[Sehnon]

Hi,

first time poster, long time lurker.

I'm new to the portable audiophile thing, I must admit a whole new world opened since I started reading your discussions here, thank you for hours of interesting reading. Up until recently, I simply didn't listen to music outside of my home stereo setup, the quality being too awful.

As to my question, I got Sennheiser Momentums some time ago and I also own Samsung Note 3 N9005.
I'm relatively happy with Momentums + rooted Note 3 with Viper4Android + Neutron Player, but can't help wondering if the sound quality couldn't be improved further. I'm used to better sounding equipment than this.

Question is, should I buy the E18 Kunlun to complement my phone or is getting X3 a better idea?
I chose E18 and X3 based on what I read on this forum, once again - thank you all.
I wouldn't mind getting off the FiOO road if something at a similar price was suggested.

I like the idea of flexibility in using phone + amp/dac and the fact that I won't have to be caring yet another device ( I'm carrying 2 phones already) but if the audio quality of X3 was suggested as significantly better I'd have no problem with that. Hopefully someone herer has the expertise of having tried both approaches...

 

[JamesFiiO]

E18 better than X3 in sound quality, but loss in the features. anyway, we don't suggest use X3 as DAC with Note3 cause it is not a practical combo and X3 will consume a lots of power from your Note3. 

 

[Sehnon]

Thank you for your reply. I was thinking about using X3 as a stand-alone device. 
Sound quality for a reasonable price is all that matters to me, so I guess I'll order E18.

 

[Chickamauga]

Thank you for your reply. I was thinking about using X3 as a stand-alone device. 
Sound quality for a reasonable price is all that matters to me, so I guess I'll order E18.

I have an S3 and have been thinking about the E18. You'll have to tell me how it works out for you. Because despite being an android DAC/Amp there isn't many people in the community that uses phones for portable high quality audio. Everyone is still on the ipod classic train. And that's fine. That's what most everything is made to be compatible with. This Android idea by the companies is relatively new and there isn't a whole lot to go on in the forum or YouTube. And I don't want to just go blindly spend money. So I'd be very interested in hearing your thoughts on the E18 paired with the note three. Also I've heard some DACs have trouble with neutron. Have you tried power amp?

 

[Solrighal]

I have an SGN3/E18 combo. It sounds do fantastic when using Neutron as the player. If anyone's got any questions please feel free to ask.

 

[Chickamauga]

I have an SGN3/E18 combo. It sounds do fantastic when using Neutron as the player. If anyone's got any questions please feel free to ask.

Ahhh Yes, finally! It's obviously capable of bypassing the phones internal DAC and amp. But is it serving as a replacement for both of those components at the same time? It might be a dumb question. And I'm pretty sure I already know the answer. But I'm asking just based on confirmations sake. As it seems pretty remarkable of the capability in such a small form factor.

 

[Solrighal]

Yes, you're quite correct. When connected via the supplied USB OTG cable the phone's internal DAC (and consequently, amp) is bypassed. I have a European SGN3 which uses the Exynos chip so this is a good thing.

The sound is quite honestly fantastic! However...

The whole kit is far too big to be considered truly portable, in my opinion. I could actually use it in self-defence. On the other hand, if you live in a cold climate where you might be wearing something with large pockets then it's workable. If you're only intending for it to be transportable (to a workplace for instance) then, again, it will work well.

The E18 can be used as an amp only of course, but doing so removes the benefit of the great DAC.

 

[Chickamauga]

Yes, you're quite correct. When connected via the supplied USB OTG cable the phone's internal DAC (and consequently, amp) is bypassed. I have a European SGN3 which uses the Exynos chip so this is a good thing.

The sound is quite honestly fantastic! However...

The whole kit is far too big to be considered truly portable, in my opinion. I could actually use it in self-defence. On the other hand, if you live in a cold climate where you might be wearing something with large pockets then it's workable. If you're only intending for it to be transportable (to a workplace for instance) then, again, it will work well.

The E18 can be used as an amp only of course, but doing so removes the benefit of the great DAC.

I have come across people in this forum with a three component stack that's nearing half a foot thick and they're considering that portable. Maybe in a broken down state. But there's no way you're sliding that in your jeans. With the S3+E18 stack its only around 25mm. That's no problem in my book. Now confirming that it meets all the needs that I'm looking for, how exactly does it improve the sound quality of a headphone that takes around the same amount of energy to power sufficiently as a pair of ATH-M50's?

 

[Solrighal]

Just to clear something up - What do you mean when you say "S3"? I ask because Samsung made a phone called the S3 whereas the Note 3 is more accurately abbreviated as 'SGN3'.

If you're referring to the Note 3 then it's not so much the amp that's important as the DAC which is excellent in the E18. The M50's,from what I've read (never heard them myself), don't really need an amp. The amp is just the icing on the cake. The E18 DAC brings much more of, well, everything really.

 

[Chickamauga]

Just to clear something up - What do you mean when you say "S3"? I ask because Samsung made a phone called the S3 whereas the Note 3 is more accurately abbreviated as 'SGN3'.

If you're referring to the Note 3 then it's not so much the amp that's important as the DAC which is excellent in the E18. The M50's,from what I've read (never heard them myself), don't really need an amp. The amp is just the icing on the cake. The E18 DAC brings much more of, well, everything really.

It's a Samsung galaxy S. The third version. So S3.

 

[Solrighal]

Ah, then that might be different. I'm sure I've read of people using them together but I'm afraid I have no personal experience which would allow me to say definitively that they'll work. Sorry.