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Thanks for all the tips.
E17 is still out of stock in Singapore but price wise I guess I can stretch out the budget to cover it.
The only issue is no demo or return policy from local stores.
The other day, I demoed the ibasso with a ATH M50 (10 mins) and it really could drive the cans well but besides loudness I can barely hear the difference. Or maybe I just didn't have enough time to listen.
Now I'm having 2nd thoughts cos I'm worried my ears can't make out the difference for me to commit to a amp lol
Hehe. Amps are sort of a funny thing to me. I understand the point of them on fullsized headphones and such, but I find it hard to believe that any IEM's have issues being driven by the laptop itself. And the thing that's even more confusing is that people say that a good amp is one that doesn't add any sort of coloration (change the sound in any way).... so the best amp is one that you can't tell is there? I'm not sure, but the reason i run amps, is because the headphone out of my lap top is so noisy and hisses so badly, that it simply drives me nuts. My UE11 pro can even pick up hiss from my ipod touch, which has become annoying to me. Another funny thing... hiss has never even bothered me before joining this forum. lol. Funny how the more I read around here, I suddenly become unsatisfied with things that i was once satisfied with...
/rant
If you don't mind waiting, the E17 seems like an interesting amp with alot of features, so if you can't EQ, the treble and bass boosts can help tailor to whatever sound you might like. If you're having sibilance issues, perhaps a warmer amp might help you. I have a Leckerton Audio UHA-6S, and if the UHA-4 sounds anything like it, it might be for you. I find the UHA-6S adds a touch of warmth, but not to the point where it makes the music sound too dark. I'm actually digging this amp quite a bit. Also, the customer service over at Leckerton is pretty good also, which is also a plus. I'm not sure how sensitive those Shures you have are, but be careful of which amp you choose. I've tried several different amps for my IEM's, and half of them have been too loud for the IEMs- by this, I mean that I can't turn the amp to normal listening levels at low gain without a channel imbalance. To get rid of the channel imbalance, I had to increase the volume to uncomfortable levels. The digital volume control on the UHA-4 is suppose to get rid of those issues. My UHA-6 doesn't have a digital volume control, but it doesn't have these issues. When I had the FiiO E7, i didn't have volume/channel imbalance issues either, so the E7/E17 might be worth looking into/waiting for.