Yes, but the L7 goes in the bottom of the e17; can't I still use the S/PDIF for digital in, as it's on the top? Or do I need to plug directly into the L7? It's a minor detail, in any case. I'm more concerned about the plausibility of an upgrade. 

  Sorry I forgot to mention that. I use mini SPDIF from my MacBook Pro to stream 16 bit FLAC files. By LO I meant using the L7, which I formerly assumed worked with SPDIF input to the e17—is that not the case? 

Hi all, I again come seeking your advice to make an educated purchase. I've enjoyed my DT 880 250 + e17 setup for a while now, but lately it seems like I've been lacking the power to fully drive these headphones. And it's not that the amp doesn't output enough gain, because half volume at half...

Ok, I think I'll get the e11 then. Can anyone speak for the source handling of the 880s?

Quote:   You said that I can't use the *DAC* feature of the e10. Could I use the amp? I was under the impression that I'd need to buy a $200 iDevice to usb converter. 

I'll primarily be using my laptop, but I don't want to be strictly limited to it. I really want the e17 but it's a little out of my price range :P. I guess my main question is whether I need the DAC on the e10 or not. 

Thanks for the response. So you're saying I wouldn't notice any difference between my Mac's sound card and the e10's DAC, and therefore should go with the better amplifier? I have the L11, I use it with my e5... I think I'd rather have the L9 though, the L11 doesn't fit very well with my case. 

I've read tons of posts and researched for weeks and I've decided on the DT 880s (250 ohm). There are still some things that are unclear to me and haven't been definitively answered (so far as I could find). Some of you may recognize me from a post I made a while ago which was crucial in my...

Quote: I can buy the e9, but nobody has really given me a definitive answer as to why I should get a DAC. Does it have a very large impact on sound quality, or is the amp more important? The decision is between e9 or e10, and I am probably buying the HD 600s from Dakmart for $230 (incl...

Quote: I guess my real question is should I get the HD 600s and an e9 OR e10 or the HD 598s and an e10? I will probably never upgrade; I couldn't justify spending any more money on a setup unless I was super rich. Maybe, just maybe if I got the e9, I would buy an e17 in the distant future...

Quote: Most people are saying that the e10 can't drive the HD 600s at 300 ohms, but maybe it'd be ok with the DT 880 250s. I think a better bet would be the uDAC2, but I'm not speaking from experience. Have you tried doing a search for 'DT 880 250 amp'? If you were thinking about spending...

Quote: Sorry to draw this thing out for so long, but I don't want to regret my decision. Most people are saying that the uDAC can't power the HD 600s efficiently, and the icon hd is too expensive. Also, I just realized that I stream 120kbps from Spotify; that's pretty bad, isn't it? Would I...

UPDATE   I have found a decently priced pair of HD 600s and don't want to lose this opportunity. But I want to figure out the amp first, and don't want to spend much over $100 for one.

What about the e9? The description says it can drive up to 600 ohms, and a review on here confirms that it has a lot of power. I guess I'm still not sure what a DAC does for sound quality. Is it that substantial of a difference that I should definitely get one eventually? Or would I be fine with...

Quote: So you don't think the e10 is a good option? You guys have both made me seriously consider buying some used HD 600s, but at 300 ohms, I'd better get an amp figured out, first; could the e10 drive these? About the ODAC, is that the $150 one I found? Unfortunately I can't pay that much...