Every assumption we hold is subject to change in the future. I say assumption because facts are supposedly unchangeable, but the facts of today are proven wrong tomorrow and you don’t want to admit that you were holding into lies. Assumptions sounds better, much better. This is all the more true because since I began my journey, I’ve had to change my assumptions again and again, and will probably do again in the future. Change is the only constant, they say, but it still stings when your seemingly-unique beliefs give way to realities (current realities, future assumptions) that are much closer to what others are doing. But if that’s what it takes to obtain the best aural experience, so be it!
Aural, you ask ? Yes, this particular harangue will be about my journey as a novice audiophile and where it has gotten me two years down the line. I’ve written on phones, on games, even on academics, but ever heard me yap about audio ? Nope. Hence.
Now this isn’t about how I got into audio gear, or the early mistakes that I made that caused me to burn more cash than I should have. Rather, this is about the point where I thought I had finally had it sorted out, and could settle down to incremental upgrades adhering to a core philosophy. However, a little background never hurts so here goes. I had been a IEM (in-ear monitor, aka pointy-tipped earphone) junkie for quite some time. There was a time when I would upgrade whenever Mi released their latest iteration of Piston IEMs, and revel in the supposed glory of the sound quality. Supposed, because it was assumed to be glorious, and as you may have guessed by now, this article is about making and breaking assumptions.
I’m not sure when and why I felt the need to get into “proper” audiophilia. It was July 2018 and I had been eyeing the Asus Xonar DG/DX sound cards for some time. Since I already knew a fair bit about computers, I also knew that the computer had an inbuilt audio converter, and that it was probably not much better than integrated video is for gaming. Since I had upgraded pretty much everything else, perhaps it was time for an audio upgrade. Also, a nice pair of headphones would bring out the true beauty of the card’s caliber.
So I went online and as often happens, chanced on a hardcore (but welcoming!) group called the Indian Audiophile Forum. Quite naively, I put forth my queries, hoping for some amount of agreement. None was forthcoming. The general consensus was that sound cards were somewhat passe. I’d be better off getting a DAC and a good AMP.
DAC ? AMP ? Some googling later, I learnt the meanings of these and realized that the asking price of the cheapest ones from Fiio – 3-5K, was quite high. Respectable desktop setups like the Schiit Modi/Magni commanded prices in excess of 15K in the flea market. Buy them new and you would burn a hole of about 23K. As for headphones, the ones that were suggested to me were around 10K – the M50x.
Now I wasn’t about to burn through so much money all at once. Having been persuaded of the futility of getting a sound card, I decided that getting a DAC would be futile anyway since I would not have the high-quality audio equipment to bring out their true potential. Plus, the sound coming through my headphone jack was loud enough, so no amp required either. I had already ordered a M20x. Now came the turn of M50x.
Did I tell you that I’m quite impressionable when a lot of people tell me that something is uber good ? Well I am, and when the consensus appeared to be that the M50x is awesome, I bought it. Don’t get me wrong – it is awesome. It is just that with no understanding whatever of what sound signatures meant, I was basically going for whatever the crowd chanted. Eventually I’d realize that I would have been better getting the M40x – a slightly cheaper but more neutral sounding monitor HP. But I’d already swallowed a lot of pride and coughed up a lot of cash. No more I said!
Along with this, I was thought I’d up my IEM game as well. Here was a real requirement – since my Mi Pistons were in a declining state of health. I went on the flea market (called the Pre-Loved Gears for Sale group) and decided that I’d get some “good” IEMs from a company called Faaeal. The decision made as much sense as the brand’s name, but I was quite impressed with the heavy metal units of the Datura and the braided cable.
Eventually though, I settled for the Tin T2, and thankfully, began to understand a bit of what makes audio great. You see, the Tin T2 were actually neutral, and allowed you to understand how others were high or low (forward or recessed in audiophile jargon) in specific segments of the spectrum. It was with T2 and M50x that I understood what the difference between low quality MP3 music and higher quality stuff was. I understood how treble helped you enjoy string instruments and classical concerts, while bass was useful for hip hop and newer genres. Mids helped grasp vocals since most singers went neither too high nor too low in the acoustic spectrum.
