[Jaxz416]

Inspired by this thread I went and bought the Andromeda 2020 - was initially weirded out by the far from neutral presentation but they eventually won me over. They survived a recent IEM cull that saw me sell Monarch MK2 and U12t, which says a lot.
Spotted an Ara for sale at a good price the other day and went for it - looking forward to the shootout between these two IEMs.

Question - these are notoriously sensitive IEMs, what in people's opinion / experience is the best portable DAC/amp to drive them with the lowest noise floor (no DAPs as I use my phone as a source)?

Not the biggest source guy but the Apple dongle is honestly really solid sonically. Drawbacks are that it isn't durable and it only supports audio up to 24/48. I personally use the ALO Pilot. And/Or you could always get something like the iEMatch and that opens up your source possibilities.

EDIT: A lot of people don't seem to like the iEM match. I should have been more clear that I personally have not tried it, but I know what it does/how it works so I wanted to suggest it. Sorry!

 

[NebelHexen]

Inspired by this thread I went and bought the Andromeda 2020 - was initially weirded out by the far from neutral presentation but they eventually won me over. They survived a recent IEM cull that saw me sell Monarch MK2 and U12t, which says a lot.
Spotted an Ara for sale at a good price the other day and went for it - looking forward to the shootout between these two IEMs.

Question - these are notoriously sensitive IEMs, what in people's opinion / experience is the best portable DAC/amp to drive them with the lowest noise floor (no DAPs as I use my phone as a source)?

I have not tried the Ando 2020, I have alot of hours on my Ara.
Un eq'ed
Initially it was ok /slightly fatiguing. Highs were a bit to shrill.

It broke in to a very effective studio monitor. It is pretty level as far as i can tell. Everyhthing is broken down and technical but in a musical way.

Male vocals are in-arguably altered and sound more tenor, but not unbearable.
Bass is really technical Its there, as much as any BA physical and it very much gives you the beats your hearing.

Weird note- Ara KILLS for cello. Check out some Nicholas Yee and Rushad Eggleston.

working on a small write up my self. I prefer titanium on my skin to aluminum - there is some link to alshiemers and aluminum. Even if that is not the case, I prefer the cold spaciness of Titanium.

I am testing Symbio Foam eartips with it tonight at work, will report back. They ship fast. I tend to prefer foams but let me know what you like.

Source I run mine off the Dethonray Prelude 1+. Unfortunately only 3.5mm - you can run the ara as high as you want, and will not hear hiss. It is a very technical smooth monitor set up. Not sure you can get closer to analogue than the 1+, but I am going to test the Xeulin clear soon. I am very excited.
I dont really care for cell phones.

 

[OhmsClaw]

Not the biggest source guy but the Apple dongle is honestly really solid sonically. Drawbacks are that it isn't durable and it only supports audio up to 24/48. I personally use the ALO Pilot. And/Or you could always get something like the iEMatch and that opens up your source possibilities.

qudelix 5k for 3.5mm. Fiio BTR7 is really great for 4.4 and 3.5m. Both can be USBC tethered for USB DAC modes. BTR7 provides 1.0 UAC driverless and USB 2.0 with drivers.

I use the Mojo 2 when I can't be bothered to fire up my desktop system or on flights and in bed. The above I use for Discord/Gaming (party chat)/Gym

Edit: Sorry Jax! I meant to reply to @Derivative I will add, I'm not a fan of IEMatch. presenting a ~10Ohm OI to a sub 5Ohm unit

EDIT 2: The newer larger AKM Fiio unit is a chunky boy but also has great specs. The CMA 18 P is unsuitable for CFA iems (and Empire Ears) but great for the RN6. There's so many dam options out there it really comes down to specs, use case, form factor. Heck even the iFi Gryphon is still a great unit with bluetooth and heaps of options.

 

[NebelHexen]

I would say that the Ara's greatest strength and weakness is that it does everything extremely well. If everything is happening, frequency wise, at the same time nothing will stand out. Listening to a beat with bass and tweeters or an orchestra, the Ara just scientifically and very matter of factually states " the bass did this while the treble did this and here was the mid range freq, boss". That is, the song went "beep boop bop bing beep."

now when you listen to instrument solo, the Ara takes you on a wild ride through the bands of balanced armature. You will begin to feel the shift from each interval into the next. It really is quite beautiful. It will take a cello in one instance and a violin the next, it will do both at the same time, but if you start to fill in between - add an octave mandolin, and a trumpet, and a flute, it goes back to processing with the brain power it has, or you have actually.

 

[MgMGM]

Inspired by this thread I went and bought the Andromeda 2020 - was initially weirded out by the far from neutral presentation but they eventually won me over. They survived a recent IEM cull that saw me sell Monarch MK2 and U12t, which says a lot.
Spotted an Ara for sale at a good price the other day and went for it - looking forward to the shootout between these two IEMs.

Question - these are notoriously sensitive IEMs, what in people's opinion / experience is the best portable DAC/amp to drive them with the lowest noise floor (no DAPs as I use my phone as a source)?

My 2pence worth..............Chord Mojo2. Hands down. Outrages bargain at £400 in UK.

 

[MgMGM]

My 2pence worth..............Chord Mojo2. Hands down. Bargain at £400 in UK.

