple guy I lost the convenience of all these toys talking to each other - and my music collection on my MacBook - seamlessly straight out of the box.
However, after a night of trial and error and lots of Googling to solve connection / download issues, I would up a bunch of lossless music files on the AK120, which sounded a little better with high quality earphones than my iPhone, even without any extra boxes. I then tried the AK120 DAP with my Chord Hugo (via an optical connection - also called Toslink) and my Denon headphones for home use, and it sounded even better. Then I strapped the DAP to the Onkyo HA200 and listened via Shure or FitEar earphones for mobile usage. Again, it sounds awesome.
Conclusion: You've lasted this far...
Final thoughts: in my newbie opinion, the best thing you can do for improving your portable sound would be in this order:
1: Buy some really good ear- or headphones (or both). Spend the absolute maximum you can on the 'phones. You will never look back.
2. Much as I love the ease of iTunes, stop listening to MP3s and start downloading CD quality-or-better music files.
Some people may argue that (1) and (2) should be reversed. That's actually how I did it - I discovered the Tidal streaming site and HDtracks.com before I upgraded my headphones, and the improvement was wonderful. However, a good pair of IEMs had a much bigger effect on both MP3s and lossless files, and top end headphones moved the game on again, so that's why I prioritised in that order.
3. Add a portable DAC and / or amp to give your sound that extra jump in power, crispness and separation. Some high end headphones will actually require an external amp to "drive" them properly.
I've written this because I'm sure there are lots of other folks out there who are embarking on the same journey. I hope it's helpful to anyone who is fed up with mushy MP3s and wants to get more out of their music on the move, whether commuting, traveling or at work.
A word of warning: once you start down this road, you'll notice that the first few steps give you a huge increase in sound quality and you will enjoy music more than you have for years. However, once you've had that 50-100% bump in enjoyment with expensive ear- or headphones, and another big bump from using better quality music files, the improvements start to cost a lot more for much smaller improvements. Many of the amazingly knowledgable audiophiles who populate these forums are amazing knowledgable because they've spent thousands of dollars over many years chasing tiny improvements in sound quality and enjoyment for big cash outlay.
Another wallet-worrying aspect of this journey is that you will quickly realise that there is no perfect set up. Some ear- or headphones simply work better than others with particular digital audio players, digital-to-audio converters and headphone amps - and of course different types of music. Despite my FitEar earphones costing double the Shure's, the latter's forward, punchy mid-range means they honestly sound better to my ears than the more expensive earphones with certain types of music and certain combinations of these little boxes.
In conclusion, use reviews and other peoples' insights as a guide only. Try as many different products as you can - don't be afraid to stay in the hifi shop for an hour or two trying this stuff: you're the customer who keeps the store in business, and we all have a different idea of what sounds great. Trust your ears and happy hunting.
Thanks for reading.
PS: proper head-fiers, you know all this stuff, but I wasn't sure where else to post, and I was a newbie here just a month ago. I bow to your experience which guided all my gear auditions and ultimately my purchases.
Disclaimer 1: I'm not affiliated to any equipment manufacturer or music website.
Disclaimer 2: This is all just my ears and opinions. No science. My only credentials are being a music fan and also a musician (guitarist of too many years in bands and some session work). I also have a little home recording studio.
Disclaimer 3: this is all entirely based on portable, mobile listening. I haven't delved into home hifi setups because I do most of my music listening on the move, and at home I tend to use my studio gear and monitor speakers.
***
Prologue:
In the last four weeks I've covered the ground from 'man with iPhone and cheap earphones' to newbie audio junkie with an iPhone, a dedicated digital audio player, a good quality portable digital to analogue converter ("DAC" - the wizardry that converts ones and zeros into something you can hear) and portable amplifier (which helps headphones do their thing properly), into very good quality ear- and headphones. There are a lot of folks out there wondering whether it's worth buying posh headphones, or separate portable DACs and amps, so I thought I'd share my experience and that might help other people, and possibly save them some money in the process.
Specifically:
BEFORE: Crap quality iTunes MP3s via iPhone 6 into cheap in-ear 'phones (Sennheiser CX300II - probably one step up from the infamous Apple earbuds).
