I've recently really gotten into audiophilia and perfecting my mobile sound quality - General

why are you buying all this shit to listen to compressed 192kbps audio from an iphone lol?

Haha, I've done some 3 seconds research into that amp you bought, turns out it's this: [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMoy[/url] So congrats on spending 70$ on a 5$ amp.

My dad is really into audio and his liking has gotten me into it. I hope that when I move out for college I can take some of his older speakers, because they sound so nice :dance:

[QUOTE=Chryseus;42793336]Funny thing is most audiophile gear actually produces worse sound quality than your average decent quality stuff, money != quality.[/QUOTE] This is utter nonsense if you've actually ever taken the time to listen to the difference and the 'source' you quoted is one man's view, hence it must be correct, right? I have Klipsh S4i's and another Sony lower-end brand and the difference between them and the Etymotic's I bought is NIGHT AND DAY. [QUOTE=nick_9_8;42794315][IMG]http://img3.findthebest.com/sites/default/files/805/media/images/klipsch_Image_S4_White_In-Ear_Headphones_208211.jpg[/IMG] I bought these for around 100 bucks and the quality is amazing. Don't see why you need all that shit for 1k+?[/QUOTE] Listen to a higher-end IEM and you'll understand the difference. Furthermore, I didn't spend close to $1,000, I spent about $400. And the Klipsch's are a very good brand, but even the 10i's can't hold a candle to the Ety's. [QUOTE=Mr. Bleak;42795961]Case in point, my $135 open-ear Sennheisers have better... everything than those earbuds that are twice the price. It's practically bordering on pretension.[/QUOTE] LOL, a typical opinion by someone with little to no knowledge on the subject. The top-of-the-line Sennheisers (IE80 and IE800) definitely have better sound quality, but your $135 pieces . . . No. Don't assume based on nothing. I'm willing to bet you know nothing about the Etymotic earbuds I purchased. It has nothing to do with pretension, it has everything to do with wanting the best sound quality I can get without spending $1K. [QUOTE=Boarta;42797575]Is there a change between the triple flange silicone and the one piece silicone on in-ears? Sound, comfort?[/QUOTE] The triple-flange earbuds definitely are not the most comfortable tips on the market, but the sound quality in comparison to the one piece silicone or foam tips is astounding. [editline]8th November 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=DrDevil;42798147]Haha, I've done some 3 seconds research into that amp you bought, turns out it's this: [URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMoy[/URL] So congrats on spending 70$ on a 5$ amp.[/QUOTE] Do you know how much money it takes to build a car? Congrats on spending $20K on a piece of machinery it took $5K to make. Your rationale is absurd. Besides the fact that even if you read that wiki article, it says the amy isn't for low impedence earbuds. Mine are high impendence, perfectly designed for that amp.

I've spent way too much on DACs, amps, speakers and headphones and come to the conclusion that my £15 Sony earbuds sound more than OK. I mean, you don't have to be an 'audiophile' to like good quality sound (just buy your audio gear intelligently).

poor dude. he's gone

[QUOTE=Padgoi;42798864]This is utter nonsense if you've actually ever taken the time to listen to the difference and the 'source' you quoted is one man's view, hence it must be correct, right?[/QUOTE] His view is actually backed up by years of research and analysis by many engineers, audiophiles on they other hand have zero evidence other than perceiving that it sound 'better' when actual testing says otherwise. Also there have been plenty of trials where random people are put in front of various amplifiers ranging from cheap to absurdly expensive and statistically they cannot tell the difference, so it sounding better is pretty much all in your head. Having a good pair of headphones, speakers and earphones is the only thing that makes a real measurable difference with cheaper stuff tending to have a poor frequency response, but you don't need to spend a huge amount to get good quality, anything over $80 or so and your pissing away your money.

I buy my headphones at Value Village.

[QUOTE=Paul McCartney;42793444]The nearest thing to audiophile I've done is getting some expensive headphones that werent all that expensive. [url]http://www.gradolabs.com/[/url][/QUOTE] I haven't really had the best time with those headphones, I had a cable twisting issue that became so severe it cut into the wire inside it. I still need to get them repaired.

I'm trying to decide which headphones to buy. I'm thinking either the Jlab intro or supra leaning towards supra heavily but would love the opinions from you guys on this.

[QUOTE=Chryseus;42800233]His view is actually backed up by years of research and analysis by many engineers, audiophiles on they other hand have zero evidence other than perceiving that it sound 'better' when actual testing says otherwise. Also there have been plenty of trials where random people are put in front of various amplifiers ranging from cheap to absurdly expensive and statistically they cannot tell the difference, so it sounding better is pretty much all in your head. Having a good pair of headphones, speakers and earphones is the only thing that makes a real measurable difference with cheaper stuff tending to have a poor frequency response, but you don't need to spend a huge amount to get good quality, anything over $80 or so and your pissing away your money.[/QUOTE] That's why I spent $270 of the earbuds and $70 on the amplifier. Even a decent amp can power good earbuds. $70 for an amp is incredibly cheap. The actual listening mechanism is what mattered.

[QUOTE=Padgoi;42798864]Do you know how much money it takes to build a car? Congrats on spending $20K on a piece of machinery it took $5K to make. Your rationale is absurd. Besides the fact that even if you read that wiki article, it says the amy isn't for low impedence earbuds. Mine are high impendence, perfectly designed for that amp.[/QUOTE] A car is many many times more complex than this. You can't even compare the two. [t]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9f/Cmoy_headphone_amplifier_in_parts.jpg[/t] That's everything barring battery and case. I can build that in about half an hour with a cheap £15 soldering iron.

