[jordannn15]

I just got the Fidelio X1's and they are very nice compared to my Audio Technica ATH-M50s but thats to be expected. I like these as they have very nice sound stage. I kind of want to return these and get the HD650's because I've seen EVERYONE review and like these. If I were to switch I normally listen to hip-hop/rap from my iphone so what amp/DAC (i dont know the difference) should I get (portable one is preferrable)? Also, is switching from the fidelio's to the HD650's worth $100?

 

[nightskyraven]

Can't really provide a recommendation on the amp/DAC conundrum, as I've never had to hook up headphones to an iPhone, but from my own personal experience, the HD650s are most definitely worth the extra 100 bucks over the Fidelio's.
 
From what you said, it appears that you do enjoy the Fidelio's though. Why are you considering swapping them that early on? Why didn't you purchase the Senns in the first place?

 

[jordannn15]

I am considering swapping because no one recommended the hd650's before because I put my price at $300 but I looked around a bit more and people really love these things in reviews and you seem to agree. I know you said you've never hooked it up to an iphone but do you think a Fiio e11 or something like a Fiio E07K would work well?

 

[money4me247]

I am considering swapping because no one recommended the hd650's before because I put my price at $300 but I looked around a bit more and people really love these things in reviews and you seem to agree. I know you said you've never hooked it up to an iphone but do you think a Fiio e11 or something like a Fiio E07K would work well?

I would be careful with the upgraditis bug. The HD650 are great performing headphones, but when you hit that $300+ mid-fi open pair of headphones, you start additional spending on dacs/amps ($100-$200 for budget entry combos).
 
If you are satisfied with the X1's sound, I would just stay there as moving up actually gets significantly more expensive with larger & larger diminishing returns on sound quality. $300ish is actually the sweet spot where I feel that you start max out your sound performance per dollar and after that you start experiencing diminishing returns for your dollar.
 
If you have the additional funds & are feeling adventurous, by all means go for it! but I just want to warn you that you probably will not notice a 25% improvement of sound for that extra $100 and you will start needing more expensive additional equipment to add onto that, so costs will start to skyrocket.

 

[jordannn15]

The sound is good but the fidelio's put some strain on my neck after a while and the overall look of the hd650's is way better than the fidelio's in my opinion. As for the cost I think I might be able to get a new pair of the hd650's on ebay for $350 or so, so it would only be $50 more. You say dac/amp combos go from $100-$200 for entry level ones but what about the portable ones that I mentioned? I saw a review on youtube of the hd650's and the guy said he tried out the Fiio e11 and some other amp. He said the e11 was good but obviously the more you put into the headphones the more your going to get out of them. I only want to spend $100 or less on an amp/dac, can you recommend one for that range?

 

[money4me247]

The sound is good but the fidelio's put some strain on my neck after a while and the overall look of the hd650's is way better than the fidelio's in my opinion. As for the cost I think I might be able to get a new pair of the hd650's on ebay for $350 or so, so it would only be $50 more. You say dac/amp combos go from $100-$200 for entry level ones but what about the portable ones that I mentioned? I saw a review on youtube of the hd650's and the guy said he tried out the Fiio e11 and some other amp. He said the e11 was good but obviously the more you put into the headphones the more your going to get out of them. I only want to spend $100 or less on an amp/dac, can you recommend one for that range?

 
At $100 for both the amp & the dac, I think fiio is really your only choice. The budget entry objective o2 amp/odac and the schiit magni/modi combo are both $200. The money invested into dac/amps provides significantly less improvement than the money spent on headphones, though the hd650 supposedly scales up with better equipment every well.
 
If you have comfort issues with the X1, prefer the styling of the HD650, can find the HD650 on sale, and don't mind investing an additional $200 into an amp/dac combo, I think you should go for it! Note the HD600 is currently on sale at buysonic for $284 and buysonic does get the hd650 in stock as well if you don't mind being patient. If you do some googling, there are often other deals to be found for the HD600/HD650. The HD650 + dac/amp will definitely have better sound quality, but just not double the sound quality though you will be spending almost double the money. If you don't mind the diminishing returns for greater overall sound quality, the hd650 is a very solid option in the open mid-fi $300+ headphone category.

 

[jordannn15]

I'm probably going to go for it but what is the difference between the fiio e11 amp and the fiio e07k amp and dac? Is there a good reason to get the $90 e07k over the $50-$60 e11?

 

[money4me247]

I'm probably going to go for it but what is the difference between the fiio e11 amp and the fiio e07k amp and dac? Is there a good reason to get the $90 e07k over the $50-$60 e11?

well most obvious difference is that the e07k is an amp/dac combo while the e11 is a standalone amp, so the primary reason of getting the e07k instead is if you want an amp/dac combo over just an amp. note there appears to be a new version called the FiiO Kilimanjaro2 E11K.
 
If you want to compare specs:
E11: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/817189-REG/Fiio_E11_E11_Headphone_Amplifier.html
E11k: http://www.fiio.com.cn/products/index.aspx?ID=100000060416193&MenuID=105026001
E07k: http://www.fiio.com.cn/products/index.aspx?MenuID=105026002

 

[MrTechAgent]

I would pay $500s for both and be happy and I did 
Compared to the other headphones you mentioned above the 650s-600s are in a different league , you need to have esoteric ears for that , no....seriously ! 

 

[sonance]

If you plan to continue using your iPhone, you don't need a DAC/Amp, just an amp. A DAC takes digital output from a device (such as a laptop, or CD player, etc.) and converts it into analog audio. You are using an iPhone, which doesn't have 'normal' digital out. Only iDevice compatible DACs (generally more expensive) can convert audio from an iPhone, so you are more likely to use use the analog output of your iPhone and amplify that.

The HD650 sounds very good from a good amp, but it can sound a little slower out of average source/amplification.

 

[jordannn15]

The HD650 sounds very good from a good amp, but it can sound a little slower out of average source/amplification.

So if I were to get Fiio's flagship portable amp, the e12, would it power it well? Also the hd650's say they have a frequency response of 10 - 39,500 Hz and the response of the e12 is 20 - 20,000 Hz is this bad? What would be the ideal amp for the 650's (portable or not) if I use my iphone with them?

 

[jordannn15]

Does anybody have and use the Fiio e12 and the hd650's? Can anyone give me some feed back about them together if you do?

 

[mindbomb]

Does anybody have and use the Fiio e12 and the hd650's? Can anyone give me some feed back about them together if you do?

should work really well with high gain.

 

[jordannn15]

I ended up ordering the hd650's, fiio e12, fiio l9 line out, and lightining to 30pin adapter for $512.97. Good price or expensive?

 

[Postol]

Gratz on ordering.  Please let us know how it sounds when you get it!  My HD650's are arriving this afternoon - or whenever the UPS truck ever gets here.