Which impedance adapter? Help me to choose

[archigius]

Hi, i own a pair of Shure SE530 and i use them with a Cowon D2.

This combo sound very good, but unfortunately there is a noticeable hiss in silent parts of the music. I thied the Shure impedance adapter, but it seems to cut a bit too much the highter freqencies.

So i want to buy an impedance adapter (actually i can't buy a good amp) and i don't know what to choose. I have these options:

ETYMOTIC ER4P TO ER4S RESISTOR ADAPTOR - eBay (item 290291029025 end time Jan-28-09 17:45:49 PST)

It seems that a lot of people uses this ebay adapter here on head-fi and i'd like to know if it's good enough to keep a good sound quality.
I read in the auction it can have a custom impedance, so i'd buy a 33 ohm one.

Then there is this, but it's 75 ohms, a bit too much with the 36 ohms 530, it's overall more than 100 ohms.
Head-Direct.com | YUIN

This is my last option, but a very expensive one:

APureSound - Where The Music Is Always Pure - APS Audio LLC.

A custom impedance costs 60 dollars, very very expensive, i'd buy this only if the ebay one doesn't worth the money. Probably this is the best quality (based on hight price and great producer) adapter, but only my last choice.


Please can somebody help me to decide?
I'm searching for the best price/spund quality match and i'm very confused.

 

[Lil' Knight]

The one on eBay is a very good one and it's very small. I've used it for a long time and haven't got any issue.

 

[Navyblue]

I made this, it's cheaper than anything but the eBay ones are hard to beat in prices.

 

[archigius]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Navyblue /img/forum/go_quote.gif I made this, it's cheaper than anything but the eBay ones are hard to beat in prices.

I understand for the price, but what about sound quality?
The Shure adapter seems to slightly degrade sound quality, expecially in the hight frequencies. And the soundstage seems a little bit reduced.

Does the Ebay adapter keep the Shures' great sound quality?
Is there any degradation in sound?

 

[Navyblue]

Are you willing to pay for the APS prices? If yes go for it, if not then get the ebay ones. You could email the ebay seller on what resistor they use, but I doubt anyone could tell the difference if they use a half decent metal film resistor, especially in a portable setup.

 

[archigius]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Navyblue /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are you willing to pay for the APS prices? If yes go for it, if not then get the ebay ones.

I don't know if APS worth the price they ask, it's really hight (60 dollars for a custom one!).
The question is:
if with the ebay adapter there is no degradation in sound, why to pay more?

I think that many headfiers bought the ebay adapter, maybe someone can tell me if it's better than Shure attuenuator.

If it isn't better than the Shure one, i can think to buy the APS one.

 

[needgoodphones]

Since the impedance curve of the headphones by themselves is not perfectly flat, any resistors will change the sound signature. This has very little to do with the quality of the resistors (I doubt that any of these use 20 year old wire-wound resistors).

Realistically, all 75 ohm resistors sound about the same, higher quality resistors just come in much closer matching pairs, minimizing volume imbalances between left and right channels. The less resistance added, the closer the sound will be to its original signature, but the louder the hiss will be.

 

[Lil' Knight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by archigius /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think that many headfiers bought the ebay adapter, maybe someone can tell me if it's better than Shure attuenuator.

What better do you want? They're just a pair of resistors.

 

[archigius]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lil' Knight /img/forum/go_quote.gif What better do you want? They're just a pair of resistors.

Simply i don't know too much about this, this is the matter why i was asking for the difference. I hope my (maybe stupid) questions didn't upset you.

I only wanted to understand if there was difference in sound.

 

[archigius]

Quote:

Originally Posted by needgoodphones /img/forum/go_quote.gif Since the impedance curve of the headphones by themselves is not perfectly flat, any resistors will change the sound signature. This has very little to do with the quality of the resistors (I doubt that any of these use 20 year old wire-wound resistors). Realistically, all 75 ohm resistors sound about the same, higher quality resistors just come in much closer matching pairs, minimizing volume imbalances between left and right channels. The less resistance added, the closer the sound will be to its original signature, but the louder the hiss will be.

This is a very interesting explanation, i think i need to add not too much resistance to avoid the hiss, in fact on the Shure attenuator i set a very low gain.

But it seems that, despite the low added resistance, the sound slightly reduces the hights and gives more power to the bass.
I was asking myself if a good quality resistor better keeps the sound quality.

 

[digivate]

I bought one of those adaptors from eBay, to go with my UM2 and Cowon D2 combo, but I never use it.

In fairness, the adaptor does stop 99% of the hissing, but I just don't like what it does to the overall sound signature of my UM2s. I went for a 33 ohm adaptor, as that was the lowest the guy on eBay does, and I didn't want to change the sound signtaure too much ... but it just doesn't sound right anymore. I don't know if this is possible, or whether it's just my imagination, but the adaptor actually seems to have removed a lot of the bass depth (which is the main thing that I really like about the UM2).

I think Apuresound are taking the piss with their prices for the adaptor. The component parts they've used are slightly more expensive (and larger) that the eBay ones, but I've used both types when building my own custom cables, and I don't believe that there is any noticeable difference in SQ.

My recommendation, based on my own experience using a very similar earphone/player combo to yours, is to not bother buying anything at all ... I'd rather live with a little bit of hiss rather than screw up the sound signature that I love.

However, If you do decide that you want to try an adaptor out anyway, go for the one on eBay (and probably best to get a 33 ohm one). Like I say, it will definately get rid of the hiss, but you'll just have to see if you're still happy with the overall sound signature for yourself.

At least with the eBay guy you're not throwing $55 down the drain if you don't like it.

 

[Taikero]

If you're losing bass depth when adding resistance, it's probably because your DAP's internal amp isn't powerful enough to give your IEMs the power to drive the bass any more.

In other words, if you're getting a resistance adapter to remove hiss, get a decent portable amp to go with it, preferably something that's been known to go well with high impedance IEMs like the ER4S.

 

[archigius]

Quote:

Originally Posted by digivate /img/forum/go_quote.gif My recommendation, based on my own experience using a very similar earphone/player combo to yours, is to not bother buying anything at all ... I'd rather live with a little bit of hiss rather than screw up the sound signature that I love. However, If you do decide that you want to try an adaptor out anyway, go for the one on eBay (and probably best to get a 33 ohm one). Like I say, it will definately get rid of the hiss, but you'll just have to see if you're still happy with the overall sound signature for yourself. At least with the eBay guy you're not throwing $55 down the drain if you don't like it.

Thank you, this is a great suggestion.
Now i think that if i'll try, i'll buy the ebay one. The strange thing is that with the Shure adapter, the bass becomes more and the hights are a little bit reduced, unlike what happens to you.

 

[shigzeo]

i bought the one from head-direct: great unit. the flexible neck is a safety measure as the plugs are short neutrik: better strain relief for your cowon.

the sound only gets better with low ohm phones like 36.

especially with the cowon which needs avery high ohm resistance to sound good: it will be much better with the cable.

 

[Navyblue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by needgoodphones /img/forum/go_quote.gif higher quality resistors just come in much closer matching pairs, minimizing volume imbalances between left and right channels.

Quality resistors and whether they are matched or not are entirely different thing. Of course quality resistors tend to be manufactured with lesser tolerance, but that is not all. Better resistors has better noise specification and thermal stability. I don't expect the eBay guy to use boutique resistors but I'd want them to at least use half decent metal film resistors and not the carbon stuffs.

Though I wonder if APS uses boutique resistors instead of the "normal" good stuffs like Vishay Dale considering the amount Alex is charging.