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Starter headphone set up to blow my mind?

I guess the smaller drivers on IEM need less amp power. Still not sure the built in DAC on my Lightning to 3.5mm adapter cable can’t be seriously improved upon thought. It’s the size of a baby’s little finger nail!

I wonder if Devialet have plans for headphones - now they could make a decent tiny amp and DAC :)
 
I find the whole multi-driver scene a jungle. If you look at the FRs none of them are as continuous as with single drivers, and reviews are full of audiophile tropes. This in tandem with high costs is what holds me back from going higher than my ER4XR though I may be forced by the ear wax problem.

How do you demo these things? Not easy.
 
Yeah I have a mate who spent £250 on some Jabra ones and they don’t fit him properly / keep falling out at the gym.

but like you say - how do you demo IEM??
 
Right - as if luck would have it, I stumbled across a pair of IEM on eBay, only to find they are located around the corner from me in Portslade - and hifiheadphones.co.uk have an office and demo room there :) :)

Have been in a couple of time’s quickly - and through no fault of theirs I have almost landed on the Campfire Solaris (they started me out with some cheaper ones and then pulled out the CA Polaris to try and wow me.

A day later and I asked them to wow me with the Solaris after doing some googling they seemed to be very well reviewed.

They do sound amazing - if anything not quite as flat as I would like, but others that were maybe flatter in the bass, weren’t as rounded over all.

This is after about 45 mins of chopping and changing and trying a few different tracks - so hard to be 100% sure but I thinking to give them a bash!

Any suggestions from others with experience of them - on any others to compare, especially any that are a bit more even handed (I find them a tiny bit bright in the tree, and a little bassy - but it could just be getting used to decent IEM wired into my brain!)

Will try them again tomorrow as they said they had some foam tips that might soften them up a bit :)
 
jamington2004 said:
I guess the smaller drivers on IEM need less amp power. Still not sure the built in DAC on my Lightning to 3.5mm adapter cable can’t be seriously improved upon thought. It’s the size of a baby’s little finger nail!

I wonder if Devialet have plans for headphones - now they could make a decent tiny amp and DAC :)
Click to expand...


Totally agree the built-in DAC in the stock Apple Lightning to 3.5mm adapter is extremely harsh sounding. (Older iphones with a headphone jack sounded much better. But we are talking about an extremely low base-line level here.)

I use a Fiio i1 adaptor, for my portable listening on the train each morning. Sounds much better, has a built in microphone also for phone calls, and does not break the bank either (approx 35 GBP).
 
Went for the Campfire Solaris after finally narrowing down to between that and the 64 audio u12t

initially though the campfire was too forward and bright - and the 64 audio is much more laid back / flat response which I preferred

went back for final listen and made sure I wasn’t listening at the same volumes / not too loud compared to normal use.

Loved the 64 audios for 20 minutes - switched back to Campfires and decided within a few mins that the sounds was much more exciting and lively. Not what I would choose for speakers - but apparently what I love for headphones :)

Now have to hope I can live with them and I grow to love them even more

Also bought an incredible tiny little £69 Bluetooth DAC amp from shanling audio. I honestly think I preferred it to the £400 ifi audio dsd one! Will pop back sometime to be sure as I was a bit rushed and just wanted to get the headphones right

thanks everyone for helping me get going!!
 
No but I’ve had ER6s for many years and I enjoy them very much when commuting for instance.
They won’t bother the person next to you even if you like it loud, which is a bonus.
Nice things, very reliable, but not for bass freaks at all.
 
Yeah I know myself too well by now and really didn’t want to “go on a journey”. Been on too many of them with hifi and know how obsessive I can be! :)

I didn’t try the ER4XR in the end, I was getting overwhelmed with choices - but I think I will go back to try some amps out one day to see how much else I could squeeze out with a good desktop amp.

I may well try them then - as well as some Westone w80, but I think those will be closer to the 64 audio in sound from what they told me.

One thing I have learnt is never to buy earphones without trying them - they really can vary hugely in presentation! I never realised there was such an art to headphone tuning :)

Much more so than speakers / amps that I have tried.
 
chartz said:
No but I’ve had ER6s for many years and I enjoy them very much when commuting for instance.
They won’t bother the person next to you even if you like it loud, which is a bonus.
Nice things, very reliable, but not for bass freaks at all.
Click to expand...
I could maybe live with a tad more bass than the ER4XR - but then they have a bit more bass than your average Etys ('XR' for eXtended Response).
 
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JESUS H CHRIST!!

Having had a few hours listening - my mind is officially blown.

And for £1.2k! And I can take it with me for a walk!! Or “watch” reality TV next to the mrs! :)

Bye bye Kii Three
 
jamington2004 said:
JESUS H CHRIST!!

Having had a few hours listening - my mind is officially blown.

And for £1.2k! And I can take it with me for a walk!! Or “watch” reality TV next to the mrs! :)

Bye bye Kii Three
Click to expand...

Its not clear to me what kit you ended up in ?
Would you mind an update
 
Campfire Solaris IEM - and an itty bitty Shanling u2 Bluetooth DAC amp (headphones go into that and phone Bluetooth to it)

I can honestly say they have given me the biggest impact I ever had in all my years of hifi (maybe it’s not all about these - just about the impact of a good IEM which I never tried)

I just can’t stop listening to music - and every style or genre so far just sounds amazing. the resolution / detail is just insane.

And I know it sounds cheesy but makes me realise how many years I spent listening to how good my hifi sounds (or not) rather than how good the music sounds

Maybe it’s because I can’t see these in my ears? :)
 
Yes great idea! I didn’t think about custom tips - I thought you could only order them when ordering the IEM! :)

Would rather not go to London for them - but the other online one doesn’t list my headphones? I imagine the campfires use the same tip hole size as a lot of others as the tips look the same?

EDIT - they have another site with my phones - but double the price?? I wonder why surely it’s just the size of the hole to pop them over That’s different?? https://snugs.com/product/snugs-only/

EDIT - apparently IEM are even more at £250.ouch! And I think they need an impression rather than digital photos.

hmmmm - seems a lot anyone know if they make a real difference or is more just about comfort than sound? I guess the former
 
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