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First, I am a long time registered/contributing member to AA. I'm using the fake username because it strikes me as a bad idea to anounce to the world that I will be out of the country for many months, especially to a community who knows what kind of expensive gear I might have. I mention that because I don't want to be thought of as a uninvolved drive by asking for free advice.
I'll have an ipod, probably an ipod touch too, probably a macbook air. I have a pair of sennheiser hd600s I am willing to sacrifice because they are a little long in the tooth, somewhat beat up and probably need to be replaced anyway. I'm not sure they would last too long though so I'll probably leave them at home. I also have a pair of atrio M8 earphones which are good but not as good as the sennheisers. I also have a nice battery powered "altoids can" style headphone amp. Its pretty good too.
So long questions short:
-Can I do better than the Atrio, even approach the sennheisers at a reasonable price that are small, compact ear buds?
-What else should I consider purchasing such as a DAC? Again, it would need to be small, portable, probably battery powered and durable.
-General advice regarding how to leverage what I have
I doubt I'll have a lot of time for audio but it will not be zero time. I would like to have as nice as I can reasonably afford.
Also, I'll probably post this in the pc audio forum so sorry for the double post if you keep an eye on both places.
Thanks for your time!
Follow Ups:
You might take a look at the Sennheiser HD-380s. They come with a case and can be driven by most portable devices. I find them good but not as good as HD600s. They're better than OK if you dislike IEMs, I've found them rugged and reliable in mobile use. I find them comfortable.
Good luck!
This is good info all, I really appreciate your time to respond. So, I have the future sonics atrio m8 earphones which are iems. They are very good and after reading your comments and further research they appear to be about as good as can be expected in my price range.
Questions:
-Is that a good assumption, that the atrio m8 is as good as can be expected from the sub $200 iem market?
-I'm considering buying a second pair of something because the atrios are my travel earphones and although they are holding up very well, they've spent most of their lives at the bottom of a bag (I travel a lot). I'm not sure if I can count on them for 6 months in Afghanistan. I'm considering the etymotics HF5 as a back up or even replacement. Can I do better in that price range?
Again, I really appreciate your help and thoughts!
joejoe
Consider the Cypher Labs Algo-Rhythm Solo, see link below. It mates well with portable amps like the Ray Samuels or ALO RxMk2. Get some good IEMs like those sold by JH Audio or Westone and you have great sound that you can hold in the palm of your hand. I have auditioned all of the above.
but I am one to get the bug. I'll dig around on this suggestion and see if it sticks.
I use a MAC + Proton USB Dac to feed either a set of headphones (K-701s), directly, or through a desktop headphone amp connected to the Proton through its RCA outs. The Proton is a marvelous little DAC and could replace your headphone amp. I also use the same source combo (MAC+Proton) to feed a preamp and amp in my summer house. It drives my K701s pretty loud. I have another pair of 150 Ohm Senns (I forget the model) and they can play really loud. It costs $900 retail.I wish I had something like this the year I spent in Vietnam.
Good luck.
"You don't need to be a Weatherman to know which way the wind blows"
Edits: 01/06/12
I originally enetered sevice in the early 90s. I missed the gulf war by a couple years, but heard all the stories. I haven't personally deployed since the mid 90s. I can't dig all the way back to Vietnam but trust me, the modern conveniences and technology won't be lost on me! Last time I deployed $100 might get you a couple calls home a month and when I returned everyone was doing the Macarena ... WTF?!?
Radio Free China was in English and was so over the top, it was funny.
"You don't need to be a Weatherman to know which way the wind blows"
Make sure whatever you take can get dust into every part of it. When my brother was in Afghanistan he said the sand is so fine there that it is like dust and will get into everything. Even if it is stored indoors all the time.
Have you used in-ear monitors? They fit up into your ear canal (unlike ear buds that sit in the outer ear) and can provide terrific isolation from outside noise. Not everyone likes the feeling, and truthfully it took me a full week to get used them. Now however, this is what I use all the time for traveling on airplanes, buses, etc. Really keeps the outside noise at bay and provides great sound.
I chose the Etymotic brand, but many are available. I got the MC3 at about $100. Maybe others have experience with other models. Sennheiser makes various models, for example. Check out some of the reviews on Amazon or Head Room.
A pretty minimal and good sounding system would be a pair of these IEMs, your altoid amp, and a line-out-dock (LOD) cable for your iPod. The IEMs will work fine straight out of your iPod as well... but using the LOD cable to amp should give a cleaner sound.
I'm curious because as I mentioned above I am thinking about the hf5 as a back up or even replacement. Do you have any thoughts on that comparison?
Unfortunately I've not heard the Atrio iems.
My impression of the etymotic brand is that they're well built. Doesn't feel flimsy and they've held up for me. Everyone says the bass is a little bit light. Agree with that, but the bass has a good sound -- it's just a bit distant. But I listen to a lot of classical and jazz and I really like the purity of the sound. Not sure if they'd be great rockers or not.
Check out the products made by FiiO. Not expensive and very good quality. Most of their products can be found on amazon.com these days.
I read about these elsewhere too. I wish I could remember where. They look slick and are priced right. Do you have any direct experience with them?
I have the FiiO E9i headphone amp that I use with my AKG K701 headphones. The amp does a nice job driving the AKGs. I also bought a few of their iPod cables so that the Gen3 iPod Touch models in our house could output analog audio via the dock connector. Not all of this type of cable on the market work with the newer iPod and iPad design, as the newer iPod Touch models (Gen2/3/4) and the iPads need to be "told" to turn off the built-in speaker before they will output analog audio via the dock connector. The cables from FiiO worked exactly as advertised.
Most of what I've read about FiiO is from head-fi.org , where most of their products get good to excellent reviews. And many of the threads there get input from FiiO reps, regardless of whether it's criticism or praise of the product. If you're looking for a high value-to-dollar ratio in a product, FiiO definitely fits that category.
I wish you a safe return.
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
Thank you for serving.
Faced with a situation like you are in... I'd get a pair of IEM's, Classic iPod (for space) and a Ray Samuels amp... Don't skimp on the cables... they mean a lot!
Brian
I don't have much to offer re: your gear, but I do know that headphones, iPod and radio were essentials for my son on his two tours there. He used the Kaito KA1102 for getting the BBC on shortwave and the radio has a stereo FM output - that's good if the local FM is of interest to you. (As I recall, he wasn't enamored of the Afghan or Pakistani stations.)
I do like the Fiio E5 headphone amplifier. Mine was something like $20 shipped from China. It's great for being out and about and walking the dogs. You can use a USB port to charge it and it's good for 20 or so hours.
Stay safe and let us know how you're doing from time to time.
SamA.
+1, Thank you for your service.
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