Hi Audiophiles,
This amateur music lover is in need of some advice from real experts / audiophiles who can help me lift up my musical experience to a higher level. So what is it that I'm looking for?
To be able to receive the proper advice, I'll try to shed some light in a structured way on my current situation:
1. Types of Music (genres)
2. Use cases
3. Current Gear (+ History of what I used)
1. Types of Music (genres)
I think I have a very broad music taste as I can appreciate a wide array of styles.
I'll share below my most commonly used Spotify playlists to give an idea of the type of Music I mostly listen to.
Besides these lists I also spent quite some time with relaxing acoustic stuff or piano songs while programming or after work to de-stress (Those are not there but also get quite some airtime).
A. Relaxing playlist:
B. Rock playlist:
C. EDM / Dance (should remove the David Guetta & Calvin Harris as I almost never listen to them):
2. Use cases
Most of my time listening is spent in three locations:
A. At work (at my desk) while coding / programming
B. At home for pure joy / relaxing listening sessions
C. On the move to work (commuting via train or mostly in my car)
D. Running (but I don't use my Andromeda's for that currently as I'm afraid the sweat might damage 'em so got a cheaper set for that)
3. Current Gear (+ History of what I used)
For IEM's, I progressed:
A. Apple earpods
B. Senheisser Momentum
C. RHA T20i
D. Campfire Andromeda with acoustune AET07 tips (Current)
So my current setup is;
- Samsung S9+ (with Spotify Premium)
- Campfire Andromeda (IEM)
- IFI Micro IDSD black label (Marketed as portable but only sees use when I'm stationed at my desk - not during commuting)
- IEMatch (don't use it that often)
Recently I tried Tidal and was amazed at how some records really sounded much better in hi-res. I'm not sure if that's just confirmation bias or whether it was truely the case but it got me thinking I'd be willing to invest in an even better experience and get myself FLAC files to play instead of Spotify Premium.
(I'm not planning on buying open headphones any soon as I really like the portability/sound quality balance that my Andromeda's offer). Besides that my cable for the andromeda's is breaking (metal piece) so I'm looking at ordering a new cable.
Therefore I was maybe considering upgrading my setup all together for both convenience and sound quality with my andromeda's.
One thing I tought about was the following combination:
DAP to replace my S9+ / IFI:
It's an advantage if I can also use streaming on it as I might keep both going (lossless and streaming spotify or tidal)
- https://www.earsunlimited.com/product/opus3-2/
- https://www.earsunlimited.com/product/astellkern-kann/
- https://www.earsunlimited.com/product/fiio-x7-mark-ii/
+
Cable upgrade: https://www.earsunlimited.com/product/alo-audio-sxc-8-iem-cable/
==> I would need some advice on the outputs though and what I should combine it with? For example is it better to get a 4.4mm with a DAP that can handle such connection than a 3.5mm? How will it affect my experience / sound?
But again I'm not entirely sure what a good all round setup would be that would suit my need for audio quality (moving to lossless quality) while also offering some portability / useability (at home, commuting, at work).
I'm basically looking for an optimal setup at this point and willing to dish some cash out if I get some extra quality / convenience out of it (Just not the top DAP from A&K for 2000-3000 euro as I think it's probably overkill for my use cases).
TL;DR: If there is a golden egg setup for the Campfire Andromeda's, I'd greatly appreciate your suggestions as these IEM's have really been perfect for me and I'm hoping to keep these for a very long time but I want to finally invest in giving them the perfect gear to support them (lossless files, good cable, good source, etc...).
Thanks in advance
If any additional information is required, please let me know
This amateur music lover is in need of some advice from real experts / audiophiles who can help me lift up my musical experience to a higher level. So what is it that I'm looking for?
To be able to receive the proper advice, I'll try to shed some light in a structured way on my current situation:
1. Types of Music (genres)
2. Use cases
3. Current Gear (+ History of what I used)
1. Types of Music (genres)
I think I have a very broad music taste as I can appreciate a wide array of styles.
I'll share below my most commonly used Spotify playlists to give an idea of the type of Music I mostly listen to.
Besides these lists I also spent quite some time with relaxing acoustic stuff or piano songs while programming or after work to de-stress (Those are not there but also get quite some airtime).
A. Relaxing playlist:
B. Rock playlist:
C. EDM / Dance (should remove the David Guetta & Calvin Harris as I almost never listen to them):
2. Use cases
Most of my time listening is spent in three locations:
A. At work (at my desk) while coding / programming
B. At home for pure joy / relaxing listening sessions
C. On the move to work (commuting via train or mostly in my car)
D. Running (but I don't use my Andromeda's for that currently as I'm afraid the sweat might damage 'em so got a cheaper set for that)
3. Current Gear (+ History of what I used)
For IEM's, I progressed:
A. Apple earpods
B. Senheisser Momentum
C. RHA T20i
D. Campfire Andromeda with acoustune AET07 tips (Current)
So my current setup is;
- Samsung S9+ (with Spotify Premium)
- Campfire Andromeda (IEM)
- IFI Micro IDSD black label (Marketed as portable but only sees use when I'm stationed at my desk - not during commuting)
- IEMatch (don't use it that often)
Recently I tried Tidal and was amazed at how some records really sounded much better in hi-res. I'm not sure if that's just confirmation bias or whether it was truely the case but it got me thinking I'd be willing to invest in an even better experience and get myself FLAC files to play instead of Spotify Premium.
(I'm not planning on buying open headphones any soon as I really like the portability/sound quality balance that my Andromeda's offer). Besides that my cable for the andromeda's is breaking (metal piece) so I'm looking at ordering a new cable.
Therefore I was maybe considering upgrading my setup all together for both convenience and sound quality with my andromeda's.
One thing I tought about was the following combination:
DAP to replace my S9+ / IFI:
It's an advantage if I can also use streaming on it as I might keep both going (lossless and streaming spotify or tidal)
- https://www.earsunlimited.com/product/opus3-2/
- https://www.earsunlimited.com/product/astellkern-kann/
- https://www.earsunlimited.com/product/fiio-x7-mark-ii/
+
Cable upgrade: https://www.earsunlimited.com/product/alo-audio-sxc-8-iem-cable/
==> I would need some advice on the outputs though and what I should combine it with? For example is it better to get a 4.4mm with a DAP that can handle such connection than a 3.5mm? How will it affect my experience / sound?
But again I'm not entirely sure what a good all round setup would be that would suit my need for audio quality (moving to lossless quality) while also offering some portability / useability (at home, commuting, at work).
I'm basically looking for an optimal setup at this point and willing to dish some cash out if I get some extra quality / convenience out of it (Just not the top DAP from A&K for 2000-3000 euro as I think it's probably overkill for my use cases).
TL;DR: If there is a golden egg setup for the Campfire Andromeda's, I'd greatly appreciate your suggestions as these IEM's have really been perfect for me and I'm hoping to keep these for a very long time but I want to finally invest in giving them the perfect gear to support them (lossless files, good cable, good source, etc...).
Thanks in advance
If any additional information is required, please let me know
