I own the fiio e7 and ad700s. I highly doubt you'll hear much of any difference between the e7 and your soundcard. I *think* I heard a very subtle difference between my macbook pro's onboard sound and the fiio e7. It was likely more placebo than anything else so I really don't recommend it for...

This is all going to be opinion, but for me, I think the biggest upgrade tends to be the first one. If what you are looking for is biggest jump in overall sound quality, then I would say it's from your first non-audiophile headphones to your audiophile headphones.  I would probably say from your...

kind of already known, but 5 days ago,   Quote:   Found here: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/549810/schiit-could-not-be-more-happy-with-this-company-and-their-products

You might want to try Purrin's mod. I'm not certain, but I think it would reduce the sibilance a bit.   http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/544507/ath-w1000x-mods

The sound quality difference isn't going to be big. If you buy something like the Fiio E9 for 130, you'll likely get up to $30 worth of difference. Meaning you could probably match it with headphones that maybe for for 160 without an amp. Amps are definitely not there to give you the best bang...

haha ok. I'm saving up my money to hopefully make a purchase this summer as well. I'm looking foward to comparing whatever I get to whatever you get lol.

Mercuttio, have you decided on an amp yet? If so, which one did you decide on? I'm eager to hear your impressions on whatever amp you end up/ended up getting.

You are going to get a ton of headphone recommendations if you go by this thread. In the future, I would suggest you search the forums a little more before making a post like this. Dre Beats and Bose tend to be looked down upon a lot here. Their sound quality, while better than your normal...

The valhalla won't be a good match for your headphones. The W5000 has low impedance so if you go with a tube amp you'll want one that's transformer coupled, not OTL (output transformerless) like the valhalla, which is made for higher impedance headphones. The asgard is made more for low...

After searching around for a bit I seem to be getting quite a few differing opinions here. Some people are saying that the HDP has a great amp, but an ok DAC while others are saying that it makes for a great DAC, but an ok amp. Which is it? Also, overall, if I were just looking for a DAC, buying...

You'll want the Schiit Lyr that just came out. It's made specifically for headphones like the HE-5LE. The asgard isn't going to drive it as well.

Isn't the new Musical Paradise MP-301 Mk2 supposed to be transformer coupled? it's $250.

Yeah, I PMed Mad Lust Envy, so you shouldn't be seeing anymore of that in the thread anymore. Sorry about those posts...

I have the e7 docked to the e9. I can't test the e9 alone at the moment. As for the e7/e9, with my W1000X, from 9:00 on there is an audible hum and gets progressively louder as the volume is turned higher.

Quote: I currently have the Fiio E7/E9 and one of my major gripes about it is the very audible hum that comes out of it. How much less hum does the lyr have compared to the e9?