No problem... Good luck🤝🏾

I will be messaging you in 2 months on 2023-03-28 01:48:25 UTC to remind you of this link

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RemindMe! 2 months

You just triggered most of this sub lmao.

I've been using IEMs in all sorts of weather for years lmao

I even work out in mine and never had a problem. The concerns are overblown.

I mean an absolute downpour? Probably not a good idea. Light to moderate precipitation? Probably fine.

Honestly I am too haha. I might send it over to Amir at ASR sometime to see how it actually performs. I personally love the thing, but imo with solid state amps hard data is nice to have as well.

From what I researched back when I was considering this amp, the general consensus was that it’s a very quality, low distortion amp with a lot of power, and was very synergistic with planars. I’m a huge planar fan, so I pulled the trigger and got one sent over from Sweden (along with a Hegel hd10).

Holographics whole design philosophy is low distortion and a sound that doesn’t change the source material which wasn’t actually talked about or emphasized by a lot of manufacturers earlier.

IIRC: Back when he used to be active, holographic audios “wire with gain” design philosophy was one of the things that inspired NWAvguy to create the circuitry for the O2 amp that was very popular a while ago, and imo is one of the reasons we now have super clean, powerful and cheap amps today. Instead of a lot of overpriced garbage that performed very poorly. Stuff that was all too common during the late ‘00s through the early 2010s.

I just wonder why no electrostatic headphones on the list? Is it you haven’t heard any?
I will agree on your first 2 excellent headphones but the 660S’s I just don’t care for much. Really like the the Clears as well and only heard the 1990’s once and didn’t dislike them as I remember. Have the 6XX’s and Sundara’s and would also put them close together as they do what they do very well and at a good price. The LCD-2 closed backs I didn’t care for much but think the LCD-X is pretty good and would place them around the Arya’s as the first time I heard them I really liked them but after hearing them again still liked them but there was something that just seamed a bit off but could have been me and listening to too many headphone’s that day.
I will say I do agree with many of your impressions on many of these and I own 30+ headphones and have heard many many more. Just my subjective opinion. And to your oops the new Utopia in my opinion better than the original also a excellent headphone.

I believe Hifiman QC issue rate is higher than typical. But they are likely still low. Most likely it is less than a handful per hundred. No one knows for sure.

If you think Sundara is so great, then do RMA. Or return and buy another; that way you can always return again if you encounter another issue.

On the other hand, if you can get similar value and sound in another brand/model, go for that. You have better peace of mind.

One of them can’t take phone calls.

Currently, I have the Apple Dongle, ddHiFi TC44C, and the Cayin RU6 on me as my daily drivers! I absolutely love the TC44C but it may not be everyone's cup of tea.

To me, audio is all about synergy. The TC44C is an extremely bassy unit compared to the Apple Dongle, with the latter being much more neutral. Thus, I don't think the TC44C is a great fit with my Symphonium Audio Meteor, which is itself a very bassy IEM. However, the TC44C sounds fantastic with my 64 Audio Nios with Fir Modules -- it adds in all of the bass that's lost when module swapping while still keeping the high-end details. Moreover, I also don't think it beats the RU6, as the RU6 has a larger sound stage and a more refined bass response.

All that said, where the Apple Dongle has both beat is in synergy with the iPhone. Going on walks with the TC44Cs or the RU6 is an absolute pain as audio constantly cuts out and the phone battery drains *fast*. In contrast, the Apple Dongle never skips a beat in addition to being extremely efficient, so it's perfect when I'm on the go. If I'm sitting down at a coffee shop, though, I will always choose to play music off of my laptop using the TC44C or the Cayin depending on which sound signature I'm in the mood for though (or if I just want to work, in which case the TC44C is far superior to the RU6 as the latter constantly clips).

tl;dr -- Frankly, I think these devices have completely different use cases. I agree that the TC44C DOES sound better than the Apple Dongle, but I think that comes down to one's preferred sound signature more than anything else.

I have both of these devices, the only reason I bought the TC44C is because it provides more power in a still very small form factor. It does this by not having features other similar devices have. The benefit is I can have decent power without having to lug around a desktop DAC/Amp if I'm moving about or traveling. I also like that it doesn't have a battery.

EDIT: These do not sound different... the TC44C is just louder.

[deleted]

Very clean setup. The amp looks interesting to me. Did a quick search but I didn't find a lot of info on it. Curious how it fares against other more popular amps and which headphones you found the best synergy with it (apart from the LCD-X)?

From my own experience, some IEMs are susceptible to liquid damage, but most aren't, at least to a realistic degree. You hear stories of people damaging their brand new $800 pair with a little liquid but I've used more than 10 different pairs, all from different manufacturers in fairly heavy rain for relatively short periods (30 minutes or so) and they've been unaffected. Heck, I once put a pair of SE215s in the wash by accident and they still work today, albeit they are 10 years old and have had a little tlc over the years lol. Some come with IP ratings, so if you want to be on the safe side I'd look for a pair with a similar sound profile to what you're looking for with that added protection if you do need to use them all day in bad weather.

Maybe check out the Koss Pro4S too. Apparently a "slightly cooler K371/361". I've got a set and they're brilliant imo. Very slightly less bass than the AKGs but slightly more highs and detail

The beyer 770 Pro have some very strong bass with a more relaxed treble compared to the rest of their lineup. It's a shame you had back luck with the Sundaras as planars do have a great bass response

Considering the 2 pin or mmcx connection isn’t rated for weather/water resistance I’d say look at TWS with an IPX4 (minimum) rating.

Thank you! Hope you're enjoying yours as much as I am!

I love my Apple type-c dongle, and although it can only really be used with UAPP or something similar on my device due to the volume limitation when using it in conjunction with the phone's internal DAC (which essentially means no YouTube), the amount of value it packs into such a small package, from APPLE no less, is incredible. I bought an iBasso DC03 Pro recently for use with my Shure Aonic 4s, and whilst it does sound a bit deeper and the sound stage is wider, I wouldn't honestly consider it that necessary especially with cheaper IEMs.

I've notice the difference in the stock Pixel 2 dongle vs a Razer dongle I have. I'm not sure if it's because it can drive it a little better, but it does sound a little different in a good way. I remember reading that the THX DAC in the Razer dongle is 'gimmicky', but I've been alternating between the two to see if I can spot the difference in the two. You do bring up a point with the Apple USB-C dongle, which (knock on wood) would be something I would grab if my current dongles fail.

My wife has the 6xx's and they're nice, but I'm really looking for something with more sub bass. I've heard the Beyerdynamics can be good, but can have a harsh treble for the sensitive listener. I had considered the 900 Pros, but obviously didn't end up with them.

Tommy Stinkfinger. The name said it all.

I wonder if the sound of the bad K702 could be attributed to the squished earpads

GrapheneOS was an option, but either ways I was going to neuter it to remove stock apps/services/etc just to push the battery life a bit more. Outside of initial setup of Poweramp for the license, I don't use it for anything web-based, so I don't need a hardened OS if it's not being used outside of storing about 60GB of FLAC. Plus I'd have to dig around for the source and build it, and I was honestly lazy haha.

Oops, the new Utopia should really take a spot up there. I haven't had a lot of time with those, so they escaped my mind for a moment.