AFTER:
Music files that aren't so compressed, meaning they retain more of the original production. I.e. The highest quality files off iTunes (a bit better than MP3, closer to Spotify files) and "lossless" files (Apple's version called ALAC and the non-Apple version called FLAC, downloaded from the Tidal streaming service andHDTracks.com) via:
1. iPhone 6, into Chord Hugo DAC/amp, into Denon AH D7000 headphones.
2 (a). An even more portable rig in the shape of iPhone 6 with the decent quality files (as above), into Onkyo HA200 DAC/amp, into Shure SE535 in-ear monitors.
2 (b). Another portable rig: Dedicated music player (reasons below) called Astell & Kern AK120 straight into FitEars earphones or via the Onkyo HA200.
Chapter 1: upgrading music files
This short but frantic journey started because I have always felt that MP3s are too compressed, flat and muffled. A few weeks ago I read a short review, in a music magazine, or a portable digital-to-audio converter and headphone amp that apparently makes your music - even MP3s - sound much better (Classic Rock magazine's review of the Onkyo DAC HA200). This set me off on a high speed mission to improve my mobile music experience and has taken in a few other DAC/amps and trying lots of headphones along the way - all in a month.
After reading the review of the Onkyo portable DAC / amp, but being away on business so unable to get my hands on it, I hit the web and thought I'd try to at least improve the quality (I.e. reduce the compression and keep more of what the band and producer wanted us to hear) of the tracks I was listening to on my iPhone 6 through my cheap earphones.
That lead me to Tidal, a Spotify-type music service that launched a couple of months ago. You can stream CD-quality music and also download it to your device to listen to offline. The difference in quality was fantastic - just like ripping a CD to your computer and downloading it, without compressing it, to your music player. The files obviously take up more room (say, 80mb rather than 5mb for a single track) but the payoff is much better sounding music. And with my iPhone boasting 128gb of memory, and other having memory card slots, space for big files is not so much of an issue anymore.
Chapter 2: Upgrading the ears kit
When I got home, the next thing was to upgrade my 'phones. Bearing in mind that this is all about music on the move, I went for a set of in-ear 'phones (as opposed to headphones that cover your ears and have a headband).
I wound up with the Shure SE535 in-ear monitors ("IEMs"). I bought that model because I had read some good reviews about them. They were also the only ones from my shortlist that were available in the shop I found myself in, so please don't think that I'm recommending them above any others in the same price bracket.
The difference versus the fairly cheap earphones - whether listening to compressed MP3 tracks or better (less "lossy") music files was MASSIVE. My cheap Sennheisers were more bass-boomy, with tinny/thin treble and sounded one-dimensional. Better earphones have MUCH more space and separation. I will come back to this point, but have no doubt that upgrading to a good set of ear- or headphones is by the far the quickest and best way to a huge jump in listening pleasure.
[By the way, in-ear monitors are the ones that you see bands wearing onstage in the last 10 years or so. They are called monitors because they replace the angled monitor speakers (often called "wedges" in the music industry) that you see at the front of a stage which face the band not the audience (think of the 1980s heavy metal guitarist or bass player standing at the front of the stage with one foot on the monitor), and are designed to let the musicians hear a mix of the whole band as they play. In big venues, it's hard for the musicians to hear what the others are playing, especially when they are standing in front of their own amplifiers, so monitors, whether on the floor or in the ear, help solve that problem.]
The IEMs have thicker, higher quality cable. They are harder to put in and out of your ears than normal in-ear phones because they tend to be shaped to sit in your outer ear as well as the ear canal, and the cable tends to come out facing forwards and upwards, and then is wrapped over your ear from front to back. This can be fiddly if you're taking them in and out a lot.
And, as with all in-ear phones, it's very important to get the right in-ear placement, (a bad fit will usually mean they either fall out or you lose the bass; a good fit will bring the bass back). Try all the tips that come with nice earphones - you will be shocked at the difference you hear between the worst fit and the best fit.
The result of upgrading to these decent quality IEMs was an exaggerated version of upgrading from MP3/ to CD quality music files. Yet another veil was stripped away from the music and we're into a sound that seems more spacious and feels more like you're in the recording studio or in the audience at a live gig.
