[castleofargh]

personal taste is our own and there is no need to force it onto others as an objective truth because it's not. hearing an improvement is not evidence of  objective superiority, it's evidence of personal preferences. a taste thing. 
while objective fidelity is verified only with objective measurements. and both will be conditional to how we use a device that has an amp section and what we plug in it.
 
going to say device X is better than device Y because I hear it better, while not even mentioning the IEM/headphone used, that's a double no of very little help or significance.

 

[gregorio]

  I dont get why people keep on looking for things that are right there up to their noses.

 
Because that's what they're deliberately manipulated to do, that's what marketing is for! It's what all the manufacturers of competing products desperately need you to believe, what all those who rely on income from marketing budgets need you to believe and what all those who've bought those products would like you to believe, to validate/support their own marketing driven opinions.
 
G

 

[JWolf]

   
Because that's what they're deliberately manipulated to do, that's what marketing is for! It's what all the manufacturers of competing products desperately need you to believe, what all those who rely on income from marketing budgets need you to believe and what all those who've bought those products would like you to believe, to validate/support their own marketing driven opinions.
 
G

 
It's not always marketing. It's sometimes what is. Yes, my Fiio X3II does sound better than my iPhone 6s. This is not because I want my X3II to be better. It's because my X3II IS better.

 

[daulagiri]

Well, my AK100ii miles better than my iphone 6s. But I have listening time for both anyways. I can't discover new music if I only use my AK to play my favorite songs . That task was given to my phone & streaming services i subd.

But come on guys, iDevices SQ is a acceptable. Even on newer iPod touch.

 

[gregorio]

  It's not always marketing.

 
Of course it is, or are you saying that Fiio don't market the X3II? Or are you saying that you, unlike other human beings, are somehow immune to marketing?
 
The iPhone is flat/linear within the limits of audibility. For the X3 to actually produce some audible difference in sound (regardless of whether that difference is subjectively better or worse), it must therefore NOT be flat/linear within the limits of audibility. In which case the X3 is not better, it's worse!! Although of course some audiophiles actually have a preference for "worse" (audible distortion) and therefore might confuse their personal subjective preference for "better". As previously, there's the caveat of what is being driven by the dap, which might mean it's more suitable (rather that intrinsically "better") for your particular cans. There's also the potential caveat of some functionality difference (rather than a performance difference), which could make it more (or less) suitable in certain circumstances (say a music collection in some rare/esoteric format unsupported by the iPhone).
 
G

 

[FiGuY1017]

For me and my ears my ipod touch 6 through my cayin c5 & ican se (ho)put up a good fight against my hidizs ap100. So maybe I'm workin with some untrained ears or the ipod is really not bad. Doesn't really matter I guess does it? I mean I like it ..someone else hates it..who cares lol

 

[watchnerd]

For me and my ears my ipod touch 6 through my cayin c5 & ican se (ho)put up a good fight against my hidizs ap100. So maybe I'm workin with some untrained ears or the ipod is really not bad. Doesn't really matter I guess does it? I mean I like it ..someone else hates it..who cares lol

 
Just look the graphs and see the awesomeness:
 
http://archimago.blogspot.com/2014/10/measurements-apple-iphone-4-iphone-6.html

 

[FiGuY1017]

Just look the graphs and see the awesomeness: Hmm maybe I'm not tone deaf afterall!!16 bit is about all I do.. sounds about perfect.

http://archimago.blogspot.com/2014/10/measurements-apple-iphone-4-iphone-6.html

 

[JWolf]

   
Just look the graphs and see the awesomeness:
 
http://archimago.blogspot.com/2014/10/measurements-apple-iphone-4-iphone-6.html

 
I'll go one better. Here are graphs for the Fiio X3II. http://headphoniaks.com/blog/fiio-x3-ii-x3ii-x3k-analisis-review-1/2/

 

[Ruben123]

I'll go one better. Here are graphs for the Fiio X3II. http://headphoniaks.com/blog/fiio-x3-ii-x3ii-x3k-analisis-review-1/2/

are they loaded or unloaded measurements?

 

[watchnerd]

   
I'll go one better. Here are graphs for the Fiio X3II. http://headphoniaks.com/blog/fiio-x3-ii-x3ii-x3k-analisis-review-1/2/

 
not enough color, not so awesome

 

[JWolf]

are they loaded or unloaded measurements?

 
http://www.fiio.net/en/products/39/parameters
 
There are better graphs that do say if loaded or not.

 

[JWolf]

   
not enough color, not so awesome

 
Look at the link in my previous message for better looking graphs at higher resolution.

 

[castleofargh]

headphoniaks measurements are actually pretty well done in general. sometimes you get the wrong unit written in the little grid trying to summarize all the values, but with a little attention between power and voltages makes it fairly obvious when it happens.
I really like them for looking at more than just unloaded stuff like most websites(also in the last 2 years the only times I could justify learning Spanish was reading their reviews and watching the Escobar tv show

).
 
they measured an iphone6 too for more directly comparable values. basically the X3II is a good deal better objectively except for the background noise.  but anybody who had a few Istuff devices knows that they tend to have a low background noise and are valued for that. they picked the fiio X1 as a closer comparison and even it doesn't have to be ashamed overall, so yeah fiio does well in the objective department. that too isn't a secret.
I'm an apple hater, at an almost religious level because what I think about closing systems on purpose to trap the consumers would need a vocabulary not allowed on this website. but if I was just to judge on background noise that is my number one problem with my sensitive IEMs, and 95% of why I buy or don't buy a device, I would have to admit that out of the DAPs and cellphones I have owned and tried, apple stuff are still on top with the good kids of what I would count as transparent to my hear in most practical uses.

 

[nrvenice]

Generally appreciate this guys detailed measurements: http://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/iphone-6s-plus-audio-quality.htm

http://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/

Should put to rest many concerns.