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Originally Posted by Antrax  im going to run the HFI-780 out of a sansa clip+ , unamped.
will it be powerful enough to run it to, like, at least 80% of its sq potential? and what about the volume?
if anyone got a hfi-780 and a sansa clip i would like to know.
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I've got a Sansa Clip+ and a ALO-780 (the HFI-780 modded and recabled by ALO). Using a Grado 1/4"-to-1/8" adapter, and plugging the ALO-780 into the headphone out of the Clip+, it sounds really good, at least "80%" of its sq potential (but not as high as I would rate "90+ %"), to my ear and my "pseudo-quantitatively qualitative percentage rating" scale. My experience with the ALO-780 at the highest SQ I'm familiar with is with it being driven by either an Amphora or by a Mapletree Ear+ HD with a Tung-Sol 5751 or 12AX7 driver tube (my favorite tubes for the 780 paired with the Mapletree), with a 5.5G iMod Source (plugged directly into the iMod dock on the Amphora, or using an ALO VCap dock with a ZYN Mk II RCA pair IC to the Mapletree. And, unlike those higher-priced amps, the Clip+ has multiple pre-defined (and user-definable custom) EQ settings to suit the spectral output to the preferences of the listener. With the ALO-780, I use the "Normal" EQ setting. I wouldn't be fulfilling my duty as a fellow Head-Fier if I didn't include my opinion that my favorite DAP with the ALO-780 is an AMP3 - for its more transparent and more spacious presentation of the music, with plenty of volume for these phones. HeadphoneAddict has posted that he would agree that the AMP3 is a good match for a recabled HFI-780, but that the AMP3 might be too trebly for a stock HFI-780. With the Clip+, it's definitely a good and very enjoyable listen, and you'll have the EQ settings to help optimize the spectral balance for your ears. My opinion is that you'll be in a sufficiently good SQ range to hear the kind of quality of which the HFI-780 is capable.
With the Internal Setting of the Clip+ set at "High" for its Volume setting, and the on-screen volume display bar showing the volume set to its Max, and a thumpingly jumping Rock track (I used Absurd Mind's "Gedanken Reich"), my Radio Shack Digital Sound Pressure Level Meter is reading 98 dB, which is about 18 dB higher than (about 64 times the power of) the "doing hearing damage" level of 80 dB. This volume, to my ears is a) quite a bit louder than I would normally listen, b) mildly-to-moderately unpleasantly loud (not yet in the so-called "ear bleed" range) and c) not containing obvious levels of distortion. With the ALO-780 and the Clip+, I normally listen on "High" volume setting, with the display bar between 65% and 85% full (toward the mid-to-upper end of its volume range). I have yet to hit a song where I've run the Clip+ with these phones at the Max volume, even tracks released with a noticeably lower-than-usual volume level.
The above considered, my opinion is that it would be worth your while to pair the Clip+ with the HFI-780 to see if it's the sound you're looking for (or close enough to be worth its price to you).
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I still hope to find the right moment to have mine recabled. Maybe I can find some lasting earpads somewhen, hopefully. As long as they're really nice and soft, the first two to three weeks roughly, I absolutely love them. I still like them very much afterwards but they're just much better with fresh pads. A pity they start hardening so fast.
