[kellte2]

Huh, the iPad connected with Bluetooth to the X7, the iPhone connected but wouldn't play yet would connect to everything else? Weird. I suppose you tried telling the phone to forget the X7 and do the pairing process again. I haven't updated my phone yet, I'll let you know if I have a similar issue.

That's all correct. iPhone played nicely with Bluetooth audio in the car, with my sound bar, with a portable speaker, but not the X7. Connected fine and was able to access the app to toggle settings, but no audio functionality. iPad worked with the app and with audio.

After a full restore (a big pain), the iPhone now properly streams audio to the X7 over Bluetooth. Bizarre, I know.

 

[Evshrug]

Yeah, I mean, I can't really point to the source of the problem based on the symptoms, but if an iTunes restore of the phone fixed it, then it had to be a software bug in the phone. Did you restore your phone from a backup and thus bring back all your settings (and texts and etc)?

 

[kellte2]

Yeah, I mean, I can't really point to the source of the problem based on the symptoms, but if an iTunes restore of the phone fixed it, then it had to be a software bug in the phone. Did you restore your phone from a backup and thus bring back all your settings (and texts and etc)?

I restored as a new phone first and verified that the problem was fixed. Then reloaded my most recent backup, problem stayed fixed. It was obviously a software bug, but a strange one nonetheless.

 

[Soundizer]

Hello all on this thread,

Please could i seek advice on the two points below;

(1) I have spent over 6 hours reading this thread and also searching on headfi to get any opnions on if the Soundblaster X7 is a significant audio quality upgrade to the portable Soundblaster E5 for driving Headphones?

(2) Also if anyone can provide an impression on how the Soundblaster X7 compares to the popular Schiit Stacks?



I am torn between buying a Schiit Power Amplifier and using the Creative E5 as a Dac with it, or just Simply upgrading my E5 to the Soundblaster X7 as my all in one headphone system. I am not sure if the X7 really is a good headphone Amp compared to similar priced Headphone Amps as it seems to be part designed to power Speakers and part designed for driving Headphones, which is not the case with other dedicated Headphone Systems- Schiit Stack as an example, hence my reservation.

 

[Sam21]

X7 uses PCM1794 as its DAC chip which has -108 dB THD and 127 dB DR
 
E5 Uses CS4398 as its DAC chip which has - 107 dB THD and 120 dB DR
 
THD = Distortion
 
DR = Dynamic Range
 
The lower the THD the better and the higher DR the better, And both units use the same TPA6120A2 headphone amp chip, so I would say at least on paper the X7 performs better. 
 
 
the X7 also uses a superior ADC [Analog to Digital] for Microphone use, So I would say X7 is also superior for microphone use.
 
 
I would say the Schiit stack[Modi 2 Uber and Magni 2 Uber] is superior to both X7 and the E5 for listening, note that you cant use a microphone with the Schiit Stack.
 
Modi 2 Uber's DAC chip is new and the DAC's specs are pretty good. 
 
Magni 2 Uber is more powerful than both E5 and X7 and it doesn't use a headphone amp chip, its design is discrete and discrete design is superior to headphone amp chip or op amp design. amp chips internally have op-amps anyway..

 

[Soundizer]

X7 uses PCM1794 as its DAC chip which has -108 dB THD and 127 dB DR

E5 Uses CS4398 as its DAC chip which has - 107 dB THD and 120 dB DR

THD = Distortion

DR = Dynamic Range

The lower the THD the better and the higher DR the better, And both units use the same TPA6120A2 headphone amp chip, so I would say at least on paper the X7 performs better. 


the X7 also uses a superior ADC [Analog to Digital] for Microphone use, So I would say X7 is also superior for microphone use.


I would say the Schiit stack[Modi 2 Uber and Magni 2 Uber] is superior to both X7 and the E5 for listening, note that you cant use a microphone with the Schiit Stack.

Modi 2 Uber's DAC chip is new and the DAC's specs are pretty good. 

