[LepakVT]

My next headphone upgrade will be the SR325is, I listen to 95% rock, metal, punk, anything with electric guitars. Big things I'm looking for are clear details and a nice, tight bass to go along with fast paced rock music.
 
I currently have the FiiO E7+E9 combo and I know it gets a lot of praise here. I was wondering if it would be worth it to get another amp that would pair well with the 325is? I could keep using the E7 as a PC usb-DAC and get another dedicated amp if that would be best. I read that the Little Dot 1+ is a good choice for it, but I'd like to hear some other thoughts. My budget is up in the air mostly, ranging from "Just keep the E9" to around $300 or so.
 
And since the E9 is my first desktop amp, my knowledge of tube rolling is the bare minimum from skimming threads here at head-fi. I know different tubes can create different sounds. Are there any tubes besides the stock LD1+ tubes to get that would bring out more details or bass?

Cheers!

 

[LCfiner]

It’s not a direct comparison but I had some recent experience with a similar setup. The E7 DAC is the weak link in your setup, imo.
 
I have an RS2 and used to drive it with the E7/E9 combo. I recently replaced the E7 with a Music Streamer II+ and the E9 with a Schiit Asgard.
 
There was a noticeable increase in impact for percussion instruments when I had replaced the E7 with the MSII+ but still had the E9. Everything sounded a bit livelier and more powerful (after I adjusted for volume differences) with the MSII+. I was quite impressed.
 
when I later replaced the E9 with the Asgard, I could not tell any difference with between the new and old amp. the E9 drives the Grados pretty well.
 
If you were to get a tube amp, you could experiment with tubes and various ways to “sweeten" the sound and that could be fun, but don’t expect a huge improvement to the sound over the E9, imo.
 
Of course, since these are Grados, I did not expect any real difference in soundstage from either upgrade since the whole point of these cans is to push it all in your face, anyway Other headphones could benefit more from the amp change I had made.

 

[LepakVT]

Ah interesting. I'll look around at that DAC and other USB DACs. Thanks for the input

 

[zero7525]

Also, the Little Dot 1+ is a good pairing with grados I've heard. The opa2107 and the WE408A tubes apparently adds more bass impact and a warmth. Honestly tough, your combo amp should get the job done, it is a powerful amp and you should be satisfied with it. I mean, both amps are in the same price range so it's more of a side-grade than an upgrade.

 

[nope-mx5]

LD I+, lm4562 opamp, Mullard M8100 tubes, LD DAC-I.
 
Works like a charm on my SR-225s
 
-n