[thanksalot]

After a couple of months of burn in I noticed the 900x has not changed much from day 1. The bass has become a little more pronounced and more solid. The highs are still great, the sound stage is a little more open. Overall the difference is not like some other headphones where it was night and day kind of deal. The biggest difference even on these headphones was more power. When plugged into my laptop and Iphone 4 it wasn't loud enough and noticed the bass was not well controlled. Also the bass sounded like it was way in the background and a little hollow. Initial impression was good but as I used it more and more I wasn't really happy with the bass. I then decided to plug it into my Audiophile grade home amplifiier headphone slot and noticed an improvement immediately with the bass control but since it didn't have an EQ the bass still was not pinpoint enough. It still sounded in the background somewhat but a little more controlled.
I decided to buy the new Fiio E17 Amp/DAC. When plugged into the E17 the 900x can reach bass levels I have never heard before. A good song to use to test the bass of the headphones is "Like a G6" by the Far East Movement. This song has bass that sounds like a subwoofer. To my suprise the 900x sounded like it had subwoofer like bass. Using the E17 EQ also helps a lot as the Iphone EQ is garbage. The bass is no longer in the background and can be made to sound like if it should sound like in a Pop/Dance song. Another song that best shows the potential of the headphone with the combination of the E17 is a song by the Black Eyed Peas " Imma Be". The beginning of the song is with very very low low bass and with the gain control of the Fiio E17 of +6 and +12 along with the EQ bass control the headphone really showed it's colors. The bass was even lower and better than when playing "Like A G6" by the Far East Movement. The extension and control of the bass was just incredible even at a very loud volume. The main thing was not just the volume of the bass but the quality of the bass.I also used the song by The Band Perry "If I Die Young" to listen for testing differences in the bass and sound staging. With the E17 again the bass is much more part of the music than sounding like it was in the background somewhere. It is much more solid sounding than hollow with the Iphone. I like closed headphones so I like my music more closed and the E17 makes the sound stage a little accurate.
 
For those that think the 900X still is lacking in the bass then the E17 will definitely make you much happier even though your wallet will be lighter.
I will update this at a later date once I can have a better listen and also purchase a optical cable to allow the 24/192 processing.
 
For Canadian consumers I purchased the Fiio E17 from Charles at Headfoneshop. Charles was great to deal with and was very informative.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

After a couple of months of burn in I noticed the 900x has not changed much from day 1. The bass has become a little more pronounced and more solid. The highs are still great, the sound stage is a little more open. Overall the difference is not like some other headphones where it was night and day kind of deal. The biggest difference even on these headphones was more power. When plugged into my laptop and Iphone 4 it wasn't loud enough and noticed the bass was not well controlled. Also the bass sounded like it was way in the background and a little hollow. Initial impression was good but as I used it more and more I wasn't really happy with the bass. I then decided to plug it into my Audiophile grade home amplifiier headphone slot and noticed an improvement immediately with the bass control but since it didn't have an EQ the bass still was not pinpoint enough. It still sounded in the background somewhat but a little more controlled.
I decided to buy the new Fiio E17 Amp/DAC. When plugged into the E17 the 900x can reach bass levels I have never heard before. A good song to use to test the bass of the headphones is "Like a G6" by the Far East Movement. This song has bass that sounds like a subwoofer. To my suprise the 900x sounded like it had subwoofer like bass. Using the E17 EQ also helps a lot as the Iphone EQ is garbage. The bass is no longer in the background and can be made to sound like if it should sound like in a Pop/Dance song. Another song that best shows the potential of the headphone with the combination of the E17 is a song by the Black Eyed Peas " Imma Be". The beginning of the song is with very very low low bass and with the gain control of the Fiio E17 of +6 and +12 along with the EQ bass control the headphone really showed it's colors. The bass was even lower and better than when playing "Like A G6" by the Far East Movement. The extension and control of the bass was just incredible even at a very loud volume. The main thing was not just the volume of the bass but the quality of the bass.I also used the song by The Band Perry "If I Die Young" to listen for testing differences in the bass and sound staging. With the E17 again the bass is much more part of the music than sounding like it was in the background somewhere. It is much more solid sounding than hollow with the Iphone. I like closed headphones so I like my music more closed and the E17 makes the sound stage a little accurate.
 
For those that think the 900X still is lacking in the bass then the E17 will definitely make you much happier even though your wallet will be lighter.
I will update this at a later date once I can have a better listen and also purchase a optical cable to allow the 24/192 processing.
 
For Canadian consumers I purchased the Fiio E17 from Charles at Headfoneshop. Charles was great to deal with and was very informative.

My Audio Technica ATH-A900X do sound nice with my Fiio E11.

 

[thanksalot]

I was really suprised that the amps made such a huge difference even on such efficient headphones.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I was really suprised that the amps made such a huge difference even on such efficient headphones.

I'm guessing the E17 has a better DAC then the iPhone (& laptop).
Have you tried using a Fiio L cable to connect the iPhone to the E17s amplifier.
To compare the iPhone and e17's DAC?

 

[thanksalot]

Yes I have the L9 cable from Fiio. I have used this on the IPhone. From my understanding though the E17 is still used only as an amp through this connection. I have also connected it through my computer and laptop and used the USB which then is using the DAC from the E17 which does give a marked improvement. I will be getting a toslink to mini cable soon to get the best connection that would allow me to use the E17's 24/192 processing.
If you want to use DAC on an Amp/DAC with an Iphone you are talking atleast $400+.
 

 

[thanksalot]

Update
 
After using the E17 for a couple of days now and also got the SPDIF cable to hook up to computer. The E17 hooked up to the PC and Laptop using the SPDIF and 24/192 makes the music much clearer and less muffled and also sound staging is much improved. Make sure when using the spdif that the proper settings are set to utilize the spdif with 24/192 of the DAC. The E17 DAC/Amp is great but what I really like is the Bass/Treble boost. Why? The reason is with my RE0 and Audio Technica 900X these are great headphones and earbuds with amazing clarity in the mids and highs but the lows are very slightly lacking. I found unless you are willing to spend lots of $$$ will you rarely find big bass with clear mids and highs. Most headphones and earbuds in the price range I am looking at rarely have big accurate bass with amazing mids and highs. Most are either or. When I purchased the E17 and turned up the Bass setting I found that the RE0 and Audio Technica 900x actually have amazing bass that just needed a little more power and the E17 bass boost. The Bass boost on the E17 is great, it doesn't take away from the mids and highs nor does it muffles them. It just basically adds a more accurate bass( that is if your music is coded cleanly).
The E17 has basically transformed my two RE0 and 900X to sound like much more expensive headphones with more all round great bass, mid, and highs with better sound staging. It also made my desktop and laptop experience much more audiophile like than using the crappy creative sound cards.
 

 

[PurpleAngel]

I've found Foobar best for play music.

 

[thanksalot]

Agreed. I use foobar also.