Must have been a very late fix for the phone if you're not noticing sound quality problem.  Mine was manufactured 2-23-16, and it sounds pretty rubbish compared to my Nexus 5.  Not 5x, just 5.  There's a very quiet hiss on the 6P, some tones in my favorite electronic tunes sound like they've...

  Quote:   I would try EQing first, and I'd definitely check the source.  That said, I have an e17, and it is a great little amp.  +4dB to the bass and my HD555's sound bass-balanced and punchy.  It's the darndest thing.  Oh, my Q40's come in TODAY!!  Supposedly they don't take any burn...

Sennheiser's pricing blows.  I bought my HD555's in October 2010, and they made a fan out of me despite being mediocre.  I got them for around 80 bucks.  I can't imagine paying nearly 200 dollars for them.  Their pricing shenanigans have lost them a customer.

This is HIGHLY dependent on what gear you're using.  Some headphones require amplification.  Sometimes there's no bass in the source (even if there is intended to be, as in bad mp3 rips and 240p youtube videos).  Sometimes you need a better seal.  And sometimes, you need to clean your ears out...

  Quote:   I assume you're talking about the HTF600's when you refer to 30 dollar Panasonics.  Those headphones are, if you'll permit me the slang, BOSS.  It probably doesn't cost more than 30 dollars for all the raw materials and time for Sennheiser to create a pair of HD558's.  It...

If you're looking for slightly rolled-off highs that aren't ever silibant, and very preset mids and deep bass and sub bass, I'll throw in my completely amateur recommendation for the Xears TD4. Same driver as the TD-100's and TD III's. Bass is powerful, well controlled, and punchy. They're a...

I'm not sure if you've tried a source other than the clip, but that'd be my first guess. Second guess would be the cable. Actually, in my experience, sudden hollowness is almost always the cable. If neither of those is at fault, then I'd start worrying about the drivers. But if it's both ears...

Still in-stock here:  http://panasonic.factoryoutletstore.com/details/41465/panasonic-htf-600.html   Not a site I've personally used before, but I just ordered a pair for myself from here based on the huge number of recommendations I've been seeing on head-fi.  On the site, pictures and...

Quote: Shockingly, the impedance on Brainwavz is just 20 ohms compared to the 32 ohms of the HD202's.  The sensitivity is rated the same, 115db/1mW.  So yes, it is indeed the impedance.  Interference will be more obvious on the Brainwavz, they will be very unforgiving of the source.  

Quote: Mine came with the "HOLD" engaged, so that pressing power did nothing.  Flip your hold switch and press power, see if it comes on.  You're definitely charged up far enough at this point.   EDIT   By the way, FiiO, the hold switch is a nice feature.  Prevents buttons...

Quote: Could just be my awful laptop internal audio, but for sure the HD555's benefit from a dac, and the extra power made the bass punchier without any adjustment at all.  Having a lot of fun with the "EQ", it controls the bass in much more crisp fashion than the e7.  Giving it +2 or...

No problem at all, it'll work right when he plugs it in, worst case he might need to select it as his choice for sound output, though he might want to change some of the audio settings to suit him.

The only reason to use the line out would be if he was then going to pass it to an amp.  This is a DAC+AMP with no line in, meaning it can either function as a sound card plus an amp (volume control) or just a sound card which passes to another amp, so he'll have to connect it to his PC with...

Didn't want my first post to be about a possibly busted amp, and I know people don't like new threads 'round these parts (lurker), thus I'm adding a reply to this slightly dated thread, but I've had my new Fiio e10 for a couple weeks, and just really got to listening to it this weekend.  I've...