Sorry mate, jumped the gun there. I see you have one already!!!!!

 

[Derivative]

Sorry mate, jumped the gun there. I see you have one already!!!!!

No worries and yes the Mojo2 is a firm favourite, however I use it mostly as a desktop DAC (it's an amazing value desktop vs a decent value portable, if that makes sense).
I tend to go for DAC/amps with smaller form factors on the go. So was wondering what the options are and whether I should explore upgrading or changing from my mainstay the Questyle M15 (competent but not extraordinary and easily bested by the Mojo2).

 

[Derivative]

I would say that the Ara's greatest strength and weakness is that it does everything extremely well. If everything is happening, frequency wise, at the same time nothing will stand out. Listening to a beat with bass and tweeters or an orchestra, the Ara just scientifically and very matter of factually states " the bass did this while the treble did this and here was the mid range freq, boss". That is, the song went "beep boop bop bing beep."

now when you listen to instrument solo, the Ara takes you on a wild ride through the bands of balanced armature. You will begin to feel the shift from each interval into the next. It really is quite beautiful. It will take a cello in one instance and a violin the next, it will do both at the same time, but if you start to fill in between - add an octave mandolin, and a trumpet, and a flute, it goes back to processing with the brain power it has, or you have actually.

Thank you for the detailed feedback on the Ara - you should definitely get that write-up published!
I received them this morning and have been going through a few of my favourite tracks (all through the M15). So far, so good and fairly familiar given my experience with the Andromeda. However I can already tell there's something "more" here. May well be in line with what you've described, but obviously more listening needed and on different gear to make a better judgement.

The bass is so interesting - as you say super analytical. Don't think I've experienced this before...

 

[Derivative]

Not the biggest source guy but the Apple dongle is honestly really solid sonically. Drawbacks are that it isn't durable and it only supports audio up to 24/48. I personally use the ALO Pilot. And/Or you could always get something like the iEMatch and that opens up your source possibilities.

I'm firmly in the camp that IEMs / Headphones matter more than the source, but also consider experimenting with sources to be an important and fun part of the hobby. Love "new amp (or new DAC) day"!
iEMatch doesn't appeal for some reason, would rather find something that does it well straight out the box...

 

[Jaxz416]

It broke in to a very effective studio monitor. It is pretty level as far as i can tell. Everyhthing is broken down and technical but in a musical way.

Personally, I disagree with this. IMO, the Ara is far too colored to be a studio monitor. It is an incredible IEM with great technical performance but the warm-v tuning along with some boosts and cuts in some odd places means that I would never trust the Ara as something to create music with. That "musicality" you mention makes it a great IEM to listen to, but that same "musicality" is exactly the reason why I wouldn't consider it a good studio monitor.

 

[NebelHexen]

Thank you for the detailed feedback on the Ara - you should definitely get that write-up published!
I received them this morning and have been going through a few of my favourite tracks (all through the M15). So far, so good and fairly familiar given my experience with the Andromeda. However I can already tell there's something "more" here. May well be in line with what you've described, but obviously more listening needed and on different gear to make a better judgement.

The bass is so interesting - as you say super analytical. Don't think I've experienced this before...

well, we have near 9 months together. I am working it up and have recently invested in a second rig - so i can also add some comparative analysis.

Hey! So yesterday I recieved some Symbio orange memory foam eartips and ran them all night last night.
This COMPLETELY changed the Ara. It tamed it, and now the bass kicks and thumps.

I had been running the stock foams and tried various silicone and foam..

comfort is also +10. I wish i had bought these ages ago. Fatigue greatly reduced, tho i am pretty Arafied.
In my opinion, the perfect tip for the Ara. Sounds like a real daily driver, but still wears its nerdy glasses and gets technical.

 

[NebelHexen]

Personally, I disagree with this. IMO, the Ara is far too colored to be a studio monitor. It is an incredible IEM with great technical performance but the warm-v tuning along with some boosts and cuts in some odd places means that I would never trust the Ara as something to create music with. That "musicality" you mention makes it a great IEM to listen to, but that "musicality" is exactly the reason why I wouldn't consider it a good studio monitor.

wow, interesting. I do not get a warm tuning at all.

 

[Jaxz416]

I'm firmly in the camp that IEMs / Headphones matter more than the source, but also consider experimenting with sources to be an important and fun part of the hobby. Love "new amp (or new DAC) day"!
iEMatch doesn't appeal for some reason, would rather find something that does it well straight out the box...

I totally agree! For me, it's honestly just that most of the time I don't find the sonic difference enough to justify the price of the component. I'm also fortunate to have a really high quality desktop audio interface that has a great headphone circuit that I use sometimes as well.

 

[Jaxz416]

wow, interesting. I do not get a warm tuning at all.

That's cool too! IEMs are super personal, we all hear different, and I saw you used different tips than me (I usually use type-e tips) so that could also be a small part of it too. Seems like you're enjoying them, and that's all that really matters anyway.

 

[M3NTAL]

Andromeda Gold would be a better U12T alternative

wow, interesting. I do not get a warm tuning at all.

Same - they are actually tuned pretty darn flat in the grand scheme. Very reference. The Andro Gold is the 'V' shaped version of the Ara (IMO)