Best amp/dac setup for hd600?

Hello, the Fiio E10 has a superior amp and dac compared to the E7 along with being cheaper. The setup may be a little less elegant because of the lack of the dock and the need for a cable, but the SQ will be better. Mike has a comparison of E7/E9 to E10/E9 here. A great bang for buck combo.

Edit: The only cable you will need is a simple 3.5mm (small headphone jack) to RCA (red and white) cable. Easily picked up in places like Radio Shack or online retailers like Monoprice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jipajappa 
Would I still need to get the E9 with the E10, or would the E10 give enough power on its own?

You would never really use the E9 with the E10.

E10 is a USB/DAC/headphone amplifier and works off it's built in battery.

The E10 would connect to the USB port on the Mac (digital connection), bypassing the Mac's built in DAC for the one in the E10.

The E9 uses an analog input and does not have a USB (digital) input or a DAC, but does have a headphone amplifier and is powered by AC (wall socket).

Quote:

Originally Posted by jipajappa 
I'm confused as to why you're saying that you wouldn't use the E9 with the E10.  It seems like a lot of people do that, since the amp in the E10 isn't all that powerful.  Am I missing something here?

You could plug the the E10 into a USB source, use the E10 DAC to convert the digital audio into analog audio, connect the E9 to the analog line out on the E10 and use the E9 to power headphones.

So your only using the DAC feature of the E10 which cost $75.

But you could just spend $25 for a Fiio D3 external DAC to do the same function the E10 is doing, save $50.

Now the E9 (AC powered) is not really used for traveling, so chances are you would leave the E9 at home

but if you had the E10, you could still use the E10 for traveling, like with a Macbook Pro.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jipajappa 
I got the impression that the E10 would not be enough power to power the headphones to their full potential.  So would it not be necessary to have another amp, like the E9, to power the cans well?

The E10 ($75) should do a fairly good job of powering headphones, but for the Senn HD600 I would spend more money for a headphone amplifier.

When you daisy chain the the E10 to the E9 (line out on the E10 to line in on the E9) like the way I described above, your not even using the amplifier on the E10.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jipajappa 
I'm about to purchase the hd600s and wanted to know what the best sub-200$ amp/dac setup to go with it would be. I was going to get the E7/E9 combo, but wanted to see if anyone thought there was a better option. Also, what cables would be necessary to be going from a MacBook pro to the e7/e9 to the hd600s?

You would connect the Macbook Pro using a USB cable to the E7.

The reason I mentioned the E10 is that it has a superior amp AND dac. Probably the best dac in its price range. I think of the amp as a great plus, allowing one to amp from a laptop from anywhere. I amp my HD650s from only an E10 all the time. Is it the ideal amp for the HD600/650? No, but it is surprisingly competent and certainly still enjoyable. The quality of the dac itself works well with even high-end amps. The D3 and D5 are consumer based products and were built with utility, not refinement in mind. Their interiors and measurements are easily bested by both the E7 and E10 dacs.

On another note, if the OP wants a high-quality pure dac, I would recommend the HRT Music Streamer II, but that is quite a bit more expensive and loses any portability advantages of the E10.

Quote:

Originally Posted by juantendo8 

Hello, the Fiio E10 has a superior amp and dac compared to the E7 along with being cheaper. The setup may be a little less elegant because of the lack of the dock and the need for a cable, but the SQ will be better. Mike has a comparison of E7/E9 to E10/E9 here. A great bang for buck combo.

 

Edit: The only cable you will need is a simple 3.5mm (small headphone jack) to RCA (red and white) cable. Easily picked up in places like Radio Shack or online retailers like Monoprice.

allow me to clarify some confusion regarding needed cables:
 

e9+e10

e10 connects to Macbook via supplied USB cable.

e10 line out connects to e9 line in through a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable. this is not supplied and you have to purchase one.

e9+e7

e7 docks into the e9.

e9 is connects to Macbook via supplied USB.

Comments:

I originally bought the e7, and returned it because I did not notice any difference between it and playing music directly out of my Macbook. It did have a nice bass boost, but constantly turning the device on and off became annoying.

Next I bought an e10 and enjoyed it quite a bit. You just plug it in via USB and it turns on and off when your computer turns on and off. The sound was nice (though I'm not sure if I heard much improvement over my Macbook), but the bass boost feature on it was great.

Lastly, I bought the e9 to pair with the e10, and together I DO notice a difference in sound. The bass is punchier and the music feels like it has more energy. I use the e9 (amp) +e10 (DAC) as a desktop combo, and bring just my e10 (Amp/DAC) on the road with me when I travel.

Additional Notes:

-the e10's bass boost can not be used while it is paired with the e9, but the bass is still great with this combo.

-fiio sells a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable to connect the e9+e10 (the fiio L2), but i feel that the cord is a bit to small to have the e10 sit at the front of the e9, so consider buying a slightly longer cable.

-esthetically, i prefer the e10 sitting on top of the e9, compared to the e7 sticking up docking into the e9.

-i also have the HD 600's and they sound great with this combo.

I'm not saying the e9+e10 combo is the best option, but I have it and enjoy it. I've read that the Schiit Asgard pairs real well with the HD 600, and sells for $250. So look into this Amp (no DAC though) as an option if your budget allows.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jipajappa 

Ok, thanks for the info.  

 

One last question (and I know I've asked this several times).  If I use the E9/E10 playing through my computer, would the HD600 or the DT880 be the better can (I listen to classical, opera, classic rock, and would use them for movies).  

 

Thanks,

Mark

 

this depends on how you like your classical. the DT880's sound more analytical, and the HD600's sound warmer (more musical). I went with the HD600 as I believe them to be an excellent 'all-rounder' set of cans (to be fair, I only tested the DT880's out in the store for 10 minutes, so I can;t comment on them too much). But the 600's do great with classical, rock, movies, etc. The only thing I don't like them with is for hip-hop, to which I use my DT770's. If you do go with the DT880's, the e9+e10 would drive the 250Ω version well enough, but might not be best suited with the (some say better sounding) 600Ω version.

try them out yourself if you can.

have fun.