[nc8000]

This is actually a difficault question and a lot of the answer depends on the definition of portable. For pure portability I have settled on an iPhone with an iBasso T4 amp and Etymotics HF2 headset the gets swapped between the iPhone headphone out when I need to be able to make and answer calls or the T4 headphone out when I just need music. For better sq but also considerably more bulk the iRiver H-140 optically into an iBasso D10 feeding APS recabled ER4-P is imho very hard to beat and is my travel rig. In my day to day life that is too big to be truly portable.

 

[younglee200]

diymodded Ipod => LOD => XM5 => Recabled Shure 530s with custom tips.
Or just Cowon D2 // Iriver E10 => Shures.

Pretty much dream portable rig for me. Sure, I'm sure that there are better, but I don't want to spend the money for it

 

[ignorant]

ZuneHD(not released yet but looks AMAZING), Sennheiser IE8. No amp, because that would just make it less portable. I haven't really experienced any music coming from an high end amp so my opinion might change if the SQ is phenomenally better than w/o one.

 

[Real Maximus]

Travisg, can you send pics of all of your gear? I am basically after all of the components you have, unless others convince me to head in another direction. At this point, what you have certainly sounds like a dream to me. It will take time, as I don't have the money to do it all right now. Send pics if you have them!

 

[james444]

iRiver T7 (Volcano) => (velcroed to) Xin Supermicro IV => short cabled Sennheiser IE8. Full sound in a tiny packet, fits easily in my shirt pocket, no excessive cable, wonderful!

 

[catscratch]

Modded Stax SR-001 systems are great. I have one and had a few more on loan, and I liked every one of them. Definitely a massive improvement on the stock 001 and a good contender for king of the portable pile. I'm not sure if I would pick the stock 001 over a lot of what has recently come onto the market but it's still a great system and a fantastic value for money.

However I hate carrying amps around, and a portable source is not good enough for most really good high-end headphones to begin with. I did carry a MicroDAC sourced from a D-NE920 into a modded 001, but that's a massively bulky and impractical rig. Sure does sound good though.

My real portable system was iAudio 7 --> ES2, lately with the W3, and soon to be ES3x. I really don't see the need for anything more than mp3 player --> ES3x/UE11 or similar.

I remember Kevin Gilmore had a portable rig that involved running the O2 Mk1 off a 212 powered by a car battery, and sourced from a good DAC. Now that is a real man's portable system.

 

[shirtaspants]

I agree with everyone else saying DAP > IEMs, no amp, is ideal. For me that's an iPod Touch into a pair of SE530s.

I've been finding though that a lot of my portable use is more like transportable, when I'm sitting at a laptop. The Pico has been a godsend here, with better SQ- I especially notice the lower noise floor. It's also so much easier to browse on a laptop vs. a DAP, even if storage on the DAP weren't an issue. I'm hoping some ESW10JPNs (on the way) will round out this setup. IEM isolation is a little too much w/ people in the room and for long-term comfort.

 

[Tidus]

My dream

Imod + crystal cable + ALO portable Vcap Dock + ALO Cables + LISA III + Westone ES3X with Piccolo Cable

 

[FooTemps]

my dream portable rig?

A PMP I design myself > Portable planar headphones I also design myself

I'll never be satisfied unless someone builds something equivalent to a top end DAC/AMP duck taped to an iTouch or S9. I mean something like ripping out anything that isn't necessary and shoehorn something like a pico into an iTouch or S9.

 

[bakhtiar]

My wishlist
A modern DAPs with digital out which can play lossless open format. Period.

I already have iBasso D10 and PFEs, which are more than enough for my needs.

 

[smallcaps]

when i want to go lighter and not carry around my iriver/d10 rig, my favorite portable solution is my ipod classic 160gb, acs custom sleeved ie8's and usb charge/synic cable in a small drawstring sack. this setup allows me to slip 70gb of anime, 60gb of alac music and 20gb of podcasts into a pocket discreetly with a few gb's left over for general file storage. the only thing that would make it better is a bigger hard drive.

 

[ignorant]

DOMOKUN!!! He's my avatar in a different forum ^____^

 

[Uncle Erik]

I sort of already have it - a 30GB iPod with AAC and an RS-1. That makes me happy away from home.

What I'm hoping for, however, is a 128GB or greater iPod Touch so I can move to lossless. The real fantasy would be the rumored Apple tablet, hopefully one with lots of storage. Then I'll add custom molded IEMs. Not sure which model, but have always liked the UE10.

 

[neosoul]

My dream system would consist of a Peak 100gb compact flash card imod, a pair of the triple driver livewires, and a mustang amp with a ALO Cryo SX18g LOD.

 

[Libertad]

pure ogg catalog->cowon D2+16GB->32GB SCHC-> some portable amp->recabled HJE900 with custom tips