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Tanachip t1_j65f0gi wrote

Reply to comment by disco_g in These are not the same by disco_g

That's great that you noticed a difference because I cannot tell a difference between the Apple Dongle and the Topping DX3 Pro+ and FiiO KA3, all three of which I own.

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loli_popping t1_j65flr9 wrote

Theres measurable differences between them. ASR has a SINAD chart for dacs but I'm pretty sure people can't hear the difference.

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disco_g OP t1_j65gvuj wrote

I'm not sure there's much difference in the DAC part but in the amp there sure is.

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ThelceWarrior t1_j65opi3 wrote

erm what IEMs are you using exactly where the US Apple dongle is not enough, if I may ask?

Like for real even my EU one is plenty enough.

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disco_g OP t1_j65pzyy wrote

So far I have Hook X and Elixir. Nothing crazy and both low impedance. It's not that it's not loud enough.

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Mysterious-Evening-7 t1_j67bayg wrote

My EU Apple lightning dongle doesn’t power my Ety ER4SR to high volumes in classical recordings (i.e. not normalised/compressed by loudness wars) in any but the louder sections. It has a sensitivity of 97 dB (45 Ohm impedance). I’d love to have that dongle without the EU constraints.

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blorg t1_j67lo4e wrote

The ER4SR is particularly low sensitivity, I think this is because Etymotic use a resistor to tune the BA in them. There are a handful of IEMs like this, Final E5000 and Symphonium Helios are two other examples, they are even lower sensitivity. These are really outliers though, the vast, vast majority of IEMs are easy to drive.

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Mysterious-Evening-7 t1_j67r1tq wrote

I also have the E5000, but never tried them with a proper amp. Always thought these were just boring, treble hating stuff

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blorg t1_j67shai wrote

I find them dark and veiled as well. They do need a certain amount of power but they are still dark and veiled whatever you run them off, that doesn't change.

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disco_g OP t1_j65glpa wrote

That's interesting, maybe I have a bad Apple dongle? I didn't think it sounded particularly bad on its own but when switching around the difference is pretty clear. It's like the high end is relatively slushy and undefined. I'll have to pick up another one of these days.

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dongas420 t1_j679zpl wrote

I've had one go bad and screw up the sound before. There's no ESD protection apart from the plastic casing, so the DAC can potentially accumulate damage in an audible way. The difference between it and the replacement I got was night and day.

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