Hello everyone, I'm pretty new to the head-fi scene and am looking for a little knowledge and guidance on a couple things. So far I haven't sunk too much money into the quest for a better audio experience, but I am sure as time goes on, as with most of my hobbies, things will become more demanding on my wallet in the search for all-things to better improve my experience. 
Through the guidance of user experiences on this forum as well as various reviews, I settled on a pair of ATH-AD700's as a relatively inexpensive yet great sounding cans, powered by the FiiO e7/e9 DAC/amp from my laptop. I will say upfront that as my laptop was terrible at powering a set of cans, I was very pleased to hear the results of the aforementioned pairing that truly breathed life into the AD700's and allowed me to realize why there is so much praise for them at this price point.
One answer still alludes me, however. I've read about impedance matching from amp to headphone, or rather the nominal matching of such, and do not quite understand the application or benefits. I've read that amplifier impedance should be 1/8th to 1/10th of the impedance of the headphones being powered by said amp. I know that the impedances of the e9 are roughly 10 ohms and 43 ohms through the 1/4" and 3.5mm jacks, respectively. As the AD700's have an impedance of 32 ohms, quite low for a full-sized can, would it be better to power them through the 1/4" jack on the e9, or the 3.5mm jack? Also, why would this be so?
Again, I am new to this whole scene and so am quite enjoying what I am listening to thus far. I am seeking to learn more as I engross myself into this field so that I may be better educated on future decisions regarding my audio equipment concerning amplifiers and headphones.
Edited by Wallzii - 11/21/11 at 12:11am
