[darknation]

Hi guys,
 
Firstly, I listen to music on a MacBook Air un-amped. This is solely for portability purposes as I do not want to be lugging around an amp every time I feel like listening to a song. Secondly, most of the music I listen to is encoded at 256kbps AAC and 320kbps MP3. Again, this is only for portability purposes as my laptop has fairly small hard drive capacity.
 
My main question is whether it'd be worth it to purchase the TF10 with my current setup? Will I be losing out by not having my music encoded as lossless? If so, do you think it will be by a noticeable margin? Also, I guess I'm wondering if my current setup will be a sort-of bottleneck for the earphones.
 
I currently own a pair of Shure SE215s and UE 700s.
 
I'll appreciate any responses. In the meantime I'll be looking at more lossless vs lossy threads.
 
Edit: Got the name wrong!

 

[Spyro]

No such IEM as Super Fi 10.  If you mean TF10, I would not recommend it.  While it sounds good un-amped, it sounds better amped.  W3 is a better choice going unamped.

 

[ericr]

Quote:

No such IEM as Super Fi 10.  If you mean TF10, I would not recommend it.  While it sounds good un-amped, it sounds better amped.  W3 is a better choice going unamped.

 
The TF10's sound great to me using a Clip Zip, no amp needed.  Elsewhere I've seen FR tests showing showing the TF10 / Sansa Clip combo turning out some impressive results.  What is your souce?  Maybe it's not so much the additional power of the amp, but the change of impedance it brings?
 
   -E 

 

[H20Fidelity]

I run mine straight from a Clip+ and Cowon S9. The problem is with Clip+ there's a decent lack of bass imo though they perform really well everywhere else. The Cowon (plus some Mach3bass) they react completlly differently, near perfect actually to my tastes. TF10 are really sensitive, it doesn't take much power to get them sounding ok. I have had better experiences amping them though use mine a majoirty of the time unamped straight from either sources mentioned above.

And best of all OP I don't run FLAC everything I use is 320kbs and they're fine, there have been tests where people were unable to detect 320kbs between FLAC blind testing. The only problem you're going to suffer from slightly is your laptops headphone out. I still wouldn't consider it a waste or not worth it, because for $70 - $80 you can purchase a Fiio E10 DAC/Amp later down the track if needed. (very small, no big lugging around anything) and truly worth it.

Watch how those baby's sing then!

 

[JohnSantana]

So how's it going then ?
 
I wonder if amp is needed for more than 2 armature IEM ?

 

[Techno Kid]

95% of all my music is 256 to 320 and they sound great with the TF10, I've never been one that thinks formats like flac and others are so much better you notice it right away because I don't.  The only format that I've heard were you can tell the difference is WAV but they take up way to much space that even though its sounds better it still isn't worth having to deal with the huge files, at least thats how I feel.

 

[JohnSantana]

Quote:

95% of all my music is 256 to 320 and they sound great with the TF10, I've never been one that thinks formats like flac and others are so much better you notice it right away because I don't.  The only format that I've heard were you can tell the difference is WAV but they take up way to much space that even though its sounds better it still isn't worth having to deal with the huge files, at least thats how I feel.

Cool,
 
many Thanks man for your reply, at the moment I'm using my iPhone 4S with Fiio E1 + UE700 I cannot tell any difference.
Perhaps going with Fiio E7 + TF10 can be a big differene with one more BA ?

 

[Techno Kid]

Quote:

Cool,
 
many Thanks man for your reply, at the moment I'm using my iPhone 4S with Fiio E1 + UE700 I cannot tell any difference.
Perhaps going with Fiio E7 + TF10 can be a big differene with one more BA ?

 
When you use a portable amp like the E11 or E7 they will make IEM's sound better but it doesn't change the sound signature it just gives them more energy and bass presence depending on the EQ setting you use.  When I use my E11 with my R-50 or TF10 while the sound signature is the same I can just hear them better, it hard to explain but you can hear a difference from them when amp'ed.

 

[Origin89]

I think the TF10 is a great choice for your setup. I've been having mine for a couple years and they sound good on just about everything: Computer with 256-320kbps,  iPhone, amped and un-amped. 

 

[HeroicPenguin]

I have no lossless music (mostly mp3s from 256-320 kbps) and the TF10s sound fantastic. I don't really have the best ears (wouldn't exactly call myself an audiophile), but you'll see an upgrade.

 

[ericlin0122]

heard macbooks comes with pretty good dac already comparing to other laptops. I dont think you really need an amp for TF10. I like my TF10 with 256-320kbps.

