[moddyhhhhh]

Actually I perfer ie800. Though xba30 is also a good earphone on somekind of music such as pop and electric

 

[howihearit]

Totally agree.

In other news, my JDS Labs C5 came in today. Very impressed! Possibly the first true competitor to my beloved E12 & XBA-40 pairing (which has already beat the E11, C&C BH, Headstage Arrow 3G, and CMoyBB 2.03).

Only had about 15 min with it so far but first words that come to mind are bright, clarity, wider soundstage, and bassier than the E12s. A more atmospheric bass if anything.

Will post more impressions when I have more time with them.

Hi everyone first time poster here..
I've been reading reviews here a bit lately
and thought I'd give a few thoughts.

I have the iPhone 5 , powering the sony XBA-4 ( good sound to my ears )
Which I assume is very similar to XBA-40 .
I read on here that the fiio E12 sound great on the XBA-40 ( & also XBA-4 I seen written on another thread )
so I ordered one tried it for about an hour now
hooked up to IPhone 5 ( with cable provided in box ) and mannnnn!! you got to be joking me!!
XBA-4's sound heaps better running direct from iPhone 5 , all instruments sound more detailed , they sound a lot clearer with good shape and more musical...
I didn't realise just how good the iPhone sounded until I tried this amp ... sure the amp still sounds good the bass has improved makes the music sound larger ( is that soundstage ? ) but at the price of the musical detail ... which just sounds sooooo" close to been beautiful ........ it's a no go ,,

man'''" I was getting so keen to order the JDS labs C5 ...... but now" a little hesitant ...

Do any of you guys think/know weather the C5 would have much if any improvement over the iphone5

and also guys I saw a YouTube vid talking about the fiio iPhone adapter that plugs into the charger socket bypassing the phones amp ( iPhone 4 I think he had ) then into E12.
Could one of those plugs be the missing ingredient that's needed to create that beautiful sound I'm after...

 

[d marc0]

Quote:

Hi everyone first time poster here..
I've been reading reviews here a bit lately
and thought I'd give a few thoughts.

I have the iPhone 5 , powering the sony XBA-4 ( good sound to my ears )
Which I assume is very similar to XBA-40 .
I read on here that the fiio E12 sound great on the XBA-40 ( & also XBA-4 I seen written on another thread )
so I ordered one tried it for about an hour now
hooked up to IPhone 5 ( with cable provided in box ) and mannnnn!! you got to be joking me!!
XBA-4's sound heaps better running direct from iPhone 5 , all instruments sound more detailed , they sound a lot clearer with good shape and more musical...
I didn't realise just how good the iPhone sounded until I tried this amp ... sure the amp still sounds good the bass has improved makes the music sound larger ( is that soundstage ? ) but at the price of the musical detail ... which just sounds sooooo" close to been beautiful ........ it's a no go ,,

man'''" I was getting so keen to order the JDS labs C5 ...... but now" a little hesitant ...

Do any of you guys think/know weather the C5 would have much if any improvement over the iphone5

and also guys I saw a YouTube vid talking about the fiio iPhone adapter that plugs into the charger socket bypassing the phones amp ( iPhone 4 I think he had ) then into E12.
Could one of those plugs be the missing ingredient that's needed to create that beautiful sound I'm after...

 
The C5 has an output impedance a bit over 2ohms, so personally i wouldn't pair the XBA 4 with it. If you have access to the ipod touch 5gen, try it. I reckon it's one of the best if not the best partner for the XBA4.
 
I reckon the FiiO E11 can be a great amp to power the XBA 4 as well.

 

[chengsta]

Quote:

Hi everyone first time poster here..
I've been reading reviews here a bit lately
and thought I'd give a few thoughts.

I have the iPhone 5 , powering the sony XBA-4 ( good sound to my ears )
Which I assume is very similar to XBA-40 .
I read on here that the fiio E12 sound great on the XBA-40 ( & also XBA-4 I seen written on another thread )
so I ordered one tried it for about an hour now
hooked up to IPhone 5 ( with cable provided in box ) and mannnnn!! you got to be joking me!!
XBA-4's sound heaps better running direct from iPhone 5 , all instruments sound more detailed , they sound a lot clearer with good shape and more musical...
I didn't realise just how good the iPhone sounded until I tried this amp ... sure the amp still sounds good the bass has improved makes the music sound larger ( is that soundstage ? ) but at the price of the musical detail ... which just sounds sooooo" close to been beautiful ........ it's a no go ,,

man'''" I was getting so keen to order the JDS labs C5 ...... but now" a little hesitant ...

Do any of you guys think/know weather the C5 would have much if any improvement over the iphone5

and also guys I saw a YouTube vid talking about the fiio iPhone adapter that plugs into the charger socket bypassing the phones amp ( iPhone 4 I think he had ) then into E12.
Could one of those plugs be the missing ingredient that's needed to create that beautiful sound I'm after...

