Wow that is a good question… For comfort it is really hard for me not to pick the FH3 as it just fits so well… sound wise Hmmmmmm… Each has their strengths… Your ears are going to decide this…Not mine. I really like both… Never used for sleeping but still fh3 probably better comfort wise.
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I think BLON 03 is pretty good at the center of its sound, but the fit is plain bad, and there’s really nothing magical or addictive about the sound(unlike the FH3). FH3 has a shallow insertion, so the fit is more loose than ideally(use the foam tips to help them stay more snug). I wish FH3 had the same shell(and cable) as Legacy 3.
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did you pull the trigger, and get BTR3k and FH3. This is exactly what I’m thinking about next.
I didn’t think the BTR3k was worth it compared to using the apple dongle as I couldn’t hear a difference. I’ve sold my FH3 because I think I definitely prefer a brighter sound. It is still a very good IEM though.
A quality DAC is important, yes. But I can’t say I’ve ever noticed any significant difference yet, between a DAC+amp and a DAC alone with IEMs. So, I really can’t recommend an amp as a necessity, but they do give you a volume control and pre-amp outputs. ^ ^
Its the amp that makes the difference. Dacs does not in my experience trying out different dacs with switches.
the btr3k reviews says its a warmer profile and better fit with ChiFi IEM’s that need tamed at the top end. But FH3 is probably already smooth. Would a btr5 be a better choice, or other?
I don’t know, I haven’t tried the BTR5 and I couldn’t tell a difference with my BTR3k.
This discussion peaked my interest a bit. Recently I was involved in a discussion on a different forum, where a person asked questions about the Blon 01 and if the playback on a phone would be okay (didn’t say what type of phone). I said that the Blon 01 sounds just fine on my iPhone SE 2020, but needs about 10% more volume than my other iems. I listen at about 45% volume, the Blon 01 is at about 55%.
Quite a few forum users indicated that nearly all the BLONS need amping to sound decent. And it was even said that a phone just doesn’t cut it for the Blon iems. Huh??? I’m confused… there is no way that the SQ of my iems is anything close to abysmal. What am I missing?
I use the Apple $10 lightning to 3.5 dongle, and I also use a Radsone ES100 (single ended). I’ve been listening to my Mangird Tea, switching back and forth between the two… and the SQ sounds a tad bit better with the ES100, but it isn’t dramatic. Maybe the SQ would be considerably better when I begin using Balanced on the ES100?
All of my iems are low impedance 16-19 ohm, 100-112 dB sensitivity, and none have planar drivers. I continue to research, trying to understand if there would be any benefit to using some sort of amp with my iems, to where it would increase the sound quality over what I am already hearing (which is very good imo).
Anyone have thoughts on this? Am I so far away from an “audiophile” listening level, that I am missing something here?
In my opinion, all you really need is the Lightning dongle now that I’ve tried different sources, I bought a FiiO K5 Pro and BTR3k and I cannot tell a difference between those and the dongle. I’ve tried them with my DT880s too and I couldn’t tell a difference there either.
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In my honest opinion, it doesn’t make much of a difference. So long as the amp has enough power to push whatever you’re listening to, you’ll be fine.
DACs can improve detail and separation, but honestly not by much, and I believe there’s a hard wall that’s rather low in the price range of diminishing returns nowadays.
The only difference I hear with my Blon 01s and 03s in terms of amping is the background noise between a clean amp and my phone. My phone just isn’t as sensitive. The 01s do need a tiny bit more power than the 03s, but… it’s almost nothing more.
Balanced… oh boy. I never heard a difference when volume is properly balanced. Much of what I consider the “OMG so much better” factor is simply down to turning the volume up or expectations for stuff like this. Most balanced outputs deliver more power.
Thank you for your thoughts on the subject.
My iBasso IT01 is the easiest to drive, Blon 01 is at the other end, and the others in the middle. It isn’t more than a 10% variance in volume adjustment for all of them to be at the same dB listening level.
Although, I keep hearing the same thing… more source power (not talking about volume) provides better overall sound quality. The Blon 01 isn’t THAT hard to drive, so I guess I don’t understand the theory behind “better SQ through more power” regarding iems.
oh well… Led Zeppelin, Hats Off To (Roy) Harper… sounds freakishly good with Blons, iPhone, and lightning dongle. 
Sorry guys I’m just jumping into the conversation but would this not also depend on the kind of amping that is being used? Like class A amping will sound different from class D and also tube amps would have a different sound? Personally I’m very interested to know what a class A portable amp (like the aune B1s) would sound like with IEMs.
Different styles of amplification does play with the sound, and tubes completely fuck with it, for sure.