Magni 2 Uber is more powerful than both E5 and X7 and it doesn't use a headphone amp chip, its design is discrete and discrete design is superior to headphone amp chip or op amp design.

Thank you Sam21,

May i ask is the point about the Superior X7 - ADC Only relevant to microphone use which i will not be doing as only using it for Headphones listening?

It seems by your comments the Modi2 Uber / Magni 2 Uber is superior for driving my headphones than the X7? Have you listened to both and compared?

Regarding Power my E5 has lots by itself as it gets very loud at only 50percent volume. But do you mean that more power provides better audio quality?

Please advise as i just ordered the X7 and will cancel my order to buy the Schiit Stack if it is better for Purely Headphone listening.

 

[kellte2]

Thank you Sam21,

May i ask is the point about the Superior X7 - ADC Only relevant to microphone use which i will not be doing as only using it for Headphones listening?

It seems by your comments the Modi2 Uber / Magni 2 Uber is superior for driving my headphones than the X7? Have you listened to both and compared?

Regarding Power my E5 has lots by itself as it gets very loud at only 50percent volume. But do you mean that more power provides better audio quality?

Please advise as i just ordered the X7 and will cancel my order to buy the Schiit Stack if it is better for Purely Headphone listening.

Do you plan on using the SBX features at all?

 

[Soundizer]

Thank you Sam21,

May i ask is the point about the Superior X7 - ADC Only relevant to microphone use which i will not be doing as only using it for Headphones listening?

It seems by your comments the Modi2 Uber / Magni 2 Uber is superior for driving my headphones than the X7? Have you listened to both and compared?

Regarding Power my E5 has lots by itself as it gets very loud at only 50percent volume. But do you mean that more power provides better audio quality?

Please advise as i just ordered the X7 and will cancel my order to buy the Schiit Stack if it is better for Purely Headphone listening.

Do you plan on using the SBX features at all?

No as i just want the best natural sound, having said that the Base setting on the SBX for the E5 is really good to my ears and i always use it. However if the Amp has enough Base i will not bother.

 

[Sam21]

Thank you Sam21,

May i ask is the point about the Superior X7 - ADC Only relevant to microphone use which i will not be doing as only using it for Headphones listening?

It seems by your comments the Modi2 Uber / Magni 2 Uber is superior for driving my headphones than the X7? Have you listened to both and compared?

Regarding Power my E5 has lots by itself as it gets very loud at only 50percent volume. But do you mean that more power provides better audio quality?

Please advise as i just ordered the X7 and will cancel my order to buy the Schiit Stack if it is better for Purely Headphone listening.

As I said, X7 uses better components so objectively, if the circuit designs are similar in both E5 and X7, the X7 performs better. subjectively, everyone has a different opinion. 
 
whether it is worth it to upgrade to X7 depends on the shortcomings you experience with the E5, What is the problem with E5 that makes you want to upgrade to X7 ?
 
The power that you need depends on the headphones that you use, Headphones with low sensitivity and high impedance need more power, whether E5 is powerful enough depends on the headphones you use. If a headphone is under powered then you won't hear what the headphone is meant to sound, the mids are sucked out and you dont hear micro details. If the headphone is over powered, you will damage the driver.
 
Purely for headphone listening, if it is music that you want, I would go with the Schiit stack, The shiit stack does not have virtual surround, microphone input, Equalizer, Speaker Amp, Bluetooth and etc that X7 has. so for Gaming and Movies I would go for X7.

 

[Soundizer]

Thank you Sam21,


May i ask is the point about the Superior X7 - ADC Only relevant to microphone use which i will not be doing as only using it for Headphones listening?


It seems by your comments the Modi2 Uber / Magni 2 Uber is superior for driving my headphones than the X7? Have you listened to both and compared?


Regarding Power my E5 has lots by itself as it gets very loud at only 50percent volume. But do you mean that more power provides better audio quality?


