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HiFi on the Go - Dream or Reality?

I'm an audiophile who travels a fair bit. I've been looking to build a portable audio system that allows me to enjoy some of the SQ I have at home. I've no illusion that something that fits in my carry on will give me the full Lampi/dTZ/Kharma experience I have at home but I'm trying to get part of the way there.

A few years back, I purchased an Astell&Kern DAP and would borrow a pair of Focal Utopia from my main system when traveling. I was happy with the sound but the Utopia proved to be too big to carry around. Trying to avoid lossy Bluetooth and tiny earbud DACs, I purchased Audio 64 U18t IEMs. Out of the box, they sound bright to my ears. I've been playing them on a loop in case there is such a thing as burn in for IEMs and crossing my fingers.

I listen mainly to country music, female vocals and progressive rock

I'm keen to get opinions on whether the search for hifi on the go is a fool's errand or if there is a path I haven't found yet. 

Many thanks

 

 

 

rpmpam
ghdprentice
7,228 posts
 

OP,

👍

 

I have been listening to Lilium. If I were to upgrade… well, I go up. I have not heard the new Strads yet. But heard good things about them.

 

On hotels. Yes, you have to make a choice based on time of travel vs hotel time. Most of my travel was far away. I have spent years in hotels… but over the last couple decades there were lots of dinners out, or work. So, the convenience / fun sound of the Quiet Comfort were so worth it for me. Also, I can connect to my iPad and watch a movie, and wonder around the room.

 

I use my A&K / Focal for vacations where I stay in one place (like vacation for two of three weeks). Interestingly I have decided that the A&K / Focal is so sterile a sound that I am going to look into a portable tube amp… in comparison to my main and headphone systems it sounds terrible… yeah, detailed with good bass, but without natural / musical warmth. 

anotherbob's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
anotherbob
344 posts
 

Bowers & Wilkens PX8 Wireless (with wired option) Noise Cancelling Headphones! Great sounding with Bluetooth 5.2, and built like a tank, the quality is obvious from the moment you pick them up, very comfortable to wear, too.

goofyfoot's avatar
goofyfoot
1,380 posts
 

I looked into the Focal Bathy’s noise cancelling headphones with a DAC chip. They retail for $700.00 which isn’t unreasonable but I found out that the drivers cost Focal around $20.00. That’s also when I was told about how high the mark up is on headphones. Seeing if my source is right, I’m too obstinate to purchase the Bathy’s regardless of the overall sonic benefits. Right now I have Cardas earbuds and the Cayin RU7 DAC to iPhone for my gym workouts and I have to accept the fact that measuring my portable audio with my reference audio is simply an incomparable comparison.

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