Headphones with X-Fi Go! impedance?

I'm kind of angry because my internal laptop (Sager NP9150) sound chip sucks for headphones (low audio volume, barely any bass). And now after ordering the X-Fi Go! Pro on amazon I read a review
 
It states:
"and a somewhat high output impedance. I would not use the X-Fi with any headphones under 60 ohms if you want the best sound quality. It also lacks enough power for a lot of high impedance headphones....Rolls off deep bass into headphones below 60 ohms"
My HD 201 headphones have a surprisingly low 24ohms. So, because they requrire so little power, the bass is going to ROLL OFF? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? That makes no sense! So it doesn't have the power to drive an HD 650, there there will be a lack in bass, but some how it can't properly drive a LOW impedance headphone, thus AGAIN resulting in a lack of bass? So I am stuck with both the crappy, bassless laptop sound AND bassless audio from the USB DAC I just purchased? 
 
So, what would you guys recommend for a 24 ohm HD 201? Any thing as good as the X-Fi Go! at the same price but for low impedance phones?
 
Also please advise on FiO E10. It is extremely expensive

my 24-35usd usb sound card sounds alot better than those x-fi products for music listening without any sound proccessing (x-fi, eq, etc.) enabled. ymmv
 
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=encore+enmab-8cm+7.1+channel+usb+audio+box&sprefix=encore+enma%2Caps%2C205

What is the output impedance? 

Even though it says it will roll off the DEEP bass, there's no guarantee that will occur. Does the X-Fi even extend very low? I use mine with a 38ohm DJ100 sometimes and it's not that bad. It actually makes them a tad bassier than normal. Slightly.
 
They actually sound amazing with the HD-598.
 
The output impedance is 7ohm. I doubt it's going to make it sound any worse. Maybe with an IEM.
 
That thing is actually one of the best deals there is for a deal. As long as you don't get one that hisses at you. Mine is perfectly silent. I use mine as a DAC sometimes.
 
It even drives my HD-580 quite well!
 
BTW I can almost guarantee you won't be hearing any lack of bass. It will be different for every headphone.
 
Also.. that X-Fi Go Pro is actually very neutral sounding to me with most headphones.

I just picked it up at Best Buy a few minutes ago and I'm impressed so far.  Seems to work just fine with a few my 32 ohm headphones.

I am going to be using it as a DAC. BTW the HD 598 is 50 ohms. That is pretty close to the 60 ohm threshold that was recommended in the review. He said any thing far below 60 ohms would result in buzzing and under-powered bass. Yeah, for some reason the X-Fi requires a "mid-range impedance" headphone and hates both low and extremely-high impedance headphones. There aren't ones that hiss and don't hiss, they ALL hiss when you use a low impedance head phone, but you see mixed reviews because some people use high-end phones while some have IEMs. Remember, my HD 201 is 24 ohms, not 32 or 50. That is pretty low, and not much more than an IEM. If some one can report on using a 24 ohm phone, please share your experience.
 
I am going to buy one at Best Buy. Thanks for mentioning that, as they are the same price there as at amazon. If it turns out ok I will keep it, but if not, I'll just return it. $65 for a simple bass/volume boost from the FiiO E10 is unacceptable. I NEED the X-Fi to give me that boost. If not, I guess I will have to live with crappy audio.

I actually have a pair of HD 201's at home, I'll test them out and let you know how they are as soon as I get back.
 

Thank you! If you could compare the sound to another source like desktop or MP3 player that would be awesome. I have a Sansa Clip+. 
For a video we can both watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtNCIVEUyAg&feature=plcp
In the intro song of that video, the low-bass boom in the background is barely audible on my Sager. With my older HP desktop that booming was very powerful. Let me know how it sounds to you with the HD 201+X-Fi Go! Pro.

