[bowei006]

Quote:

I hate to post jack but I am in a very similar situation. I also have a bass head oriented set of cans the V-Moda m100 Crossfades, would you say what goes for OP goes for me as well? Given the restraints are the same.. Money isn't a variable though

Do you already have a DAC?

 

[DeeToti]

For a M100 Which one would be better:
E10 vs E11 vs E17 vs E12 ( the DAC factor would be a big plus, but I would like to know a comparison between E17 and E12 amp section)
I need it for a iPod 5th generation and my laptop

 

[LublinHeist]

I'm new to the game, so bear with me. 
 
Hate to see every M100 + DAC/AMP thread die out... Basically from what I've read (more than experience), M100 are low impedence headphones. An amp will give more fruitful results for High Ohms impedence headphones ... the best combo is a low impedence AMP + High impedence Headphone. I'm an amateur and just getting started in the Head-fi world, but this is what I've observed.
 
Back to the M100's... one thread poster (I believe "Existance") said the E12 Montblac's did not do much at all for his M100's to the point he wanted to sell/return them. However, they did in fact boost his Vmoda LP2's to a noticeably worthy degree.
 
I just bought an E7 today, so I will report with my results wherever I see a thread in need of it. 
 
E7 vs E17: These are AMP/DAC's, the DAC being useful to bypass your crappy PC/Laptop soundcard, not your portable music player. as others have posted, the E17 adds the optical inputs & SP/DIF useful for TV's and other devices. The E17 also displays the bandwidth for those seeking the accuracy of their converted files (big plus for a Head-fi user who found that his conversion program was playing mind-games with him)... I can't think of actual op and hardware differences at this moment. Why I bought the E7: It just fit my budget at the moment and I don't need the optical inputs.... Oh "existance" also enjoyed the improvement he had with his E7 Alpens to LP2's.
 
It would be cool if someone could compare actual internal hardware specs. Although YES amps should be bought based on your "sound" preferences, when someone asks which amp will produce better results, people like me just want to know that the internal hardware is better than the older or lower priced ones. The sound/EQ preference lays more heavily on the headphones you pick IMO. By the way E12 has the LME49710 & LME 49600 Op amps as far as I'm aware of.
 
subjectively (portable devices only):
If for pure amp purpose:  E12>E11>E6
If for amp+DAC purpose: E17>E07K>E7 
If for sound IMO: E17?vsE12>E11>E07/7
 
OHHHH YEA, I'm too tired to track back now, but I believe the great "Dr. Sheep" once mentioned using a impedance adapter attachment (used by Etymotic's, 4p to 4s impedance adapter) to increase the Headphone impedance level. Thus, making 24ohm headphones into 80 or higher, which should in theory get better results for us M100'ers. 
He posted Something like this: 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ETYMOTIC-ER4P-TO-ER4S-RESISTOR-ADAPTOR-3-5MM-PLUG-/290372905689
 
Forgive me if I repeated a bunch that was already stated on this thread, I just went through over 7 different threads to find out if I made the right choice myself (E7) haha and wanted to throw in the 2 cents of what I learned. 

 

[stimer]

Hello, I have laptop intel core i3 and realtek onboard sound does it make sense to buy FiiO E07K or ibasso d-zero to improve the sound?