TimeOut

Hello all, I thought I'd share another passion of mine, high end personal audio. As I travel a lot, I haven't had the urge to indulge in a serious home setup, and as a big music fan of all genres, low quality audio on the move was something that I had to ...  

Let's say first that the audio file quality is definitely the main issue. 128 kbps mp3 needs no high end equipments, thus every part plays a relevant role. I use to listen to my audio file with my phone, WAV or AIFF from CDs; today, with cheap memory card... 

Actually, if anything, I have found low res files sound worse with good equipment than with not-so-good equipment! You are right, it isn't ideal to carry an extra device, but I have found myself willing to carry it because I enjoy the sound so much! In th... 

An amazing technique' example, but i doubt anyone can hear a real difference.

I share your passion and having good portable sound works well with my lifestyle (too much time on planes, trains and taxis) so most of my music listening is done away from home. Very nice kit you have - I am sure it sounds fantastic! I have been using Je...  

Unfortunately, now that I have seen how music can sound portably, I am exploring things in more details. I am very familiar with JH Audio, I tried the JH11s side by side to the UE11s, and were very similar, but the UEs just felt right. HOWEVER, when my lo... 

When I got my JH16s there were not so many custom IEMs out there. I upgraded to a mid-range silver cable and am still very happy. Now you are really spoilt for choice and many are excellent. It's down to personal taste. Agreed passive sound isolation with... 

There is a big headphone show happening in Singapore this weekend (CanJam), I am hoping to go to the London event in July and be able to play in person with a lot more toys! I have been looking into the newer DAPs with Android capability.... the good thin... 

preamp, streamer, dac, amp, just add speakers. And a power amp when you are ready to upgrade.

I moved from a iPod nano and a pair of Shure SE535\'s to this setup. This was simple since I already had my cd collection loaded on a Kaleidescape that is completely uncompressed. Copied everything to a SD card and I was in business. When playing the trac...  

I have heard very good reviews about this, and have been eyeing up the X5 iii being released soon I believe. And you're right, I actually now look forward to flying, close my eyes, turn on the music, and bliss!! Thanks for sharing your setup Jerry.

Looking forward to even better tunes.

At that price, its a no brainer! Let me know how it works with your setup! Purists eh... if they're not tempting you into buying watches, they'll find some other way to make you part with your money hahaha

Thanks for the idea.

I have their 10 armature Kaiser (the K10), as well as their 9 armature Katana. Different tunings, both very high end. Highly recommended. I have a JH16fp, not bad, as well as several other ciems. The dynamic driver Future Sonics ciems are interesting, for... 

Very hard to come across one to try out. They will be at a show in London in July, so hopefully I will get a chance to hear them. You do bring up a point that I had only noticed since I upgraded my setup: Different tunings. Reference monitors, bass-heavy,... 

I have the k10 custom, a 4-driver Noble ciem and the Katana is universal. Try the Katana and new K10encore. You will likely walk away having put down money for one or the other.

Very excited to try them out now! Thanks for the info!

Great post, opened for me a whole world I was not aware of!

One mans meat Another mans poison. One way to narrow is to know the sound signature that you like and that would narrow down the potential equipment. Cheers PAt

But now I am more confused.... each signature has a particular genre of music that I feel works better - unfortunately I listen to such a varied selection of music (Jumping from Drum and Bass to Classical for example), that I no longer know what I want! I... 

Hi ik2000, You should not post thinks like this. I used to be a proud owner of a Stax electrostat, but that passion kind of got lost in the transition to digital - now you come and post your amazing set up, and back I am searching and looking for someone ... 

One thing I would point out is that IEM 'soundstage' can't compete with the top top headphones (so I have been told) due to the physical size and other constraints... However try them out and see how you go! Let me know how your journey goes, and glad to ... 

I do have a somewhat serious home system, but on the road there is some catch up to be done...

I'm very much in the camp of iPhone and $15 ear-buds but I really need to hear the difference decent equipment makes.

Does the setup change with iPhone 7 or do you just go for usb-c connector and thats it?

One reason I left Apple and moved to Android (using a samsung s7) was due to issues like this (plus many many others) - I would believe that the usb-c connector would be fine, but it is better to confirm from wherever you are buying it from. I don't think... 

Flying will be forever changed now. Adding the Fiio A3 is a welcome addition. Feels a lot like going from standard issue earphones to my Shure SE535 then to my AKG\'s. Adding the amp takes everything to a much better level. The amp actually does more for ...  

I had to restudy my physics when I started looking into this more. The problem with the larger headphones is that they have a higher impedance/resistance, so need more power to drive them fully. This is where an amp comes into its own. A lot of people say... 

I have Shure 325 with IPhone 6 and I subscribe to Tidal HiFi as well. I love the Shure IEM and live tidal! Great write up and pics! But be careful, audio is a rabbit hole!! You\'ve been warned

I am already knee deep in the hole and sinking The Shure 325s were the very first IEMs I got, and I place the blame on them for starting me down the slippery slope!

My first good earphones were Shure SE215\'s then SE535\'s then almost went with the SE846\'s after I stepped on the 535\'s. Ended up with the AKG K3003i.

Hi ik2000, Because of you, my ue18 are here now. Wow, never thought possible - thanks for making me join the club...

Please share a pic of your UE18s!!

...  

It is always rated as one of the best DAC/Amps out there. I'd like to try it out one day. Is there a noticeable difference between the sound compared to the Dragonfly? And you have FA3s for when you dont want to take out the UE18s! Glad to have helped, I ... 

So far I do not really notice a difference, so as the dragonfly is smaller and does not need charging, it gets more light of day. There might be a difference with higher quality music input, but that will need to be the next step. Do you only do tidal or ... 

The problem is, all of my music (at last count about 4,500 tracks) were all in low quality format, a collection built since the iPod first came out in 2002/3 if I remember correctly. To change that all is a big task, and not sure how to do it!!! Since may...