I used loads of tracks to test these headphones. In some cases I switched back and forth not only between old and new earphones, but also between MP3 and CD quality versions of the same songs, Here are a few of them:
Get Lucky - Daft Punk
Little by Little - Gregg Allman
One Track Mind - Tedeschi Trucks Band
Jack Daniels - Eric Church
Slow It Down - TFDI
Same Old Blues - Matt Woosey
Let's take Get Lucky by Daft Punk as an example of the difference these first two audio upgrades (better earphones and better quality music files) can make:
This track was recorded in the last couple of years with modern tech but using real musicians (not least the iconic Nile Rogers) playing real instruments. It's also one that you can listen to over and over, or split into sections (to compare and contrast against MP3 or cheap earphones, swapping back and forth), that doesn't get boring because it has such a great groove.
With proper ear- or headphones the difference, to me, was the biggest jump in sound quality and listening pleasure of anything I've tried on this speeded up journey.
Words that spring to mind with good earphones and better quality file: the track floats; it glistens; it breathes; it sounds like I'm there with the musicians; the bass punches harder and the groove actually...grooves.
As well as that extra punch and zing, the song has vastly better stereo separation - the instruments seem much more separate and defined, rather than being a nice sounding but all-on-the-same-plane mishmash (imagine standing in the studio and seeing/hearing the musicians physically apart from one another in the room).
Right, so we've got better quality music files and some good portable earphones. We've started reading audiophile websites like head-fi.org, and our wallet has suddenly run for the hills, credit card cowering in the corner as it prepares to take a battering. It's time to look at decent headphones.
Chapter 3: proper headphones
There are many, many experts on the web forums who write amazing reviews of headphones, so I'll just offer an overarching thought and a couple words on a few models that I've tried in the last few weeks.
Overall, a good set of cans is worth another big chunk of sound quality and probably DOUBLE the enjoyment. As with all the percentages/numerical leaps I've mentioned, they aren't scientific in any way; so don't for one second take my word for it, go try some yourself. I'm just trying to illustrate the improvement (or not) in sound quality to my ears.
Let's start with portable headphones, i.e. those that you can easily imagine toting around in public with your little rig without looking like a muppet or wondering where to store them. These are some of the ones I tried (which have had good reviews from professional reviewers and experienced audiophiles, so take my comments with a pinch of salt, and remember that I was just using a little iPhone and a Chord Hugo DAC/amp):
Oppo PM-2: good for portability; nice looking; didn't blow me away for the price.
Ultrasone Edition 8: nice and portable but not knock-out at that expensive price.
Beyerdynamic T5p: average for the money.
B&O Beoplay H6: nice portable package. Perfectly acceptable.
Sennheiser Momentum (on-ear and over-ear models): decent semi-budget 'phones but not "special".
The problem with the ones above is that while they are all a huge, huge improvement over cheap ear/headphones, they don't necessary blow good in-ear monitors away (and IEMs are even more portable, obviously). So when I listened to them, I was deciding whether the potential sound quality improvement and price increase was worth the hassle of not being able to pocket them. To make things worse, all of the above suffer once you step into audiophile-land, which leads us to....
Big bucks (and big-size) headphones (SPOILER ALERT: look away now if you want to protect your bank balance):
Audeze LCD 2: natural, smooth, really high quality mid-range frequencies that make vocals sound incredible. Easily the best all-rounder for a wide range of music. Heavy to wear and open-backed so probably restricted to home listening.
Fostex TH900: amazingly crisp, punchy; big, defined bass. Lovely at first - these were the first ones I listened to after my Shure IEMs and the jump in quality and separation was mind-blowing - but I think the bass could be tiring after a while. Very comfortable though.
Denon AH D7000: less bass-heavy than the TH900 (I believe Fostex used to make these for Denon). Otherwise quite similar. Less tiring than TH900 after prolonged listening. Very comfortable.
I tried a few others but forgive me as I didn't write down the model numbers, and none of them struck me as significantly better than the ones listed above.
One thing that I would add here: once you've got over the WOW factor of all the really high end 'phones compared to budget or mid-price in-ear 'phones, and start to listen to the differences, it becomes clear that there are very few that are best with ALL styles of music. I realise that my favourite music leaves out jazz, classical and lots of other important music that shines with great 'phones. So let me just say that I sat and auditioned the Fostex TH900 and Audeze LCD-2 - both very expensive, highly regarded headphones - for more than an hour, playing the same songs over and over. And while the sheer quality was the same, the actual sound (the "signature") of the two products was very different, and they beat each other on different types of music.
