[oopeteroo]

i was planning to buy the O2+ODAC Combo by nwavguy.
anyone know how it will sound compare fiio e10 (got e10 abd hd598 right now) ?
 
and what headphone i will buy for it ? HD598 or HD650 ?
 
listening mainly by laptop and c-pop, jpop, kpop, ballad, female voice...

 

 

[MattTCG]

The o2 should be considerably better than the e10. The e10 is sub $100 and used goes for about $50. Some compare the o2 to much more expensive amps. From what I have read the best match for the o2 would be the hd650's given your list.
 
gL!!

 

[ProjectDenz]

02 + ODAC should be much superior to the Fiio E10.

 

[hekeli]

Superior this superior that. Exaggerations should be kept in the high-end forum.

 
Soundwise you are not going hear much if any difference, but harder to drive headphones like HD650 need the power O2 has. If you have the money, go for it since it's the best bang for the buck.

 

[moodyrn]

So I take it you have listened to both the fiio and o2+o2dac combo to know that soundwise, he isn't going to hear much difference. And that the statement like it being superior to the fiio is an exaggeration?

 

[Matt head 777]

I don't know how these little fiio amps have the power, how many volts is the lithium battery in them? speaking generally they may have different batteries.
 

 

[Caesar56]

O2 is much more clean sounding than e10 and has much more power available.

 

[hekeli]

Fiio E10 does not have batteries, it's USB.
 
Yes I've compared Fiio E10 to O2 even with HE-500 which it ran "adequately". When you are second guessing if you heard a difference or not, there is nothing "superior" about that. At most you can say there are marginal differences which might or might not be worth the money.
 
Of course if you are experiencing noise from bad USB ports etc, cheaper stuff can pass it through. But it doesn't count unless it's happening.

 

[mikeaj]

Quote:

I don't know how these little fiio amps have the power, how many volts is the lithium battery in them? speaking generally they may have different batteries.

 
Some of the battery-powered FiiO amps use a charge pump to more or less generate a negative rail from the positive rail—this functionality is part of the output headphone driver chip they use.  Others do a DC-DC conversion to generate a negative rail (and also to generate a higher positive rail).  So the peak-to-peak voltage swing at the output is greater than the battery voltage.  In other words, just looking at the battery voltage may be misleading unless you know what's going on under the hood.
 
 
As mentioned above, E10 is USB powered.  But since it's capable of a little over 2.5V rms (sine wave) output so over 7V peak-to-peak, that is also greater than the +5V to 0V supplied by the USB bus; it's also doing DC-DC conversion I think.
 
 
 
The genres listed generally aren't mastered too quietly like some classical and some jazz recordings, particularly the pop.  Unless you listen extraordinarily loud, E10 is going to be perfectly capable running the HD 650, and of course the HD 598.  O2+ODAC are better on paper and can give you lower noise with ultra-sensitive IEMs and higher power for certain other headphones, but for the kind of headphones mentioned the E10 would handle itself just fine in comparison.  You can try listening for yourself, but if you don't have the opportunity and are budget conscious, I would advise sticking with the E10.

 

[Roykim]

Thanks for the advices above...I am waiting for my O2+ODAC which is on its trip to China...

 

[martinrajdl]

Has anyone tried e10 + O2 combo ? how does E10 compare to the ODAC ?  

 

[smpie]

@ hekeli
 
I ordered my first high end closed headphones the Beyerdynamic T5p a couple of weeks ago.
And i'm looking at an amp / dac to complement my headphone.
 
After reading an objective review about the FiiO E7 i opted to go for the FiiO E17.
If you want to read the review just google " objective review FiiO E7 USB DAC & Amp "
 
My second choice is the "EHP-O2D"From "http://epiphany-acoustics.co.uk " 
The JDS labs O2+ODAC combo is the same but the model from the UK has no customs hassle for me living in Netherlands EU.
 
there is a big price difference..
 
the FiiO E17 €139  $184
the EHP-O2D €222  $293
 
plus i like the option of treble and bass EQ on the E17..
But the EHP-O2D is compared to dacs/amps that cost 10times more .!

 

[kskwerl]

Quote:

The o2 should be considerably better than the e10. The e10 is sub $100 and used goes for about $50. Some compare the o2 to much more expensive amps. From what I have read the best match for the o2 would be the hd650's given your list.
 
gL!!

I've owned both, it's not even a comparison to be honest. Should be a very significant upgrade. Not to bash the e10, it's good for what it is and for the price. I'm also not an O2 fanboy either, if you were thinking that lol

 

[HamilcarBarca]

Quote:

Superior this superior that. Exaggerations should be kept in the high-end forum.

 
Soundwise you are not going hear much if any difference, but harder to drive headphones like HD650 need the power O2 has. If you have the money, go for it since it's the best bang for the buck.

 
This is almost exactly correct. In most cases, there isn't much difference between even the FiiO E5 and ODAC+O2. On the other hand, the E5 is perfectly capable of powering the HD-650. Contrary to widely spread rumors, nothing about the '650 makes it a noticeably difficult load.
 
My first choice of the three, by far, is the ODAC+O2. I just don't kid myself about it being "much superior."

 

[kishorfarm]

I own both the Fiio E10 "Olympus" and the Epiphany EHP-O2 (O2 + ODAC in the same enclosure). When connected to the HD598 I can't notice any perceptible difference. Maybe my hearing is not very sensitive but the truth is that thourgh several comparison tests with different genres I could not hear any difference.
 
I bought the O2+ODAC as an upgrade to the Fiio E10, and I wish the investment would have been a success, but unfortunately, at least for me, it was not.