[JYabbz]

Hi new member to the head-fi community and audiophile world. Have been lurking for the past month and already bought some great beginner gear and starting to appreciate better sound quality from my new cans. A little background to some of the genres of music I listen to EDM, Rock, Classic Rock, Top 40, Pop, Indie Rock, Alternative. Picked up some great stuff on sale/clearance like the Koss Portopro , Koss Pro DJ100, and the V-Moda M-80. But my first big purchase was the ATH-M50S (straight cable) and have enjoyed them for the price I bought them @ $115, not amazing but great for the price. I also picked up the Shure SE215 IEM which are my favorite IEM at the moment and the interchangeable foam tips and isolation are a plus over the stock $10 earbuds I'm used to. Finally I placed an order on the Grado SR225i because of the glowing reviews on the site regarding the headphones and can't wait to listen to them in the future. I'm pretty sure this is a good time to stop spending and focus on enjoying the sound coming out of all my headphones. But in the future I would like to pick up a headphone for the EDM, Hip-Hop/Rap, R&B genre and I am looking @ the V-Moda M-100 as I thoroughly enjoy my Radio Shack V-Moda M-80 albeit the annoying pressure on on-ear headphones. I also really want to to try out the Sennheiser HD 598 to compliment the SR225i plus the popularity of the headphones and stylish design really piqued my interest.
 
My question is whether the V-Moda M-100 and the Sennheiser HD 598 would be too redundant with my headphone collection? (Koss Portopro, Koss Pro DJ100, M-80, ATH-M50S, SR225i)
 
Second is what type of portable amp do you recommend with my current set up? I was looking into the Fiio E17 as it would be nice for portable and laptop use, plus they usually go for around $100 used on the sales forum. If not can you recommend me something better under $150 (ConUS) that can be both portable and laptop use?
 
Third, how would the Fiio E17 handle the DT880 (250 ohm), AKG Q701, or the HE-400? Just in case I decide to upgrade in the future, would it be able to drive the headphones adequately?
 
Source: 30GB iPod Video 5.5 - usually 256kbps AAC (I couldn't tell the difference between ALAC files, sound wise so I decided to save the space)
 
Thanks for your time.

 

[liquidzoo]

Not sure about the DT880 or HE-400 (but apparently it works very well according to at least 1 user), but the E17 is a solid portable DAC/AMP.  I own one (along with the E09K dock) and it works really well for both portable and desktop use.

 

[rubinstein]

E17 can drive HE 400.
But I would suggest you to consider something like modi/magni or Audiogd 15.32, before buying E17

 

[liquidzoo]

  E17 can drive HE 400.
But I would suggest you to consider something like modi/magni or Audiogd 15.32, before buying E17

Neither will help the OPs requirement of portability, though.

 

[rubinstein]

  Neither will help the OPs requirement of portability, though.

I answered for this question, Third, how would the Fiio E17 handle the DT880 (250 ohm), AKG Q701, or the HE-400? Just in case I decide to upgrade in the future, would it be able to drive the headphones adequately?

 

[JYabbz]

The third question is not really that high of a priority for me as most of my headphones right now and the M-100 and HD 598 have low impedance. I was just curious if the E17 was able to adequately power those 3 headphones that was also portable so I can kinda kill 2 birds with 1 stone. But mostly I am just looking for a portable Amp & DAC combo with home capability that was cheap enough to power my current cans and M-100 and HD 598 for under $200.
 
Anyone know if the E17 would be able to give my current cans along with the M-100 and HD 598 better sound quality or if there were different alternatives for under $200?
 
Any thoughts on my current cans? Also if the M-100 and HD 598 would add another sound signature than the ones I already have?
 
Sorry for the confusion guys, don't want to start an argument here.
 
 
 
 

 

[liquidzoo]

E17 will be fine for your needs.

 

[JYabbz]

  E17 can drive HE 400.
But I would suggest you to consider something like modi/magni or Audiogd 15.32, before buying E17

 
How is the Modi/Magni? I just checked the $200 price tag and it piqued my interest for a future purchase for a desktop amp. Would it be able to power up headphones from the 32-600 ohm? Also thoughts on the O2 + ODAC combo amp?
 
Appreciate the recommendation.