The c5 makes the xba a bit brighter, which might contribute to that 'clarity' that you are after.  I've never heard the iphone with my 40's, but I did have the nano and the 40's suck on it.  I would suggest getting a fiio iphone adapter for under $10 to bypass your iphones amp and try that out first. 
 
And on the last note, I did prefer my c5 over my fiio e11.

 

[howihearit]

The c5 makes the xba a bit brighter, which might contribute to that 'clarity' that you are after.  I've never heard the iphone with my 40's, but I did have the nano and the 40's suck on it.  I would suggest getting a fiio iphone adapter for under $10 to bypass your iphones amp and try that out first. 

And on the last note, I did prefer my c5 over my fiio e11.

Yeah cheers man will try that

 

[canikickit1]

Quote:

Hi everyone first time poster here..
I've been reading reviews here a bit lately
and thought I'd give a few thoughts.

I have the iPhone 5 , powering the sony XBA-4 ( good sound to my ears )
Which I assume is very similar to XBA-40 .
I read on here that the fiio E12 sound great on the XBA-40 ( & also XBA-4 I seen written on another thread )
so I ordered one tried it for about an hour now
hooked up to IPhone 5 ( with cable provided in box ) and mannnnn!! you got to be joking me!!
XBA-4's sound heaps better running direct from iPhone 5 , all instruments sound more detailed , they sound a lot clearer with good shape and more musical...
I didn't realise just how good the iPhone sounded until I tried this amp ... sure the amp still sounds good the bass has improved makes the music sound larger ( is that soundstage ? ) but at the price of the musical detail ... which just sounds sooooo" close to been beautiful ........ it's a no go ,,

man'''" I was getting so keen to order the JDS labs C5 ...... but now" a little hesitant ...

Do any of you guys think/know weather the C5 would have much if any improvement over the iphone5

and also guys I saw a YouTube vid talking about the fiio iPhone adapter that plugs into the charger socket bypassing the phones amp ( iPhone 4 I think he had ) then into E12.
Could one of those plugs be the missing ingredient that's needed to create that beautiful sound I'm after...

 
I don't have an Iphone5, but I do know that pairing with amps and different DAPs are all about synergy. Pairing my E12 with my Iphone4S using the LOD connector did not sound that great. However, pairing the E12 with the Ipod 5.5g using the LOD connector had a sound I love. I am believing it is more because of the DAC used in the different Iphones/Idevice players. I am liking the Wolfson DAC more than the Cirrus one that is present in the newer generation Idevices.
 
Using the LOD would improve the sound as you are not double amping the headphones. Give it a shot with the FiiO one thats less than 10 bucks.
 
In regards to the C5, to this day I do not know which one to keep.
 
The C5 gives me the atmospheric bass, a slight edge brighter and wider soundstage
however the E12 gives me the sweeter mids, less brightness, and a more "live" sound to my music. It also helps with longer sessions in listening to music. 

Lately I have been reaching for the C5 more and more as it unlocks the bass.. but the E12 gives my music a type of musicality that the C5 can't bring.
 
In other news, I actually took the plunge and purchased some T-PEOs H200s. I will be doing some quick comparisons as soon as I get'em. As much as I love my 40s, they are very source dependent. 

 

[d marc0]

Quote:

 
In other news, I actually took the plunge and purchased some T-PEOs H200s. I will be doing some quick comparisons as soon as I get'em. As much as I love my 40s, they are very source dependent. 

 
Congratulations mate! I'm sure you'll love the H200s; hopefully you won't have any fit issues with it. I for one have a smaller than average ears and luckily it went ok for me. I did a comparison between the H200 and XBA3; although the T-PEOS bests the Sony in almost all departments, I couldn't let go of the XBA3s because they're are still very unique and fun sounding. I still enjoy them each and every time I use them; although not as much nowadays... thanks to the H200s.

 

[howihearit]

Using the LOD would improve the sound as you are not double amping the headphones. Give it a shot with the FiiO one thats less than 10 bucks.

Yeah cool man
Just doesn't look like there's an LOD for iPhone 5 ..... Will keep looking"

another thing ....... sound of amp has defiantly improved after maybe 8 hours use ( though still not as detailed and musical as iPhone 5 )
Read somewhere that 20 to 40 hours burn time for best sound results out of this amp..

So fingers crossed

 

[chengsta]

Quote:

 
In other news, I actually took the plunge and purchased some T-PEOs H200s. I will be doing some quick comparisons as soon as I get'em. As much as I love my 40s, they are very source dependent. 

I figured instead of spending a couple hundred here and a couple hundred there for a bit of an improvement here or there, I just went straight to the end and got the jh16's.  To be honest, I think the xba 40 sounds really close to the jh16 except with a bit less detail coming from the jds c5 amp.  They also have the same quality bass, quality.  The best thing though, is that the jh16's bass does not distort, it can handle roughly 8x more bass quantity than the xba 40's.  

 
Other than that, I did not like the jh16's at all when I first got them, compared to the 40's until I got a better source.  The xba 40's allow me to enjoy sub-par sources.

