[ethan3686]

Guys i wanna thank all of you for ur inputs and all the healpuful threads created here...i finally decided on the the SONY XB 700 and got them today and am loving it...its a made in THAILAND  so its also original [thank god]...these are soooooo comfy and the big earpads are amazing!....will be getting the Fiio e7 for these...just suggest me some tweaks i can do? not hardware..just EQUALIZER tweaks..and which player shud i use? WINAMP, itunes or some other gud one?..and what kbps music is best for it?? 320?? i just downloaded the TRON LEGACY OST and its 451 kbps but it bloats and distorts...dont know...new to this.

 

 

 

[mikop]

e7 has hardware bass boost for your xb700 ...  make an appointment with your doctor for your brain injury now!
 

 

[ethan3686]

^^no i wont be using it...i think [from what i have read] the bass boost is optional on it....i am mainly getting it for the DAC

...better quality rite?..just need to know what kbps sound is the best for these and also a player..itunes sounds gud so far..

 

[Ishcabible]

foobar2000 is my favorite media player for tweaks. There's also J River or Winamp if you want VST like Isone Pro.
 
And 320 or V0 VBR is probably the most sensible using those. I mean there's FLAC at >1000, but you probably won't notice much difference.
 
And will you be using them portably? Because it's a better bang for buck (ime) to use that money for a desktop system if you won't need a portable amp/dac.

 

[ethan3686]

^^WELL portable amp is gud for me as it is more versatile to use..and e7 is DAC as well...so SQ improves...with PC and ipod as well...so it acts as 2 in 1...and i dont wanna spend more than that..
 
and ok i will check out foobar2000
thanks!
 
so far itunes plays all music gud...better than winamp too..

 

[mikop]

He can always add an e9 to the e7 when he needs more power/quality than the little e5 amp that's in e7 can provide.
 

 

[jasonb]

the e7 uses the amp from the e5???? really?

 

[mikop]

the proper answer from feiao himself.  I took some liberty in my quick statement   
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/510973/e7-versus-e5-line-in-amp-jack-versus-usb#post_6906500
 
"2, For the amp only, Although E7 , E5 use the same headphone amplifier IC ( TPA6130A from TI ), but E7 is AD8692+TPA6130A, and E5 is OPA2338UA+TPA6130A, in fact, the sound is different!"

 

[jasonb]

if they output the same power, then i'm not impressed. i have a fiio e5 laying around and it doesn't help much on my XB500's.
 
i'd much rather get a Bithead from HeadRoom, than the E7 if this is the case.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Yeah, the POWER of the E7 is no more than the E5, but the opamps are of higher quality, and give a cleaner sound.
 
If you're looking for the E7 mainly as a DAC first, I believe you won't be disappointed.

 

[ethan3686]

i dont think i need the amping of E9 anyway coz XB 700 are 24ohm and easy todrive...just cant get the fullpower on ipod...its quite powerful and loud on my PC without an amp!

 

[ethan3686]

most of my audio is 128kbps or 192 kbps...any software to convert them to 320kbps...coz many songs are distorting ...or is it wrong to convert...guess ill have to download each then

 

[jasonb]

converting from 128 or 192 to a higher bitrate does nothing. once the data is lost... it's lost. you'll need to re-rip all of your music at a higher bitrate. 192 and even 128 can sound pretty good if a good encoder was used, but of course higher is usually better. the law of diminishing returns always pops up though.
 
Quote:

most of my audio is 128kbps or 192 kbps...any software to convert them to 320kbps...coz many songs are distorting ...or is it wrong to convert...guess ill have to download each then

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

The XB700 is known to respond VERY well to powerful amps. Just because a headphone is easy to drive doesn't mean they can't improve. Look at the low impedance and high sensitivity Denon D7000. Known full well to love strong amps.

 

[mikop]

you can't upconvert. (even if you reencode in 320 or lossless, they can't come up with the missing information that was omitted when it was first encoded in 128kbps
 
higher quality headphone/dac = the need for higher quality source material.