Ever consider an AV receiver? Good sound quality, tons of connectivity, can be had pretty cheap depending on what you get and what you're looking at, and will power low/medium impedance headphones with ease along with a decent set of speakers as well.   Not a common suggestion around here...

Quote: I agree with this. The non-HD X-Fi Titanium is a good, cheap card. I used to have one (X-Fi Titanium Pro Fatal1ty actually) paired with my JVC HA-RX900's and it was a nice combo.   However, I just went through the exercise of trying MANY different sound cards with my RX900's, the...

Amp gets things louder and it does seem to fill out better. Either way I like the docking capability and the other inputs were nifty, especially for comparing my onboard laptop audio and LG G2x headphone out to the E17 via the AUX toggle switch. The phone and E17 sounded similar, but the onboard...

Quote: Lol very true. I've been bitten by "the upgrade bug" more than once and in more than one hobby. Though, I must say I am leaps and bounds further than when I first started here. I'm like a kid on Christmas again lol. I can't wait to get the E9K set up with the E17 and DT990's and be...

Just ordered the E9K, will be here tomorrow.   This has been a long and confusing road, more so than any other hobby I've dabbled in. But I think it's all coming together, and will be worth it in the end. And this is all still "entry level" stuff lol. I'm hoping after I get this E9K maybe I...

Oops, double post.

Quote: Thanks for the tip on the E9, I didn't realize the E17 wouldn't work with it. Too bad, as it's $20 cheaper, but from reading it seems they fixed some quirks with the original anyway with the E9K. I'm still going back and forth between the E9K and O2. I've priced it out, and the...

Got the DT990 pro 250. Out of the box, the bass was disappointing (compared to the DT770 pro 80). It seemed less controlled, loose and boomy, not nearly as punchy, tight and detailed as the DT770 pro/80, and didn't seem to extend as well. I had already returned the DT770, so I didn't have them...

Well, I decided to go with the E17 for now. I figured I'd get a good portable DAC with a decent amp first, and then if I need more I can get an amp later on. Since the E17 itself is portable, I figured I'd go with a desktop amp, like the Fiio E9 or build an O2. I plan on listening more at home...

Actually I think I'm going to build an O2 diy style. Probably won't cost much more than the PA2V2 and will be much more fun than just opening a box. How does it stack up to the PA2V2, and does it pair nicely with the DT990 Pro/250? (Judging by everyone else's impressions, I think I know the...

Quote: Thanks, I'll look into those. Based on reviews, I'm leaning more towards the E11 vs the PA2V2...which would you recommend? The other 2 are a bit more than I want to spend. For that kind of money, I'd rather save up a bit more and get something like the ODAC + O2 combo and leave the...

Quote: Actually, it looks like they accepted my offer! Just sent payment, so I'm getting the DT990 Pro/250 for $159 shipped. Better headphones for $60 less, can't beat that! Unfortunately the estimated arrival date is next Tuesday, so I have a ways to go (another thing I hate about...

Well, I stopped by Guitar Center last night to see what I could demo. There were only two pair that he could let me try out since the boxes weren't sealed, the DT 770 Pro/80 and the HD280pro. I tried the DT 770 Pro/80 first and...omg I had no idea what I was missing. They are SOOOOO much better...

Quote: Assuming I want to decrease my budget to the $100-150 price range rather than $200, what would you recommend then from the above?

Quote: Off topic and out of curiosity, why is the USB 3.0 controller surprising?   On the drivers, I did download the latest drivers for both DACs and loaded them up. All 3 drivers were running at the same time and both DACs were plugged in at the same time, and I was switching...