Fiio amps? - Page 58

You'll probably have plenty of volume. Maybe the K601 would be a safer choice for an unamped use though (?).

Just to let you know, the E3 got a follower sort of a re-brand/fake.
Insigna HPA-3
http://www.kmelectronics.no/bysvis.pl?niva1=Norsk

I was visit a larger electronic store here in Denmark yesterday were I to surprise found this one besides earphones. Almost unknown here.
Seem to be one that to find in Scandinavia area were I am, especially in Norway were the link directs to.

No, the K601 would be an extremely poor choice to use unamped, with a fiio, or even a better quality portable amp, as are most (not all) full-sized headphones for audiophile listening. There are some exceptions (Grados sound excellent with quality portables for example), but few. There are many quality portable headphones that benefit from portable amps, and you can often get better sound with a good portable headphone and amp combo than trying to make a high-impedance and/or low sensitivity headphone sound good with a portable amp.

This. The K601 are probably the worst headphones I've heard out of a portable amp relative to how they sound from a decent amp. They absolutely lack all clarity and authority when they are underpowered. You'll get better SQ from a cheaper portable phone running unamped.

OT, but how does the Grado sound signature compare to the Shure sound signature? I own a pair of E4c's and love them, I'd like to have the same detail in a pair of bigger cans. I assume they're similar? If so I may get a pair, maybe some MS1's instead, and use em around town once in a while

FiiO already knows about the knockoff (some are rebrand while some ain't). But instead of legal action (they have alI the proper I.P. protection), it will be easier just to move ahead with new, much harder to copy design.

I also have the E3. My observation is that it mates well with most earphones and not all IEMs. I have tried it with Apple earphones, Iriver/Sennheiser MX400, and Sony PSP earphones. With these, there is a pleasant boost in the bass region and makes those earphones shine. They sounded like big headphones with low bass impact and the high notes clearly present. There is not much change in soundstage. Moreover, when I mated it with my Audio-Technica ATH-C501 earphones, it was a perfect match. The ATH-C501 sounded impressive much like my Sony V6. Low and tight bass and very smooth, clear and silky midrange/treble.

I think Fiio really intended the E3 to improve the sound of earphones bundled with cheap mp3/mp4 players. They have done a very good job in this aspect!

Minusflo

Just ordered one as my first venture into portable amps.

I've just decided to buy a portable amp for my headphones.I own Altec Lansing's UHP306 IEMs.
Question is, Fiio 3, Fiio 5 or any other better(at this price range) alternative? Does the Fiio 5 a real upgrade of Fiio 3? I'm also delivering the 'Fischer Audio Eterna' from day to day. Would 'eternas' sound better amped?
Thanks in advance.

Depends also on the player you use, more often than not an amp like the FiiO E5 doesn't make any difference at all, and the E3 can very likely make it all sound worse.

I'm using the Ipod touch 32GB and I'm delivering Fischer audio eterna from day to day.

i actually find E3 + KSC75 a good combo..

E3 tames the shrilling highs in KSC75 and gives an awesome punch in the bass. With Samsung's YPT10 DNSE(club preset), theres no problem in soundstage loss and the mids came out cleanly as its lacking in the Ksc75. Hissing problem is not noticeable.

Just perfect to my preference.

Well, iem on the other hand is not quite a good combo. I like Pl11 unamp(e3)..

I'm on a tight student budget so I am penny pinching like mad. I want some amplification so I was looking at FiiO stuff. I'm using my laptop (foobar/FLAC) with a Behringer UCA202 to drive my Ultrasone HFI-580's. Does anybody use Ultrasones with their FiiOs? I want to know if this is an investment that will definitely be worth the money, and the difference in sound quality will be clear enough to justify the purchase.

Hi evryone i'm a newbee here !!!

i just ordered a fiio E5 (£13 incl car charger) after reading some of the pages/mini reviews here, so thanks.

my main listening devices are ipod classic 160gb and a pair of bose triprt in ear headphones although the other pair's of headphones i will use (less often) is either senhieser px100 or my audio technica ath pro5 my main question is should I expect a bit more volume aswell as a bit better sound ? and any recomendations on if i should buy anything else such as a better wire to go between the ipod and the fiio? I know I will find out soon enough but I was just wondering anyway.

If you are going to be using the E5 with an iPod, I recommend a LOD cable to feed the E5 with the line-out signal from your iPod.

 

Jack