Yikes Ryan, unless you spend A LOT of time listening to IEMs I'd be hard pressed to see the UE10s as a good choice. I'd have to be flying weekly or commuting via public transport to even think about a purchase like that. Before you did that I'd try one of the new customs that popped last year, anyone buy Livewires that is.
With SS amps I don't think it's an issue, with tube amps I've been told (but can't really explain) that they should not be left without a load for very long.
Battery life will certainly suffer if the screen stays on but you could try manually shutting off the screen and seeing if that causes the skipping to reappear. On my touch as soon as audio is playing I can hit the sleep/wake (power) button and audio continues to play without interruption. I often do this so that I don't inadvertently hit anything on the touchscreen when putting it into my pocket.
I haven't had that issue on my 1st Gen Touch but only a handful of the files I have on it are ALAC. I'll load up a few more today and see if I get behavior like that.
I expect to be selling my 170s in the next couple of weeks Earl after I get my new bookshelf speakers built. They aren't the SE model, maybe that makes them not an option for you, but they'll be pretty darn cheap.
Pardon the error, I meant on Sundays. I think even FedEx takes Sunday off so it's unlikely that anyone would be processing packages in and out of a facility. I agree that any change in package status occurs pretty much in real time on their website.
I don't think that FedEx updates their tracking system on the weekend, same with UPS and USPS. I wouldn't expect them to update it Monday either with the holiday. If something has happened I wouldn't expect to see it until Tuesday at the earliest.
Earl,
I've really enjoy my AA 170's, especially in the near-field setup that I currently have them in. I'd certainly buy their products again although Zach's advice about the Linbrooks is something that I'd definitely take under consideration as well.
Hmmm, maybe it was the system that I was listening to the ECD-1 in but that doesn't really echo my impressions. Oh well, at least it shouldn't be too hard to unload, there's a guy looking for one right now...