I ended up going for the Dunu dn1000 from one of the members here.  I look forward to receiving it later this week.  Thanks for the suggestion.  

Based on what i've read about these suggestions, I think i'm most interested in the Yamaha eph100, tdk ie800, or possibly stretching for the dunu dn1000.  I wish some of these were more readily available for in store purchase though.  Which of the suggestions would be most excellent with the X5...

Awesome, thanks.  These suggestions are helpful, i was a little discouraged at first.  I'm going to look into these for sure

Thanks for the reply, these def sound appealing.

I just got the Fiio X5, which i am very much enjoying with my Shure 215s.  I would like to do a little better than this for a portable though.  I have some cool headphones like the q701 and Beyerdynamic DT880, but I feel a little silly leaving the house wearing any of those.  The 215s are...

Ya man. These things sound sweet, especially with a little help from the e17.

Quote: So it works fine plugged straight into the other usb port, there are two.  Apparently they are different somehow?  I probably should have known that.  :-/  On another note, these things are sounding sweeter and sweeter.  I have the gain at +6, bass hovering between +4-6, and treble...

So when plugged into the usb hub and functioning, it does seem to warm up the sound a bit.  Is it only being used as a DAC when plugged into computer?  I thought it would boost the gain a bit as well.  Also, i saw somewhere that it isn't supposed to allow +12db gain when usb mode, but mine does...

Quote: Ok, thanks i will def look into that.  For the moment tho, everything has arrived but i'm not sure i'm using it right.  So when i plug the e17 into my Plugable usb port, which i use to have enough ports, it sounds ok, tho no outstanding diff to my ears yet.  It actually is...

Quote: Gotcha, that makes sense.  And ya, i think the iPhone 5 has the smaller jack just like my Ipad mini does.  Is that the issue you're referring to?  Hopefully they do something with that at some point, I didn't see anything for it at this point.

to use it with an Iphone that is.  I'm not sure if it comes with something like that

Quote: Will I also need this?  http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-L9-L-Shaped-Cable-iPhone/dp/B004QVNNI0/ref=pd_luc_bxgy_01_01_t_lh?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Quote: Awesome, thanks.  Thats helpful.  I'm doing it

Cool, thank u. I'm thinking I'll go for that. That pair of Grado 60s was a real gateway drug...

Quote: So I ended up getting a good deal on q701s from Amazon Warehouse, I'm thinking that Fiio E17 u mentioned might be a good idea.  It seems like the most affordable/useful/cost efficient option.  Do u know if this would be a good idea for these phones?  PurpleAngel?  thanks guys.  sorry...