Audiophile and gears
- Thread starter icysmoke
- Start date
Okay so couldn't find any reliable source with enough variety for the class d amp boards at a budget, for me apart from the site from which I had purchased my earlier board..(didn't want to go for AIYIMA or fosi for obvious reasons)
The story for the search goes like this
My earlier board got shorted due to my ignorance or mishandling, that was 3 days back... So I had to get an amp no matter what... Tried searching online and found a few hugely over priced options at Amazon and flipkart.... Which were not what I was searching for... Then asked you guys two posts above... But couldn't get much help apart from robu.in recommendation...
So today I took out time to savour the delicacies of old Delhi, chandni chowk and visited LAJPAT RAI MARKET,
unfortunately apart from a couple of boards (which weren't the ones I wanted in terms of specs) I couldn't find none (tbh far far far less variety than online which was a huge surprise) that too at just a couple of shops out of the hundreds there..
Hence I have again placed an order of 2 class d boards from the same old source online...
50wx2 board
And
100wx2 board...
Will update...
After a long time, I think I have finally found gear where I dont feel the need to EQ. Through every audio source, Im liking it
Hiby FC4 dac amp and Sennheiser HD-650 balanced.
I just need to find a slightly bass heavy headphone natural sound without eq to satisfy my bass requirements which the hd-650 lacks but not by much.
Then my journey will be over hopefully
Hiby FC4 dac amp and Sennheiser HD-650 balanced.
I just need to find a slightly bass heavy headphone natural sound without eq to satisfy my bass requirements which the hd-650 lacks but not by much.
Then my journey will be over hopefully
MrdK
Discoverer
I had a HD6XX before that i was using with Little Dot tube amplifier. People say 6xx is very similar to 650. But when i heard the newer 650 it was little bright tuned than my 6xx. My 6xx with tube amp was very warm and easy to listen to. I liked it but like you said wished for a little more bass. Also the bass felt like boxy.
Have you had any experience with older and newer versions of 650?
Do you consider your 650 with hiby as a warm and non fatiguing sound?
Absolutely not fatiguing. Its not too bright, just the way the headphone sound.
I have an older HD 650, not the new one for the same brightness reason. I went for the older one.
I have a TA-26 tube amp with topping e-30 for destktop long sessions but I am preferring the Hiby usb dac more thesedays
did you get it from amazon or other site?After a long time, I think I have finally found gear where I dont feel the need to EQ. Through every audio source, Im liking it
Hiby FC4 dac amp and Sennheiser HD-650 balanced.
I just need to find a slightly bass heavy headphone natural sound without eq to satisfy my bass requirements which the hd-650 lacks but not by much.
Then my journey will be over hopefully
nick.knack91011
Explorer
I have a question, are people still using daps here in today's day and age? And if yes which one is your dap of choice?
I still Love my rockboxed sansa clip ( and few other offline players I have like m6 a-55 etc) , but now I want something that can stream as well.
One way would be just to get a cheap phone root it and just keep music apps, but I want something with better sq and more portable in size.
Any suggestions?
I still Love my rockboxed sansa clip ( and few other offline players I have like m6 a-55 etc) , but now I want something that can stream as well.
One way would be just to get a cheap phone root it and just keep music apps, but I want something with better sq and more portable in size.
Any suggestions?
I thought you already got NW-WMA1M2 DAP via import.. isn't it?
nick.knack91011
Explorer
Yeah I had that and also a-105 but sold both of them, a-105 on te itself and Friend really wanted the nw so sold to him. Also I figured I was still using offline players more anyway this time I don't want to overspend just to able to stream once in a while.
Ideally I would probably get an old small form factor phone ( any suggestions? ) and root it but not sure atm, if I can find a cheap decent alternative dap why not .
Also m6 can do spotify so for now it's fine but it struggles with apple Music etc as it's extremely dated hardware.
nick.knack91011
Explorer
Hmm I dont use iems , grados at home , monks for workout.
As much as i would like a-306 ( basically a-105 which i owned with better battery and upgraded os ) , I dont see the point of paying twice or thrice of a normal smartphone anymore.
only thing i like is the compact form factor of these daps , instead of the bricks that the modern smartphones are.
If I had money to burn maybe I would have got a-306 or an ibasso as they have dual boot with pure music mode but looking for something budget as I don't think with streaming sq matters that much.
MrdK
Discoverer
I dont think there are any daps for cheap with full fledged streaming capability. Activo ct10, r3 pro etc will provide that sideload streaming kind of service, small form factor also. I think its best to stick with used v30, v40 or something like that.
Also i have seen that lower end ibasso android dap in used market for as low as 9k. Then there are older fiio daps like x5. but these will be bulky and laggy. I think sony a106 is also not so great to use daily.
nick.knack91011
Explorer
thanks , where do I look for used ibassos ? olx or preloved ?
MrdK
Discoverer
I have seen ibasso for 9k in preloved. You can guess the condition. In olx there are few daps for sale also like hiby r3 pro. AK activo ct10 was released for less than 10k if iam remembering correctly, so used one will be even less priced.
I think even the ibasso is not worth for the money sq wise.
nick.knack91011
Explorer
Hmm I agree and from what I understand ct10 is Also too dated a hardware to run streaming now , I will check olx but if nothing else ill just keep rolling with m6. Its sad though none of the companies release them small sized affordable daps anymore like m6 activo10 etc its all full sized android daps which cost a bomb.
MrdK
Discoverer
They can. They dont want to. You know how audiophilia is now a days.
