Where to start to improve listening experience ?

[Valley]

Hi !

I've been using cheap IEMs (SoundMagic ES20), my smartphone (Xiaomi Pocophone F1), and compressed audio files for years now and I feel like I could get a better listening experience if I got the right hardware. I know I would want something portable, but the problem is that I'm not sure what to buy.

I assume that getting better earphones (preferably still IEMs) would be a start, but I don't know exactly what to look for when making my choice, or how much I would need to spend.
On top of that, I guess I would need to look for either a DAP or a DAC ? But again, I don't know which one would be preferable.

I would be willing to spend 400-500€ to buy earphones and a DAP/DAC, and I would really appreciate if some people could help me figure out what to do.

Thank you for your time !

 

[tmb821]

I started by getting better iems. I went with kz zs10 pro’s, And tin p3’s, then I got a fiio btr3, then a EarStudio es100. From there I got some akg k240s and a topping nx3s amplifier. I use Bluetooth for my portable setup, the es100 with zs10 or tin p3. I use es100 and nx3s with k240s. On my laptop I use a fiio k3 and the k240s.
it really depends on what you want to accomplish, portability or desktop use. Better iems will give you a more accurate representation of the music. Something like the btr3 or es100 will give you portability and the option to use as a usb dac as well. I’d start with the iems or headphones first, that will be the ultimate decider in how it sounds. Crap iems with a good dac/amp will still sound like crap. Hope any of that long winded response helps.

 

[Valley]

Thanks ! Since I prefer portability, I'll get some new IEMs before deciding if I just invest in a DAC or if I go for a proper DAP

 

[surfgeorge]

I agree that a good IEM is maybe the best and logical first step.
A lot will depend on the kind of music you listen to and what‘s most important to you. Vocals? Acoustic? Classic, EDM? Rock etc...

Do you have a place where you can listen to IEMs? That would be by far the best.

Maybe describe what music you listen to and which part of it is most exciting/important to you. That will help to make a recommendation.

 

[Valley]

I guess it's a bit hard to say what I'm looking when I'm not really sure myself. But I mostly listen to all sorts of Pop (Art Pop, Synthpop, Dream Pop, etc.), ambient and electronic. I mostly care about the instrumental over the vocals, if that makes sense ?

Again, it's hard to say what I like most when I've always used basic earphones and I don't know how much better the experience could be with proper gear. And when I read reviews of IEMs, there are many words used that I don't understand what they're referring to

Thanks again for the help

 

[surfgeorge]

I guess it's a bit hard to say what I'm looking when I'm not really sure myself. But I mostly listen to all sorts of Pop (Art Pop, Synthpop, Dream Pop, etc.), ambient and electronic. I mostly care about the instrumental over the vocals, if that makes sense ?

Again, it's hard to say what I like most when I've always used basic earphones and I don't know how much better the experience could be with proper gear. And when I read reviews of IEMs, there are many words used that I don't understand what they're referring to

Thanks again for the help

This already helps. I‘ll write more tomorrow!

 

[RimuruTempestIRL]

an upgraded IEM cable would helps too
i basically goes for a IEM with upgrade cable worth half of its price , since i already got a beginner dac
Upgraded cable can changes how the IEM sounds

 

[HaBo]

The HD600 is the way to go. It's a basic. For sure.

 

[RimuruTempestIRL]

The HD600 is the way to go. It's a basic. For sure.

hes askign for IEM
if u meant HD600 from Sennheiser
those are open end headphones
totaly not IEMs
and HD600 is not basic on entry level on most country
actually no , they arent considred basic at all
they are advanced / mid-high ends
they cost about 2.5k MYR (about what a waiter at restaurant works for 2 month)
and they cost about 500 USD i believe? totaly not an entry / basic/beginner level

 

[HaBo]

hes askign for IEM
if u meant HD600 from Sennheiser
those are open end headphones
totaly not IEMs
and HD600 is not basic on entry level on most country
actually no , they arent considred basic at all
they are advanced / mid-high ends
they cost about 2.5k MYR (about what a waiter at restaurant works for 2 month)
and they cost about 500 USD i believe? totaly not an entry / basic/beginner level

None of my IEM, or even TOTL iem that I've listened have the "audio confort" that have my HD600. Op must skip iem and go to open-back headphone directly !

 

[HaBo]

If the author go to iems, he has to know his prefered sound signature. Or he will loss a lot af money with the buy'n sell game (I did).
And HD600 can be bought used, and cheap because there are so many HD600 in the used market.

 

[hkpants]

A new IEM is going to change your sound quality the most when compared to getting a new DAC, amp, etc. If you have a 500 euro budget, I'd spend a majority of it on a new IEM. You mentioned you like pop and electronic music, so for those, I generally recommend a V-Shaped IEM that emphasizes the lows and the highs. Some personal recommendations from me are to check out the Fearless line of IEMs, maybe the S4, S8 Pro or S8 Freedom.

