owen27 0 Report post Posted October 2, 2007 Hi. Am very new to this "audiophile" stuff. Recently bought a nano black 8Gb 2nd gen and converted all my cds to AAC encoding format at 224bits Currently using headphones Koss Porta Pro. Have read so much till my head hurts! Will there be any difference say if i purchased a set of super.fi 5 pro, shure e4 or etymotic er-4p? What kinda set up is recommended for the nano? will there be any further difference if say I got a portable amp? What do u guys think? Owen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
loop_ 0 Report post Posted October 2, 2007 (edited) Hi Owen, welcome to sgheadphones! Will there be any difference say if i purchased a set of super.fi 5 pro, shure e4 or etymotic er-4p? There shouldn't be much of a difference in terms of whether or not the nano can power these models. The main difference is how they sound, and this is a subjective thing. You could read more reviews to make your head hurt even more (!) or just go to a shop to try all 3. I believe both Jaben and SE carry these models except for the etymotic, which is a real pity because you should try it out I like my ER4S alot. What kinda set up is recommended for the nano? will there be any further difference if say I got a portable amp? For best sound, a portable amp would make a difference, but you should get a lineout dock to take full advantage of it. Remember, however, that the nano is first and foremost a portable player, so it still won't be top top draw, but probably more than good enough for portable use. Once you're into this hobby long enough, and are rich enough , you should look at a home system (dedicated CD Player or USB DAC plus desktop amp), which should sound better than the nano. Edited October 2, 2007 by loop_ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
owen27 0 Report post Posted October 3, 2007 Woaa... thanks for the reply... Sounds like a very very expensive hobby!! Actually dropped by Jaben during lunch time and tried the super.fi 5 pro and he recommended i try the westone 2 as well... It was his hookup so he suggested to bring down my nano and try my music... I did hear a difference between the 2 but yet to try the same song la... the westone to me sounded better as in more defined and clear between the 2... Anyway, dun think i'll be forking out 450 for it!!!! Haha... and up to this point my most expensive headphones were the porta pro at 90 bucks.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
loop_ 0 Report post Posted October 3, 2007 Ya it's damn ex. What I do usually is buy 2nd hand when I can, which provides rather substantial savings, though you don't get warranty coverage. If you're into that you can try www.head-fi.org alot of sellers there but mainly from the USA. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
owen27 0 Report post Posted October 12, 2007 Guess what... since my last posting... I visited Jaben on thursday and friday... tested Iems for bout 4 hours from xb to x3 to super.fi 5 pro to um1 and um2... narrowed down to um1 and um2... after that I decided on the um2... jus when i said I wun fork out that much money... sigh... got it together with the minibox... after a week... was not happy with the minibox... went back and got the rsa tomahawk!! my god i'm super duper broke!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nofing 0 Report post Posted October 13, 2007 Wow, you work fast man! Lol. Keep it up! At this rate, iMod is on sight. Welcome to head-fi and we're sorry for your wallet! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davsmiths 0 Report post Posted October 13, 2007 hi owen27, how much was the minibox n tomahawk? I'm looking for an amp for my ipod n um1 too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites