[tigon_ridge]

Quote:

Originally Posted by turnstyle /img/forum/go_quote.gif But we can reach the same conclusion if: 1) the D2 compares poorly to the D10 in SQ 2) the D2+ compares similarly to the D2 in SQ Have you seen either/both of those addressed? I'm happy to think that the D4 is better -- but I'm also happy if the D2+ performs just as well...

I tried looking through google, but did not find opinions of the #2 category. HeadphoneAddict was somewhat disappointed by his D2, yet praised the D10 quite a bit. However, you can get an idea just by reading other people's impressions to each of them. Most people who owns the D10 seems to be thrilled by its performance. The D2 and D2+, on the other hand, don't seem to receive as much of an enthusiastic reception.

 

[mark2410]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tigon_ridge /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sure. However, isn't this true of all the top-tier universal IEMs? I mean, if the se530 were a master of mids, then it would be as good as the JH13's mids (it's not). If the IE8 were a master of bass, then it would be as good as the JH13's bass (it's not). It's the TF10 were a master of treble then it would be as good as the JH13's treble (nope). If you don't mind sacrificing a bit of portability, maybe pairing the UM3X with an excellent amp and UM56 would perhaps allow them to become a great jack of all trades; perhaps even a "master" of something. At least, that's my hope. I mean, it seems that all of the things you dislike about the UM3X can be significantly improved with a high quality amp. On the other hand, you won't find an amp that will bring out the TF10's recessed mids; nor any amp that will significant extend the se530's treble; and very few, if any that is portable, that will tame the IE8's mountainous bass.

well tbh i put all customs in their own category as so few ever hear several of them so i think they are incredibly hard to got a reliably true idea about them in relation to each other. hom many know how 5 or 6 high end customs compare to each other?

as for amps i do carry one about and should i never judge anything else i have heard because i havent head it with each and every amp available? westone directly didnt give me any one specific amp recommendations and im not buying specific amps for each IEM i have. can i not ever say the tf10 has recessed mids because i havent tried it with xyz amp? of course not.

can i not find any failings with anything as ive not heard every source / amp combo? really it sounds a lot like your telling me i and my ears are wrong because i do not find the um3x to be the best thing ever. no no its that you havent treid them with this, then you find them better than anything else........

oh and the icon mobile tames the IE8 bass tremendously and the XM5's treble boost works great with the 530

 

[VicAjax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark2410 /img/forum/go_quote.gif well tbh i put all customs in their own category as so few ever hear several of them so i think they are incredibly hard to got a reliably true idea about them in relation to each other. hom many know how 5 or 6 high end customs compare to each other? as for amps i do carry one about and should i never judge anything else i have heard because i havent head it with each and every amp available? westone directly didnt give me any one specific amp recommendations and im not buying specific amps for each IEM i have. can i not ever say the tf10 has recessed mids because i havent tried it with xyz amp? of course not. can i not find any failings with anything as ive not heard every source / amp combo? really it sounds a lot like your telling me i and my ears are wrong because i do not find the um3x to be the best thing ever. no no its that you havent treid them with this, then you find them better than anything else........ oh and the icon mobile tames the IE8 bass tremendously and the XM5's treble boost works great with the 530

well... to be fair, the amps in your sig are budget amps. nothing wronge with that, but the UM3X most definitely scale with better (or simply different) kit.

i also don't know what sources you use, or source material. all of this makes a difference.

i'm not invalidating your opinion by any means, but it doesn't surprise me that you were unimpressed by the UM3X with those amps.

 

[mark2410]

the xm5 isnt a budget amp and westone are adamant it requires no amp at all. should i not be comparing how it compares to the same equipment as every other IEM?

or are you arguing it only sounds good with particular items? should we just avoid it if we dont have said sources and amps?

