I'm on the fence with amping. I think an amp is essential for higher-end IEMs, otherwise you're wasting so much of their sonic potential. A smaller DAP is therefore ideal if portability is a must. Since I mainly listen at home, a DAP + portable amp (or a portable DAC/amp) is great for even better SQ with high-end IEMs and most headphones. A desktop DAC/amp would yield the highest possible SQ, but the lack of portability kills it for me.
Why surprised? Not only that, since many folks dump their mint 'older' IEMs for the 'latest and greatest', the old guard not only compete sonically, they can also be had for a fraction of the RRP. Even discounted, a Traillii or Jewel would cost me $1000 more than I paid for my entire Sony Signature Series system + TWS + upgrade cables.
Makes it very clear why the Cooler is such a cool place to hang out. A refreshing lack of any mention of the multitude of Chi-Fi IEMs or brands (which incidentally make up by far the largest portion of the mainstream IEM market). We're all sat in the VIP room behind two-way glass above the nightclub dance floor, yet everyone is welcome.So Traillii, Jewel, EXT, Xe6 & Mason are the Cooler's favorite IEMs and EE, VE, Oriolus, Aroma, UM and Fir the favorite brands. As interesting as this whole exercise was (thank-you to all who participated) it's not like all that info wasn't obvious. I'm more surprised at what didn't get mentioned than what did.
What a cheap-a$$ hobby we've chosen!I believe there may be some updates since this post but just as a general feel for the lunacy (errmm, passion) at the ‘cooler - based on RRP, a little bit of rounding, and averaging out pricing of the 87 variants of Mason….the top 5:
Traillii x15 - $90000
Jewel x12 - $61560
EXT x9 - $26640
XE6 x9 - $35100
Mason x8 - $32000
Total: $245,300
PS. That’s like, one whole Patek Philippe
Spot on...
...but look at this list, it's nothing but the highest end IEMs in the galaxy!
I think there’s a sweet spot to IEM amping. If you get a heavy-duty, super-expensive headphone amp, then you’re wasting the amp as well. And, since they’re typically designed with a higher power output for headphones, you may end up with hiss on IEMs, which defeats the purpose of achieving greater fidelity entirely. So, a good selection of portable amps would be the way to go, IMO.I'm on the fence with amping. I think an amp is essential for higher-end IEMs, otherwise you're wasting so much of their sonic potential. A smaller DAP is therefore ideal if portability is a must. Since I mainly listen at home, a DAP + portable amp (or a portable DAC/amp) is great for even better SQ with high-end IEMs and most headphones. A desktop DAC/amp would yield the highest possible SQ, but the lack of portability kills it for me.
Why surprised? Not only that, since many folks dump their mint 'older' IEMs for the 'latest and greatest', the old guard not only compete sonically, they can also be had for a fraction of the RRP. Even discounted, a Traillii or Jewel would cost me $1000 more than I paid for my entire Sony Signature Series system + TWS + upgrade cables.
Makes it very clear why the Cooler is such a cool place to hang out. A refreshing lack of any mention of the multitude of Chi-Fi IEMs or brands (which incidentally make up by far the largest portion of the mainstream IEM market). We're all sat in the VIP room behind two-way glass above the nightclub dance floor, yet everyone is welcome.
What a cheap-a$$ hobby we've chosen!
Indeed, hence my point (and agreement with what you were saying earlier). At the very least you'll want a high-end DAP to get the most of your high-end IEM investment. Personally, when I'm portable or on-the-go, I'm usually not really focused 100% on the music, or there's enough ambient sound or activity that I'm not experiencing everything my IEMs can give me anyway, in which case a good noise-cancelling TWS + LDAC phone is more than enough to satisfy - especially when I'm streaming and not using local high-res files. To get the most from my 'good' IEMs I'm almost always at home, in a quiet room, so a DAP and/or portable amp does the trick, and while a desktop source is feasible (and optimal for SQ), I still don't want to be tethered to one spot in the house if I can help it.