With this knowledge, I now began to yearn for better gear, and came to appreciate that newer is not always better. Hence, in what would have been a grave affront to my Piston-upgrading former self, I went from M50x to M50. Yes, the older model that was already five years old at that time (mid 2019). I appreciated the slightly warmer (bass-heavy) sound signature and greater resolution (clarity and separation of instruments) of the unit. Plus, the previous owner had added sheepskin earpads. Ah, the comfort!
It’d have been fine if I’d simply upgraded from the M50 to another set of cans, and moved my T2 to a better IEM. That’s what normal people do, including ones who actually understand the music. Better than me anyway. What I did, however, was conclude that headphones were too heavy and unwieldy, and it would be better to go all IEM. I’d keep two IEMs, one for casual use and one for more analytical listening.
One year back – in late 2019 – I acted on my beliefs. The M50, T2 (and BQEYZ KC2) were all sold. In their stead, I got the Audeze iSine 10 and Blon BL-03. The isines were planar magnetic IEMs – virtually the only ones in the market in that price range that were both planar as well as IEMs. They seemed to fit my bill perfectly – portable should I want to carry them, planar so I get good details and excellent range, and light on the ears (in terms of weight). The Blons were dynamic driver carbon diaphragm IEMs that were trying hard to replace the T2.
They would eventually fail – and I would fail in my quest to make this combination the ideal companions for listening. Partially fail that is. The Blons did their job amicably, even after my wife bent the 3.5mm jack! They were light, had good bass and enough volume to hold out in crowded metro trains, and survive rough usage. They became my daily drivers during the 3 hours commutes to and from work that I undertook five days a week.
The isines were not so useful. I learnt that the ear hooks which these oversized IEMs relied upon to cling onto your earlobes, were flimsy. I’m talking snap at a touch level of flimsy. Since the previous seller had misplaced one out of the three pairs included, I was stuck with only two sizes. The larger one seemed to fit my ears, but clearly they didn’t fit well. After some time, my right earlobe began to ache. The fit was also a bit off, so I could hear less in my right ear than in my left. This imbalance, coupled with fatigue, pain and the fact that they needed to be stored carefully in their pouch after every listening session meant that they weren’t the easiest to use. Neither could they be carried around lest a stray push snap one of the brittle hooks.
The result was that I would bring out the isines only when I was at home, listening on my computer. Taking them off was also akin to removing costly earrings, and there were times when I unplugged the jack rather than take off the IEMs since the former was more convenient. Further, they needed some amplification and so I had to use a DAC/AMP whenever I needed to use the isines. All in all, a tall ask that limited my listening sessions on the isines more and more, till I was listening to them once in two months.
Around the same time, I was gradually beginning to reconsider my attitude to DAC/AMPs. So many people were using it that it seemed to be the logical thing to do. Trouble was, the desktop ones limited your headbanging space and were too costly anyway. I decided to go the portable route again. This time, my first choice was actually good, but the ones that followed proved to be less so.
The first DACAMP I got was the Audioquest Dragonfly Black 1.5. If you think I’m writing this whole name unnecessarily (after all I didn’t write Audio Technical M50x Studio Monitor Headphones did I ?), know that there’s a reason. The Dragonfly has a bigger brother called Red, and the Black itself has two iterations – 1.2 and 1.5. Now the one I got was decidedly pre-loved (lingo for second-hand) but it was built like a rock. With its single 3.55mm port and USB male interface, it was the epitome of simplicity.
In fact, it was the first and last unit that I could plug into a USB C to USB A dongle and carry with me on bus journeys. It would drive the Blons, and then the isines, and improve sound quality through its integrated DAC. Amplification was also good. Most vitally, it gave me access to MQA (Master Quality Audio) music that provided music in the same quality as it was recorded in. Sweet huh ?