 

[tigon_ridge]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark2410 /img/forum/go_quote.gif well tbh i put all customs in their own category as so few ever hear several of them so i think they are incredibly hard to got a reliably true idea about them in relation to each other. hom many know how 5 or 6 high end customs compare to each other? as for amps i do carry one about and should i never judge anything else i have heard because i havent head it with each and every amp available? westone directly didnt give me any one specific amp recommendations and im not buying specific amps for each IEM i have. can i not ever say the tf10 has recessed mids because i havent tried it with xyz amp? of course not. can i not find any failings with anything as ive not heard every source / amp combo? really it sounds a lot like your telling me i and my ears are wrong because i do not find the um3x to be the best thing ever. no no its that you havent treid them with this, then you find them better than anything else........ oh and the icon mobile tames the IE8 bass tremendously and the XM5's treble boost works great with the 530

I was only suggesting the choice of getting a really good amp and/or the UM56 so that you could get more enjoyment from your UM3X. I'm not saying that you or your ears are wrong just because you don't think the UM3X is best. However, I think it's fair for others understand that all of your claims about the UM3X, in comparison to other IEMs, are your own observations; that was the same point that I made to you a while ago. You seem to speak with such authority about these products, yet I was not challenging your views; but just providing alternative views/options.

 

[turnstyle]

The UM3x are the best IEM's ever, including all of the future, and that is just a FACT.

 

[tigon_ridge]

O.o Huh...

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by turnstyle /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are there any other 'obvious' portable USB DAC w/ headphone amp devices that I should also take look at?

Quote:

Originally Posted by tigon_ridge /img/forum/go_quote.gif I tried looking through google, but did not find opinions of the #2 category. HeadphoneAddict was somewhat disappointed by his D2, yet praised the D10 quite a bit. However, you can get an idea just by reading other people's impressions to each of them. Most people who owns the D10 seems to be thrilled by its performance. The D2 and D2+, on the other hand, don't seem to receive as much of an enthusiastic reception.

The D2 Boa is not bad, it's just that I had the pleasure to own the D2 Viper first and with new opamps the D2 Viper was up on the level of amps like the Predator, 3MOVE, Pico and XM5. Then the D2 Boa came out which was better than the stock D2 Viper, but not as good as the Viper with better opamps.

The D3 was better than the D2 Boa (skylab agreed) but the D3 didn't quite reach the level of the D2 Viper with new opamps. The new D10 without burn-in sounded as good as my D3 with 700 hours already on it, and after burn-in was almost like a Predator clone but smoother - with new opamps the D10 can get close to the performance of the P-51 Mustang (slightly less treble and air).

The USB DAC on all the iBasso amps is nice and detailed and spacious, while the optical DAC in the D10 is another step up. Rumor has it that the dual wolfson DAC in the D4 will be as good as the D10, so I ordered a D4 to get here next week and I'll burn it in and review it soon. Any amps that I used in the review after 11/08 (even when I went back to older amps to compare vs newer ones) will have been reviewed while listening with the Westone 3. I have only tried the UM3X this summer and fall with a P-51 and D10 (new opamps) and both were great with both IEM.

Here is my review of USB DAC/amps: UPDATED 2/22 REVIEW 13 USB DAC amp - Predator, Pico, 2/3MOVE, D10 D3 D2 Viper/Boa D1, Lyrix, MicroAmp, Vivid V1, Nuforce, XM5 - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

 

[turnstyle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif Rumor has it that the dual wolfson DAC in the D4 will be as good as the D10, so I ordered a D4 to get here next week and I'll burn it in and review it soon.

Hey Larry! I've been reading through your USB DAC roundup, amazing job -- thank you, just... wow.

Count me among the folks eagerly awaiting your opinion of the D4.

 

[tigon_ridge]

Quote:

Originally Posted by turnstyle /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey Larry! I've been reading through your USB DAC roundup, amazing job -- thank you, just... wow. Count me among the folks eagerly awaiting your opinion of the D4.

The man is a force to behold, his wallet a strong and able sidekick.

 

[turnstyle]

Larry, if you happen to be here -- the Predator, I gather you have to charge that via a separate adapter, rather than via USB? (meaning, you can't simply use it over USB and 'forget about power' in the way you can with the D4?)

