Maybe if I put it this way - I already had an E12A and found it lacked a little in the sub-bass and overall body - would I like any of the possible options on the E12 DIY?
Yes, the Cayin C5 is pretty good. I really like its default sound sig but felt it's bass boost warned up the upper bass and lower mids too much - not my gig.
That's why I still use the E12 Mont Blanc. It has GOBS of Power and a much more authoritive Bass. When You hit the Boost it doesn't affect the overall warmth or coolness of the sound at all. It only boosts the volume of the Bass frequencies. Quite a bit.
I can suffer with a slightly less black noise floor than the E12A which is anemic by comparison.
BTW: If you use the Amp as I do as the main Volume control, leaving the player at a preset Volume, eventually you will notice a little scratchy sound from Dirt in the Alps potentiometer. A quick fix is to carefully pry off the Volume Knob, (in the Case of the Fiio's it is pressed on), and Spray a little DeOxit Electronic cleaner on the Stem and work it back and forth. Use Sparingly so it isn't running out of the amp enclosure. Use the DeOxit with the slight Lubricant in it. It works wonders.
Yeaa I realised that after I took out the spares tin and had a look at the buffer that was inside. Just to reconfirm, which one is the LME49600? I have Buffer Chip 1 in the e12 now.
I found the E12A sound a little cooler and brighter than the DIY with the OPA1611 chip when I did a quick A/B right after getting the DIY. Haven't really properly sat down to do a comparo yet however. Also I just found out that the DIY throws around 22V of input voltage..
On high gain it was able to drive even a HD600 easily, and I couldn't really tell a difference in sound quality compared to the iFi Micro iDSD that the shop had. Source was line out from my Fiio X3 Classic.
Nice review Vince, KZ has spoiled me on iem's so until I can get my K10's I'm going to stick with sub $30 if I want another iem sitting in a bag all it's life or at least 99.9% of it's life
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