It was so sweet that I eventually decided to look for options that disposed of the dongle/adapter. I was looking for smaller, lighter and less battery-guzzling USB-C options. I didn’t expect them to compete with the Dragonfly, since most options were only a fraction of the price and specifications of the Dragonfly anyway. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure what I expected from these cheaper options, since they wouldn’t be able to play the highest bitrate options anyway with their smaller and weaker DACs, nor amp larger HPs (not that I had any at that point).
Anyhow, I assumed (again) that they would improve sound. I got the Tempotec Sonata HD (not Pro) and the VE Odyssey. The Sonata was something of a flyweight champion among DACs, while the Odyssey was getting some favourable reviews. The reviews were wrong, and the Odyssey heated up and didn’t provide any major improvement. When I finally sold it, the buyer ( a veteran user himself) told me there was something wrong with my USB C DAC. Mercifully he didn’t ask for a refund.
The Sonata did its job, but soon I was wondering what job that exactly was. It stuck out in an ungainly way from my jeans pocket, and could easily catch a bus handle on my way out. Further, while it allowed me to play Tidal through UAPP, it didn’t allow use of Apple Music where I had a good part of my Indian music collection. So using an additional wire basically limited my options instead of expanding them. On the sound front, the Tempotec did improve things, adding that little extra bit of amp and depth to the music that reminded me of the Dragonfly back home.
But the emphasis on portability meant that it would get me only so far. And so far became not very far when the pandemic hit. I was stuck at home with a number of portable options and nowhere to go. It would be logical to hold onto them and wait for the pandemic to wear itself out (still hasn’t), but the added thinking time made me do a rethink. My isines were sitting uncomfortably on my ears or gathering dust in the desk drawer. My portable DACAMP options were either heating up my private parts or just plain proving to be a hindrance to smooth movement, and none were allowing me to enjoy the high-quality yet ergonomic travel experience I had hoped for. I had options, but the question had changed. Was portability really to be found in tapered down versions of bigger and better stuff like the isines and portable DACAMPs essentially were ? Or should I simply split the portable and high-end options once and for all ?
That’s what I did. Mea culpa to anyone to whom I’ve preached the glories of portable Hi-Fi audio. I’m sorry, I didn’t know what a pain it would be straddling both boats. Instead, I’ve chosen to focus on portability alone when I go portable, and audio quality alone when I go for audio quality. It seems stereotypical, but I guess the road less travelled required one too many detours for me to continue on it.
The portable option is, simply put, as minimal as possible without being totally crap in the audio department. I’ve currently settled on Creative Outlier Air. They are TWS (Truly Wireless) Bluetooth earphones that allow me to walk, run, headbang (not too much) and clean the house without falling off. Anytime I’m on the move, I slip them into my ears and I’m enjoying music on the go. Not the quality I would like, but if you have to navigate crowded bazaars, you would focus more on having the music with you rather than picking one note from another.
My high-end setup, on the other hand, has become much bulkier and desktop-bound. After a long and arduous search, I chanced upon a Schiit stack on Headphonezone. Whoever had put it up didn’t list it in the flea markets I frequent, because I’d have noticed too late and lost my chance. They cost me around 15K, which isn’t cheap but the lowest you can go for quality discrete DAC and AMP stacks. Remember the Schiit stack I’d checked out as too costly when I began my journey with the M20x and M50x ? Yeah, I’m using it now.
What about my earphone ? Well, it’s a headphone now. Once I’d decided to go for quality, a headphone made more sense than a compromise like the isine 10. I initially decided to go for the Hifiman Sundara, but the 28K asking price for a new one was too much. Since Hifiman is unwilling to offer warranty on second-hand goods and Sundaras have been known to go wonky at times, I chose a cheaper HE400i (older model) pre-loved from the flea market. They’re planar magnetic, have large and powerful open-back drivers and tick all the boxes required for a comfortable analytical listening session.
Is it my endgame ? No, because even these setups have some assumptions. For instance, I’m assuming right now that I’ll eventually upgrade to the Sundara. Perhaps I’ll go for the Audeze LCD-1 or something completely different. Maybe I won’t upgrade in the near future at all. Too many assumptions of mine have been proved wrong, and at this stage, I’m only hoping for more to break. The journey, as they say, is more beautiful than the destination!