Hi all, looking for a desktop amp that could help me out
 
 
People had told me getting an AMP for my setup is useless, since the E18 can drive the HD 600, is that true ?
 
 
I am planning to get a schiit vali, but unfortunately it is quite difficult to track down one locally from where I am from, are there any good replacements ? I kinda want the vali because of tubes and what not, never really tried one out before

I have had the same equipment as you, and the desktop amp I went for at the time was a Little Dot Mk 11+, it gave a fantastic warm tube sound and gave me the opportunity for a little tube rolling as well.

Why do you have the E18, surely it can't be an improvement on the X5?

jodgey4 said:

  Why do you have the E18, surely it can't be an improvement on the X5?

Click to expand...

 
Ah, I bought the E18 when the X5 didn't exist awhile back
Quote:

rearwing said:

 
I have had the same equipment as you, and the desktop amp I went for at the time was a Little Dot Mk 11+, it gave a fantastic warm tube sound and gave me the opportunity for a little tube rolling as well.

Click to expand...

 
Will check that out ! Does the amp really make a big difference for the X5+ 600 setup ? Its seems a little 50/50 on the general feedback I recieved, wish I had someone close to me to let me test it out <_<

Do you like the sound or not? That's what matters. You can always try an amp and return it later... what's your budget?

arcxenos said:

   
 
Will check that out ! Does the amp really make a big difference for the X5+ 600 setup ? Its seems a little 50/50 on the general feedback I recieved, wish I had someone close to me to let me test it out <_<

Click to expand...

It makes a significant difference, and if you like the sound (bearing in mind that tubes add colour), it may be the final piece in your audio jigsaw. But, be warned, it might also be the start of a journey into a rather expensive hobby!

jodgey4 said:

  Do you like the sound or not? That's what matters. You can always try an amp and return it later... what's your budget?

Click to expand...

 
I like it, but wish it can be abit more vibrant, I don't know how to explain it, but it sounds suppressed as of now (but the HD600 is only 12 hours old, maybe my ears aren't used to it yet)
 
I would like a tube amp that is around 150-200 USD , is that possible ?

rearwing said:

 
It makes a significant difference, and if you like the sound (bearing in mind that tubes add colour), it may be the final piece in your audio jigsaw. But, be warned, it might also be the start of a journey into a rather expensive hobby!

Click to expand...

 
The leap from a momentum to a HD600 is quite expensive, I think once I get 'dem tubes, I will stop buying audio related stuff for awhile

The good thing about the HD600 is the high impedance would let you use OTL tube amps with a high output impedance... check out the Bottlehead Crack, Schiit Vali/Vahalla, or maybe offerings from Garage1217.

arcxenos said:

   
I like it, but wish it can be abit more vibrant, I don't know how to explain it, but it sounds suppressed as of now (but the HD600 is only 12 hours old, maybe my ears aren't used to it yet)
 
I would like a tube amp that is around 150-200 USD , is that possible ?
 
The leap from a momentum to a HD600 is quite expensive, I think once I get 'dem tubes, I will stop buying audio related stuff for awhile

Click to expand...

I thought the same, but now my children go without shoes, and I had to tell them that Santa won't be stopping by this December because Daddy needs a new amp!!

Fiio X5 should drive HD600 just fine for normal listening levels, there's no need for a bigger amp unless you want to try a slightly different flavour.
 
Happy Listening!

Hi,
I am a vairly novice audio enthousiast 43y starting to enyoy music,

I am waking up this discussion because it was the closest to the question that i have with my hardware (and whishes),


I have a sennheiser hd600 and use it mostly on my note 3, this supports the E18 and like the E18 for its features so i concidered this amp for my hd600
but when i do some calculations, the impendence on the hd600 is 300ohm i get mixed results for power needed.
Linkt to specs,
https://en-us.sennheiser.com/global-downloads/file/4640/HD600_560026_1114_EN.pdf
Used this calculator
http://www.digizoid.com/headphones-power.html

The specs for the E18 tells me it is recommended for a
Recommended Headphone Impedance: 16~150Ω

Because of the option to use de usb digital audio on the e18 i was aiming at that one but what can u advise me
When i am looking for improving the audio quallity on my headphones, preferbly digital out from phone, since this is my only non heaphone out source
I have upstairs.
And what can u say about the sound quality if using a 300 impendence phones with a max output off 150 amp.

