[Maxpain]

Well I wish but my budget will not be able to go very above the 300-350 euros for everything so I want a combination that will serve me for now and maby in a couple of months I would be able to upgrade.That is why  why I am looking for an amp that will be suitable for an upgraded headphone in the feature.Would you say that the epiphany amp is better than the fiio? Do you have any susggestions about tube amps around 100-150 euros?

 

[kmitschiener]

Yes, I would say the O2 is better than the Fiio. But if you plan on upgrading in a few months, it would really just be better to wait.

 

[Maxpain]

I know but could be 3 months could be a year,I am very limited right now and what is the point of listening to music with a cheap sony mdr for over a year to have something better after that? I also never had a headphone system in my life so it would be a good think to start small..and see if I am up for long listening sessions with headphones.What about tube amps? Are you aware of any good tube amp in that price?

 

[kmitschiener]

I'm not aware of any that will give you a true tube experience, but I did own a hifiman ef2a and enjoyed it for a while

 

[Maxpain]

So i guess a tube amp is out of the way for now.Well then that leaves me only to choose the headphones wich is my first concern.Do you have any epxerience with the headphones I have listed in my early post considering the type of sound that I am looking for(I have also listed that).Thank you for your help by the way.

 

[peter123]

I agree with people who says you should start with the headphones.
 
I'd suggest that you take a look at the Philips Fidelio X2. They're very easy to drive for a full size headphone and there's a good possibility that they'll sound great straight from your soundcard.
 
Good luck!

 

[Maxpain]

I have read and told very good things about the grados headphones.They say they have very musical and engaging sound.And I can find them in a store instead of buying them online,have you any experience with them? 

 

[peter123]

I have read and told very good things about the grados headphones.They say they have very musical and engaging sound.And I can find them in a store instead of buying them online,have you any experience with them? 

I own the SR325is and although I enjoy them a lot I find the X2's to be a much better all-round headphone abd it's also less picky about the source. The comfort on the X2's is also way better.

I'm very lucky to own both but if I could have only one it'd be the X2's.

Hope this helps

 

[Maxpain]

I have also looked up for Philips Fidelio X2 and I can find them on ebay for 270 euros wich is in my budget.But because its online and its going to consume all my budget if they need an amplifier I will not be able to afford one.I am giving the information that I have found about the output of my soundcard.
 
Impedance: Front Panel Headphone load impedance 16 ohms ~ 300 ohms, Line output impedance 150 ohms, Line/Aux input impedance 10K ohms
 
I dont really know what that means,is there a difference between front panel header and line output? Does this means that my sound card is capable of driving headphones? I know there is no headphone amplifier on the card for sure.

 

[peter123]

I have also looked up for Philips Fidelio X2 and I can find them on ebay for 270 euros wich is in my budget.But because its online and its going to consume all my budget if they need an amplifier I will not be able to afford one.I am giving the information that I have found about the output of my soundcard.

Impedance: Front Panel Headphone load impedance 16 ohms ~ 300 ohms, Line output impedance 150 ohms, Line/Aux input impedance 10K ohms

I dont really know what that means,is there a difference between front panel header and line output? Does this means that my sound card is capable of driving headphones? I know there is no headphone amplifier on the card for sure.

Unfortunately the information about your soundcard is not the one you'd like to have. What you'd like to have is the output impedance on the amp section, what you've got is the range of headphone impedance the card manufacturer state that the card will work with so it's really not much help. Certainly not your fault and very typically for those manufacturers.

That being said I'm sure the soundcard will drive the X2's fine. They're very versatile with both different sources and different music which is why I think it would be a good suggestion for you as long as you're happy with open headphones.

You can check out the X2 review in my signature for further comparison with the Grados if you're interested

Edit: The impedance of the X2's is 30 Ohms.

 

[Maxpain]

Thank you very much for your fast response! My soundcard does not have a dedicated amplifier and if it helps the model is x-meridian 2.g from Auzentech.What I am using now is sony mdr-xd300,I have baught them 3-4 years ago.I think they are listed as 70ohm.I have pluged them in the stereo output in the back of my soundcard.In some cases they are just loud with full volume on jriver and windows volume control.Most of the times its ok but sometimes it feels like power is lacking.Hope this information helps.

 

[peter123]

Thank you very much for your fast response! My soundcard does not have a dedicated amplifier and if it helps the model is x-meridian 2.g from Auzentech.What I am using now is sony mdr-xd300,I have baught them 3-4 years ago.I think they are listed as 70ohm.I have pluged them in the stereo output in the back of my soundcard.In some cases they are just loud with full volume on jriver and windows volume control.Most of the times its ok but sometimes it feels like power is lacking.Hope this information helps.

Hey, no problem

I've tried to Google your soundcard but I'm not able to find the output impedance (as expected ). However if it's able to drive your 70 ohms cans it shouldn't have any problems with the X2's (or Grado's for that matter ).

The amplifier circuit is integrated in the soundcard.

 

[Maxpain]

So you mean that my soundcard has a dedicated amplifier but its just not mentioned? That means that I could give the extra cash for a better set of headphones instead of splitting it for phones and an amplifier right? 

 

[cel4145]

I can find fiio e09 in the price of 130 euros.The EHP-O2 as I can see is actually a litle cheaper so that is a good thing.The only problem is that I live in Greece and I the choices here are very limited so I will have to make an online order for it if they are up to shipping it to Greece.I could go only with the headphones first but I had an extension in the budget and I would like to have an amp so that I can upgrade headphones in the feature.I am really in to tube's sound and I wish I could find a tube amp close to that money but I havent been able to find anything.Are you aware of something in the price range of 100-130 euros? Dac I wouldnt need I spent a good amount of money to get my soundcard and it is a very decent dac so I wouldn't want to make it useless yet.

Not sure if they fit your budget, but Little Dot makes nice tube amps: http://www.littledot.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=9&sid=215cccaa25cf8faaca63ed534957347c. The Little Dot I+ is a hybrid tube/solid state amp that is suitable for lower impedance headphones.

If you went with the HD598 headphones, even the Fiio E11K would work well as a headphone amp to go with your sound card since your card if it doesn't have one built in (not seeing evidence it does). Don't necessarily need to buy something as expensive as the Objective 2, but it certainly is a nice amp.

 

[peter123]

So you mean that my soundcard has a dedicated amplifier but its just not mentioned? That means that I could give the extra cash for a better set of headphones instead of splitting it for phones and an amplifier right? 

Your soundcard has an integrated amp that would probably be inferior to an dedicated amp but if your set on your budget it's still my view that you will get the most sound per pound by putting it all in headphones. I'm sure others will have another opinion but this is mine.

If you decide on a dedicated amp I also would recommend the LD I+, although it's a hybrid it gives you that tube feeling.