[Flounderman]

 
Hello, I've been browsing for two weeks and found this site extremely helpful. You guys have a very good community here and I'm happy it exists. So I'm hoping to get some help on portable headphone amps. 
 
My current setup is a 160 gig ipod classic with sennheiser 380 pro headphones,  a fiio line out cable and a fiio e5. I got the fiio amp for 10 bucks and the headphones for 78 when they're normally 200 so forgive me if I didn't choose better stuff. But now I feel like shelling out some money for a better portable amp.
 
 
I've been browsing and there are two I'm interested in for my price range. The PA2V2 and the fiio e7 usb dac . THe PA2V2 seems to have a lot of good reviews on this site and you can get it for a really good price compared to other things which is good for how good of quality it is. And I like the usb dac thing on the fiio e7, but it costs more and I'd have to wait a while till I have some extra money to shell out for it. So my question is this, which one is better? Are there better things in this price range? Thanks for reading my tl;dr post, I value your opinions.
 

 

[Ace o' Spades]

I'd say only get the e7 if you can make good use of the DAC feature. It's a fantastic little amp/DAC combo for the money but if you aren't going to be plugging it into a computer regularly there's no point in paying extra for that feature.

 

[Brooko]

Quote:

I'd say only get the e7 if you can make good use of the DAC feature. It's a fantastic little amp/DAC combo for the money but if you aren't going to be plugging it into a computer regularly there's no point in paying extra for that feature.

+1
 
I have both the E7 and the E11.  If it's only for portable use, consider the E11 instead - smaller, and more powerful.  It's on the warm side - but IMO is a very good little amp - especially for it's price point.
 
If you're also likely to use it a lot for a PC/laptop - then the E7 is more versatile (with it's dac).  The E7 really comes into it's own when it's paired with the E9 for a PC.
 
But as you specified mainly iPod - your choices might be better looking at pa2v2 vs E11 vs Cmoy.
 
Here's a link that might help:
 
http://www.headfonia.com/music-on-a-budget-sub-100-portable-amps-shootout/
 
 

 

[calipilot227]

The PA2V2 is a much better amp than the E7, and it pairs very well with my HD280s (haven't heard the 380s). Also, it has adjustable gain and can drive some very power-hungry headphones like the HD600 quite adequately.
 
If you need a DAC, I would suggest the Headroom Total Bithead as it has a much better amplifier than the E7 (along with a built-in DAC).

 

[Flounderman]

Quote:

The PA2V2 is a much better amp than the E7, and it pairs very well with my HD280s (haven't heard the 380s). Also, it has adjustable gain and can drive some very power-hungry headphones like the HD600 quite adequately.
 
If you need a DAC, I would suggest the Headroom Total Bithead as it has a much better amplifier than the E7 (along with a built-in DAC).

That total bithead looks nice, I'd like a DAC for my computer listening, which I do a lot of, but it's 150 dollars so it's a bit out of my price range. Maybe someday.
 

 
Quote:

+1
 
I have both the E7 and the E11.  If it's only for portable use, consider the E11 instead - smaller, and more powerful.  It's on the warm side - but IMO is a very good little amp - especially for it's price point.
 
If you're also likely to use it a lot for a PC/laptop - then the E7 is more versatile (with it's dac).  The E7 really comes into it's own when it's paired with the E9 for a PC.
 
But as you specified mainly iPod - your choices might be better looking at pa2v2 vs E11 vs Cmoy.
 
Here's a link that might help:
 
 

 

Hmm, the cmoy has the most spacious sound which I like. But this article claims the PA2V2 is better for more fast paced and aggresive music. I listen to a lot of industrial, punk, alternative, and chiptune. Would the PA2V2 be better for this kind of stuff?
 

 

[calipilot227]

You can sometimes find the Bithead used for under $100. I picked up one for $90 a couple weeks ago.