[Nanashi]

....the Cowon J3, isn't very good and anyone considering a J3 should seriously take this point into consideration before picking one up.
 
I could not more strongly disagree with this statement. The Cowon J3 is a superb player in many respects, I will not mention all the reasons why as there are other threads for that.
 
Maybe I was not being clear in previous statements but I would like to make it clear that the J3 and IE8s by themselves sound good. A tweak of the EQ or two and it's wonderful...Now, the J3, D4 and IE8s sound out of this cosmos. This is not the end all or be all setup but it pleases my ears after much search for the "sweet spot" of my music.
 
My J3 is EQd so that the lowest frequencies are dropped a notch or two. Normally it feels like the sound stage is expanded and everything seems more refined. When I add the D4 it adds those parts that were taken away without being overbearing and in addition to that makes things even more refined and wider at the same time. 
 
Hope this clarifies things some.

 

[beeman458]

LOL
 
I could not more strongly disagree with this statement.
 
---snip---
 
Now, the J3, D4 and IE8s sound out of this cosmos.
 
---snip---
 
When I add the D4 it adds those parts that were taken away without being overbearing and in addition to that makes things even more refined and wider at the same time.
 
You're doing it again.
 

 

 

[qusp]

I think you underestimate people, the terms I used are well known to technical types, who are not necessarily audio types, maybe not you, but you have google if you want to know and there is also a glossary of terms thread on here. some people might know just enough to think they know that an IEM is easily driven loud, so must be driven well, may be forced to reassess that. but really I dont care so much, I aimed to give a technical explanation and thats what I did. in the process of dumbing it down it becomes just like every other attempt to do this. the car metaphors come out

a personal pet hate

 

[taylorpoz]

has anyone tried the IE8's with a FiiO E5?? the E5 is what i use in my current setup and if i end up picking up a pair of IE8's, i probly wont be able to get a new amp along with it, mainly because of the IE8's price tag 

 

[matchuk28]

depends on the source for me i only ever use the e5 if i for some reason decide to use my iphone to play music or else with a clip plus the sq is impaired
 
imo ie 8 doenst need an amp like the e5

 

[kargi]

No. I recently got an ibasso PB1 toucan for my arriving hd650s, there is no improvement what so ever to my ears with ie8. Ofcourse there is slight change of the sound, it is brighter. But change is so little that any slight eq setting on my cowon j3 will outpower it. spend your money on something else man or don't buy before you try at least.

I have my ie8 for almost a year, I was thinking to buy a portable amp in first weeks, but I didn't. It was good desicion, because now I have a balanced amp for a real reason: 300ohm beauties

In addition, just look at the box, sennheiser itself tells you it can be driven from a portable source. It think that is proven fact by an engineer with math, not a fella listening them in the sennheiser labs.

 

[taylorpoz]

gotcha. yah im using my iphone so if i do end up getting the IE8's i will probably slap my E5 in between the two just to get rid of the annyoing hiss that the iphone gives off when headphones are plugged straight into it.

 

[Emc209i]

 
Quote:

Nanashi's comment above tells me that the amp in the Cowon J3, isn't very good and anyone considering a J3 should seriously take this point into consideration before picking one up.  

 
The J3 allows the user to set volume from 1-40. Volume changes relatively to the bit-rate of the song that's being played. Lossless audio files need more volume to play at the same relative volume. That being said, I listened to a 570kbps-880kpbs album the other day with the volume set to 35, and had ringing in my ears for the rest of the day. I've gone to 40 before for a few seconds, but there's no doubt in my mind that more time would result in permanent damage to my ears. The sounds quality is phenomenal up top, and I've yet to get distortion on a high bit-rate song with the volume jacked. So, I can tell you from first hand experience that the amp in the Cowon J3 is superb. I'm saving for a Headstage Arrow 12HE, just to see how far I can push this DAP, but I don't need an amp to enjoy what I'm listening to at all.
 
Let me ask you, what DAP would suggest other than the J3?

 

[matchuk28]

ok i just got a new phone the samsung galaxy S hooked it up to my ie8 and e5 to retest
 
and on this combo i cant explain if its the dac or the e5 its making the ie8's soundstage expand and tightening up the bass it sounds amazing