A 7000rupee phone is much better to use than these so called midrange daps ui.
I hope the sansa that you bought from me is serving you well and those sideloading daps or phones like LG V20, LGV30, LGV40, mi k20pro, mi A1, etc are your best option. I think a dongle and phone gives much better value than these lower range daps if you can manage the bulk. Some microbrand daps or older daps are their with good sq but no streaming.
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Rezep
Forerunner
Update on this post.
My blons have been half broken for the past 3-5 months lol. The build quality on these are bad, idk if it's because the stock that headphonezone are still selling have been sitting in warehouses for ages or I'm being delusional about the way I treat my IEMs.
Okay maybe it was a mix of both (I did chuck my blons into my gym bag and forgot about it multiple times lol)
Eventually the casing fell off one night and exposed the inner wiring. To say the least, I got it glued back multiple times but eventually even the wiring tore off, got that soldered on by a mobile repair shop but even that was a temporary fix. And yes, it was the right side that began to break first but eventually even the left side started falling apart (it's being held with cellotape rn tool). Maybe all the moisture just made the glue ineffective? After a while I stopped caring, then the right side stopped working and I've been only using the left earphone ever since lmao.
Absolutely ruined some songs for me to listen to as they were strictly recorded in stereo, snow by RHCP for example, the main riff from the guitar was missing for me because it was only mixed in for the right side
,Anyhow enough whining about all that, after a good year and 3 months, here's a short summary of my experience with the blon bl 03. I will probably repeat some points I made in my year old post too.
These earphones were one of the BIG hyped earphones 3 years back in 2020, I remember everyone praising it, from reddit to various audiophile forums to even our very own forum! (I remember one notorious banned member here too who praised it to the heavens!). However, from what I've read and heard, with the release of the moondrop chus back in 2022, the whole budget market got blown out of the water and a crazy new standard was set. And these are somewhat forgotten now. Keeping the point I have in mind, I feel that it has aged poorly.
Considering that many people called this IEM, one of the best entry level cheap IEMs back in 2020, in retrospect, I'm not sure. Yes it's indeed a great IEM for sure, but I would never ever EVER, recommend it to someone who is venturing into IEMs or audio gear as a beginner (truthfully said, I am a beginner)
The fitting on these earphones, are a huge huge miss. They either fit you or you don't, and that can end up giving you a completely different experience from someone who gets a good fit. The stock tips that come with these, terrible, the KZ tips which were the only ones I had worked better. The cable is a twisty mess but I don't care too much unless it affects the sound quality in any manner, however the tip of the connectors and the plastic that wraps around it so that it flexes back to shape, those have stayed the same over this entire year lol. The point here is that, these are the worst accessories I have ever got with a pair of earphones, that to imply these are entry level are a lie. And what if you tried buying 3rd party eartips? Well it will cost you 1/3 of the IEM price or you can go cheap and just get KZ cheap silicone ones.
I hoped that after a year I would be able to give a review on the sound quality of the bl 03s but as you've seen, they're no longer functioning properly. Trying to recall any moments where I really enjoyed listening to music on these earphones after I wrote that post, I just can't. The headaches that I had were far more than any good listens.
Anyways that's that, now I've decided to just hop into the cheap IEM world again. I know I should start saving up and buy a higher budget pair of headphones for once, but I honestly love spending 6 hours meticulously surfing through forum posts and videos to decide on a pair of 1500 chinese earphones
After having spent a good saturday sitting on my ass, I decided upon the
Tangzu WAN'ER SG JADE GREEN
I don't want to talk more about why (that's for another post someday). Mainly decided on this because a) Similar shape with my KZ headphones b) Truthear Hola has no mic, sometimes I need a decent mic for meetings and discord c) One of the more new HYPE trains in the recent $20 market d) It looks quite pretty compared to the salnotes zero or hola, especially the jade green version that I've ordered, e) Obviously the sound too, has a decent amount of everything but with a tiny bit more emphasis on bass and treble. Didn't like the salnotes zero because it seems to have a lack of true punchy bass (which is all that I listen to these days). A mix of hola and zero according to online comments.
Some additional thoughts I just wanted to write down
Does anyone remember back in 2019 or 2018 when the best earphones we had for under 3k were soundmagic e10 c or RHA earphones lol. All of those have disappeared now except for soundmagic who still have e10c stocks. I miss my beyerdynamic byrons though, they were my first pair of good earphones.
Edit :- Cancelled my order, waiting for 7hz salnotes zero 2 to be stocked in india lmao
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Alucard1729
Forerunner
This looks promising for a budget dap-
conceptkart.com
Potent dac/amp, only skeptical about the software.
F.Audio T3 Portable Music Player
Buy F.Audio T3 Portable Music Player at India's best online store for Digital Audio Player. Dual ES9318C Decoding Chip with 6 Months warranty
conceptkart.com
Potent dac/amp, only skeptical about the software.
Hmm.. buggy software according to the one review on Hifigo -This looks promising for a budget dap-
F.Audio T3 Portable Music Player
Buy F.Audio T3 Portable Music Player at India's best online store for Digital Audio Player. Dual ES9318C Decoding Chip with 6 Months warranty
Potent dac/amp, only skeptical about the software.
F.AUDIO T3 Touch Screen Hi-Res USB DAC Bluetooth Portable Music Player.
Buy F.AUDIO T3 Touch Screen Hi-res USB DAC Bluetooth Portable Music Player on HiFiGo, and you can enjoy a year warranty and the best after-sales service.
hifigo.com