[Kalai]

This is my first thread. I need help making my music listening experience good. I am going to purchase an MDR MA900 because style isn't important to me and I don't need outstanding build quality (because I am careful) BUT I do need great sound quality and imaging. I want to know if the Fiio EO7k will work good with an mdr ma900. I listen to my music with 256 Kbps, but all my music goes into windows media player on my windows 7 HP. Should I use something else besides windows media player?

So my current setup is mdr ma900 with fiio eo7k. 256 Kbps mp3. Windows 7 HP. Windows media player.

I won't change my headphone choice.

So yeah if u could list a better setup for me using those headphones that would be awesome.

My amp/dac budget is 100$ (I'm cheap)

Thanks!!!

 

[Spiral Out]

I think for your budget the Audioquest Dragonfly would be a good choice. The Version 1 sells for $99. It is both an Amp and DAC and gets a lot of praise.
 
As far as using windows media player goes I have never really liked it. It's a pain to use IMO. I would recommend Foobar if you are looking for a free player. It's not the prettiest in it's default form but is highly customizable and offers a wide range of plugins along with very good sound quality. JRiver is to me the best player offering all the features of Foobar with an almost perfect user interface. You can try it for free in it's full version for 30 days but cost $50 for the registered version.

 

[cel4145]

Audioquest Dragonfly would be a good choice

Also, for media players, try MusicBee. Very user friendly and free

 

[Kalai]

So I'm assuming the audio quest dragonfly is better than the fiio EO7k, correct? Are MusicBee and foobar the same when it comes to sound quality? What about iTunes, is that better than than foobar and music bee?

 

[Kalai]

And would I need to buy a cable with the dragon fly?

 

[Spiral Out]

So I'm assuming the audio quest dragonfly is better than the fiio EO7k, correct? Are MusicBee and foobar the same when it comes to sound quality? What about iTunes, is that better than than foobar and music bee?

If I had a choice between the E07K and the dragonfly I would definitely pick the dragonfly. The E07K would be a very good choice as an AMP/DAC for a  portable player, but I think the dragonfly will give you the most bang for your buck. The dragonfly used to sell $250 and got a lot of praise at that price point, recently it was knocked down to $100 and is a steal at that price.
 
As far as iTunes goes I have never liked using that either. You are limited to using Apples sound formats (ALAC,AIFF). I prefer FLAC as it is more widely available. I never liked the user interface on ITunes either.
 
 

And would I need to buy a cable with the dragon fly?

 
You don't need to by a cable but the USB extension that audioquest sells is recommended. I think it's called the dragontail. The dragonfly tends to get bent by having headphones plugged into it and from it's own weight. The dragontail solves that issue.

 

[Kalai]

Alright then! My setup will be...

Mdr Ma900

Dragon fly dac/amp

256 Kbps mp3 (maybe I'll upgrade to flac in the near future, there jus so hard to find)

MusicBee

Thanks very much for your time and knowledge. I can see this going SO well!!!

 

[cel4145]

Nice! Be sure to come back and share your impressions.

 

[kramer5150]

Nice! Be sure to come back and share your impressions.

x2...  that sounds like a great little setup!!

 

[Spiral Out]

Alright then! My setup will be...

Mdr Ma900

Dragon fly dac/amp

256 Kbps mp3 (maybe I'll upgrade to flac in the near future, there jus so hard to find)

MusicBee

Thanks very much for your time and knowledge. I can see this going SO well!!!

Awesome! I x3 the request for impressions. I'm interested to hear what you think of MusicBee as well. It sounds like an intriguing program.

 

[Kalai]

Yeah that might take awhile :/... I should have it by this month though!

 

[Kalai]

Okay remove what ive said from your heads O__o... I have changed my headphone choice and im going with ad900x . I found out I'm more of a portable guy. Can't wait!



Oh I and learned that iphone 4 has a great dac, and the only dac that's work with iPhones are the ones they allow to work (the most cheapest dac that works with iphone 4 is 200$+)

so my setup is ad900x and iphone 4.