I think synergy is very important, finding the right amp for the DAC/DAP is critical to getting accretive results. There's really no fixed and fast rules, you just gotta try it to find it; part of the fun, really. I had a similar experience of walking into e-earphone in Tokyo long ago and finding a vintage Carot One Nik-58 tube amp.I think there’s a sweet spot to IEM amping. If you get a heavy-duty, super-expensive headphone amp, then you’re wasting the amp as well. And, since they’re typically designed with a higher power output for headphones, you may end up with hiss on IEMs, which defeats the purpose of achieving greater fidelity entirely. So, a good selection of portable amps would be the way to go, IMO.
I personally have one neutral amp and one warm one. The former is the HUM Hypno, which I really, really enjoy for a clean, dynamic tone. And, the warmer amp is the Kojo KM-01 Brass. It’s an awesome, vintage-feeling, battery-powered amp that’s considered a limited item. I managed to snag one used at e-earphone during one of my Japan trips, and it’s basically a vinyl or tape emulator. ‘Love the thing.
I think there’s a sweet spot to IEM amping. If you get a heavy-duty, super-expensive headphone amp, then you’re wasting the amp as well. And, since they’re typically designed with a higher power output for headphones, you may end up with hiss on IEMs, which defeats the purpose of achieving greater fidelity entirely. So, a good selection of portable amps would be the way to go, IMO.
I personally have one neutral amp and one warm one. The former is the HUM Hypno, which I really, really enjoy for a clean, dynamic tone. And, the warmer amp is the Kojo KM-01 Brass. It’s an awesome, vintage-feeling, battery-powered amp that’s considered a limited item. I managed to snag one used at e-earphone during one of my Japan trips, and it’s basically a vinyl or tape emulator. ‘Love the thing.
When you guys talk about IEM’s needing amps, how much power are you talking about here? Like, beyond 1W @ 16 ohm?
Apparently, to find synergy, it's not just about power and resistance, have to factor current into the equation too. It's all very confounding to me; I just try to find the amp of around the same form factor to make a congruent stack and then test the sound!
Not really power (unless it's a crazy power-hungry IEM), more just clean amping coupled with really good electrical components and a matching high-quality DAC (hence a high-end DAP, which is all of those in a neat package). Like @efftee says it's mainly about synergy. Even a 'low-power' amp like the one in Sony's Walkmans is more than enough for the vast majority of IEMs, but Sony's sound doesn't necessarily gel with all IEMs. Same goes for any amp/DAC/DAP. But the quality parts inside a Walkman will work together as a whole to give you a far better experience with high-end IEMs (that in turn can take advantage of - and let you hear - the benefits of the components inside), much more so than a dongle, for example. Also, if you're streaming low-res or compressed music, you're not really making the most of what your high-end IEMs/sources are capable of, but that's a different kettle of fish entirely.
Yeah, and none of this is to say your high-end IEMs and dingle dangle dongle won't sound great with a lo-fi Spotify playlist. Of course they will! It's just that paying for a Ferrari to drive to the corner store and back seems a bit superfluous.Apparently, to find synergy, it's not just about power and resistance, have to factor current into the equation too. It's all very confounding to me; I just try to find the amp of around the same form factor to make a congruent stack and then test the sound!
Apparently, to find synergy, it's not just about power and resistance, have to factor current into the equation too. It's all very confounding to me; I just try to find the amp of around the same form factor to make a congruent stack and then test the sound!
100% agree synergy is extremely important, hence why I own more than 1 DAP. Also agree that power isn’t everything, especially for IEM’s. I thought you guys were saying that you need large amounts of power for some IEM’s, which I don’t agree with, but you’re not so ignore me
Like @efftee said, it’s just about getting a different sound, for me. Stuff like cables can only do so much, and an amp can bring certain changes to imaging and dynamics that you can’t quite get through other means. It’s not a necessity or power-hunger thing.100% agree synergy is extremely important, hence why I own more than 1 DAP. Also agree that power isn’t everything, especially for IEM’s. I thought you guys were saying that you need large amounts of power for some IEM’s, which I don’t agree with, but you’re not so ignore me
