[InHartWeTrust]

The E17 is not enough for either of those.

 
I could just get the Phillip's X1's with no amp, would that be my simplest option?  That would be $250, the same as the DT990's + a $100 amp.
 
That would hold me over longer and I could eventually add an amp down the road if I felt I needed to.  From Envy's review, it sounds like this would be my best set up if going ampless in the beginning.  I would pair with the Sound Blaster Z sound card.
 
If this sound good to you Envy, I will be ordering tonight.

 

[retiredat21]

Schiit Modi is USB only so if you wanted a better DAC than the one built into the U3 you'd have to get a different one from the Modi, one that accepts toslink. You could use the Vali with the U3 without issue. The Vali is a very capable amp for higher impedance headphones. I'd recommend the Magni with more sensitive ones. I have owned both, both are good at what they do.

so do you think the vali and the u3 be enough to make the fidelio x1 sound good? Or is the dac/amp combo of the e17 + u3 be better?

 

[retiredat21]

Also can you answer this one question please any of you so i could just press checkout and be done with it... Do i need any other cables besides the ones included in the fiio e17 and the xonar u3 in order to use the spdif in and out? Thanks!

 

[AxelCloris]

I've never heard the E17 so I can't pass judgement on it. And while I've never heard the two together, there has been mention in the Vali thread that it pairs well with the X1 even though the X1 is only 30 ohm.
 
With the E17/U3 combo you'd also need a toslink cable. The U3 and E17 both come with toslink adapters but not the cable itself.

 

[TooManyHobbies]

edit: whoops

 

[TooManyHobbies]

Sorry. Didn't realize I was quoting an old page disregard that response. Lol

 

[retiredat21]

I've never heard the E17 so I can't pass judgement on it. And while I've never heard the two together, there has been mention in the Vali thread that it pairs well with the X1 even though the X1 is only 30 ohm.

With the E17/U3 combo you'd also need a toslink cable. The U3 and E17 both come with toslink adapters but not the cable itself.

thanks for the response bro..ordered the mediabridge toslink i hope thats good enough.. im going to check how this setup will perform for gaming and movies.. maybe get the schiit combo next month..

 

[AxelCloris]

thanks for the response bro..ordered the mediabridge toslink i hope thats good enough.. im going to check how this setup will perform for gaming and movies.. maybe get the schiit combo next month..

 
Nope, not good enough. You need a $160 toslink cable. I kid, of course. The mediabridge should serve you well. Unless you have top of the line components throughout your system then you're fine using reasonably priced cables. I like the mini Schiit stacks and the Modi is a great upgrade to most sound cards. But you won't be using the Modi with the U3. You could always use the Modi for music, the U3/E17 dac for gaming, and a Schiit amp to run the headphones. A source selector will help greatly in that setup if you don't want to change wires often.

 

[retiredat21]

My god you got me nervous for a second there hahaha.. thanks for the suggestion about the schiit products (lol). probably going to be working my way up from there.Searching for the best sound is such a pain in the wallet and the mind x_x

 

[AxelCloris]

My god you got me nervous for a second there hahaha.. thanks for the suggestion about the schiit products (lol). probably going to be working my way up from there.Searching for the best sound is such a pain in the wallet and the mind x_x

 
Schiit is a great place to start. I love the company and what they do. And yes searching for your best sound may take a while and certainly a toll on your pocket. Just ask MattTCG, he's gone through a crazy amount of gear and we've both been here about the same amount of time. But hey, the baby Schiits may be all you ever need.

 

[Milhouse74]

So I guess I need some help/advice. Moved my 360 and decided I wanted to get headphones since it's in my living room with no surround sound. Tried the Turtle Beach xp510's. Wasn't impressed. The surround and position was good but the sound wasn't. Bought the Astro A40's mostly to try out the mixamp to use with my own headphones, Vmoda M100's. Tried it out last night with COD. Sound quality overall was great, the positional sound wasn't good in my opinion. Is it an issue with those headphones? I will take a look at my set up tonight, but I'm not sure that's the issue. I will try the A40 phones as well to see a comparison. Should I go with different headphones? I went with the mixamp because I figure I won't get good sound quality from most console headphones. I see people using amps too with the mixamp. I have a Fiio E11 too would that make a difference and if so, how do you guys have it hooked up?

So if the M100's aren't going to work for positional audio, what headphones would be recommended. X1's? I want good sound but really I want to hear that positional audio effect. Really just gaming on the 360 with the mixamp. If they're good enough, I might listen to music on my iPhone with the E11.....I do like my M100's for that. Fun headphones

 

[retiredat21]

   
Schiit is a great place to start. I love the company and what they do. And yes searching for your best sound may take a while and certainly a toll on your pocket. Just ask MattTCG, he's gone through a crazy amount of gear and we've both been here about the same amount of time. But hey, the baby Schiits may be all you ever need.

I really hope that the schiits would satisfy my needs (makes me smile whenever i type that lol) ... because if I get that audiophile disease, i wont be able to afford a house anytime soon..

 

[InHartWeTrust]

   
I could just get the Phillip's X1's with no amp, would that be my simplest option?  That would be $250, the same as the DT990's + a $100 amp.
 
That would hold me over longer and I could eventually add an amp down the road if I felt I needed to.  From Envy's review, it sounds like this would be my best set up if going ampless in the beginning.  I would pair with the Sound Blaster Z sound card.
 
If this sound good to you Envy, I will be ordering tonight.

 
Anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

[1llest]

   
Anyone have any thoughts on this?

 
I thought the X1 sounded good from just an iPhone, It also sounded good from my Titanium HD but obviously a good amp will be better.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

X1 off the E17 sounds swell. It does sound tighter and sharper with a desktop amp though. Going from the E17 to the Compass 2 tightened verything up, and made the bass more bearable for my mid bass sensitive ears.