Will I benefit from an AMP + DAC?
May 12, 2016 at 5:13 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 10
Fai9al023

Fai9al023

New Head-Fier
Joined
Sep 10, 2013
Posts
33
Likes
0
I have an Audio Technica M50x, a V-Moda M80, and a Shure SE215. My question is, will I find a boost in quality if I buy a Fiio K5 + a Fiio E17k? I'm looking to but a Shure SE535 as well in the near future, and I like all types of music but I mostly lean to bassy tracks. Any help and suggestions are appreciated!
 
May 12, 2016 at 8:17 AM Post #3 of 10
I've only had experience with the M50 and Shure Se215. But during the time i had with them, adding an amp shouldnt help much if u are driving them with 50% volume with your current source. 
 
A higher resoluton music file format will probably give u more improvement. Unless u want an elevated bass response, then do look at the Fiio E12 with bass boost
 
May 12, 2016 at 10:58 AM Post #5 of 10
fai9al023 said:
  I have an Audio Technica M50x, a V-Moda M80, and a Shure SE215. My question is, will I find a boost in quality if I buy a Fiio K5 + a Fiio E17k? I'm looking to but a Shure SE535 as well in the near future, and I like all types of music but I mostly lean to bassy tracks. Any help and suggestions are appreciated!
Click to expand...

 
What source(s) will you be using the K5+E17K with?
Can we assume it's a PC
 
You might consider just getting the FiiO Q1.
 
May 12, 2016 at 12:18 PM Post #7 of 10
fai9al023 said:
  Yes it will be for use with my PC, but the Q1 is a portable DAC and AMP wouldn't a desktop one be a bit more convenient for my use?
Click to expand...

 
The headphones you have are very easy to drive, so the Q1's amplifier will be more then enough to drive them.
The E17K on it own, would be more then enough to drive your headphones.
Can't see the K5/E17K combo offering any worthwhile or noticeable audio quality improvement, over the Q1 or E17K.
But if you want the K5/E17K combo, go for it.
 
May 13, 2016 at 6:04 AM Post #8 of 10
purpleangel said:
The headphones you have are very easy to drive, so the Q1's amplifier will be more then enough to drive them.
The E17K on it own, would be more then enough to drive your headphones.
Can't see the K5/E17K combo offering any worthwhile or noticeable audio quality improvement, over the Q1 or E17K.
But if you want the K5/E17K combo, go for it.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the suggestion! I decided to just buy a new pair of IEMs like the W40 or the SE535 instead of an AMP and DAC which I now think might be useless in my case. I'm now in the process of deciding which ones to by though since $500 is not a small amount of money, and I want to get the best IEM for that amount!
 
May 13, 2016 at 9:21 AM Post #9 of 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fai9al023 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Yes it will be for use with my PC, but the Q1 is a portable DAC and AMP wouldn't a desktop one be a bit more convenient for my use?
Click to expand...

 
Between an unknown cheap amp with no feedback nor measurements taken by exhaustive reviews you might as well get a cheap portable DAC-HPamp from a reliable manufacturer.
 
If you can stretch your budget, there's the Pangea HP101 (Amazon and eBay). I never paid much attention to it before when it was $249, but my brother came across it and he and our Dad chipped in to get it for me when the price dropped. Surprisingly good. Tube has a bit of noise with low voltage line signals (none if you use its own DAC). Tube replacements are not an easy DIY job though - you can't just pull it off and push in a new one. I have a Mullard 12AX7 lying around that I decided to keep to use in it at some point. However as much as it's a great amplifier the DAC is problematic on the software side - on Windows it only works with player apps (YouTube and others on the browser come out of the speakers for some reason; this doesn't happen with any other DAC), but works without any issues with my Android.

 
Another choice is the Fiio E10K, but it's USB-powered so just note that it has some limitations with harder to drive headphones.
 
Overall though with the headphones you have now you're not likely to benefit from an amp anyway so might as well just save up and get a better one for when you get a headphone that would need it more.
 
May 13, 2016 at 9:26 AM Post #10 of 10
protegemaniac said:
Between an unknown cheap amp with no feedback nor measurements taken by exhaustive reviews you might as well get a cheap portable DAC-HPamp from a reliable manufacturer.

If you can stretch your budget, there's the Pangea HP101 (Amazon and eBay). I never paid much attention to it before when it was $249, but my brother came across it and he and our Dad chipped in to get it for me when the price dropped. Surprisingly good. Tube has a bit of noise with low voltage line signals (none if you use its own DAC). Tube replacements are not an easy DIY job though - you can't just pull it off and push in a new one. I have a Mullard 12AX7 lying around that I decided to keep to use in it at some point. However as much as it's a great amplifier the DAC is problematic on the software side - on Windows it only works with player apps (YouTube and others on the browser come out of the speakers for some reason; this doesn't happen with any other DAC), but works without any issues with my Android.



Another choice is the Fiio E10K, but it's USB-powered so just note that it has some limitations with harder to drive headphones.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the suggestion! I decided to pass on an AMP and DAC for now, and I'm just gonna buy a new pair of IEMs instead.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top