[ChronorSonar]

Newb here, recent lurker and baby hobbyist.
 
I would like some suggestions and input for a portable amp setup.  I will mainly be using it for Ipod Classic 160gb (don't know which generation) and laptop.  My portable headphone selection is rather limited to under $100 range, but I'm open to more expensive and good sounding cans as long as it's something I will be keeping for a long time.  I'm also partial to IEM because I dislike dealing with entanglements and awkwardness of on-head, over-the-ear types for portable devices in general.
 
To maximize sound enjoyment, I would like to amp the Ipod and laptop about equally.  The reason for this request from the community is mainly to determine which amp combo may be better for my needs.  With all the reading I've done, I'm not sure whether a DAC/AMP combo (e.g. Fiio E17) would be best compared to AMP only (e.g. Fiio E11).
 
The Fiio offerings are intentional because they seem to be the best bang for the buck.  If these products perform almost as good as the higher priced equivalents, then I do not see the need to spend more, especially when they will be abused daily.  I'm very open to consider other brands with similar cost/performance ratios. 
 
Any constructive suggestions are greatly appreciated.  It will help me become a more informed consumer of these, let's face it, luxury & therefore not needed items
 
Thanks for your input and time.
 
PS - For a little more background, I have wide and varied tastes in music.  Mostly I like to listen to dance, house, techno, hip hop, etc. for fun - keeps me awake during my commutes.  For relaxing, Adele & Enya as well as classical pieces.  Most of my library consists of AAC files. I also enjoy audiobooks.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Fiio E11
A Fiio "L" cable for use with an iPod and the Fiio "D" series DAC for use with the laptop.
Only a very few and very expensive add-on DACs work with an iPod, so just use the L cable.

 

[ChronorSonar]

Thanks PurpleAngel for the suggestion.
 
I'm looking at the E17 as my current solution.  I'm trying to "future proof" myself somewhat because I'm thinking about getting some decent IEMs in the near future.
 
Anyone have any other suggestions, pros, cons?  

 

[holdincourt]

Quote:

Thanks PurpleAngel for the suggestion.
 
I'm looking at the E17 as my current solution.  I'm trying to "future proof" myself somewhat because I'm thinking about getting some decent IEMs in the near future.
 
Anyone have any other suggestions, pros, cons?  

I have the same setup as you (iPod 160GB 5.5gen and a Macbook Pro 17inch mid-2009)....and also looking at the FiiO E17 here in HK...though stock limited and prices are high on the ones that are around.
 
Would be interested to hear your thoughts on the E17 after use with your sources.

 

[ChronorSonar]

@ holdincourt
 
I would be more than happy to provide my impressions once I can get ahold of one.  Unfortunately, the US seems to be out of luck on the E17 till early March or so.  I can wait, my wallet thanks me for now.
 
BTW Just received my DT 990 Pro 250 ohm, and it is definitely much better than my current PC headphones.  I'm not someone with golden ears, so all I can say is that the Beyer Dynamic sounds excellent to me.
 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

@ holdincourt
I would be more than happy to provide my impressions once I can get ahold of one.  Unfortunately, the US seems to be out of luck on the E17 till early March or so.  I can wait, my wallet thanks me for now.
BTW Just received my DT 990 Pro 250 ohm, and it is definitely much better than my current PC headphones.  I'm not someone with golden ears, so all I can say is that the Beyer Dynamic sounds excellent to me.

Have you tried using the DT990s with a Blu-ray movie?
 
 
 

 

[holdincourt]

Quote:

@ holdincourt
 
I would be more than happy to provide my impressions once I can get ahold of one.  Unfortunately, the US seems to be out of luck on the E17 till early March or so.  I can wait, my wallet thanks me for now.
 
BTW Just received my DT 990 Pro 250 ohm, and it is definitely much better than my current PC headphones.  I'm not someone with golden ears, so all I can say is that the Beyer Dynamic sounds excellent to me.
 

 
My regular stores here in HK also say March arrival.
 
I am also looking to get Beyerdynamic, but looking at the T5p. My wallet will not be thanking me anytime soon as I will also be heading to Singapore for a business trip and looking to pass by an audio store there that is selling one of the portable amps / dac that I have been looking to buy! >_<
 
Look forward to hearing your thoughts on the E17.
 
 

 

[hyune_83]

Does the fio make a significant difference in actual sound quality?

 

[ChronorSonar]

@ PurpleAngel
 
Ah! I'm reserving that Blu-ray experience for an aural treat later in the week.

I don't have the right setup to take advantage of my DT990, so I have to wait till all the components arrive.  I initially started my forays into this murky world in a quest to find a set of hi-end sounding gaming headset.  None of the current offerings, apart from the PC360, seemed to fit.  As much as I like Sennheiser (I have a Senn pc headset from 6 yrs ago), the quality of their earmuffs leaves much to be desired.  The faux leather peeled on me after about a year or so of use.  If I'm going to spend $200+ on cans, the earmuffs better last longer than that!  Thus, didn't want to take a chance on the PC360.
 
