Dt990 600 ohms driven by schiit  modi and vali sounds great to me. Had m50s previously and the beyers are obviously on a whole other level. Maybe I'm a treble monster, because the highs are perfect for me; anything else doesn't sound as clear and detailed and are veiled to me.

Yea my bad I meant to say Magni. Also I looked at some youtube reviews and heard that cables didn't come with the Schiit products; what is the cable needed to connect the red/white input and outputs together? Is there difference in qualities?

I will be going for the USB version in that case. How does the Vali fare against the Modi with the DT880s and Q701s? Is the hybrid tube amp worth getting as a first amp, or is the Modi the better option? EDIT: fare against Magni, not Modi, my bad.

Many people recommend Schiit as a starting brand for newbies like me. I was looking through threads and Schiit's website and see a few combos; Magni + Modi, or Vali + Modi, and am now overwhelmed by so many options... Schiit seems like a better choice that O2+ODAC for me right now because having...

Im not really experienced in this area, so buying new really is safer on a few levels. Especially for places with good return policies. I'm really thinking about a dt880 or q701 paired with the fiio combo.

I live in Canada in Ontario. Also @pp312  There's only like a $10-15 difference here, so not something that's influential. Honestly after reviews I was going for the HD600, but the price is just too much with small stock also. Its going to be between the Beyers and the AKGs for me, but IDK which...

That clears up my confusion then; many speak as if the senns are worth buying and are entry Hi fis, but $500 and entry don't go hand in hand CD And yeah... the 650s are $550. Seems like Beyer 880 premium is the best bet?

So I've been reading through posts and threads to find all the comparisons of these 'phones, but there is never really a conclusion as to its price to performance ratio with specific numbers; In where I live, the HD600s are $500, Q701s are $279, and the DT880s/990s are $330. I get conclusions...

Ah, so the e18 can be used as a dac only as well. Thanks for clearing that up!

Just for clarification:  It is mentioned that you can use the e18 in Amp mode, which only utilizes the amp. Does this mean that DAC mode (through whatever method i.e usb) only utilizes DAC? or does it use both the DAC and the Amp? If it uses both, is it possible to only use the DAC and connect...

Also, howbout the e18? Will they be more compatible with my Z2 to drive with any music players? Also will these be good for Q701s?

Oh wow... I've never seen anything about having to use UAPP if i wanted to use the e17 with the z2. Thanks for the heads up! It also seems the e17 as a DAC/Amp is preferred over the e12 as a standalone Amp. So to directly answer my question: 1) a Dac like the one in the e17 is better than the...

I previously made a thread to ask questions about dacs and amps for mobile devices, but now I need some help to clear up the last of my questions before I make a purchase! So I have the z2 for music, usually at 320kbps, and am looking for 'portable' gear to drive a pair of q701's. I say portable...

Also, what readings do i read to know if something can be powered by the d1?

Thanks again, you definitely helped me answer many of these questions. There really isn't much information (from my research; maybe there is some i havent found) about phone DACs vs desktop DACs. I'm probably going to go with the Audioengine D1's for my desktop for now, and maybe get another...

I also read on jdslabs blog that you can use self-powered USB hubs (if the phone recognizes it as just a usb device) and connect it to your phone, then connecting the DAC to the usb hub. Would something like a D1 Audioengine be significantly better than the Z2 output? 

Ok, so I did some more information search again, except I now know that there is a power limit to DACs connecting to phones with OTG. I've read http://blog.jdslabs.com/?p=838 and it mentioned something about using a self-powered USB hub, so it would go something like;   Phone -> OTG cable ->...

Thanks for the reply! I didn't know about the e10k not being able to be powered by a phone. I listen to my music on my PC which has onboard, which is where I tell the difference between sound; it has a hiss and lesser sound quality compared to my phone. I usually listen to music on my phone...

Hi, I'll be starting off saying that I'm a noob and need some assistance from some knowledgeable audiophiles out here. I listen to music with a pair of ATH-M50's through my phone and computer(on-board sound card), and would like to bring in a sub-$100 DAC/AMP for increased sound quality. I've...