[hanumanbob]

I said that 2 weeks ago

So I use mostly for portable because it was the most convenient and good sounding option out there. It folds up really compactly and sounds quite good with the iFi Gryphon. It also has great isolation and you can hardly hear it when others are around. I'm trying to think of something in the $1000 price range mid fi that would fit my needs and I just don't see it out there.

 

[ThEvil0nE]

Do you guys think a Stealth or E3 would work with a SPL Phonitor 2 headphone amp ? I'd need the crossfeed facilities of this amp...

It should be more than fine but audition it to confirm as I have not tried the SPL P2.

 

[liujun050612]

If I had a personal wish for the community, regarding DCA....., it would be that Dan manages to bring a model to market with 10db higher efficiency
(I really wish for all of you that one day it will work out )

NOMAX

It will. Just need to wait. Audeze LCD 5 will be an example. Although still a little picky, it is much easier to drive.

 

[Nomax]

Hopefully

NOMAX

 

[ThEvil0nE]

So I use mostly for portable because it was the most convenient and good sounding option out there. It folds up really compactly and sounds quite good with the iFi Gryphon. It also has great isolation and you can hardly hear it when others are around. I'm trying to think of something in the $1000 price range mid fi that would fit my needs and I just don't see it out there.

Honestly, I would prefer something that can lay flat and slide into my backpack’s tablet slot without a bag or case but the E3 is still manageable folded into a cube like how I still manage to make the NDH 30 portable in the main backpack compartment in a soft padded camera organizer.

 

[Acidicfriend]

The Xduoo XD05 DAC/Amp - would this be 'anemic' for portable use using the E3?

 

[hanumanbob]

The Xduoo XD05 DAC/Amp - would this be 'anemic' for portable use using the E3?

It's more than sufficient but for a portable it's like a brick.

 

[Acidicfriend]

It's more than sufficient but for a portable it's like a brick.

I'm willing to carry a brick if it's a good brick, I do know I won't be taking it out on a jaunty walk through the park with it haha. I intend to carry a setup for music on the go. I still struggle to do comparisons between wattage and power between this and the Mojo 2 - from what I see the mojo 2 is still more powerful? but I may be wrong.

 

[hanumanbob]

I use the iFi Gryphon which has the advantage of the XBASS. Usually play around 80 out of 100. Not turbo. The XDUOO is a very nice unit tho,

 

[dougq]

Are those all your gear or you tried them at a store or show?

Ferrum OOR/PSU and Lina dac/clock are the only components on your list that may work well for E3. Lina amp is a lost cause at this point.

I had Hugo and demoed Hugo 2 way back with hard to drive planars. I don’t think Hugo 2 is bad but hardly maximizing any cans that require decent power. Plus, I don’t think Hugo 2 and E3 would work well from a system synergy perspective.

This is an absolutely insane take. They all sounded fantastic with the E3. How can you claim only one set could work with the E3? They are not that picky of a headphone. What kind of ridiculous gatekeeping is this and what qualifications do you have?

 

[chesebert]

This is an absolutely insane take. They all sounded fantastic with the E3. How can you claim only one set could work with the E3? They are not that picky of a headphone. What kind of ridiculous gatekeeping is this and what qualifications do you have?

You are trying to drive a low impedance, low sensitivity planar with portable dac/amp or entry level dac/amp. If you are happy with the result, no one is stopping you from listening to your cans. Would I use $2k difficult to drive planar with entry level stuff, god no. There are more appropriate cans that cost both less and more than E3 that would be better suited to those kind of electronics.

People are also free to buy E3, Stealth, Susvara or any other pair of low sensitivity cans and use laptop headphone jack. It's a waste of money IMO but you do you.

 

[chesebert]

The Xduoo XD05 DAC/Amp - would this be 'anemic' for portable use using the E3?

you will have flabby and high distortion bass (perhaps that's the way you like them) with that output impedance. The amp is also severely current limited. not a good fit for E3 IMO

 

[dougq]

You are trying to drive a low impedance, low sensitivity planar with portable dac/amp or entry level dac/amp. If you are happy with the result, no one is stopping you from listening to your cans. Would I use $2k difficult to drive planar with entry level stuff, god no. There are more appropriate cans that cost both less and more than E3 that would be better suited to those kind of electronics.

People are also free to buy E3, Stealth, Susvara or any other pair of low sensitivity cans and use laptop headphone jack. It's a waste of money IMO but you do you.

You are equating money to quality. If a 500 dac amp performs equally to a 2000 what is the problem with using it? There is not more appropriate ones. You base this off of nothing but price tag. I base it off what I heard.

The headphones aren’t difficult to drive. The manufacturer provides recommended ones based on what they know they will sound great. They know more than you or I. Please leave the fantasy land of gatekeeping. A 2k headphone does not require or even guarantee to benefit from a 2k amp or dac (ignoring features you may want).

 

[dougq]

Just ignore this guy. He has no qualifications or experience to make said claims and has been constantly negative through this thread.

 

[jarnopp]

How would you know without hearing better. I don’t have Aeon anymore but it was significantly worse on mojo than my other amps. Aeon is an easier load than E3. If you feel E3 sounds ”nearly perfect“ on your mojo then you are free to ignore my comment.

Comparing E3 with Mojo2 to E3 on mScaler/TT2 (which you would have to agree has plenty of power) I can tell it’s being driven just fine. The differences are in the resolution between the devices, not the power.