[Ken176]

I originally auditioned the SONY MDR V-6s at Guitar Center plugged into their rack setup.... I was very impressed! The Sony's were flat for the most part, which I liked. What impressed me the most was how powerfull they sounded, along with their controlled bass. I have a newer laptop with a Realtek HD soundcard, Fiio E17 DAC along running my V-6s...but I find myself wanting so much MORE! The E17 is nothing compared to my original listening experience at guitar center. If I'm not mistaken..the E17 is putting out about .25 watts to my 63ohm V6's capable of 1 watt. Any amp suggestions on how I can get the power full, authoritative, controlled sound I am after? Open to ALL suggestion! Thank you in advance.

 

[DJ McFinnigan]

This all depends on what you are willing to spend. The obvious choice is to get the Fiio E9 but like I said, budget is always the defining factor.
 

 

[delusionist]

I originally auditioned the SONY MDR V-6s at Guitar Center plugged into their rack setup.... I was very impressed! The Sony's were flat for the most part, which I liked. What impressed me the most was how powerfull they sounded, along with their controlled bass. I have a newer laptop with a Realtek HD soundcard, Fiio E17 DAC along running my V-6s...but I find myself wanting so much MORE! The E17 is nothing compared to my original listening experience at guitar center. If I'm not mistaken..the E17 is putting out about .25 watts to my 63ohm V6's capable of 1 watt. Any amp suggestions on how I can get the power full, authoritative, controlled sound I am after? Open to ALL suggestion! Thank you in advance.

The E17 should have more than enough power. When you auditioned it at guitar center was they noticeably much more bassier?

That could be due to a high impedance source being used at guitar center.

 

[shadow419]

The Sony MDR-V6 need 0.05mW to hit 90 dBSPL as measured by Tyll at Innerfidelity.  http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SonyMDRV6.pdf
 
The E17 claims to output 250 mW into 16Ω and 30mW into 300Ω.
 
You may not like how your headphones sound with the E17, and the max power capacity of the V6 before the voice coil is in danger of frying is 1W.  This doesn't mean that you need 1W of power for the headphones to sound good. 
 
Have you tried adjusting the gain on the E17?  The Realtek motherboard soundchips often output a weaker signal than other dedicated DAC's.

 

[staticfi]

I've been listening to this combo lately and it sounds fine to me with plenty of juice on the 0dB setting. Maybe it is your soundcard because you shouldn't need more gain.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Could the Guitar Center have been using higher quality audio files and a high end DAC to demo the MDR-V6s?
Maybe the demo MDR-V6s were well broken in your using the a new MDR-V6.
Try using Foobar to play audio files.
Check all audio setting in your laptop.
 
I would assume the Fiio E17 would be great for use with the Sony MDR-V6.

 

[Ken176]

Thanks for your input! I have only had about 5 hours total on the FiioE17 and the V-6s.... I bought two pair for the wife and I to enjoy some music when the little one goes to bed. In all honesty..the only source I have used is YOUTUBE. I have read allot of good comments about Foobar and I will give it a try along with an older 20bit cd player I have. After review of Foobars site...it does not appear we could listen to YOUTUBE ( wife enjoys the videos along wit the music .... any suggestions

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Thanks for your input! I have only had about 5 hours total on the FiioE17 and the V-6s.... I bought two pair for the wife and I to enjoy some music when the little one goes to bed. In all honesty..the only source I have used is YOUTUBE. I have read allot of good comments about Foobar and I will give it a try along with an older 20bit cd player I have. After review of Foobars site...it does not appear we could listen to YOUTUBE ( wife enjoys the videos along wit the music .... any suggestions

SACD music disks.

 

[Argote]

The V6's are very easy to drive, you don't even need a dedicated amp. What would you say is missing?

 

[Catharsis]

The V6 is ultra-easy to drive. 
 
You probably auditioned the V6 when it was plugged in to an amp with high output impedance.  That would bump the midbass up a touch and give you a bit more oomph.  The V6s are actually one of the loudest (most efficient) headphones I've ever seen. 
 

 

[shadow419]

Quote:

Thanks for your input! I have only had about 5 hours total on the FiioE17 and the V-6s.... I bought two pair for the wife and I to enjoy some music when the little one goes to bed. In all honesty..the only source I have used is YOUTUBE. I have read allot of good comments about Foobar and I will give it a try along with an older 20bit cd player I have. After review of Foobars site...it does not appear we could listen to YOUTUBE ( wife enjoys the videos along wit the music .... any suggestions

 
Most streaming music services like Pandora and Spotify have much better quality audio than Youtube videos. Even podcasts are usually in better quality than most Youtube videos.

 

[Ken176]

I think the best term to use to explain what I feel is missing is..."Authority"!! Currently it gets loud, but Im lacking authority on the bass and midrange. For example...when you listened to live music, a great drummer always sticks out...it's that snap, the authority with which they play the instrument. I know the V-6s can deliver, its what sold me at initial audition.

 

[Rocko1]

Quote:

I bought two pair for the wife and I to enjoy some music when the little one goes to bed. In all honesty..the only source I have used is YOUTUBE. 

 

. There couldn't be a worse source, well yes there could. Lossless files from a good soucre-not sound card on your motherboard should be used for reference.

 

[staticfi]

Quote:

I think the best term to use to explain what I feel is missing is..."Authority"!! Currently it gets loud, but Im lacking authority on the bass and midrange. For example...when you listened to live music, a great drummer always sticks out...it's that snap, the authority with which they play the instrument. I know the V-6s can deliver, its what sold me at initial audition.

 
One of my favorite parts of this headphone is the drum sound. It reminds me of playing in bands or being in a practice room while a band plays. Especially the way they handle kick drums. 
 
You should try a different source just to see if that helps. 

 

[Deep Funk]

Watch out with the volume too. Too loud and the ears will feel it...