[HeadHoncho]

I would say, first try investing on the E11 and since you are on budget you can then decide/buy the source(mp3player) as i cant say/comment on your xperia's SQ but all we can say the amp does some justice for sure when connected between the phone and ear/headphones. Having said that,you can first try out with your phone and hear yourself how it takes.

Though E11 is bit pricey to E06, its a wise futuristic investment actually,that it can handle any IEMs and most of the Over the ear,full size headphones(even 300 ohm power hungry ones). Features eq,replaceable nokia bl-5b battery etc and excellent form factor to match most of the source like ipods,touch,fiio,ibasso etc when piggy backed.

Whats ur overall budget?looks like you can stretch for both,upto $150......is my understanding correct? That way can give sone tips.

 
Hahahahaha, no man, what I am doing right now is stretch my budget, and then some... I think my phone's SQ is good, but not great, because sometimes when I listen to music with the same files/IEMs on my laptop (it's a business laptop, no fancy audio card here), I find the SQ to be better, so there is definitely some room for improvement. This is what got me thinking about changing/modifying my source in the first place. I'v found a place nearby where they keep some FiiO amps, but they did not agree to let me sample them before purchasing. I'll push them a bit more for it, let's see.
 
This raises another question for me, considering I'll be using an amp, with a decent IEM like a Vsonic VSD3S, won't it accentuate the distortion inherent in compressed mp3 Files?

 

[ericr]

   
E11(~70$) with my phone will be better than a Sansa Clip+/Zip(~65$)?
 
 
Of all the reviews I have read, I am leaning towards the Clip+ over the Clip Zip... hardware is the same accept the screen, and I think because of that, battery on the Clip+ will be better.

Ouch! $65 for the clip?  Do they ever go on sale?  Here (USA) if you wait a bit it's not hard to get a 4GB Clip for under $35.
 
If your phone sounds pretty good to start with maybe an amp is the way to go.  But if not, an amp won't be able to magically make a bad signal great (unless your phone has a high output impedance). 
 
The clip+ & zip are pretty much interchangeable I guess.  I've only ever had a zip.  It gets really good battery life, but I've never timed it to see how long it can actually run.  It also plays while charging and charges very quickly (as the clip+ would I imagine).

 

[ericr]

HeadHoncho,
 
Just compared the clip zip to my HP business laptop's headphone out.  The clip is WAY better than the laptop using Windows Media, and noticeably but not hugely better than the laptop with Foobar (with the WASAPI driver).
 
Send me a PM if you have anymore Clip questions as I'm already OT.

 

[Shawn71]

Hahahahaha, no man, what I am doing right now is stretch my budget, and then some... I think my phone's SQ is good, but not great, because sometimes when I listen to music with the same files/IEMs on my laptop (it's a business laptop, no fancy audio card here), I find the SQ to be better, so there is definitely some room for improvement. This is what got me thinking about changing/modifying my source in the first place. I'v found a place nearby where they keep some FiiO amps, but they did not agree to let me sample them before purchasing. I'll push them a bit more for it, let's see.

This raises another question for me, considering I'll be using an amp, with a decent IEM like a Vsonic VSD3S, won't it accentuate the distortion inherent in compressed mp3 Files?

well an headphone amplifier will definitely enhance SQ,sound stage,dig out the details, etc but not the other way. And thats where a dedicated mp3 players comes(compared to cell phones) like sansa,older gen ipod classics upto 5.5gen,cowon etc as they have decent audio grade SoCs/DACs but their built-in amp section does'nt bring out their full potential so we introduce an HP amp between dac and phones,bypassing builtin HP amp using the LOD cable which is superior to HP out of those players(using 3.5mm-3.5mm interconnect cable).

 

[ericr]

Does the Sony Xperia SP have Line Out capability? Or is it limited to the 3.5mm headphone out jack?

 

[Shawn71]

Does the Sony Xperia SP have Line Out capability? Or is it limited to the 3.5mm headphone out jack?

I believe it does'nt have it and not sure either as i dont own one. If you have multipin socket (dock) at the bottom it might support LO capability as not all the models that has the dock connector support Lao,but charging,docking etc. Hope that helps some extent....