 

[JohnSantana]

Quote:

I think the TF10 is a great choice for your setup. I've been having mine for a couple years and they sound good on just about everything: Computer with 256-320kbps,  iPhone, amped and un-amped. 

Thanks for that Origin89,
 
I learn that once you get into more than 2 BA driver, then you don't want to listen to less than 320 KBps :-o
especially with more high end IEM like Westone 4.
 
I'm truly spoiled kid now (-_-)"

 

[Aevum]

spoiled or not... lets clear up some myths about the TF10.
 
the TF10 pro is not a true triple armature, IEM´s like the Westone3, Shure SE530/535 or the Earsonics SM3 have a bass single armature, mid single armature and a treble single armature.
 
The triple.fi 10 pro has a Dual base armature and a single mid/treble armature, a dual balancer armature is 2 armatures with similar or same tunning settings inside a single casing. so the triple fi isnt exactly triple armature, its more like 2.5 armatures...
 
A good example of this is the Klipsch Custom 2 vs the Custom 3, both have 2 armatures, but the Custom 2 has a single casing dual armature, while the Custom 3 has 2 differently tuned armatures in 2 individual casings. one for treble and one for bass.
 
I owned the TF10 pro... i hated it. the fit was bad, never enjoyed the sound becuase they kept falling out and as with most closed armature iem´s no seal no sound, the cable is heavy and becomes stiff after a while.
 
I truly believe i wasted my money with them. and im really sorry to tell you this. i moved on to the IE8 which were slightly less sharp but much more enjoyable. and apparently whoever designed the casing on them has seen a human ear, unlike the Triple.fi 10 which seem to have been designed using nikki laudas ear modling...

 

[HeroicPenguin]

Quote:

spoiled or not... lets clear up some myths about the TF10.
 
the TF10 pro is not a true triple armature, IEM´s like the Westone3, Shure SE530/535 or the Earsonics SM3 have a bass single armature, mid single armature and a treble single armature.
 
The triple.fi 10 pro has a Dual base armature and a single mid/treble armature, a dual balancer armature is 2 armatures with similar or same tunning settings inside a single casing. so the triple fi isnt exactly triple armature, its more like 2.5 armatures...
 
A good example of this is the Klipsch Custom 2 vs the Custom 3, both have 2 armatures, but the Custom 2 has a single casing dual armature, while the Custom 3 has 2 differently tuned armatures in 2 individual casings. one for treble and one for bass.
 
I owned the TF10 pro... i hated it. the fit was bad, never enjoyed the sound becuase they kept falling out and as with most closed armature iem´s no seal no sound, the cable is heavy and becomes stiff after a while.
 
I truly believe i wasted my money with them. and im really sorry to tell you this. i moved on to the IE8 which were slightly less sharp but much more enjoyable. and apparently whoever designed the casing on them has seen a human ear, unlike the Triple.fi 10 which seem to have been designed using nikki laudas ear modling...

 
The TF10 does cause fit problems, yes, but the sound is fantastic. I actually like the sound a bit more than my UM3X and the fit for me isn't that much worse (although the TF10s do stick out a ton). The stock cable is terrible though, I'd recommend changing that ASAP. For their price, they can't be beat.

 

[JohnSantana]

Ah ok, many thakns for the sharing and suggestion Aevum, I have been using my UE 700 and looking for some significant improvement to be used with my iPhone 4S + Fiio E1, so I guess next step is to get Westone W4
 
Quote:

spoiled or not... lets clear up some myths about the TF10.
 
the TF10 pro is not a true triple armature, IEM´s like the Westone3, Shure SE530/535 or the Earsonics SM3 have a bass single armature, mid single armature and a treble single armature.
 
The triple.fi 10 pro has a Dual base armature and a single mid/treble armature, a dual balancer armature is 2 armatures with similar or same tunning settings inside a single casing. so the triple fi isnt exactly triple armature, its more like 2.5 armatures...
 
A good example of this is the Klipsch Custom 2 vs the Custom 3, both have 2 armatures, but the Custom 2 has a single casing dual armature, while the Custom 3 has 2 differently tuned armatures in 2 individual casings. one for treble and one for bass.
 
I owned the TF10 pro... i hated it. the fit was bad, never enjoyed the sound becuase they kept falling out and as with most closed armature iem´s no seal no sound, the cable is heavy and becomes stiff after a while.
 
I truly believe i wasted my money with them. and im really sorry to tell you this. i moved on to the IE8 which were slightly less sharp but much more enjoyable. and apparently whoever designed the casing on them has seen a human ear, unlike the Triple.fi 10 which seem to have been designed using nikki laudas ear modling...