[Midgetguy]

Anyway, so pending any reply regarding what the EQ values are to try to match the Audeze Cipher cable using the standard 3.5mm cable, I have the Massdrop Plus in my ears and boy is it GOOD. These may have dethroned my longtime mid-tier favorite Empire Ears Supras. I find the sound quality and signature of the two very similar, with the Plus making up in exactly the spot I felt the Supra was lacking: bass quantity and extension. The extra body doesn't really make it any warmer than the Supra, but gives it a more wholesome feel. While the Supra is a pretty neutral IEM, it gives off a sharper kind of energy while the Plus does a very good job of mixing smoothness with the slightly bass-boosted neutral profile. Couple that with the excellent detail retrieval and tonality, and I say Massdrop has an incredibly good first-effort on their hands. Best IEM under $1000 as some claim? I dunno, there's some really good stuff under $1000, but can it hang with the big boys at a fraction of the price? You bet! Color me impressed.

 

[bjaardker]

You all are smart folks and I figure are some of the best to answer this question since many of you have the gear I'm talking about.

Can anyone tell me if a FiiO X5iii will power headphones as well as my LG v20 does? I'm using my v20 for everything right now. I don't even have a home setup and it's powering my m1060 with ease. However, the new Pixel2XL has so many features I'm interested in that I'm considering getting a separate DAP. I use Spotify for 60%+ of my listening so wifi is a must and the X5 is about the top end of what I can afford.

Any thoughts? Or should I just disable cellular my V20 and keep using it on Wifi as a DAP?

 

[Karendar]

If need be, I have several of these I can send you for the price of postage

Just borrowed one from a collegue with a set of Icarus III's... I confirm it does not trigger Aux mode. :\ Impedance adapter it will be... Otherwise, my Get/IMR R1 combo works pretty well, just in APTX-HD instead of using the DAC...

 

[Karendar]

You all are smart folks and I figure are some of the best to answer this question since many of you have the gear I'm talking about.

Can anyone tell me if a FiiO X5iii will power headphones as well as my LG v20 does? I'm using my v20 for everything right now. I don't even have a home setup and it's powering my m1060 with ease. However, the new Pixel2XL has so many features I'm interested in that I'm considering getting a separate DAP. I use Spotify for 60%+ of my listening so wifi is a must and the X5 is about the top end of what I can afford.

Any thoughts? Or should I just disable cellular my V20 and keep using it on Wifi as a DAP?

To be honest, having owned the X5 3rd gen, it has issues. Issues that I don't know if Fiio fixed. So what I can tell you is this: Yes it will drive an M1060... With ease? Maybe a little underpowered. Will sound quality be on par? Yes it will. Will your experience be the same as a V20 interface/screen wise? I doubt it... If you're gonna sell the V20 to buy an X5, I'd just keep the V20. Spotify/Tidal had issues caching on the Fiio X5, which I don't know if they fixed too.

How what I'm wondering about is what exactly does the Pixel 2 have feature wise that makes you wanna switch away from a V20?

 

[bjaardker]

How what I'm wondering about is what exactly does the Pixel 2 have feature wise that makes you wanna switch away from a V20?

Thanks for the feedback!

The camera, display, and being bloat free with early updates are what I was most interested in. My v20 is pretty sluggish at this point and the display is ghosting really badly. I will just see if I can get them to replace my v20 because of the display issues.

Re: the aux mode, anything that's not a headphone should trigger aux mode. Make sure you plug the adapter in first by itself. You should be able to do that and verify it goes into Aux, then plug the headphones into the adapter. I've gotten my v20 to go into aux with a bunch of different headphone cable extenders. Best of luck!

 

[Karendar]

Thanks for the feedback!

The camera, display, and being bloat free with early updates are what I was most interested in. My v20 is pretty sluggish at this point and the display is ghosting really badly. I will just see if I can get them to replace my v20 because of the display issues.

Re: the aux mode, anything that's not a headphone should trigger aux mode. Make sure you plug the adapter in first by itself. You should be able to do that and verify it goes into Aux, then plug the headphones into the adapter. I've gotten my v20 to go into aux with a bunch of different headphone cable extenders. Best of luck!

Just so you're aware, display of the Pixel 2 XL might suffer from ghosting as it moves forward. Camera and bloat free with early updates is a good reason though. I'm on the V30 and I really miss the update speed of the Pixel line... I'm just dissapointed that Google still doesn't want to include an SD slot. They also have some major issues from launch which keep happening with every release... Still a great phone though!

Thanks for the adapter. I'll run some more tests...

 

[chillaxing]

Thanks for the feedback!

