[Liren Thow]

i'm quite new to the high quality audio community. I decided to get myself a pair of Audio Tecnica M40Xs as a starter. Now i'm considering a portable Amp Dac combo to go along with it. Do portable Amps improve sound quality of this pair of cans? I'm using a OnePlus One and my onboard Realtek Audio as my audio players. I'm looking at quite a few Amp Dac combos. Fiio Q1, Fiio A1, Fiio E10k, Fiio A3 and Fiio M3. This brand is quite accessible to me so most of my choices are on this brand. Any suggestions? Plus I use Spotify at extreme quality for music playback.

 

[Music Alchemist]

I compared the headphone outputs of my laptop to a Schiit stack (Magni 2 Uber and Modi 2) and did not hear a difference with many headphones, including, if I recall correctly, the M40x. But that just shows how good my laptop is. Many others aren't so good. It's a good idea to try a DAC/amp and see if you like the sound better.

 

[IkuMiku96]

using Audio Technica ATX-M40x as a starter, nice one~ for me, is mostly flat just with a little bit sharp on high frequency (compared to beyerdynamic dtx 910)

i had a friend (which i also did tried) who uses ATX-M40x with Fiio Q1 (also uses Beyerdynamic DTX 910). note that although ATX M40x is comfy, prolong uses makes my ear kinda warm, which i hate it

im pretty sure you can use ATX-M40x without any amp. i mean i can run the headphone with my Galaxy S3 quite fine without using his amp (i even mess up with my eq till i get distortion). but i do noticed that using Fiio Q1, heard that the audio is a little bit warmer.

Fiio Q1 has its own DAC if you use USB as input. if you want to use the DAC when using pc, make sure to use USB. if you are gonna use your Oneplus One (nice phone you got by the way), use USB-OTG to the Fiio Q1.

For the best accuracy, when using Fiio Q1, using Bass boost is not advisable. For flatness, tune Equaliser for 8Hz and 16Hz down. (i use -2dB Hz and -6dB 16Hz. but when you got it, tune whatever suits you). advised that you cant change your phone eq if you use the Fiio Q1 DAC)

oh yeah~! almost forgot. with Spotify Extreme quality, you will be appreciate with this headphone. but if you try lossless format or cd audio, just, wow. i mean, after that, i occasionally listening to FLAC songs more than my usual 320kbps MP3. i know that highest quality in spotify, you may not able to distintinguish it much but then again, somehow i think you will appreciate with lossless or cd quality songs more. (i just cant explain it by typing)

by his preference, using M40x with his Q1 sounds better. and yeah, his volume rule, phone volume at 13/15, amp volume at 6~ (some android phones do prone to boost volume after 13/15)

im not sure for other amp but he chose Q1 because it has build-in battery.

once you got your setup, try Queen - We are the Champion the vocal with this headphone and the amp just feels like im getting attracted~

personal question, why not for M50x? unless you want flat sound (which is why he prefered M40x than M50x), M50x has better bass response. (tested M50x, the bass do sounds a bit more [edit] and a bit muddy on the mid, if i remembered it [edit])
 

 

[Music Alchemist]

  personal question, why not for M50x? unless you want flat sound, M50x has better bass response.

 
If you want overwhelming bass that makes the mids sound muddy... (click)

 

[sirkuttin]

I'd say no. My friend has the m50x and I couldn't tell much difference from his LG G2, my LG V10, or my Schiit Jotunheim. 

 

[IkuMiku96]

   
If you want overwhelming bass that makes the mids sound muddy... (click)

really? guess that explain my first thought about that M50x when i first tried that. (well, my ear get used to that M50x after awhile which just makes me didnt realised that afterwards. plus with testing other headphones like DT 770 HD, HD 598 and T2 that my friend insists me to try, i totally forgot about that)

 

[Liren Thow]

The M50X is two times the price of the M40Xs at the place where i purchase my headphones and M40X's sound signature is flatter and more accurate