Please advise as i just ordered the X7 and will cancel my order to buy the Schiit Stack if it is better for Purely Headphone listening.

As I said, X7 uses better components so objectively, if the circuit designs are similar in both E5 and X7, the X7 performs better. subjectively, everyone has a different opinion. 

whether it is worth it to upgrade to X7 depends on the shortcomings you experience with the E5, What is the problem with E5 that makes you want to upgrade to X7 ?

The power that you need depends on the headphones that you use, Headphones with low sensitivity and high impedance need more power, whether E5 is powerful enough depends on the headphones you use. If a headphone is under powered then you won't hear what the headphone is meant to sound, the mids are sucked out and you dont hear micro details. If the headphone is over powered, you will damage the driver.

Purely for headphone listening, if it is music that you want, I would go with the Schiit stack, The shiit stack does not have virtual surround, microphone input, Equalizer, Speaker Amp, Bluetooth and etc that X7 has. so for Gaming and Movies I would go for X7.

Thank you Sam21, I really appreciate your input.

My E5 I originally purchased for mobile portable use, but am now looking at a desktop set up. I found the E5 to sound somewhat harsh at times and feel i am not getting the most out of my HD650 headphones. I was hoping someone would say the X7 is better than the Schiit stack as it is a cleaner all in one solution and much less expensive than Schiit here in the UK.

I will only be using the headphones for listening to Music (40percent) and for Movies (60percent).

 

[kellte2]

For a mix of movies and music, I'd still take a chance on the X7. What cans will you be using?

 

[Sam21]

If I had a HD650 I would buy the bottlehead crack, it is a DIY kit and designed for higher impedance headphones like HD650. if you ask around people think that it is a perfect match for HD650. The problem is that it is not a good match for low impedance headphones...and yeah, it is an Amplifier only, no DAC. I would buy a nice DAC and connect it to the bottlehead crack.
 
http://bottlehead.com/product/crack-otl-headphone-amplifier-kit/

 

[arcwindz]

Thank you Sam21, I really appreciate your input.

My E5 I originally purchased for mobile portable use, but am now looking at a desktop set up. I found the E5 to sound somewhat harsh at times and feel i am not getting the most out of my HD650 headphones. I was hoping someone would say the X7 is better than the Schiit stack as it is a cleaner all in one solution and much less expensive than Schiit here in the UK.

I will only be using the headphones for listening to Music (40percent) and for Movies (60percent).

Afaik, x7 will cost a lot already,and if schiit stack will cost more, why not try the chord mojo? A lot of people said it is the best

 

[Yethal]

Hello all on this thread,

Please could i seek advice on the two points below;

(1) I have spent over 6 hours reading this thread and also searching on headfi to get any opnions on if the Soundblaster X7 is a significant audio quality upgrade to the portable Soundblaster E5 for driving Headphones?

(2) Also if anyone can provide an impression on how the Soundblaster X7 compares to the popular Schiit Stacks?



I am torn between buying a Schiit Power Amplifier and using the Creative E5 as a Dac with it, or just Simply upgrading my E5 to the Soundblaster X7 as my all in one headphone system. I am not sure if the X7 really is a good headphone Amp compared to similar priced Headphone Amps as it seems to be part designed to power Speakers and part designed for driving Headphones, which is not the case with other dedicated Headphone Systems- Schiit Stack as an example, hence my reservation.

I used to own the Schiit Stack before I bought the X7. If You don't plan on using the speaker taps, adc or SBX features then buy only a headphone amp to pair with the E5. Half the price of the X7 are features You plan on not using.

 

[Soundizer]

For a mix of movies and music, I'd still take a chance on the X7. What cans will you be using?

I will use the HD650, might change these in the near future.
Why the X7 for movies, is it because of Dolby Digital? I might only Bluetooth to it from my Apple TV Which has excellent Bluetooth audio output. However Bluetooth audio does not do Dolby digital.