[clarknova]

Don't the HD650's have different power hungry requirements though? I notice much more dynamic punch to music/movies/games when its switched to 600Ohm gain versus 300Ohm. I think for many headphones the proper setting is always going to be the best overall but in the case of the HD650's more power for demanding parts of audio being pumped through it seem to benefit it more than hinder it.

 

[RAZRr1275]

for the k702 should gain be on or off?

 

[Allforheather]

Quote:

for the k702 should gain be on or off?

the e9 sounds better at high gain for some weird reason, since normally it should be the other way around. 

 

[brokenthumb]

Has anyone had problems with the Music Streamer II and the E9?  I am thinking about buying the HRT MS II to replace my E7 as a DAC.  Will the 2.25 Vrms of the MS II cause problems?
 
I searched this thread with only a couple of mentions of the HRT MS II+

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

Has anyone had problems with the Music Streamer II and the E9?  I am thinking about buying the HRT MS II to replace my E7 as a DAC.  Will the 2.25 Vrms of the MS II cause problems?
 
I searched this thread with only a couple of mentions of the HRT MS II+

Where are all these queries about issues with the MSII/E9 coming from ? Yes, the MSII puts out gobs of analog power, but thats a *good* thing. I think Voldemort may have mentioned to someone in his E9 review that the MSII might pose a problem, and suddenly people are PMing me for 'answers'.
 
Here is my answer : if you intend using the E9 with sensitive IEMs, thing twice - the output impedance of the amp may be an issue. If you have problems with an MSII/E9 combination, I believe it has little to do with your amp.  I have hundreds, if not thousands of hours on this combination and the only issues I have had have emanated from 64-bit Win7 - others claim to have no such issues. All I know is that if I reboot into Linux I have no problems whatsoever - no clipping, no noise, nothing but the musical enjoyment I paid for. 
 
Inevitably, someone will tell you that 2,25 Vrms will overload the E9, or that you need to roll opamps and buffers while standing in a pentagram etc - I have yet to encounter a single such tech wizard who actually owns this combination. I do, and it makes me happy - by all means get other opinions, but for me this is a non-issue. 
 
Spend long enough on Head-Fi and it quickly becomes apparent that a single comment from someone is prone to being cast in stone as 'accepted wisdom'. The whole output impedance thing got blown out of proportion and few people stopped to ask themselves whether this would be an issue with their cans. If the E9 is messing with the frequency curve on any of my cans, I have just the thing to check that - my very own Objective2. If I cant hear a significant difference between the two, guess what - I dont care what is happening on a D-Scope. 

 

[brokenthumb]

Thanks for the reply.  I'm running 64-Bit Win 7 but I think I'll still give it a try.

 

[Makiah S]

Very nice reviews, I was unsure how the e7 e9 combo worked but I think I understand it now. I may get it when I have high Impedance headphones to drive ^^

 

[scannon18]

Does anybody know what class-type of amp the E9 is?  Class A, D. . . ?

 

[clarknova]

Good question but I will go out on a limb and say its not class A.

 

[estreeter]

I'm confident that its Class A/B. Mine never even gets warm, much less hot, but their is plenty of room between the electronics and  the casing. Compare that to Schiit amps - Class A amps run hot and thats just a fact of life. 

 

[scannon18]

How many classes of amps are there?

 

[estreeter]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amplifier
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_amplifier
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_amplifier#Power_amplifier_classes
 
In my brief time on Head-Fi, I've only seen Class A, Class AB and Class D used for headphone or speaker amps, but I rarely pore over spec sheets. The key is to understand what the pros and cons are if you are contemplating something other than AB, and to accept that every design topology has its critics and its zealots. Be especially wary of marketing copy which would have you believe that a 'digital amp' is inherently superior to everything else.  
 
Implementation is everything. 

 

[stv014]

Quote:

Has anyone had problems with the Music Streamer II and the E9?  I am thinking about buying the HRT MS II to replace my E7 as a DAC.  Will the 2.25 Vrms of the MS II cause problems?

The E9 clips at about 2.1 Vrms input voltage, so it may indeed have some problems with the Music Streamer II. You may need to use digital volume control to attenuate the signal by at least 1 dB to avoid clipping.
 

 

[tme110]

That's not an issue I've ever run across
 
Quote:

The E9 clips at about 2.1 Vrms input voltage, so it may indeed have some problems with the Music Streamer II. You may need to use digital volume control to attenuate the signal by at least 1 dB to avoid clipping.
 

 

 

[papaholmz]

Ok, so I've been lurking around Head-Fi for a few months now, reading mostly about head phones and I finally decided on the Ultrasone HFI-580's. I've had them for a few weeks now and I love them. But now I'm becoming keenly aware of how underwhelming an iPhone is as a source. So I've been reading about desktop amps and dac's and I think I've settled on the Fiio E9/E17 combo. But before I actually go buy them, I wanted to run a few things by the geniuses of the Head-Fi forums. I do most of my music listening (mostly symphonic metal) at work with my iPhone (can't use my work computer for music). Currently I just plug my 580's directly into my iPhone. Here are my questions...
 
1) Can I do this... iPhone --> E9/E17 --> 580's without having to have anything plugged into my computer?
2) Do I need one of the Fiio LOD cables to achieve what I'm trying to do?
3) By using the setup listed above, will the E17 work all the time without having to be "charged?" In other words, does it run off the A/C power of the E9 or a battery that has to be charged?
4) I may also be getting some earbuds, possibly the Yuin PK2's for now... would this be a good setup for those as well as the 580's?
 
Thanks in advance for your answers. Some of my questions may have already been answered in this thread, and I did do some searching before posting, but I don't really have the time to read all 83 pages of this thread.
 
-papaholmz