Sorry, pioneer76, for missing your post.  I was subscribed to this thread, but Gmail didn't mark the emails as priority.  It was just dumb luck I saw the email for NewYears1978's post.   I did end up getting the E7, and I liked it quite a bit with the HD 280s.  But the HD 280s got a bit...

Thanks for the quick reply.  I think I'll purchase the E7 first, and maybe the E9 down the road if I need it.   Thanks for the help.

It's good to know that the cheapest option is a decent one, but now I'm confused about a few new things.  I thought that if I don't have a separate DAC, then the conversion is happening inside the computer (via the onboard audio chipset).  If I buy the E7, I would be connecting the headphone...

I'm sort of new to audio gear.  I have a pair of Sennheiser HD 280 Pros that I've had for several years, and I like them a lot.  Lately I've been looking (not very seriously, for money reasons) at some higher end headphones.  I don't think I'm ready to drop $300 on, e.g., HD 600s (that's just a...