Khader, did you find your UE4's needed break in time? I'm wondering what I should expect from my TripleFi10's

The Rockbox'd Clip is a nice piece of hardware in that it plays all sorts of lossless files, takes memory cards, and is so small that there's no excuse for not having it. And it sounds way better than it should for the size and price (as in, it sounds better than most normal portable players I've used over the years, including various iPods, and other models from Creative, iRiver, and Archos).

That said, there's no comparison to the Hifiman players for sound quality. The HM801 is an amazing device, with a multibit PCM1704 DAC generally only found in AC-powered equipment. I've had a number of home DAC units in the $1K-2K range over the last six years, and the HM801 sounds better than all of them, and I do use it as the DAC in my home speaker system. Bass depth and control, midrange presence, treble smoothness and detail, stereo imaging, are all vastly improved compared to the Clip.

The 601/602 (same unit, the 602 just adds the ability to act as a USB DAC) both sound much better than than any other portable player, but compared to the 801, they just fall short a bit. The bass is slightly louder, but doesn't play as deep, nor is it quite as well-controlled and punchy as it is from the 801. The 601/602 also doesn't dig up quite as much detail as the 801, so imaging suffers a bit. Being that the 601/602 uses a non-oversampling DAC chip, the overall sound signature is different than the 801, a bit more relaxed and laid-back, which some listeners might actually prefer. The 601/602 also lack the support for 24bit/96kHz high-resolution audio that the 801 has.

Anyway, the Hifiman players are quite special and unique, with the 801 in particular offering an unparalleled level of sound quality in a portable device. While it might not be the most attractive or smallest DAP on the market, it is the best sounding, by quite a margin. The Sansa Clip+ is a great device that is all the sound quality most people will ever need/want, in a very reasonable size and price. Just as it would be a bit wasteful to use $50 headphones with the $800 HM801, once you start spending $200 and more on a set of headphones, you really should pay more attention to what you're plugging them into, as it can make just as important difference in what you hear.

I recently got the Sennheiser Adidas MX 680i phones for my iPhone to go running. You can also get the MX 680 (no i) without iPhone control.

I like these because they fit inside the ear, not around the neck, and not over the ear. The good thing is that they fit well, but loose enough that I can still hear all the background noise adequately (the CX 680 are the noise-cancelling, snug-fit ones).

They're also sweat-resistant. I looked for this feature because I killed a set of iPhone headphones already when jogging.

Whatever fit you go with, the Sennheiser Adidas line is pretty good.

Thanks Joe for the hands on experience account. I noticed that I could get the one without a microphone and it is about half the price on Amazon so me having no iphone I would definitely go with that option. Just out of curiosity, how much do the headphones weigh?

@Steven:

I'm not going to start an Esoteric Hi-End Flame war here, here you have an interesting insight to burn-in times:

http://www.matrixhifi.com/ENG_contenedor_rodajealtavoces.htm


Anyway armatures wouldn't have break-in times even if they exist.

I use the UE4 in cheap summer gigs for monitor control in bad conditions, they are good enough and there is nothing more comfortable than a custom IEM. Your's should be fine.

sorry, been away from this thread. will weigh tonite.

With all these iPod geeks here, I'm curious:

For an iPhone/iTouch, how does the power consumption compare between headhpones and the external speaker? I'd assume the headphones draw less, but for all I know running the program dominates the power consumption.

Does hours of play differ much in each mode?

I've never really noticed a difference, but I rarely listen to the external speaker for long periods of time.

On the subject of digital audio players; One of the best to try to get is the iriver T60 (1.2oz with battery). While the capacity is only 4gb, it was the largest capacity player that took replaceable batteries (AAA). I need to do some testing with mine, but I suspect that a AAA lithium battery would get me about 24 hours of run time on average encoded files.

Sometimes this player comes up on ebay. Great one to keep a search handy for if it does.

Steve

From my experience, the headphones drain the least, compared to the built-in speaker and even headphone-jack speakers. Then again, you need to solely isolate the use of the music player, and not think about other apps that take up battery, and even streaming info over 3G/WiFi.

That's what I know about it. I'm not about to do some uber-scientific analysis either.

My Sennheiser Adidas MX 680i are 0.6oz, 17g

Shure SE530.

Tiny, light and being in-ear-canal type, they consume minimal power for big sound.

Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10vi Noise Isolating Earphones w/ Microphone

Sometimes I bring a Sangean DT120 AM/FM radio, or a small mp3 player with radio for weather reports, music, or NPR to keep me company. I don't listen to AM talk because most AM talk show hosts make me want to puke, and I can't afford to get sick on the trail. I use Yuin PK3 earbuds because I find the in ear canal type uncomfortable. Of course I don't use these electronic conveniences when there is a chance of something jumping on my back and biting my neck. Breaking news-"Oblivious hiker with earbuds still in his ears eaten by bear." Most of the time I am content to hear the birds chirping, the grasshoppers buzzing, the frogs croaking, and most importantly, my own thoughts ruminating.