 

[tigon_ridge]

Quote:

Originally Posted by turnstyle /img/forum/go_quote.gif Larry, if you happen to be here -- the Predator, I gather you have to charge that via a separate adapter, rather than via USB? (meaning, you can't simply use it over USB and 'forget about power' in the way you can with the D4?)

The RSA website says nothing about running or charging the Predator from USB. It's all running from the internal li battery. Supposedly, the idea is that battery power is cleaner than USB power.

 

[VicAjax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark2410 /img/forum/go_quote.gif the xm5 isnt a budget amp and westone are adamant it requires no amp at all. should i not be comparing how it compares to the same equipment as every other IEM?

the XM5 is a sub $250 amp... i'd say it's a modestly priced amp, at the top end of the budget price range. and it's not the most open or transparent amp, either. please don't take personal offense at this.

as for what Westone says, they're certainly correct in that the UM3X is easy to power because of its high sensitivity, and one doesn't need an amp... but a good amp improves the sound significantly.

Quote:

or are you arguing it only sounds good with particular items? should we just avoid it if we dont have said sources and amps?

i'm saying exactly what i said in my post. but if you want me to elaborate... the UM3X does sound better with better gear. i tried it through the HP out on my laptop and my desktop at work and it sounded congested and rolled off. i prefer my PX100 or ES7 with lesser sources.

with a good amp and source, my UM3X come alive... they are open, transparent, tight, powerful, smooth, dynamic, textured, balanced, musical and incredibly satisfying. i've heard better, but not from an IEM at this price range.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by turnstyle /img/forum/go_quote.gif Larry, if you happen to be here -- the Predator, I gather you have to charge that via a separate adapter, rather than via USB? (meaning, you can't simply use it over USB and 'forget about power' in the way you can with the D4?)

You use a 5v wallwart to charge the Predator (9v for XM5, 12v for Pico), so they wont run off USB for weeks on end without charging, which the D4 and 3MOVE can do.

The D4 and 3MOVE don't charge with the USB, even though USB alone can power both the DAC and the amp without a battery. Like the 3MOVE amp, the D4 9v battery must be (1) charged externally or (2) you can use an alkaline battery. The 3MOVE does not have a switch to bypass the battery, so if the battery is installed in the 3MOVE while you listen via USB, it will run the 9v down first before switching to USB. The D4 gives you a toggle switch to bypass the battery. Another area were the 3MOVE differs is that it can run off a 6-12v wallwart, and have more power for difficult to drive headphones - the D4 will only run off 5v USB or 9v battery.

The D2 and D10 can also run off USB without running out of power, but only if you leave the charge switch "on" all the time. But that might wear out the battery faster since it is always trickle charging as you partially drain the battery with music listening.

 

[mark2410]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VicAjax /img/forum/go_quote.gif the XM5 is a sub $250 amp... i'd say it's a modestly priced amp, at the top end of the budget price range. and it's not the most open or transparent amp, either. please don't take personal offense at this. as for what Westone says, they're certainly correct in that the UM3X is easy to power because of its high sensitivity, and one doesn't need an amp... but a good amp improves the sound significantly. i'm saying exactly what i said in my post. but if you want me to elaborate... the UM3X does sound better with better gear. i tried it through the HP out on my laptop and my desktop at work and it sounded congested and rolled off. i prefer my PX100 or ES7 with lesser sources. with a good amp and source, my UM3X come alive... they are open, transparent, tight, powerful, smooth, dynamic, textured, balanced, musical and incredibly satisfying. i've heard better, but not from an IEM at this price range.

mine has been upgraded, a major part of why i got it along with its variety of buttons to alter things.

really i cant say i hear the um3x being a great many of the things you say and im rather forced to think if and IEM cant sound good running out of a hp socket then that must be seen as a failing of the IEM. the whole point of them is to be portable. if your saying out of an hp socket they are so bad that you prefer things like the px100 then isnt that like a big neon sign telling anyone not wishing to use very select equipment to just avoid them?

this isnt a problem i can say ive had with any other IEM, maybe we should have a list of what is sounds good with so those who dont have or want those items know not to bother trying these?