I don't know about state of the are but my iBasso IT01 IEMs and AQ DragonFly Red combo sounds really good through my iPhone. I'll probably grab a Cobalt if I see a deal on one but I'm happy with the Red.
List your state of art headphones for smart phone use!
I am looking for over the ear headphones that can play at a satisfactory volume and do not drain the battery.
I currently have Sony Pro MDR 7520 headphones that list at $500 and are on Amazon for $275.
They are comfortable and fairly good for the price.
I use an Audioquest dragonfly cobalt D/A with my iPhone, iPad, and laptop.
If I moved up to $1000 or more what would be much better?
Are earbuds an alternative at all?
At home I use Stax L700 and get very close to SOTA sound quality with a Stax tube/fet driver amp.
I do not expect the same Stax sound quality.
Can I get close to my home headphone quality?
I currently have Sony Pro MDR 7520 headphones that list at $500 and are on Amazon for $275.
They are comfortable and fairly good for the price.
I use an Audioquest dragonfly cobalt D/A with my iPhone, iPad, and laptop.
If I moved up to $1000 or more what would be much better?
Are earbuds an alternative at all?
At home I use Stax L700 and get very close to SOTA sound quality with a Stax tube/fet driver amp.
I do not expect the same Stax sound quality.
Can I get close to my home headphone quality?
- ...
- 27 posts total
Easy. These guys are the pro's.
https://www.etymotic.com/er4-new.html
You can not control the frequency response without isolating the ear canal. These are the only plugs that do that effectively. They also have a 31 dB noise isolation factor, better than any head phones. Most people use these as their only headphones. No weight on your head. No sweating under the seals. They are also tough as h-ll. There are kevlar strands in the wires. You can hang yourself and you won't hurt them. If your wife accidentally throws them in the blender with your strawberry daiquiri they will send you a new pair at 1/2 price. Great Company! |
MASTER & DYNAMIC Best of breed build and performance https://www.masterdynamic.com/collections/headphones?gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-LmPws3... Pick your model .... highly recommended REVIEWS https://www.masterdynamic.com/pages/reviews Dealer told me that Sir Paul McCartney outfitted his whole band and road crew with M&D’s. |
Well Hello @don_c55 Eric Assuming you were replying to me, my name is spelled Erik. It’s right there in front of you. Bluetooth is not even CD quality! Bluetooth has come a long way, and the sampling rate and bit depth are not NOT the only or main determinant of final audio quality. https://www.lifewire.com/what-to-know-about-bluetooth-3134591 Have you ever even heard Tidal lossless ? Been a subscriber for years. Your ears are not to be trusted IMO. Because I don’t subscribe to the same technical prejudices? That’s an interesting notion. I’m an iconoclastic, technically well versed empiricist who has a history in audio going back to theater sound manufacturing in the mid 1980s. I’m a frequent contributor here as well. Who are you? I’ve also been a Fiio fanboy for a long time, and have used:
The Hifiman Bluetooth IEM’s spank the FH5 in three major ways, in all combinations for these two reasons:
They are a lot closer to my ESS or AKG’s in terms of air and ambience and realistic portrayal of music. The FH5 sounds like IEM’s. They don’t convince me they are anything else. They are not better than the Shure E4s which I wanted to replace. I spent a couple of weeks at the office wearing the FH5 with the Fiio Btr3, looking like a prototypical dork with a calculator on his belt. The Hifiman not only sounds better, fits better but also has a much longer lasting charge in the ear buds than the Btr3. https://amzn.to/2LvZxVn Which by the way, is pretty good. Significantly better than going direct with my ESS headphones. One thing I have noticed though is that if I am using the AptX coder the phone drains faster than with the TWS600 which does not use it. Side note: I’ve also owned Master & Dynamic MH40s for about 48 hours. They were dull as dirt and terribly uncomfortable. Not nearly as good as the most basic AKG headphones. The FH5 and M&D have 1 big thing in common: They are made for tiny people. I have a large head and large ears. The tiny but wide stem on the FH5 made inserting them feel like I was doing ear surgery. Takes a lot of effort to get the same seal and sound quality compared to my E4s. The Hifiman is even easier with these ear tips: https://amzn.to/34HLYcW So you can sit there and point to bit rates, compression rates, codec flow charts, single drivers vs. multiple, dynamic vs balanced armatures, etc. and while I can geek with any of you about them, the truth is these are better sounding IEM’s despite the perceived benefit of wires and / or aptx coding that the FH5 enjoy. So, you may not believe that I know anything about this subject matter, but I hope I have shown why I believe I have a pretty broad range of experience in this matter, not as much as headphone reviewers, and why my opinion of the Hifiman TWS 600 won’t be shaken by the debate over wired vs. bluetooth. Please buy and enjoy what you like. I only share to be helpful. Best, Erik (with a K) |
- 27 posts total