 

[HeadHoncho]

 
Ouch! $65 for the clip?  Do they ever go on sale?  Here (USA) if you wait a bit it's not hard to get a 4GB Clip for under $35.
 
If your phone sounds pretty good to start with maybe an amp is the way to go.  But if not, an amp won't be able to magically make a bad signal great (unless your phone has a high output impedance). 
 
The clip+ & zip are pretty much interchangeable I guess.  I've only ever had a zip.  It gets really good battery life, but I've never timed it to see how long it can actually run.  It also plays while charging and charges very quickly (as the clip+ would I imagine).

 
What? Really? Clip+ for 35$??
 
And that's the thing, I don't want to buy an amp without knowing what effect it will have with my phone really, can't find a place to audition first.
 
Now I can buy only one of those, either a clip+, or an E11... Damn I don't know which one
:-/
 

  HeadHoncho,
 
Just compared the clip zip to my HP business laptop's headphone out.  The clip is WAY better than the laptop using Windows Media, and noticeably but not hugely better than the laptop with Foobar (with the WASAPI driver).
 
Send me a PM if you have anymore Clip questions as I'm already OT.

 
I don't use my laptop much, mostly use my phone... but considering my laptop with WMP sounded better than my phone, there seems to be a lot of room for improvement on my phone
 

Does the Sony Xperia SP have Line Out capability? Or is it limited to the 3.5mm headphone out jack?

 
No, it doesn't have line out, just the 3.5mm jack
 

well an headphone amplifier will definitely enhance SQ,sound stage,dig out the details, etc but not the other way. And thats where a dedicated mp3 players comes(compared to cell phones) like sansa,older gen ipod classics upto 5.5gen,cowon etc as they have decent audio grade SoCs/DACs but their built-in amp section does'nt bring out their full potential so we introduce an HP amp between dac and phones,bypassing builtin HP amp using the LOD cable which is superior to HP out of those players(using 3.5mm-3.5mm interconnect cable).

 
By that logic I need to get a Sansa as well as a FiiO. No can do.
x.x

 

[gnz2014]

As this is a thread about the tiny E6, I wanted to ask the users that are using it if my possible combination of DAP, AMP, and headphone would make a good fit.
First of all, I have a NOKIA Lumia device, so I'll be using the headphone jack. Second, I'm thinking of buying the E6, as I heard a lot of good stuff about it. And third, I'm thinking of buying a pair of Superlux HD330 which I also found good things said about them, and I found a shop with a good offer on the 330s. The big question is : Will this sound any good? because the headphones are 150ohm, and I'm afraid of the amp not being able to keep the Superluxes filled with juice. And, will the phone be a good audio source at all?

 

[cdiaz]

Can I charge the E6 safely with a USB cable plugged into an iPhone wall charger?

 

[Shawn71]

Can I charge the E6 safely with a USB cable plugged into an iPhone wall charger?

Oh yeah....any wall charger that has usb port where you can connect the usb cable to charge any compatible devices that has micro usb,mini usb ports etc.....

 

[Shawn71]

I use the Apple's small square charger (came with iPhone 3G), rectangle (came w/classic 30GB) and samsung's (came with SGP 5") to charge all those and my fiio toys E06,E11 & E12 besides my classic 120GB and my other old samsung and LG phones....

 

[cdiaz]

Thanks

 

[cdiaz]

Just got it in the mail today. Love it! This was just what I was hoping for to give my iPod 160 GB Classic some beef. Obviously the iPod eq is worthless so I've been missing having some thump when I use my SE215's. This is perfect in the EQ2 setting. I've even found EQ1 useful with over trebled and under bassed 80s music.

 

[Shawn71]

Just got it in the mail today. Love it! This was just what I was hoping for to give my iPod 160 GB Classic some beef. Obviously the iPod eq is worthless so I've been missing having some thump when I use my SE215's. This is perfect in the EQ2 setting. I've even found EQ1 useful with over trebled and under bassed 80s music.

Yeah the classic eq has no custom but E06 compensate that oomph and nicely pairs up.....

 

[natebizzle]

Has anyone used one of these, or any portable amp at all for that matter, on the headphone out of the PS4 controller?