I really love class A for the body it brings to stuff, but class D is HARD to beat in linearity. I’m not a multi-amp guy so it’s either a very linear (thus expensive) class A or a decent class D.
Dunno about IEMs, tho. All my non-D amps have way too much background noise to be worth a damn.
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Ok cool I see, I once used a marantz integrated amp with my headphones and it had class A. The only way I can describe the sound is that if had this full and impactful sound. It was amazing but I guess as you say the implementation of the quality of the class A would matter and I don’t think I could afford something like that.
Thanks for the response on that
Hearing the difference between DACs and amps is usually much more subtle than the IEM itself. Also, some IEMs benefit from a proper source more than others. Some reveal the source more clearly, and some are less responsive and tend to sound just like they sound most of the time. I believe this is what people refer to when they talk about “scaling”.
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I can’t speak for the BLONs since I haven’t heard them, but I have been recently playing around with sources/IEMs since quarantine started and have found that sources matter more than I thought at least for high end IEMs.
Sources (Cheapest to Expensive): Apple dongle, FiiO BTR5, Lotoo PAW S1, JDS Labs Element II, Cayin N3Pro, iFi iDSD BL, LG G7, Hiby R6 2020, RME ADI 2 DAC FS, iBasso DX300, Shanling M8
IEMs: Moondrop Blessing 2: Dusk, Sennheiser IE300, Andromeda 2020, U12T, Legend X, IER-Z1R
I found that hybrid/dynamic driver IEMs except for the IE300 benefit more from a good source to really deliver the most out of the dynamic driver. Yeah you will hear some bass slam with something like an Apple dongle, but the IEM will sound more “closed in” overall compared to the right source pairings. Going from apple dongle to the Lotoo PAW S1, I definitely noticed more dynamic range and “life” in my IEMs. Going from Lotoo PAW S1 to something like a iBasso DX300 was apparent.
Balanced armature IEMs like U12T and Andromeda do benefit from a good source pairing as well as the IEMs become more alive. Andromeda’s sound specifically changes based on output impedance, but does scale well with the right pairings.
Desktop amp/dacs are a bit harder since output impedance needs to be low enough. As much as the RME is raved, it’s kind of boring to listen to since it’s just neutral imo.
A phone dongle still sounds good and I still enjoy my IEMs, but to really get the full experience, a good source pairing helps a lot get the full experience. I was not a believer until I got the iBasso DX300 and I was like “oh…wow, that’s what was missing.”
To be honest though, some of this stuff is so expensive and really questions if it’s worth the jump from a dongle. In my opinion, I don’t think mid-range players like the Hiby R6 2020 are really worth it unless someone really needs a DAP compared to a phone. Cayin N3Pro does change the sound because it has tubes so I would consider that an exception. Otherwise, if I were you, I’d stick to dongles like the Apple dongle, Lotoo PAW S1. Or even the FiiO BTR5 for Bluetooth. If you want that next jump in sound and want a DAP, I’d say go with something like the DX300 or Shanling M8. If you want something not that expensive, but bump in sound, Chord Mojo and iFi iDSD BL are great choices although I don’t find them as portable as a dongle or BTR5.
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+1 for the Mojo here. The Lotoo S1 is a great little piece of gear and it’s much more portable but I just upgraded to the Mojo and it’s my favorite source for IEMs so far. Very nice, rich sound and they can be found for some good prices these days since they have been around for a while.
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My IEM’s are W60 Gen 2s, $999 MSRP. I have nothing more to say other than that they seem neutral and they’re the only IEMs I’ve ever heard.
The difference between using the O2/SDAC and not using it is significant from any of the many sources I have, and anyone who disagrees simply has hearing damage. I’m not saying that it’s better than upgrading your IEM’s. I’m saying that it’s better than not having it, from a source like a regular motherboard or a cell phone, and that there’s no discussion to be had about the fact.
If you’re considering going with endgame IEM’s, then definitely do that. And do buy a DAC/Amp or DAC or Amp at some point later on in the future. Especially if you’ve paid a lot for the last IEMs you’ll buy, like $500 or more, then pretty much any $150 DAC/Amp which adds obvious improvement is going to be worth the price of admission. Interestingly, the O2/SDAC (Now supplanted by the O2/ODAC) sucks for driving Sennheiser open back cans like I bought it for.
Since it is so unimpressive for my cans, I just assumed its performance was (relatively speaking) unimpressive for my IEMs too.
I was expecting everyone here to say that a good DAC and/or amp is necessary to get your IEMs to sound something like they are built to sound. Even I know that from my modest little combo. Perhaps the O2/SDAC performs above its price point for IEMs.
BTR5 *USB + Tidal + UAPP = The perfect combination for any normal iem