[jbaranski]

I've only ever had a $40 pair of Sony MDR-XB40EX and the Bose AE1, so it was a nice upgrade when I purchased the ATH-M50 (after a deal of research).  So the past week (since I got em) I've been upgrading my tunes (from 128 VBR-AAC) to as high as I can fit on my iPod Touch 4g.  So I'm looking in to DAC's, Amps and the like, but I'm REALLY lost at the moment, since I don't really know where to start to learn about this stuff.  Right now I simply plug the M50s into the iPod and I have the FiiO D3 for my PC, but that was just to simplify and clean up the signal.
 
Yeah, I barely know what I'm talking about here, so a point in the right direction would be great, or offer some advice if you wish, that'd be fantastic.  This is my first time posting here, since I joined today, so please be gentle.  

 

[ZARIM]

The AMPs/DAC can improve the sound quality of your iPod and PC but we need to know your budget and prefference.

 

[jbaranski]

Well, what caught my eye was the E7 and then eventually the E9.  The E9 is definitely more long-term, so the $100 or so that I'd spend purchasing the E7 is my limit.
 
Edit: I'm not sure how you mean preference.  If you mean cosmetics or necessary functions, I guess it depends.  I'm rather flexible, but I do like what the E7 offers, I just don't know what else is out there, nor do I have the requisite knowledge for making an educated decision.  That's why I need to figure out where to look to start learning.
Quote:

The AMPs/DAC can improve the sound quality of your iPod and PC but we need to know your budget and prefference.

 

 

[ZARIM]

I think you choose the right combo, one(E7) can use with iPod and it also can dock on E9 for as desktop AMPs/DAC use (the other portable AMPs/DAC Nuforce Icon Mobile).

 

[Dojomoto]

I think we really need more info from you to help you.
 
Do you have many music files (mp3s, FLACS, ???) on the PC?
Is your preference to listen to your library from the PC?
If so, maybe the E9 is what would be most useful to you. You already have a DAC in the D3 so all you would need is the E9.
 
If you are looking for PORTABLE advice (which, I am assuming, since thie IS the Portable Source Gear Forum after all) then the E7 would probably be better. The only thing is you will be duplicating the DAC since you already have the D3.
 
If you are looking for an affordable,portable amp, and I see a trend with the FIIO line for you, then maybe save some money and get the E11 which has plenty of power for most portable headphones. Grab a line out dock though for the iPod to help improve the sound coming out of your iPod.
 
Just let us know more about what your goal is, and folks here can more easily give you good advice.

 

[jbaranski]

I listen to music on my PC, iPod, Android phone (through Google Music beta/grooveshark since it's convenient), but mostly the first two.  I try and take care when acquiring music, as my prefered format is FLAC for PC listening and a high-bitrate AAC such as 256 VBR for my iPod.  I know some will claim 320 is the only lossy bitrate I should use, but 256 has always seemed like enough and it takes up less space on my iPod.
 
ANYWAY, I do a lot of listening outside of the house, so portable is best, which is why I did post in this forum specifically.
 
And, correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't an external DAC, such as the FiiO E7, perform better than my iPod's?  Why are you suggesting the E11 which is, to my understanding, just an amp?
 
I don't mind having a spare DAC laying around anyway, and I already have a few ideas where it could actually be useful, so that's not a concern.
 
BOTTOM LINE: I don't care about any particular brand, the FiiO brand just caught my eye because it has some good reviews on Amazon which has been my one-stop-shop for years online.  If there are other options, I'm open to hearing them.  From what I'm reading here, though, it does seem to be somewhat of a unique device in its price range, so perhaps it's sorta one of a kind.
 
And THANK you for getting back to me about this.  I can't tell you how many forums I've joined and never got responses from when I asked questions.

 

[benv]

Well, the FiiO E7 will act as a DAC when connected to your PC via USB; however, when connecting your iPod to the E7 through a LOD (line out dock), the signal is downstream of the iPod's internal DAC. From what I understand, FiiO hasn't acquired the necessary licenses from Apple to develop an LOD that would extract the digital signal from the iPod. In short, the E7 will only act as an amplifier when connected to an iDevice (for the foreseeable future).

 

[scuttle]

Quote:

Well, the FiiO E7 will act as a DAC when connected to your PC via USB; however, when connecting your iPod to the E7 through a LOD (line out dock), the signal is downstream of the iPod's internal DAC. From what I understand, FiiO hasn't acquired the necessary licenses from Apple to develop an LOD that would extract the digital signal from the iPod. In short, the E7 will only act as an amplifier when connected to an iDevice (for the foreseeable future).

I thought that a lineout adaptor cable would fix this? Like http://headphones.com.au/psingle?productID=371 Failing that, aren't there various mods?

 

[ZARIM]

Quote:

I listen to music on my PC, iPod, Android phone (through Google Music beta/grooveshark since it's convenient), but mostly the first two.  I try and take care when acquiring music, as my prefered format is FLAC for PC listening and a high-bitrate AAC such as 256 VBR for my iPod.  I know some will claim 320 is the only lossy bitrate I should use, but 256 has always seemed like enough and it takes up less space on my iPod.
 
ANYWAY, I do a lot of listening outside of the house, so portable is best, which is why I did post in this forum specifically.
 
And, correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't an external DAC, such as the FiiO E7, perform better than my iPod's?  Why are you suggesting the E11 which is, to my understanding, just an amp?
 
I don't mind having a spare DAC laying around anyway, and I already have a few ideas where it could actually be useful, so that's not a concern.
 