 

[canikickit1]

I figured instead of spending a couple hundred here and a couple hundred there for a bit of an improvement here or there, I just went straight to the end and got the jh16's.  To be honest, I think the xba 40 sounds really close to the jh16 except with a bit less detail coming from the jds c5 amp.  They also have the same quality bass, quality.  The best thing though, is that the jh16's bass does not distort, it can handle roughly 8x more bass quantity than the xba 40's.  

Other than that, I did not like the jh16's at all when I first got them, compared to the 40's until I got a better source.  The xba 40's allow me to enjoy sub-par sources.

What source did you end up getting?

 

[chengsta]

the source I'm enjoying now is rockboxed sansa clip zip + jds labs c5 amp.
 
The xba 40 is like watching from the 1st or 2nd row of the concert.  The jh16 is like standing right next to the singer, inside the band.  That's the imaging I get anyway, and there is nothing wrong with either.  I enjoy the bass and detail/clarity of the jh16's, but the xba 40 is also pretty good because sometimes you just want to listen from the crowd rather than be in the band.  It's all about preference, really.

 

[darkportent]

Quote:

Hi everyone first time poster here..
I've been reading reviews here a bit lately
and thought I'd give a few thoughts.

I have the iPhone 5 , powering the sony XBA-4 ( good sound to my ears )
Which I assume is very similar to XBA-40 .
I read on here that the fiio E12 sound great on the XBA-40 ( & also XBA-4 I seen written on another thread )
so I ordered one tried it for about an hour now
hooked up to IPhone 5 ( with cable provided in box ) and mannnnn!! you got to be joking me!!
XBA-4's sound heaps better running direct from iPhone 5 , all instruments sound more detailed , they sound a lot clearer with good shape and more musical...
I didn't realise just how good the iPhone sounded until I tried this amp ... sure the amp still sounds good the bass has improved makes the music sound larger ( is that soundstage ? ) but at the price of the musical detail ... which just sounds sooooo" close to been beautiful ........ it's a no go ,,

man'''" I was getting so keen to order the JDS labs C5 ...... but now" a little hesitant ...

Do any of you guys think/know weather the C5 would have much if any improvement over the iphone5

and also guys I saw a YouTube vid talking about the fiio iPhone adapter that plugs into the charger socket bypassing the phones amp ( iPhone 4 I think he had ) then into E12.
Could one of those plugs be the missing ingredient that's needed to create that beautiful sound I'm after...

 
 
 
I do have the XBA 40 and C5 which I usually pair with my Ipod Touch 1st generation (Wolfson dac) (+LOD cable) and I am extremely pleased with the sound....! Could not believe that the C5 could have such a big impact....! So much more clarity, depth, width and improved soundstage....!!!   Now I know you're asking about the iPhone 5 and C5..... I don't do much listening with the iPhone 5 but I would say the following:
 - XBA40 definitely sounds a lot better straight out of the iphone 5 compared to the ipod touch (apparently due to the much lower output impedance..ipod touch 1st gen has 32 Ohms unless mistaken)
 - despite how good the XBA40 sounds out of the iphone 5, the C5 certainly provides again noticeably better clarity, width and depth as well as instrument separation....absolutely no regrets buying this great amplifier...!
 
I had the same doubts before proceeding with purchasing the C5 especially since I did not notice such a difference when auditioning the E11 and C&C BH but after I listened to the C5 I immediately thought Wooow....!  I just can't go back to listening to my music without the C5 anymore.... however I cant give any info with regards to the E12 though since I haven't listened to it....

 

[howihearit]

Cheers man" the key thing in the use of an amp paired with iPhone/iPod seems to be LOD cable , I think I will wait for an LOD cable for iPhone 5 ( has anyone seen one available anywhere ? ) and see how it sounds on the E12 before splashing out on the C5.
I've got to use the iphone because its a phone
for when I'm out and about" so as canikickit1 said the older style Idevices DAC sound better then the recent modle's ...... man""" that's sad ..... But never the less I think I will wait for iphone 5 LOD cable

 

[d marc0]

Cheers man" the key thing in the use of an amp paired with iPhone/iPod seems to be LOD cable , I think I will wait for an LOD cable for iPhone 5 ( has anyone seen one available anywhere ? ) and see how it sounds on the E12 before splashing out on the C5.
I've got to use the iphone because its a phone
for when I'm out and about" so as canikickit1 said the older style Idevices DAC sound better then the recent modle's ...... man""" that's sad ..... But never the less I think I will wait for iphone 5 LOD cable

The latest generation of apple music devices have very clean output signal from the headphone jack. LOD is unnecessary in my opinion and will only add up to your cost. Good quality 3.5mm interconnect cable will just be as good because the difference in sound by bypassing the built in amp of the recent apple music devices is NOT audible to people with normal hearing.

 

[chengsta]

Also, apple disabled the analog out ability in the latest I-devices, I believe the Iphone 5 is one of them.  They have no analog/line out. Your only choice is headphone out.  However, they do have digital out by using a lightning connector, but it will not work on amps;  The digital out is only supposed to go to external DACs.