I have a pair of Sony MDR-V6 headphones. They can't be any newer than 25 years old at this point, but the sound quality is still excellent, considering my parents have owned them for a quarter-century. It's still possible to get a pair online for about $60, from what I've read.

[QUOTE='[EG] Pepper;42802763']A car is many many times more complex than this. You can't even compare the two. [t]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9f/Cmoy_headphone_amplifier_in_parts.jpg[/t] That's everything barring battery and case. I can build that in about half an hour with a cheap £15 soldering iron.[/QUOTE] You have to consider the quality and value of the capacitors and amp chip. They might be worth a lot.

[QUOTE=Roll_Program;42803886]You have to consider the quality and value of the capacitors and amp chip. They might be worth a lot.[/QUOTE] An amp chip of that size is going to be ass no matter what you push through it. Also cap quality? Really? Even if you used premium low ESR Rubycons (at least those are proven to not be a joke) you're still paying something like $4 tops for capacitors.

[QUOTE=Roll_Program;42803886]You have to consider the quality and value of the capacitors and amp chip. They might be worth a lot.[/QUOTE] They likely aren't much higher quality. As with audio equipment or electronics in general, the components that make it up have an upper ceiling before "better" parts stop having an impact. Sure the parts might be on a nicer board and soldered on by someone who gives half a fuck, but it's still about £10 of parts and labour at most.

[QUOTE=Roll_Program;42803886]You have to consider the quality and value of the capacitors and amp chip. They might be worth a lot.[/QUOTE] Lmao, electrical components, even the high end stuff are peanuts.

my er4s is loud enough without an amp on my iphone. but if im going to be listening for a while, using it with a cmoybb and line out dock (bypass shitty internal amp) makes the soundstage larger, and the signal to noise ratio is better just dont waste money on recabling

I thought the point of headphone amps was to drive big ass headphones with a high impedance? Anyway I don't really understand why you'd spend that much on mobile gear. If you're listening to music outside (in a noisy environment, etc.) you don't need ultra high audio quality, and if you're at home you should rather buy a good hifi system or at least a pair of headphones.

The only audiophile thing I've ever done is replace my shitty iPhone headphones with some £14 in-ear ones and it was literally like hearing for the first time, I had no idea music sounded like that. iPhone headphones are 100% shitty, basically.

$270 earbuds sound like (cheap) in-ear monitors to me. They give you a flat sonic image which is great for mixing, but generally not used for casual listening. I produce music and sound using flat monitor speakers to get an uncoloured and clear mix, but if I want to listen to music as a [I]listener[/I] and not an artist, I go for speakers/headphones that are actually designed to [I]listen[/I] to music. I don't want flat bass when listening to music, I want exaggerated bass. Tip: Save yourself hundreds of dollars and invest in good headphones instead.

[QUOTE=HeroicPillow;42794592][t]http://i.imgur.com/5yu8lQl.jpg[/t] i bought [url=http://www.monoprice.com/Product?p_id=8320]these[/url] for $8 and the quality is amazing. also has lasted me for ~8 months of constant everyday use so far not sure why you'd spend $100 on in-ears tbh[/QUOTE] Fucking hell, those are ugly.

I have some Etymotic earbuds (er6i), and they're awesome. Would highly recommend Etymotics. The rest of the stuff you bought is bullshit.

I was agreeing with you until you purchased more gubbins on top of the ear buds. All I did was buy some mid-range headphones to realise that music sounds far better in good quality products, it made music a far more integrated part of my life. [t]http://en-uk.sennheiser.com/images/656/all/square/3640/square_louped_hd_215_01_sq_dj_sennheiser.png[/t] I purchased these for about £45 from what I remember and have never seen a reason to upgrade anything else. I implore you to stop now before you start buying those little stands which stop wires touching the floor and diamond infused cables.

OP you really can't consider yourself a real audiophile unless you own the [url=http://www.audiophilia.com/wp/?p=4744]AER Disc Energizer™[/url] and [url=http://www.lessloss.com/blackbody-p-200.html]Blackbody™ Ambient Field Conditioner®[/url]

So wait, you spent $270 on a pair of in-ear headphones, then the bass wasn't strong enough for you so you bought some other expensive accessories that wouldn't actually solve the problem? All you needed was a graphic EQ! Your phones' media player probably even has a simple one of its own...

I have these things here: [img]http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/1894/c2ki.jpg[/img] and I have no regrets. However, they sound like shit without an amp. The amps (OP) bought though are useless. I could literally make the same, if not better amp using whatever electrical components I could scrounge for on my desk. Imo, good EQ and amplification is key.

[QUOTE=DrDevil;42793286]Lol, audiophiles are the biggest morons on earth.[/QUOTE] Hey, I am not a moron.

I find the term Audiophile to be synonymous with "dumbass" and "extremely gullible". My brother fell for this shit, luckily he didn't get that far in, but he bought these Tritton AX Pro headphones expecting awesome sound quality, because more speakers == better sound quality. It's the opposite, they're tinny and weak sounding, especially for the price. Bought a set of Razer(eat me) Carcharias for half the price and they're amazing. Also as Ultraleet said, good EQ is key, i fiddled with the equalizer on my soundcard settings, finally got it just right for multipurpose, bass is high enough to rattle the house, but the higher frequencies are crisp and clear, it's truly incredible.

I wouldn't buy any expensive earphones without being able to replace broken wires.