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I'm a fairly seasoned 2 channel computer audiophile, but I've just recently gotten into portable rigs and I was hoping some of the members with more experience could clarify some things for me. My new job requires that I be away from home 5 days / 4 nights per week and I need some way of enjoying music in the evenings. Since I have a roommate, desktop speakers really aren't much of an option, so I decided on IEM's with a new PMP. For the past several weeks, I've been scouring Head Fi (and other like) forums and reviews searching for a good, reasonably priced set up that would deliver the goods. UPS brought my Grado GR-10s and Cowon J-3 today and I'm in the process of loading my music and breaking in the phones. I use J River Media Center which seems to work fairly well with the Cowon. I haven't really figured out how to separate my albums by Genre or create tags yet. My plan was to load everything first and then organize it as I go. Terms like "Base Path" are not real familiar to me, but I seem to be able to get the files on there without a full understanding of the software. As I was well forewarned of, the J-3's user interface is not the epitome of user freindliness, still, I can get it to play music. I have everything stored in FLAC with the highest quality setting on JRMC; 8. My first impression is that I'm not all that impressed! I wasn't expecting anything close to my home system, but I did expect a vast improvement over my 1st generation iPod Shuffle with entry level JVC IEM's. The Grados have most of the clarity that I read about and they can go lower and higher than the aforementioned JVC's. At $400 versus the $20 (maybe $30, I foget exactly) JVC's, I'm really hoping that the next 100 hours yeilds a vast improvement. Knowing that I would have to order online without an audition; I did some pretty thorough research on the $300-$400 IEM category. Aside from a fellow that could not get a proper fit with the GR-10's, I didn't hear anyone trashing the Grado's. They seemed to have what I look for in audio gear: transparent midrange, accurate treble, bass that's not bloated, with a musical yet detailed presentation. I can't really say that they fall short on any of these, I guess I was just expecting something a bit more involving and a sound that was less "in your head". Maybe that's not possible with IEM's and portable gear.

So, naturally, I'm thinking in true audiophile form; 'better sound is out there, you just need to spend more money'. Hey, let's face it, there's very few shortcomings in the home audio world that can't be remedied by doubling your investment (along with some wheeling and dealing, careful auditioning, and tweaking). The Cowon J-3 definitely sounds better than my Shuffle, but that could just be the fact that it handles lossless compression. It has the heralded Wolfson DAC chip (8770 is it?), a beautiful AMOLED screen, long battery life, and a good reputation for sound quality. My hope was that it would drive the 32 Ohm GR-10's with no external amplification needed. As far as I can tell, it does. This brings me to my biggest quandry: what's the deal with portable headphone amps anyway? I can see having them at home for use with components that don't have H.O.'s, or for cans that present a difficult load, but how could they possibly help otherwise? Particularly, in my case: the J-3 doesn't have a L.O., and as far as I know DAC's like the Algorythm Solo, and Foxtex HP-P1 are for use with iPods only. So, how can adding an extra amplification stage improve sound quality if the J-3 is adequate to drive your phones? I do like the idea of something like the Furutech Stride for use with my laptop as a USB DAC, but would it help with the J-3's sound too? Are there other devices that I'm overlooking (under $700)? Fortunately, in my experience; the one quality that gernerally seems to improve with audio gear requiring break in (everything from speakers, to components, to cables) is the sound tends to "open up". If that happens with the GR-10's as it is said to, I'll be happy with what I've got. If that doesn't happen, well...

 

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I think you're right; with a pair of headphones that are easy to drive, an amp is superfluous. I've been very happy with the AKG k450s and an ipod as my travel rig; it's simple and does the job.

 

Macmini (as server)-> AE Express/SB Touch-> Dacmagic plus -> Outlaw RR2150 -> PSB Image T6 (dedicated 2 channel audio system)

Macmini (via toslink)-> NAD T747 -> PSB Imagine B/SVS SB2000 subwoofer (home theater)

Macbook Pro-> Peachtree idecco->PSB Imagine Minis, Energy ESW-M8 subwoofer, Beyerdynamic DT880 (home office)

IMac->audioengine D1 dac->airmotiv 4 (work system)

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Hello,

 

I use a korg mr-1 recorder as my player. It is quirky as a media player and now no longer made, but it does play up to 24/192 files of wav type format and as a dsd file player it is fantastic. I would look at a korg mr2 (it replaces the mr-1)as it has replaceable batteries and can use up to 32gb memory card. Both are better as a dsd dac but do well in pcm and by far much better sounding than other stuff out there.

 

Both of these do playlists but no album art and not as easy to use interface wise as a Cowon.

 

Robert

 

Headless mac mini 2010 10.6 leopard -->audirvana--> firewire-->lio8-->mcintosh mc500-->dynaudio contour 3.3

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