Terja
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2012
- Posts
- 383
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- 79
In a continuing battle of wills to drive my Hifiman HE-500s to that ever-elusive 'sweet spot' (or so it seemed), I have found myself on a perpetual motion of experimentation (until now!). Having heard good things about the Fiio E11 and HE-500 synergy, I never figured I could take that good synergy even higher. In fact my first experience with the HE-500 was through the E11, and I was terrifically impressed. The only problem seemed to be the somewhat recessed gain, even with the Fiio E11 on high gain. But there was just something there (that elusive silver lining) in how that combo sounded.
I've been running my Hifiman HE-500 using the E17/E9 combo as a DAC via line out to the Bellari HA540 headphone amplifier. While that series is pretty good it just seemed to have a limit. It is pretty impressive at constrained volume levels but just when I want to really jam at a slightly higher gain the SQ quickly takes a hit (and so dang! I have to tone it back down again). I just never seemed to be able to get over that hump. But, but ... yes, there is hope!
I finally decided to give the E11 a turn in this chain as an external amp with the E17/E9 handling DAC duties. Here is how I have it set up: E17 is docked to the E9 with the E17 line-out bypass selection in the lower position (i.e. the E17 is being used strictly as a DAC). The E9 is set to high gain. I am running a small male to male 3.5mm cable from the E9 pre-output to the E11 in. The E11 is set to high gain, with EQ set to 1. And of course ... the HE-500 is plugged into the E11 headphone out.
I can't tell you how good this combo sounds. I have heard the HE-500 sounding pretty good over the four months I've had it, but I've never heard it sound this good. And this is after trying it with the Hifiman EF5, the Bellari HA540, the E9 or E17. Granted I have yet to try it with the likes of the Schiit Lyr which a lot of Headfiers swear by as the amp for the HE500s, also the Audio-gd 12.1. Still man, the way the Hifimans are sounding out of the E11 through this chain is just amazing! I'm getting an incredibly clean SQ at high gains, something I just wasn't able to get via the Bellari before things turned to quiet panic. This E17/E9/E11 combo has really pushed the envelope for me (I mean it's stuffed); there is so little room left I just don't see where there is any more room left for improvement from any other amp (yeah I know, never say 'you-know-what'), but man|woman this is a true left-field surprise.
I don't know how many folks have all the pieces required to try out this chain; but I can't wait to hear from others about it. If you have all the required pieces and have been driving the HE-500 via another chain, give the E17/E9/E11 combo a try. This combo is fairly affordable (about $300), much less than other dedicated amps for the Hifimans would cost. I'm just finding it really hard to imagine how they could sound much better than what I'm hearing right now, really hard . . .
P.S. When you have the combo set up max out the volume on the E11 and control levels via the E9 volume pot (yes it works ...) At 11-12 o'clock it gets pretty loud. Oh yeah, before I forget, I am playing lossless files in Foobar via ASIO4All to the E17/E9 DAC. Everything counts I guess, in case you try yours and wind up saying ..... ah you get it!
I've been running my Hifiman HE-500 using the E17/E9 combo as a DAC via line out to the Bellari HA540 headphone amplifier. While that series is pretty good it just seemed to have a limit. It is pretty impressive at constrained volume levels but just when I want to really jam at a slightly higher gain the SQ quickly takes a hit (and so dang! I have to tone it back down again). I just never seemed to be able to get over that hump. But, but ... yes, there is hope!
I finally decided to give the E11 a turn in this chain as an external amp with the E17/E9 handling DAC duties. Here is how I have it set up: E17 is docked to the E9 with the E17 line-out bypass selection in the lower position (i.e. the E17 is being used strictly as a DAC). The E9 is set to high gain. I am running a small male to male 3.5mm cable from the E9 pre-output to the E11 in. The E11 is set to high gain, with EQ set to 1. And of course ... the HE-500 is plugged into the E11 headphone out.
I can't tell you how good this combo sounds. I have heard the HE-500 sounding pretty good over the four months I've had it, but I've never heard it sound this good. And this is after trying it with the Hifiman EF5, the Bellari HA540, the E9 or E17. Granted I have yet to try it with the likes of the Schiit Lyr which a lot of Headfiers swear by as the amp for the HE500s, also the Audio-gd 12.1. Still man, the way the Hifimans are sounding out of the E11 through this chain is just amazing! I'm getting an incredibly clean SQ at high gains, something I just wasn't able to get via the Bellari before things turned to quiet panic. This E17/E9/E11 combo has really pushed the envelope for me (I mean it's stuffed); there is so little room left I just don't see where there is any more room left for improvement from any other amp (yeah I know, never say 'you-know-what'), but man|woman this is a true left-field surprise.
I don't know how many folks have all the pieces required to try out this chain; but I can't wait to hear from others about it. If you have all the required pieces and have been driving the HE-500 via another chain, give the E17/E9/E11 combo a try. This combo is fairly affordable (about $300), much less than other dedicated amps for the Hifimans would cost. I'm just finding it really hard to imagine how they could sound much better than what I'm hearing right now, really hard . . .
P.S. When you have the combo set up max out the volume on the E11 and control levels via the E9 volume pot (yes it works ...) At 11-12 o'clock it gets pretty loud. Oh yeah, before I forget, I am playing lossless files in Foobar via ASIO4All to the E17/E9 DAC. Everything counts I guess, in case you try yours and wind up saying ..... ah you get it!