BOTTOM LINE: I don't care about any particular brand, the FiiO brand just caught my eye because it has some good reviews on Amazon which has been my one-stop-shop for years online.  If there are other options, I'm open to hearing them.  From what I'm reading here, though, it does seem to be somewhat of a unique device in its price range, so perhaps it's sorta one of a kind.
 
And THANK you for getting back to me about this.  I can't tell you how many forums I've joined and never got responses from when I asked questions.

The real benifit of E7+E9 combo is they work together as DAC/AMPs for desktop use and E7 canbe use with iPod as external AMPs for better, cleaner sound quality. The E7 alone work with PC as AMPs/DAC but it's not powerful enough to drive high impedance headphones and E9 work as an AMPs only.
 
 

 

[jbaranski]

What exactly is a high impedance headphone?  I honestly doubt I'll have one anytime soon, and if I did, I'd have the money to replace the E7, and it'd probably be out-of-date by then anyway.
 
Quote:

The real benifit of E7+E9 combo is they work together as DAC/AMPs for desktop use and E7 canbe use with iPod as external AMPs for better, cleaner sound quality. The E7 alone work with PC as AMPs/DAC but it's not powerful enough to drive high impedance headphones and E9 work as an AMPs only.
 
 

 

 

[jbaranski]

Yeah, he suggested a lineout adapter, or "dock".  FiiO sells a basic one for a lot less than that one.  That's serious high end stuff there. 
 
Quote:

I thought that a lineout adaptor cable would fix this? Like http://headphones.com.au/psingle?productID=371 Failing that, aren't there various mods?

 

 

[jbaranski]

I would love to see an LOD that could extract the signal, and I take it you don't know of one, or you probably would have mentioned it.  Either way, I've heard great things about using an amp, so that's what I'll be doing.  I guess I probably could have just bought it and not worried too much, because this device gets great reviews for its price.
 
Thanks for the insight, by the way.
 
Quote:

Well, the FiiO E7 will act as a DAC when connected to your PC via USB; however, when connecting your iPod to the E7 through a LOD (line out dock), the signal is downstream of the iPod's internal DAC. From what I understand, FiiO hasn't acquired the necessary licenses from Apple to develop an LOD that would extract the digital signal from the iPod. In short, the E7 will only act as an amplifier when connected to an iDevice (for the foreseeable future).

 

 

[Brooko]

You're talking serious cash if you want to take a true lineout from an ipod to a dac/amp (ie bypassing the ipod dac).  To do this you'd need something like the Algorythm Solo.  Here's a couple of links in case you're interested ....
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/497384/cypher-labs-algorhythm-solo
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/549750/cypher-labs-algorhythm-solo-discussion-and-impressions-thread
 
Unless you have headphones that can justify it (and the M50 are good - but they're only entry level) then IMO a CLAS or similar is simply not worth it.  The sound out of the iPhone 4 and Ipod Touch 4 is  actually pretty good.  I have both - and I have compared them to a Cowon iAudio7 and J3 (I preferred the Touch - others will prefer the Cowons - it's subjective).
 
Your M50's don't need amping - but if you want a cheap entry portable amp (so you can see the difference for yourself) - assuming you in the US? - go to Micca - have a look at the E11 amp + L9 LOD.  That'll give you a taste, and won't break the bank.

 

[jbaranski]

Thanks for the links, I've bookmarked them for future reference, but you are correct, I don't really need them now.  
 
By the way...it says it can handle 300 ohms.  There's no trick to that, correct?  Because I just found a pair of IEMs that use 150 ohms.
 
Oh how exciting, haha.
 
Quote:

You're talking serious cash if you want to take a true lineout from an ipod to a dac/amp (ie bypassing the ipod dac).  To do this you'd need something like the Algorythm Solo.  Here's a couple of links in case you're interested ....
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/497384/cypher-labs-algorhythm-solo
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/549750/cypher-labs-algorhythm-solo-discussion-and-impressions-thread
 
Unless you have headphones that can justify it (and the M50 are good - but they're only entry level) then IMO a CLAS or similar is simply not worth it.  The sound out of the iPhone 4 and Ipod Touch 4 is  actually pretty good.  I have both - and I have compared them to a Cowon iAudio7 and J3 (I preferred the Touch - others will prefer the Cowons - it's subjective).
 
Your M50's don't need amping - but if you want a cheap entry portable amp (so you can see the difference for yourself) - assuming you in the US? - go to Micca - have a look at the E11 amp + L9 LOD.  That'll give you a taste, and won't break the bank.

 

 

[Brooko]

The E11 should be able to - I've heard of it driving HD600's (they are 300 ohm).
 
Again though - I'm assuming you only want this for portable right?  With your current M50s - you don't need amplification.  If you want to try an amp anyway - that's up to you.  Don't expect a night and day difference.  Any differences will be subtle.
 
And personally I wouldn't run the E11 in line with your D3 for desktop use (for a start the E11 is battery only - and when plugged in charging, it will not work).
 
The E11 is for portable (amp only)
The E7 can be portable (amp). portable for laptop (DAC/AMP), and non-portable for desktop (DAC/AMP)
The E9 is amp only - desktop
 
IMO best desktop Fiio set-up at the moment is E7/E9 (or E17/E9 when it is released).
 
For your needs - I'd get the E11 if you really "must have something" - but then stop and evaluate.  Go higher end once you have an actual need to - ie once you upgrade your cans.