Thanks for your expert opinions

Johnny

johnnymnemonic said:

Hi,
I am a vairly novice audio enthousiast 43y starting to enyoy music,

I am waking up this discussion because it was the closest to the question that i have with my hardware (and whishes),


I have a sennheiser hd600 and use it mostly on my note 3, this supports the E18 and like the E18 for its features so i concidered this amp for my hd600
but when i do some calculations, the impendence on the hd600 is 300ohm i get mixed results for power needed.
Linkt to specs,
https://en-us.sennheiser.com/global-downloads/file/4640/HD600_560026_1114_EN.pdf
Used this calculator
http://www.digizoid.com/headphones-power.html

The specs for the E18 tells me it is recommended for a
Recommended Headphone Impedance: 16~150Ω

Because of the option to use de usb digital audio on the e18 i was aiming at that one but what can u advise me
When i am looking for improving the audio quallity on my headphones, preferbly digital out from phone, since this is my only non heaphone out source
I have upstairs.
And what can u say about the sound quality if using a 300 impendence phones with a max output off 150 amp.

Thanks for your expert opinions

Johnny

Click to expand...

 
E18 drives the HD600 just fine
If you want to listen to music at extreme levels, then you'll need something like the E12 or K5, but E18 will work great for normal listening levels (with extra room)
The 150 Ohm mark is just a reference, I think it used to be 300 Ohm in the past. Far from strict from a technical point of view.
 
Maybe if you pick an extremely shy recording (I've heard 4 or 5 in my life, mostly coral recordings) and want to listen to it at very loud levels, then the E18 could run out of gain, but otherwise (98% of the times), it will have plenty of clean power for the HD600.

protegemaniac said:

I'm not sure what you mean by "mixed results," they're listing down how much you need to get a to the given SPL (in dB). In any case, looking at the E18 specs that way, you're ignoring the sensitivity. If you have a 300ohm headphone with a high sensitivity on the E18 then you can get to "moderate" levels (to use the Digizoid scale) before hitting a lot of distortion.
https://www.audiobot9000.com/match/sennheiser/hd-600/with/fiio/kunlun-e18

That said...


...I'd worry less about it being a $150 amp and more of it being a $150 battery-powered amp that has a huge battery with a relatively low voltage output as it was designed to serve as a long-run time HPamp-DAC with a powerbank function. Add to that, in most cases the distortion and noise ratings are based on a given output level, so while you can squeeze out more power, it's usually at a higher distortion ratio or noise as well. If you don't need it to work as a portable amplifier that you can carry in your bag or pocket much less as a battery bank for your smartphone you might want to try the Pangea HP101 (and then return whichever you like less) - costs less at $100, desktop and wall power but it's still tiny, and also works with my Note3. If anything, you'll need to get a USB-OTG adapter cable.
https://www.amazon.com/Pangea-Audio-Tube-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B00TA6Z8XY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1475155675&sr=8-1&keywords=Pangea+HP101
https://www.audiobot9000.com/match/sennheiser/hd-600/with/pangea-audio/hp-101-tube-headphone-amplifier

Just keep your phone on Airplane Mode or a little further than in the pic below (if you're using streaming audio) as the amp gets some interference that increases the noise floor.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your response protogemaniac,
The confusion was in the specs of the e18 that says Drive ability 16~150 Ω (recommend)
When doing the calculations ( and i am a bit confused with the terminology and numbers) i understand that this e18 has a lot of power but the sennheiser has a 300ohm resistance and i understood i must then have a amp that is minimal compatible for 300ohm.
This is where i was worrying about the 150 number, not the 150 prize of the amp but the max capabillity of the device.
http://m.fiio.net/en/products/20/parameters
I am sorry to have to admit, i have read the first part of your post a couple of times but still dont understand completely. Me beeing a complete noob when it comes to audiorelated science is proberbly the limmitation here.
off course the multiusage capabillity and gadgetfactor playes a role in me looking at this E18 but the setup u describe and portrait in your post certainly looks appealing, i don't need it to be portable therefore i could go with your suggestion and be happy as can be.
The question that i have left now is, seeing the pangea 101 has a lot more power, would u say the quality of the audio using the hd600 would definitely be better using the hp-101?
and the e18 would come short of power to sufficiently power the hd600?
I am allmost there but still am confused by the max 150 driver statement in the specs.

Thanks for the links.