The camera, display, and being bloat free with early updates are what I was most interested in. My v20 is pretty sluggish at this point and the display is ghosting really badly. I will just see if I can get them to replace my v20 because of the display issues.

Re: the aux mode, anything that's not a headphone should trigger aux mode. Make sure you plug the adapter in first by itself. You should be able to do that and verify it goes into Aux, then plug the headphones into the adapter. I've gotten my v20 to go into aux with a bunch of different headphone cable extenders. Best of luck!

buy the pixel 2 and use the v20 as a dap.

 

[Midgetguy]

I don't yet know of the suggested Audeze EQ fix, can you link me to all the values? Cuz here's the issue I'm at right now after trying things out a little more this morning: these paired with the cipher cable sounds fantastic, easily better than the 3.5mm cable, but it's SO DAMN LOUD. What's wrong with people's hearing? Why is this the lowest volume??? I'm blowing my ears out! I downloaded the app and left the settings as-is in terms of ratio (everything is still just a straight vertical line on the sliders) but moved them all the way over to the left just to make it all quieter.....and it's still too loud. I also would prefer to use the 3.5mm because of how I would like to use these. They're going to be my earphones at work and I listen to music connected to my iPod, but I'd like to be able to easily swap between that, and connecting to the uDAC I've got hooked into the computer for when I watch podcasts or videos during my breaks.

So the ideal is an EQ that would work easily with what I've already got set up on my iPod and can be shut off very easily; that way, I can just use the 3.5mm cable regardless and toggle an EQ. I tend not to be an EQ sorta guy, but I might consider it.
The other option that I'd even be willing to do is swap the cables back and forth depending on if I'm connecting to the computer or my iPod for music, but I don't want to do that without getting something for socket protection. I'd need to have a 0.78mm female to 0.78mm male connector so I can just plug those in to the iSines, then I wouldn't wear out the sockets on the earphones themselves. Basically extension connectors so if they wear out, it's a part I can actually replace, but I don't know of anything like that existing. Know of anything like that? Because if so, I'd be willing to do this sort of solution. Would need to jailbreak my iPod to get a volume step adjustment tweak to allow for fine grain volume control, but the jailbreaking part is fairly easy.

Otherwise, the sound out of the standard cable still isn't bad, just not a stand-out.


EDIT: TL;DR, if someone just has the link to the equivalent EQ values if not using the cipher cable, please and thanks!

Found it here! Or at least something that's done quite a good job. Did it by eye, but through the cumbersome process of swapping the cables, I think it does at least get sort of close to what the cipher cable sounds like. At the very least, it sounds better and more well-rounded than what it was without the EQ. Now it's REALLY worth what I paid for it .

 

[Richsvt]

FWIW, I have the X5iii and in balanced mode, it does provide plenty of power. I have only 2 phones that I have in balanced mode (Meze Classic 99 and DQSM D2) but they are both easy to drive. There have been some issues with the X5iii but the latest FW seems to have many resolved. I don't use any streaming apps so can't comment on that usage. SQ is great with it and I really like its signature. I just purchased a Magni 3 for those times when I want more power from the SE output. Should do wonders with the X3iii I have as well.

Just my take. Hope it helps some.

 

[OldDude04]

I've made it into February without buying anything! Only 5 more months to go and it's killing me, lol. I just sold my LCD-2 and of course the first thing I thought was ”what can I buy now?" July needs to get here, I need the M1060c in my life.....

 

[KEV G]

I've made it into February without buying anything! Only 5 more months to go and it's killing me, lol. I just sold my LCD-2 and of course the first thing I thought was ”what can I buy now?" July needs to get here, I need the M1060c in my life.....

I made it to February also......ordered the Vega now if I can not buy anything, keep saving until July and then go to CanJam in London. You can do it, we believe in you

 

[Blommen]

Hey guys, just posted my review of the IMR-R1...

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/review/19862/

 

[Richsvt]

Just finished a bunch of work so taking some quiet time with some Boomsauce and today's rig. Great sounds. Going backwards in a version or so for the source. Easy UI and good signature. Looking forward to getting some Olympic events viewed in tonight...

 

[Karendar]

Just finished a bunch of work so taking some quiet time with some Boomsauce and today's rig. Great sounds. Going backwards in a version or so for the source. Easy UI and good signature. Looking forward to getting some Olympic events viewed in tonight...

What cable is that? I'm still looking for a sexy cable.

 

[Karendar]

Hey guys, just posted my review of the IMR-R1...

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/review/19862/

Review's pretty much on par with my impressions Thanks for this.