Note that the Fostex and Denons are closed-back - they block a fair amount of outside noise and stop most of your music from bothering other people - while the Audeze are open backed, so other people will hear enough to practically work out which song you are listening to (and probably ask you to turn it down). Open-back 'phones are often considered better; you just need to decide when and where you will use them, and how important it is to block out noise from outside or stop your music bothering your partner / fellow travellers / co-workers etc.
For what it's worth, just yesterday I read a great review by an audiophile of some different headphones, and he or she said (I'm paraphrasing), "Remember, closed-back headphones won't match open-backed for ultimate audiophile quality, but the best closed-back ones are those that are the most FUN, and give you an exciting listening experience." Having auditioned a few last week, I'm inclined to agree. Great advice.
So I wound up with the Denons (which they don't make anymore), because they have some of the punch and fun of the Fostex cans, and won't p*ss off other people at the airport or on a plane. However, I'm saving up for the Audeze 'phones for home alternative home listening.
Also bear in mind that there are tons of other great 'phones out there, as you'll see from an hour's trawling online. The Sennheiser HD800 seem to be the current audiophile benchmark, as long as you shell out on very high quality music and equipment. And there are loads of others, each with their legion of fans.
The other thing to consider is that different headphones work well with different gear. I tried some even more expensive ones with my iPhone / Hugo set up and they didn't jump out at me. Maybe I'd hit the ceiling of what my little portable rig can deliver. Make sure you try a bunch of 'phones with your equipment, if you are able. If you use warm (smooth, mid-range) cans with a warm DAC or amp, it might be too mushy; if you use bright (trebly) cans with a bright DAC/ amp, it might be a bit harsh, and so on.
Summary (percentages purely subjective):
Cheap earphones:
Difference between MP3 and upgrading to CD quality and lossless FLAC is 20-30% improvement.
Upgrading to mid-price earphones:
MP3s sound 50% better.
Difference between MP3 and FLAC is probably 30% improvement.
Upgrading to great headphones:
MP3s sound 50% better.
Difference between MP3 and FLAC is probably 30-50% improvement (really).
Chapter 4: more boxes = DACs and amps
At this stage it's hard to believe that things can get any better. Of course they can. The next stage on the road to mobile audio nirvana is a portable digital to audio converter ("DAC") and / or amplifier (often in the same unit). The former converts the digital ones and zeros to something you can hear as music, while the latter powers your ear- or headphones, giving them more space to work their magic.
Adding a portable DAC/amp - you can buy a little box the size of a chunky smartphone that will either do both jobs or just act as an amp- will (a) allow really good headphones to sing (the best ones need the extra power from a dedicated amp to "drive" them, i.e. really do their best work); and (b) can improve the sound quality by another 10-30% over lossless files versus plugging your posh 'phones straights to your smartphone.
Portable DACs and amps I tried:
FiiO E12a (just an amp): nice and smooth sounding; a noticeable but not mind-blowing difference through an iPhone, with MP3 or lossless files. [I bought one.]
Cypher Labs Theorem 720 (DAC - amp): great reviews but lots of hiss with in-ear 'phones. I haven't tried it with top end headphones but it's apparently great.
Resonessence Herus: minimal difference with earphones.
Chord Hugo: slightly less pocketable but amazing sound. [I bought one.]
Onkyo HA200: good impact for the price. Portable. Easy to use. [I bought one.]
I tried a few others but they didn't seem to make any difference, so I didn't note them down.
There are plenty of others: Sony, Fostex, V Moda, Centrance, Vorzuge etc etc.
Overall, a decent little portable DAC and / or headphone amp probably adds another 10% goodness. In the case of the Hugo, I'd say 20%. Do try a few if you go for high end headphones.
Musical interlude: When listening for differences between different headphones or different portable DAC/amps, don't always focus on the obvious stuff like vocals.
Listen to the hi hat on the drum kit; listen to hear the plectrum on the guitar strings and the bass player's fingers on his or her strings.
