[NickFox]

I've read tons of posts and researched for weeks and I've decided on the DT 880s (250 ohm). There are still some things that are unclear to me and haven't been definitively answered (so far as I could find). Some of you may recognize me from a post I made a while ago which was crucial in my decision for the 880s. 
 
I was recommended to pair these with a fiio e10 (by Malveaux), and looking around, it seems a lot of people say that. Sometimes I like to listen off of my iPod though, and I would be unable to with the e10. Is the e11's amp similar or better to the e10's? Judging by what people are saying, a <$100 DAC will hardly make a difference. Plus, I have a MB pro which is said to have a good sound card..? I'm not going to be super picky; the only headphones I've ever owned are Senn 203s. 
 
Also, my source is going to be primarily 160kbps ogg vorbis (from Spotify). Do the 880s handle lower quality sources alright? I haven't found anything that says they're picky like the K701s, which was the reason I ruled those out. 
 
Thanks for any advice.
Nick

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I've read tons of posts and researched for weeks and I've decided on the DT 880s (250 ohm). There are still some things that are unclear to me and haven't been definitively answered (so far as I could find). Some of you may recognize me from a post I made a while ago which was crucial in my decision for the 880s. 
I was recommended to pair these with a fiio e10 (by Malveaux), and looking around, it seems a lot of people say that. Sometimes I like to listen off of my iPod though, and I would be unable to with the e10. Is the e11's amp similar or better to the e10's? Judging by what people are saying, a <$100 DAC will hardly make a difference. Plus, I have a MB pro which is said to have a good sound card..? I'm not going to be super picky; the only headphones I've ever owned are Senn 203s. 
Also, my source is going to be primarily 160kbps ogg vorbis (from Spotify). Do the 880s handle lower quality sources alright? I haven't found anything that says they're picky like the K701s, which was the reason I ruled those out. 

The Fiio E11 comes with a slightly better headphone amplifier then the E10.
also get a Fiio L cable, it bypasses the iPod headphone amplifier and it carries a slightly cleaner analog audio signal from the 30-Pin LOD port to the E11 (or whatever amplifier you use).
And just use a 3.5mm male to 3.5mm male cable to connect the Macbook Pro to the E11.

 

[NickFox]

Thanks for the response. So you're saying I wouldn't notice any difference between my Mac's sound card and the e10's DAC, and therefore should go with the better amplifier? I have the L11, I use it with my e5... I think I'd rather have the L9 though, the L11 doesn't fit very well with my case. 

 

[yokken]

Definitely get the E11 if you're going to be using it mobile most of the time. You could get the E17 if you want to kill 2 birds with one stone! It's a great piece of hardware and solves your DAC and amp questions

 

[NickFox]

I'll primarily be using my laptop, but I don't want to be strictly limited to it. I really want the e17 but it's a little out of my price range . I guess my main question is whether I need the DAC on the e10 or not. 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Thanks for the response. So you're saying I wouldn't notice any difference between my Mac's sound card and the e10's DAC, and therefore should go with the better amplifier? I have the L11, I use it with my e5... I think I'd rather have the L9 though, the L11 doesn't fit very well with my case. 

As I've never listen to Macbook Pro audio, nor do I know which DAC chip is in your Macbook Pro. I myself can't say what the difference in audio quality there might be, using the DAC on the E10.
As you can not use the DAC feature of the Fiio E10 with the iPod anyway, the E11 is better choice for use with the iPod (and still use the E11 with the MB Pro).
You can always get an add-on DAC for the Macbook Pro (and E11) in the future.

 

[NickFox]

Quote:

As I've never listen to Macbook Pro audio, nor do I know which DAC chip is in your Macbook Pro. I myself can't say what the difference in audio quality there might be, using the DAC on the E10.
As you can not use the DAC feature of the Fiio E10 with the iPod anyway, the E11 is better choice for use with the iPod (and still use the E11 with the MB Pro).
You can always get an add-on DAC for the Macbook Pro (and E11) in the future.

 
You said that I can't use the *DAC* feature of the e10. Could I use the amp? I was under the impression that I'd need to buy a $200 iDevice to usb converter. 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

 
You said that I can't use the *DAC* feature of the e10. Could I use the amp? I was under the impression that I'd need to buy a $200 iDevice to usb converter. 

I just remembered the E10 only has a USB (digital) input, no line in, so you can not use the Fiio E10 (even the amp.) with the iPod.
The cheapest external DAC that works with the Apple 30-pin LOD connection is the HRT iStreamer, I'm not sure what other DACs or converter there are for the iPod, iPhone or iPad.

 

[NickFox]

Ok, I think I'll get the e11 then. Can anyone speak for the source handling of the 880s?

 

[timtoo]

I have a dt 880 also 660ohm, my source is wav on my laptop and a cd player. but I want to said CD PLAYER is much better than laptop

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Ok, I think I'll get the e11 then. Can anyone speak for the source handling of the 880s?

The Fiio E11 can drive 250-Ohm headphones
 

 

[beedee]

Can the Fiio E11 drive the dt880/600ohm adequately?

 

[pp312]

PurpleAngel, I notice you have DT880 in both Pro and 600 ohm versions. What's your take on the sonic differences between them (using the same amp)?

 

[beedee]

Quote:

Can the Fiio E11 drive the dt880/600ohm adequately?

Anyone?