[nimbostruck14]

Hey there I am in the looks for a new portable amp/dac. I need suggestions from you guys
that will fit the criteria below
 
Note: I will be using the amp/dac for my vmoda m100 and westone 3 IEM's (for now)
 
- no more than $100
- balanced sound
- bass boost option
- sturdy
- small
-little to no white noise/fuzz
 
I have owned the fiio e11 and enjoyed it, but it broke very quickly. Leave possible suggestions
in a comment below. Thank you so much for any input you may give me

 

[cswann1]

In that price range you're going to be pretty limited.   I did a search on Amazon for "headphone DAC amp" and came up with a couple of non-fiio products under $100.   One of them is a Pyle DAC/amp that looks like a rebranded fiio e07.
 
But I feel I should ask:  Are you absolutely convinced that your current source is so weak that you need an external DAC/amp?   I ask this because I think there is a myth that any outboard DAC/amp will provide improved performance, and really expensive ones are a offer much better performance.  In my experience that just isn't true.  I got to listen to a $400 DAC/amp recently and at my normal listening levels it didn't sound like anything terribly special to me.
 
My current portable system is my Samsung Galaxy S4 with Neutron player driving my Ultimate Ears Triple-Fi 10's.  It sounds fantastic to me.   When fiio came out with the e18 at the end of last year, I was very curious about how the companies products had matured and bought one.  Do I use it with my phone and TF10s?  Nope...it certainly plays music louder and if I ever want to cause myself long-term hearing damage I'm ready.  But I do keep the e18 around because it drives my 300ohm Sennheisers fairly well and if I ever want to travel light and take the Senns with me it's a good bit better than the hp out on my laptop.  

 

[nimbostruck14]

Thanks for the reply, so should I just get an amp? And it's only if I'm using summit-fi dacs with summit-fi headphones that I will improve overall sound quality?