You also mentioned that you prefer portability, so I'm assuming you need something that you can walk around with. If that is so, you might consider looking into a portable Bluetooth amp like Radsone ES100, Fiio BTR3K, or Fiio BTR5. They're a small separate portable unit that connects to your phone/computer via Bluetooth. They're small enough to slide into your pocket, clip on your belt loop, shirt pocket, etc. so that you don't need a cable directly connected to your phone. You can also connect it via USB to your computer to use as a USB DAC/Amp. If you have AptX HD or LDAC on your phone/laptop, the sound quality will be close to wired sound quality; you especially won't notice the SQ difference if you're using it for portable use outside with outside noise. I have IEMs that cost $1k+ and I still use them with my Radsone ES100 when I'm on the go.

 

[Johnny Golden]

In a similar fashion to what's already been said the first logical choice is to upgrade to better iem's first as even without a proper dac most iem's can be driven by a phone with relative ease and decent quality. A lot of people in this thread are suggesting some more expensive and quite specific hifi gear but as the OP has stated he's never really tried anything else and doesn't know exactly what he wants. I agree with the above post that a V shaped sound signature would probably be preferred, but, he hasn't tried a good sounding earphone with this kind of sound signature so we won't know.

The best course of action here is to try something like the KZ ZS10 pro's which are incredibly cheap, have a replaceable cable, are well built, incredibly detailed and a slight V shape with a bit of an accentuation in the low end. These are generally a comfortable sound signature that most will enjoy.

Alternatively if you do not want more bass than the alternative earphone would be the Tin T2.

These two earphones are fantastic sounding pairs that most people are comfortable using alongside much more expensive equipment. I own many expensive flagship headphones and earphones and yet I use my T2's and KZ ZS10 pro's more than any of them.

The advantage of getting something like this is that they are cheap enough that if you don't like them you haven't wasted too much and you've narrowed down and figured out more of exactly what you want. On the other hand if you do like them, which most people do, there is a good chance you can keep using these headphones for a long time to come without even feeling the need to upgrade.

As for a portable dac/amp or dap. Do you care about bluetooth, balanced, do you intend to use the amp with bigger headphones or just iem's?

 

[hkpants]

The best course of action here is to try something like the KZ ZS10 pro's which are incredibly cheap, have a replaceable cable, are well built, incredibly detailed and a slight V shape with a bit of an accentuation in the low end. These are generally a comfortable sound signature that most will enjoy.

Alternatively if you do not want more bass than the alternative earphone would be the Tin T2.

These two earphones are fantastic sounding pairs that most people are comfortable using alongside much more expensive equipment. I own many expensive flagship headphones and earphones and yet I use my T2's and KZ ZS10 pro's more than any of them.

The advantage of getting something like this is that they are cheap enough that if you don't like them you haven't wasted too much and you've narrowed down and figured out more of exactly what you want. On the other hand if you do like them, which most people do, there is a good chance you can keep using these headphones for a long time to come without even feeling the need to upgrade.

I agree with this sentiment. While, per my previous post, I do believe the Fearless line has great IEMs that seem like they would fit your (OP's) preference, it would also serve the OP well to spread their money around and get a couple different types of IEMs instead of one dedicated IEM. I'm not too familiar with KZ IEMs, but I am a big fan of the Tin HiFi series, especially the T2 and T4. I also like Moondrop's offerings, maybe look into their budget line. Also consider the etymyotic ER2 line, won't fill up OP's budget but performs great. Looking into getting 3-4 budget IEMs might work better for the OP then just getting one expensive IEM. Up to you OP.

 

[surfgeorge]

Generally agree with what has been said.
Spending too much without knowing what you like and what to expect can be wasted money.
On the other hand my personal experience was that all the cheap IEMs (up to €50) ended up collecting dust.
IMO the sweet spot for price/performance is between €100 and €300, there are some really good options.

The cheapest IEM I loved was the Moondrop Kanas Pro ($180 at the time) and that sound is now available in the Moondrop Starfield for around €100.
Personally I am a huge fan of my modded JVC FD02 (similar to Drop JVC FDX1) and use them maybe more than my more expensive IEMs.
And a really useful list is Crinacle's IEM ranking here: https://crinacle.com/rankings/iems/
I think he's doing a very good job at keeping his personal preferences to a minimum and accuratly evaluating IEMs for their performance.
It's a good starting point.

Of the ones I have heard, I'd also consider the Sony XBA-N3 if you like a tastefully boosted bass (not bass-head level, but clearly boosted) paired with smooth and detailed mids and treble.