After running that video you posted quite a number of times I found that the bass is audible with a flat EQ all across but it isn't going to shake your head.  Adjusting the Db up from the 30hz-120hz spectrum really helps and produces a deep but slightly muddy bass response.  You'll have to mess around with the EQ a bit to cater the sound to your ears, but I'm sure you'll be happy with the Xi-fi.  Hope this helps!

Thanks. I had not realized an EQ came with the X-Fi. I didn't want to install the Creative software as it doesn't have a good reputation, but I will give it a shot if the flat response doesn't suit my needs. How is volume output by the way?

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrantaLocked /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
My HD 201 headphones have a surprisingly low 24ohms. So, because they requrire so little power, the bass is going to ROLL OFF? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? That makes no sense! So it doesn't have the power to drive an HD 650, there there will be a lack in bass, but some how it can't properly drive a LOW impedance headphone, thus AGAIN resulting in a lack of bass? So I am stuck with both the crappy, bassless laptop sound AND bassless audio from the USB DAC I just purchased? 

Click to expand...

 
Power has nothing to do with the bass response, regardless of however common this myth is. At most the low volume will give the subjective impression of less bass (see here why), or the device may clip on loud bass when you try to get more volume out of it than what it is capable of. The HD650 would just be too quiet, but not for everyone and with every type of music.
The bass roll-off of the X-Fi Go Pro with the HD201 is caused by the 220 uF output capacitors. Here is the effect of a 7 Ω output resistor and 220 uF capacitor on the frequency response with a 300 Ω, 56 Ω, 38 Ω, and 24 Ω resistive load (top to bottom):

Of course, the $20 HD201 has significantly more roll-off itself. A further effect of the output impedance results from the fact that dynamic headphone drivers do not actually behave like simple resistors. This adds (typically) some bass resonance which is not shown on the graph above, and slightly increased distortion.
 
Edit: here is another graph with the HD598 modeled as a simple RLC network. It might not be very accurate, but it suggests that with the high reactance of the HD598 drivers, the capacitors could actually slightly boost the sub-bass at 30 Hz:

I plugged in the X-Fi Go! Pro. Huge difference. The output impedance in my Sager laptop is 20 ohm (standard Realtek, but barely amplified, making it even worse), while the X-Fi is 7 ohm like in your graph. Even though there is some bass roll off, the bass sounds much louder compared to what I was dealing with in the Sager. That is how bad it was. The X-Fi provides seemingly triple the volume output as well. Overall, this was a very well spent $25.

I tested a 32ohm PX100-II with the X-Fi Pro Pro tonight. Didn't sounds like anything was "off" at all.
It actually sounds nearly as well balanced as using my ODAC to Micro Amp.
 
Best headphone I've heard with the X-Fi Go Pro was the 598 and that was straight from the device. I remember when trying the HD-580 and being wowed by that combo.
Makes no sense. I guess most say it doesn't have enough power for the HD-600, but sounded great to me.
 
IMO the X-Fi Go Pro is the best deal ever for a dac. If I was on a serious budget I'd be perfectly happy with it as a DAC to my amp. Pretty balanced sound and has a good soundstage like my full sized CD player.
I even prefer it to the E10 as a DAC.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdockweiler /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
IMO the X-Fi Go Pro is the best deal ever for a dac. If I was on a serious budget I'd be perfectly happy with it as a DAC to my amp. Pretty balanced sound and has a good soundstage like my full sized CD player.
I even prefer it to the E10 as a DAC.

Click to expand...

 
Seconded. I tried the Fiio E7, E10, and the X-Fi Go Pro (all used strictly as DACs). The X-Fi Go Pro sounds best to me.

First, sorry Im late on this topic
 
Are you guys being serious this X-Fi Go Pro is good? I had a FiiO E7 and returned it because of defective OLED.
But now I want a USB soundcard like X-Fi Go Pro because of the mic input. So for what you are saying if I buy one I wont be disappointed?
I will only use it with my laptop, which happens to be exactly the same as op.