ipod + headphone amp + headphone amp

[Lightworkz]

The best sounding MP3 player, IMO, is not sony or iriver. Try any Iaudio (a.k.a. Cowon) MP3 players. But, afterall, it is personal preference.

 

[lsisaxon]

My H120 has full equalizer settings, and I can disable the SRS WOW.

Also, there's 3rd-party firmware with even more features.

Wah.. even with 3rd party firmware.. Would that affect the audio decoding engine? So how does it sound with all the settings flat? Maybe one day I could get to try that. ;p

I would agree with Lightworkz that it's a matter of preference, but I'm a technical person, on top of sounding good, I would want it to be accurate as well. ;p

 

[+evenstar]

i'm using iPod nano 1st gen with portaphile V2^2 maxxed out with UM2/mylar X3...and i love the sound

 

[psychobiologist]

I just heard iRiver from a shop. It sounds good with SRS WOW HD. But there seems to bo no way to bypass the SRS. So that means that I am probably not listening to the original mastering of the music because the sound has been altered. Also, there is a tinge of artifact from the crash of cymbals... My Philips GoGear exhibit this artiifact also, a wobbly kind of sound as the cymbals or drum tail off. Then again, without putting my own test tracks into the iRiver, I am unable to make too much comment because I don't know how the original pieces should sound like.

In this sense, I'd still put Sony in front in terms of preserving the audio quality of the original source. I'm still for uncoloured sound.

i go with my h10 on SRS-off, equalizer off though. just pure off the recording

i dont like "enhanced" effects as they sound uneven across different recordings.

some people had asked me as well.. what source i am using on the mover with a computer.. why am i using a cheapo creative X-fi usb sound card for a couple of expensive headphones.. and further degrading the sound with a level attenuator etc

but i dont use the headphone out. i use the line-out and the attenuator to adjust. the headphone out is too weak. using the line out it sounds good to me at least dont need an amp

 

[lsisaxon]

i go with my h10 on SRS-off, equalizer off though. just pure off the recording

i dont like "enhanced" effects as they sound uneven across different recordings.

some people had asked me as well.. what source i am using on the mover with a computer.. why am i using a cheapo creative X-fi usb sound card for a couple of expensive headphones.. and further degrading the sound with a level attenuator etc

but i dont use the headphone out. i use the line-out and the attenuator to adjust. the headphone out is too weak. using the line out it sounds good to me at least dont need an amp

Enough current to drive the headphones from line outs? And your level attenuator goes in between the line outs and the phones? Won't it colour the sound?

 

[Rashkae]

Wah.. even with 3rd party firmware.. Would that affect the audio decoding engine? So how does it sound with all the settings flat? Maybe one day I could get to try that. ;p

The DAC is hardware, so no worries. With settings flat, it sounds clean and pure. I listen to Metallica playing with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, so a player has to be able to keep all the notes clean and crisp while still keeping the punch and not muddling the mid-tones... The iRiver H1X0 , H3X0 and the Cowon X5 all shine in that regard.

 

[cwtan12]

I have tried iriver last week but the seperation is not as good as ipod no doubt the vocal is better.

Maybe I will just try to get Grado RS1 or RS2 or SR325i, Beyerdynamic DT990 or Sennheiser HD650 first.. After that I will look for an amp.

 

[zhangyb]

try the kenwood HD60GB9, but u gotta import it, bluetin has the older HD30GB9. Personally tried it and have not come across others which surpass it. But this is my personal preference

 

[lsisaxon]

The DAC is hardware, so no worries. With settings flat, it sounds clean and pure. I listen to Metallica playing with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, so a player has to be able to keep all the notes clean and crisp while still keeping the punch and not muddling the mid-tones... The iRiver H1X0 , H3X0 and the Cowon X5 all shine in that regard.

DAC is only when you listen to uncompressed stuff. There is still an algorithm for decoding MP3. I would like to try that piece on my Sony. ;p