I plan to pair the DT990 to the AstroMixamp for gaming and movie enjoyment.  I hope they work out.  My Blu-ray player is the PS3 hooked up to my home theater system.
 
@ holdingcourt
 
Man I envy your deep pockets!  All I can say is that I hope the T5P can make coffee for you too.

  While waiting for availability of the E17, I'm going to be looking hard for a decent pair of IEM.  I think I have it narrowed down to Westone 1 or 2, UM 1 or 2, Atrio Pro and a smattering of others.
 
----
 
I'm really enjoying the DT990 atm. Hooked up to my PC through the HT Omega Claro Halo (w/ built-in headphone amp) soundcard, the sound is awesome to my 'untrained' ears!  BTW the files are AAC, not lossless.  To be honest, I'm not sure I'll be able to tell the difference between these formats, but my future music purchases will be encoded lossless for experimentation.
 
 
 

 

[ChronorSonar]

Quote:

Does the fio make a significant difference in actual sound quality?

Not sure about Fio specifically since I don't own one.  In general, I suspect that it will based upon my subjective experience with amps.  Amps, in general, will bolster the signal going into your headphones.  In most cases, that would be a tangible, increased sound quality benefit because it will utilize the capability of your cans more fully.  My understanding is that under-powered cans will sound, well.. sluggish & crappy (read muted, less distinct) depending on the efficiency and impedance of the headphones.  Other factors are involved ofcourse, but I'm not educated on these matters well enough to give you more than generalities.   

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

@ PurpleAngel
 
Ah! I'm reserving that Blu-ray experience for an aural treat later in the week.

I don't have the right setup to take advantage of my DT990, so I have to wait till all the components arrive.  I initially started my forays into this murky world in a quest to find a set of hi-end sounding gaming headset.  None of the current offerings, apart from the PC360, seemed to fit.  As much as I like Sennheiser (I have a Senn pc headset from 6 yrs ago), the quality of their earmuffs leaves much to be desired.  The faux leather peeled on me after about a year or so of use.  If I'm going to spend $200+ on cans, the earmuffs better last longer than that!  Thus, didn't want to take a chance on the PC360.
I plan to pair the DT990 to the AstroMixamp for gaming and movie enjoyment.  I hope they work out.  My Blu-ray player is the PS3 hooked up to my home theater system.
@ holdingcourt
Man I envy your deep pockets!  All I can say is that I hope the T5P can make coffee for you too.

  While waiting for availability of the E17, I'm going to be looking hard for a decent pair of IEM.  I think I have it narrowed down to Westone 1 or 2, UM 1 or 2, Atrio Pro and a smattering of others.
I'm really enjoying the DT990 atm. Hooked up to my PC through the HT Omega Claro Halo (w/ built-in headphone amp) soundcard, the sound is awesome to my 'untrained' ears!  BTW the files are AAC, not lossless.  To be honest, I'm not sure I'll be able to tell the difference between these formats, but my future music purchases will be encoded lossless for experimentation.

Have you tried playing audio files with Foobar?
 
 

 

[ChronorSonar]

PurpleAngel
 
I have not tried with Foobar yet.  In my readings, I have seen many here mention Foobar, so I will definitely be giving that a try.  I'll post impressions as I go.

 

[holdincourt]

Quote:

@ PurpleAngel
 
Ah! I'm reserving that Blu-ray experience for an aural treat later in the week.

I don't have the right setup to take advantage of my DT990, so I have to wait till all the components arrive.  I initially started my forays into this murky world in a quest to find a set of hi-end sounding gaming headset.  None of the current offerings, apart from the PC360, seemed to fit.  As much as I like Sennheiser (I have a Senn pc headset from 6 yrs ago), the quality of their earmuffs leaves much to be desired.  The faux leather peeled on me after about a year or so of use.  If I'm going to spend $200+ on cans, the earmuffs better last longer than that!  Thus, didn't want to take a chance on the PC360.
 
I plan to pair the DT990 to the AstroMixamp for gaming and movie enjoyment.  I hope they work out.  My Blu-ray player is the PS3 hooked up to my home theater system.
 
@ holdingcourt
 
Man I envy your deep pockets!  All I can say is that I hope the T5P can make coffee for you too.

  While waiting for availability of the E17, I'm going to be looking hard for a decent pair of IEM.  I think I have it narrowed down to Westone 1 or 2, UM 1 or 2, Atrio Pro and a smattering of others.
 
----
 
I'm really enjoying the DT990 atm. Hooked up to my PC through the HT Omega Claro Halo (w/ built-in headphone amp) soundcard, the sound is awesome to my 'untrained' ears!  BTW the files are AAC, not lossless.  To be honest, I'm not sure I'll be able to tell the difference between these formats, but my future music purchases will be encoded lossless for experimentation.
 
 
 

Wallet not deep at all...I have been waiting a while and really doing my research to see a) what my next headphone will be (was deciding between T5p or Ultrasone Signature Pro) and b) next portable amp / USB dac (pico / rx Mk2 / continental / E17)....still deciding