[disposed]

Looking at these primarily for using between my pc and laptop with occasional portable use. Mostly listening to dt770 80 ohm, hd595 and grado sr80s along with a drawer full of cheaper iems.

Been looking at the fiio e17, e18 and the creative e5. I'm quite out of the loop and every time I try searching I get out dated threads.

Besides these what should I be looking at? What's the current favorite?

I'm leaning towards the e5 because it seems to be the jack of all trades but also seems to be lacking sound quality for its price.

 

[HiCZoK]

Just as I wanted to recommend e10k, I saw You want portable thingy

 

[PinkyPowers]

I'm selling my DragonFly 1.2 on eBay right now. Less than 24 hours to go. In perfect condition.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/111941722234?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Ibasso D-Zero Mk2, Fiio Q1

 

[boblauer]

iFi Nano DSD is another solid choice but right at $200. It's portable and supports DSD playback. You did not mention what types of files you'd be playing but this one plays pretty much every format. 

 

[disposed]

  Ibasso D-Zero Mk2, Fiio Q1

Q1 over the e18? The Q1 is $70 on amazon but the e18 is $125 still well under budget.

 

[disposed]

  iFi Nano DSD is another solid choice but right at $200. It's portable and supports DSD playback. You did not mention what types of files you'd be playing but this one plays pretty much every format. 

Mixture of 320kbps mp3 and FLAC.

 

[Sam21]

Centrance DACport HD ...

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  Q1 over the e18? The Q1 is $70 on amazon but the e18 is $125 still well under budget.

 

Originally Posted by disposed /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Best dac/amp combos under $200?

Looking at these primarily for using between my pc and laptop with occasional portable use. Mostly listening to dt770 80 ohm, hd595 and grado sr80s along with a drawer full of cheaper iems.

Been looking at the fiio e17, e18 and the creative e5. I'm quite out of the loop and every time I try searching I get out dated threads.

Besides these what should I be looking at? What's the current favorite?

I'm leaning towards the e5 because it seems to be the jack of all trades but also seems to be lacking sound quality for its price.

 
Well, considering the first post, the Q1 qualifies as a suggestion since:
 
1. It's also under $200, and goes under "besides these"
 
2. "SR80 along with drawer full of cheaper IEMs" don't need a lot of power - 300mW<1%THD and 190mW<1%THD might sound like 110mW is a lot, but for a headphone with 100dB sensitivity (for the e-series; slightly lower for the previous series) and IEMs with comparable sensitivity, even 120mW peak output is a plenty. The DT770 80ohm and even the HD595 might not need more than 190mW RMS either. Upgrading to even better amplifiers than these just means you will still utilize the same amount of power, except then you'd have even lower THD and a lot of peak power output reserve, and maybe a more quiet background, which all contribute to a better and "more powerful" sound (ie it isn't really that you're putting a lot more power into anything, unless one amp in the comparo is decidedly inadequate in that department for a given headphone).
 
3. Taking the above point under consideration the E18's clear advantages over the Q1 would be battery life and powerbank capabilities, not necessarily performance.

 

[disposed]

Ended up getting the e17k. Was doing some review reading and stumbled across too many people saying they preferred the sound from the e17 to the 18. That plus the on the fly bass and treble is actually pretty damn handy so far like i hoped.
 
So far im pretty happy with it.

 

[dwightWH0]

iFi Nano DSD is another solid choice but right at $200. It's portable and supports DSD playback. You did not mention what types of files you'd be playing but this one plays pretty much every format. 

Would u say this would pair well with my iPhone 6plus? Also would I be able to use iTunes or do I have to use diff music player apps

 

[boblauer]

Would u say this would pair well with my iPhone 6plus? Also would I be able to use iTunes or do I have to use diff music player apps

Yes was designed with smart phones and tablets  in mind. you will need the Apple camera connector CCK  for the line out functions.
 
You certainly can play mp3 and equivalent lossy files but if you want to take advantage of lossless formats and further DSD/PCM formats you will need a HD player such as Onkyo's which is available for ios6 and above. There are other HD players so search the forum and gather the impressions and get what seems best to you.
 
I use a FiiO X1 stacked so no Itunes used in my protable setup play mix of MP3 and FLAC files 50/50 mix and honestly I use the the nano as a desktop setup as well with Foo Bar as the player on my Win 7 laptop for DSD/PCM sounds. Just depends on what I want to carry around. 

 

[dwightWH0]

Ok great i will deff look into some of the other players. Thanks for breaking it down for me..