[fatman598]

I'm new to this forum and new to the world of amps and headphones. I am planning on getting the Denon D2000's and heard that an amp is needed tomake it shine. I mostly listen to Hip hop, Rap, Reggae, and was looking for an amp to go with my iPod Classic 7th Gen. I was hoping that the amp would be portable and easy to carry around in my pocket. So i did some research and came across the Fiio e7 and the Nuforce Icon Mobile. they both look nice, but i was wondering which amp would fit best for the Denon's and not kill my wallet (under $100)?
 
 
 

 

[s0lar]

Icon Mobile is brighter sounding, Fiio E7 is warmer sounding.
The DAC in the Icon Mobile is supposed to be a tiny bit better.
I would go for the E7 though, a warm sound is mostly a better combination even with a warm headphone/IEM.

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

The DAC in the Icon Mobile is supposed to be a tiny bit better.

Forgot about the detail about it, but I don't really think the DAC in Icon Mobile is better than the WM8740 in E7. It is the basic PCM270x chip IIRC.
 
 

 

[s0lar]

Quote:

Forgot about the detail about it, but I don't really think the DAC in Icon Mobile is better than the WM8740 in E7. It is the basic PCM270x chip IIRC.
 
 

I read somewhere in a comparison that one reviewer found the DAC to be a tiny bit better than the one in the E7, but that does not prove anything and if there are differences in quality they will be very small. The topic starter also cares more about the amp and could not even know or care that both the devices he asks about have a DAC as well.
 
Are the E7 of Icon Mobile your only candidates? What's your budget and what kind of sound signature and/or specs do you care about?
Battery,size,...
 

 

[ClieOS]

E7 also has the PCM270x chip, but it only handles the USB data transfer since WM8740 doesn't do USB by itself. I have quite a few PCM270x based DAC and the universal feeling I got from them is they are almost always warmer sounding than Wolfson chip. I would imagine this is why some might perceive the colder sounding WM8740 as tinny. Even the best PCM270x implementation I even listen to (DAC section on 3MOVE) still falls a little behind compared to a PCM270x + WM8740 setup (I have two different DAC of this) when it comes to detail retrieval. Of course I am comparing mainly on spec and hardware limits here, not the actual performance since I never compared them both in the same room before. But I do remember Mark (mark2410) have them both and wrote a review on E7 comparing both. You could ask him about it.

 

[s0lar]

That is the review I saw, and it seems I was mistaken and that mark found the E7's DAC to be a little bit better and not the other way around.
Of course all this is concerning the DAC and that's just a bonus for most people.

 
Quote:

E7 also has the PCM270x chip, but it only handles the USB data transfer since WM8740 doesn't do USB by itself. I have quite a few PCM270x based DAC and the universal feeling I got from them is they are almost always warmer sounding than Wolfson chip. I would imagine this is why some might perceive the colder sounding WM8740 as tinny. Even the best PCM270x implementation I even listen to (DAC section on 3MOVE) still falls a little behind compared to a PCM270x + WM8740 setup (I have two different DAC of this) when it comes to detail retrieval. Of course I am comparing mainly on spec and hardware limits here, not the actual performance since I never compared them both in the same room before. But I do remember Mark (mark2410) have them both and wrote a review on E7 comparing both. You could ask him about it.

 

 

[fatman598]

Well, i was just looking for an amp that's under $100 and can power the denon d2000. something that is good for listening to hip hop, rnb, and reggae and like i said, im new to these kinds of things, so i dont know what to look for.

 

[desertblues]

I have both the Icon Mobile and the E7, they both work quite well but there are some significant differences. Soundwise, I find the Icon to be somewhat brighter - the E7 is definitely warmer sounding and has a bigger soundstage (also has the 3 bass settings). I do believe the Wolfson is a better dac. The E7 is much better in terms of the build quality which does matter if you are going to carry it around in your pocket. Then there's the battery - you get 13 hours with a fully charged Icon, around 80 with the Fiio. I do like the Icon but the E7 gives you a lot more bang for the buck, and you can dock it in the E9 which is an awesome desktop amp! 

 

[fatman598]

i think that i am just going to go with the FiiO E7.
also, Do i need to get the L3 to make it work on my ipod

 

[jamess71]

 
Quote:

i think that i am just going to go with the FiiO E7.
also, Do i need to get the L3 to make it work on my ipod

Well you could use it with just a mini to mini connection from the headphone out to the E7. That would not be the best sound option. You definitely want to get the L3 or any other ipod line out dock. This will give you the best sound out of your iPod with this setup.
 
If you want to add a dock that will give you digital out thats another story and a much bigger step up in SQ. ie. the pure i20.

 

[MorbidToaster]

Buy the E7. I've owned both and the Icon Mobile is just...awful. I wanted to like it but the build quality just completely turned me off.

I've loved my time with the E7 (even though I am now selling it).

 

[HesterDW]

The E7 is great with the D2000s. Separates the highs, mids, and lows. And my Denons can finally hit a low note without the treble disappearing into the background.

 

[Moonboy242]

Quote:

i think that i am just going to go with the FiiO E7.
also, Do i need to get the L3 to make it work on my ipod

 
You don't need an L3 (or any Line Out Dock - LOD) to use the E7 with your iPod. It comes with a 3.5 to 3.5 cable for input to the amp from your iPod headphone jack. You should want an LOD for better performance. The LOD reduces the amount of iPod battery you will use (it's a small savings that helps in the long run). Most important though are the facts that the LOD bypasses the iPod onboard amp and makes your E7 do the sound work, while also providing a much cleaner signal directly to your E7. The result is better sound quality from your iPod (lossless codecs like FLAC will boost this even further).
 
Something else to consider: The iPod dock is on the bottom, while the headphone jacks on the E7 are on top and the line in is also on the bottom.

I would go for the L9 LOD (http://www.fiio.com.cn/product/index.aspx?MenuID=020303). I have the L3 and the L9. The benefit of the L9 is that the cable runs out of the side of the dock connector thus allowing you to put your iPod and the E7 in your pocket dock side down without bending or crimping the cable (unlike the L3 which crimps) while allowing you to have your expensive headphone cables running directly up to your cans.
 
Food for thought.