Comparing it to the 701s, it's just not that great, and costs more. The soundstage is small, it's slow, muddy, and so on. The E10 isn't an amazing amp, but it's definitely enough for the HE-300s, which are generally known as being pretty easy to drive. I was planning on getting an O2 soon, so maybe I'll have to try it out again, but I doubt it'll change that much.

Wow, you sure weren't kidding, hifimanrookie. I just received mine earlier today (revision 2, with the braided silver cable), and as far as the dynamic cans I've owned, these are easily among the best. I'm in full agreement with your statement: "Best phone u can buy bar none for the price." No argument there.

@lostmage I own he-300 rev.2 with e10 dac. It is definitely not a good source for them. And it is not enough for this headphones. Few days ago I had a chance to listen them with SMSL AD1955+ and ,,home made" tube amp. A lot of details and much bigger soundstage - fio e10 is not even close.

concerning the m-stage mod i did...
check this review
http://www.headfonia.com/matrix-m-stage-class-a-biasing/

hope this helps a bit..oh yeah..tamaudio has a plug and play opa627 for ur m-stage..its a piece of a cake..

about the rude takato 14...so u know..this amp made me smile every time i listened to it..together with my he300..its a very neutral amp..mids are a bit edgy, the tremble is nice and soft...bass goes very low...but as i said..i used it with my he300..a dark sounding can...last sunday i was on a headfi meet where some people had grado's 325's and ssr 225's and one with a akg k702 and they loved the sound of my mstage (i sold it actually to a grado ssr225 owner the same day!)..and about my review about the he300 on which u, very respectfull (and to be honest ur right with that reaction on that that review!) as i just said..a k702 owner and some grado owners (225/325) loved the sound of my he300 more..they said it was fuller sounding, tremble was less dry then on the grado.and less bright...but grados are faster! the akg guy said he liked the soundstage on his akg more..and i agree with that...funny part is that i just sent my he300 to one of the grado 325 owners..he loved the sound so much he wanted to buy it..so...now have it..sort of..a comparision..and am sorry if my reviews were a bit short..i just wanted to share my feelings and not witing down a cold review..
and about learning to type..maybe u have al the time in the world..i dont..i work..and i am not unrespectfull like u do..i wrote what i wrote as how i feel it..i can write a two page review here..but i didnt...seeing how u react ur maybe a bit to slow to check all the reviews all over the net and on headfi to know what i say is true about both..okay they are not perfect..but..for the price they are a steal!! oops...i apologize if i now sound a bit irritated...and as english is not my native language i probably wrote this down wrongly!..seriously..we are all here to enjoy music..some have long reviews..i am a bit short..but i damn know and believe in what i say...i wont say anything about things i dont own in contrary to some here on headfi!!!...i respect anyone here on headfi..as long they respect me!

thanks friend

Have the Audio GD Phoenix and it works well with the HE500 in balanced mode.Check out the threads "Best amp for HE500".

You paid $700 for headphones, wrote that, and you are asking if we believe...

Oh nice, I'm thinking of doing an EF-5 with me HE-500s until I can go for a better amp. And after I get my HE-5 I'll be going for balancing them along with my DT 880 600s <3