[khewa]

just got a headphone amp and finds that the limiting factor is my mp3 player, iAudio U3. There's a slight improvement in the bass but not much. I'm hoping that a line out would improve matters.

All my music collection is in FLAC, so would need an mp3 player that decodes FLAC files and have a line out.

Any recommendations ?

 

[krmathis]

I suggest an iPod 5.5G (with Rockbox) and a line out dock cable.

By the way; Welcome to Head-Fi.

 

[rockin_amigo14]

if you use the iAudio X5L, it has a very customizable sound, and you can get plenty of bass. It will play your FLAC files too, and it'll sound great from the headphone out.

also, what headphones are you using? a new pair might help too.

 

[khewa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockin_amigo14 /img/forum/go_quote.gif if you use the iAudio X5L, it has a very customizable sound, and you can get plenty of bass. It will play your FLAC files too, and it'll sound great from the headphone out. also, what headphones are you using? a new pair might help too.

for IEM, I'm using the Super Fi 5 Pro, though I listen to the Grado SR80 when I'm at home and not outdoors. The Grado beats the Super Fi 5 Pro, hands down and is cheaper to boot. For critical listening, it's the Grado for me. With the Grado and the U3 and the headphone amp, the SQ quality improvement is subtle. I'm hoping a line out to the amp will change that.
I was demoing a headphone amp at the shop, using the Emmeline Hornet and that's about as good as it can get for portable amps and still the difference was subtle. The the iAudio U3 without the amp is pretty good. Wonder how it compares with the D2. My U3 is filling up with FLAC files and I would love to have bigger storage.