Chapter 5: back to reality = one more box - DAP time
And that was supposed to be the end of the story. But within a week I realised I was getting fed up with having my iPhone doubling as a music player with these extra boxes. You wind up carrying a little brick around; the connector cables mean you can't use your phone away from the portable DAC/amp, and the rubber straps (like those wristbands that you get from charities) that hold them together tend to cover parts of the screen - or the 'home' button on an iPhone. In the age of constant messaging, email and web browsing - not to mention phone calls - strapping your smartphone to something two or three times as thick that reduces ease of use is actually a step backwards in terms of usability, convenience and portability.
With that in mind, I realised that I had three options:
1. get rid of the extra portable amps and digital-to-audio converters and just use my iPhone with a good set of earphones - with a better sound versus crap earphones but not as good as having a DAC/amp.
2. find a really good dedicated digital audio player (DAP) to use solo with nice earphones;
3. find a dedicated DAP and use it with my portable DAC/amps that I'd spent a good few dollars on.
The latter two options would obviously free up my smartphone to be just a smartphone again.
I hit the online forums and researched DAPs. As with all of the products listed here, there are a lot of good ones across a wide price range. One thing worth remembering is that if you are planning to use a separate DAC / amp like the (in my case) Chord Hugo or the Onkyo, you will be bypassing those functions on the DAP, so it's probably not worth buying the most expensive DAP unless you plan to use it solo.
I went for an Astell & Kern AK120, which is a couple of years old. Interestingly, while I gained on convenience by freeing up my iPhone, as an Apple guy I lost the convenience of all these toys talking to each other - and my music collection on my MacBook - seamlessly straight out of the box.
However, after a night of trial and error and lots of Googling to solve connection / download issues, I would up a bunch of lossless music files on the AK120, which sounded a little better with high quality earphones than my iPhone, even without any extra boxes. I then tried the AK120 DAP with my Chord Hugo (via an optical connection - also called Toslink) and my Denon headphones for home use, and it sounded even better. Then I strapped the DAP to the Onkyo HA200 and listened via Shure or FitEar earphones for mobile usage. Again, it sounds awesome.
Conclusion: You've lasted this far...
Final thoughts: in my newbie opinion, the best thing you can do for improving your portable sound would be in this order:
1: Buy some really good ear- or headphones (or both). Spend the absolute maximum you can on the 'phones. You will never look back.
2. Much as I love the ease of iTunes, stop listening to MP3s and start downloading CD quality-or-better music files.
Some people may argue that (1) and (2) should be reversed. That's actually how I did it - I discovered the Tidal streaming site and HDtracks.com before I upgraded my headphones, and the improvement was wonderful. However, a good pair of IEMs had a much bigger effect on both MP3s and lossless files, and top end headphones moved the game on again, so that's why I prioritised in that order.
3. Add a portable DAC and / or amp to give your sound that extra jump in power, crispness and separation. Some high end headphones will actually require an external amp to "drive" them properly.
I've written this because I'm sure there are lots of other folks out there who are embarking on the same journey. I hope it's helpful to anyone who is fed up with mushy MP3s and wants to get more out of their music on the move, whether commuting, traveling or at work.
A word of warning: once you start down this road, you'll notice that the first few steps give you a huge increase in sound quality and you will enjoy music more than you have for years. However, once you've had that 50-100% bump in enjoyment with expensive ear- or headphones, and another big bump from using better quality music files, the improvements start to cost a lot more for much smaller improvements. Many of the amazingly knowledgable audiophiles who populate these forums are amazing knowledgable because they've spent thousands of dollars over many years chasing tiny improvements in sound quality and enjoyment for big cash outlay.
Another wallet-worrying aspect of this journey is that you will quickly realise that there is no perfect set up. Some ear- or headphones simply work better than others with particular digital audio players, digital-to-audio converters and headphone amps - and of course different types of music. Despite my FitEar earphones costing double the Shure's, the latter's forward, punchy mid-range means they honestly sound better to my ears than the more expensive earphones with certain types of music and certain combinations of these little boxes.
In conclusion, use reviews and other peoples' insights as a guide only. Try as many different products as you can - don't be afraid to stay in the hifi shop for an hour or two trying this stuff: you're the customer who keeps the store in business, and we all have a different idea of what sounds great. Trust your ears and happy hunting.
Thanks for reading.
PS: proper head-fiers, you know all this stuff, but I wasn't sure where else to post, and I was a newbie here just a month ago. I bow to your experience which guided all my gear auditions and ultimately my purchases.
