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?

Yes, I agree with shipsupt. Just, to the OP, in the future, please try to search the forums a little more thoroughly please .

Quote:   Do you have the volume on your music player maxed and is there any sweet spot on the fun? On my current amp, I need to turn down the volume on iTunes to almost 0 for me to actually get to the sweet spot on my amp.

You would want the Fiio E7 if you could only choose one. The E7 is a dac and amp. The e9 is only an amp.

That would really be a relief lol. I actually asked in the Audio-GD Fun thread about any hum a couple weeks ago and they said there is none so if that is the case, that would be awesome.

lol maybe it's just the ones I'm looking at )= I was contemplating the Nuforce Icon HDP for quite a while, but apparently that too has hum unless the volume knob is from 11:00 onward, so I'm actually somewhat surprised that the Icon 2 doesn't make a sound. My Fiio E7/E9 combo hums quite a lot...

From what I've read, the Audio-GD does not tend to make much noise with most headphones, but the W1000X seems to be very sensitive to hum for some reason. Most of the threads I've read in the price range either is known to have hum or hums with the W1000X...   GourouLubrik, does the Fun hum...

If you are considering the Audio-GD Fun, I think this is a good review to check out. It compares the different OPAs. http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/397691/audio-gd-discrete-op-amps-reviewed-opa-earth-opa-moon-opa-sun-v-2   With the addition of the Audiotailor Jade HPC-1 option, I'm...

Quote: I'm going to be ordering from pacificvalve.us if I do get it. But if you order from Audio-GD it's the same price with the shipping cost. I'm thinking about the upgraded pacific valve version. http://www.pacificvalve.us/AudiogdFUN.html   I really am unsure what exactly an OPA...

Haha yeah. I use a laptop so usb seems to be another thing we share XD I really want to try a tube amp but there doesn't seem to be many options below the WooAudio 6 in price. I just recently found out about the Impedance matching box from audiotailor though so that could open up some options...

Unfortunately I have not seen much talk about ATHs and the D100. As of this point though, my getting the D100 is relatively unlikely. I hear great things about the sound quality, but I've seen quite a few threads and posts on build quality issues and horror stories about dealing with audiophile...