Rate My 1st iPod Rig

[jayteeare]

After reading reviews on how great the Wolfson DAC sounds out of the dock with audiophile hardware, I made a relatively inexpensive rig, and WOW! The sound is just basically like listening to my songs again for the first time, in a different alternate dimension. The volume can be raised as much as you like; it won't hurt your ears, or turn to a static/hiss...the sound just comes out so bright, detailed and nuanced...AND THERE's SO MUCH DAMN OF IT!! I never knew this was possible.

Gear Roll Call:

iPod Video 5th Generation with iFlash mod coming in at about 1TB
Fiio E01 30pin iPod Dock to audio input with volume/track control
Xtreme Pro Headphone Amplifier (no DAC)
One pair of Sennheiser IE 40 In Ear Monitor Earbuds

I carry it in a small canvas black case, which houses the rig with only the volume/track control sticking perfectly out of the case, near my right hand pants pocket for easy control (and to avoid fussing the with the amp knob).

The amp is set to high gain/high bass, just a few notches below max volume, complimented by the Fiio E01 main volume controller to either join it full blast with the amp, or down a bit for those interrupted moments.

Any improvements that can be made? What would the next audiophile upgrade be should I choose to take things to the next level?

 

[FastAndClean]

10 out of 10

 

[gazzington]

love it. Ive got my modded ipod gen 5 out to charge to mess about with today!

 

[jayteeare]

Here's my newest little toy. Had to give up sadly on the iPod since it got wonky with too much storage (1TB) but i was able to create this beautiful piece of audiophile gorgeousity.

Gear:
The classic FiiO Andes DAC/Amp sporting the long gone Wolfson DAC (ebay only? About $100)
Surfans Hi Fi Player (ChiFI DAP aprox $200)
Shure 846 ($800 with coupon deals on Guitar Center)
FiiO 2.5 Balanced cable ($30 Amazon)
DD Hifi - 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter ($18 amazon)

 

[Recursion]

Very nice rig, you'll definitely enjoy that for perhaps years to come. One word of advice however, you should never wrap the IEM cables around the DAP, as they will be more prone to breaking that way. Now granted, the SE846 comes with a pretty high-end cable and such high quality cables are less likely to break, but they tend to be expensive to replace as well if they do break.

Should you wish to further improve the SQ of your current setup, I would look into replacing that small analog interconnect cable with something a bit higher quality. Forza Audioworks sells relatively cheap and short interconnect cables (<$100) and they will do wonders for detail retrieval and give a more balanced sound, imaging and sound stage are also very likely improve a lot.