mvvRAZ
Headphoneus Supremus
The way I see it, you've gotten yourself an IEM with excellent scalability and it will keep improving as you improve the DAC cable etcPlease allow me a small rant.
Thus far I’ve been using my A12T’s with the lightning dongle. I figured they sound alright, a little less detailed than Andromeda’s but better bass. At Deezel and mvvRaz’s suggestion I decided to try plugging them into my Gen 1 Dragonfly’s connected to my computer.
I have been a fool.
Understand this— I don’t believe in most of the hi-fi mumbo jumbo spread in these forums, plus I’m cheap as hell. I’ve always believed that DAC’s make 10% difference tops.
The music that came out of my A12T’s plugged into a Gen 1 Dragonfly was so much more profoundly spacious, melodic, and detailed... it made me goddamn angry! I have been WASTING these IEMs on the lightning dongle.
I am currently searching frantically for a portable DAC, and will likely get a Cobalt unless someone convinces me otherwise. Portability, sound quality and avoiding #donglelife are the most important factors in what I buy.
No matter what though, I am converted. Thank you all for helping me understand (and making my wallet cry).
When I was just getting into the hobby I went through the regular upgrade cycle, starting from a DF Red, to a Mojo, to an AK SR15, noticing major improvements each time I scaled up
Half an year later I spent some time with the AK SP1000M and once again, the improvement was so large I had to give in
I'm not saying you should just go an jump on the most expensive piece of gear you can find, but the way I see it, it makes sense to evaluate how much you would be willing to spend and not waste your money on a lengthy upgrade cycle
And on the whole cable topic, the 64 stock cables are designed mostly for pro use, which pretty much assumes they'll be receiving tons of punishment and will most likely be getting replaced sooner or later. They sound okay, but Imo you will also receive a pretty noticeable upgrade if you go for a cable