[newbatthis]

o2/odac is another option that ppl often recommend in ur price range. not exactly sure what kinda of aesthetic look u r going for so cant be that much more help. schiit products are auite popular here for their value:sound. fiio offers extremely competitive pricing for their feature set & specs. u can consider the old e70k or e17 to save more money.

 
My setup is all black equipment on a white desk. I love the schiit but it just doesn't match.
I understand O2 is 'the' amp most people will ever need but I'm not sold on it b/c of the front facing jack. 
The E17 is actually more expensive on Amazon but do you think the saved money on the E07k is worth the lost features?

 

[money4me247]

   
My setup is all black equipment on a white desk. I love the schiit but it just doesn't match.
I understand O2 is 'the' amp most people will ever need but I'm not sold on it b/c of the front facing jack. 
The E17 is actually more expensive on Amazon but do you think the saved money on the E07k is worth the lost features?

E17 vs E70K has basically the same features except slight differences in the amplifier and the E17 has optical input while the E70K has an extra 3.5mm head output & longer battery life. they both use the same WM8740 dac chip. both can dock with the E09K. getting the additional e09k can give you a desktop docking station armed with a higher powered amplifier to match with your portable dac.
 
the ek17k switches to the PCM5102 dac chip found in the previous E10k and loses the optical input. adds a coaxial input and line output for use as a dedicated dac. supports dsd. No longer compatible with the E09K, but Fiio will be releasing a new version that I believe will be called the E09S. will need to wait for this to become available.
 
I think that is the gist of the changes besides the actual design.
 
don't know if this suits your tastes, but you can get the garage1217 amplifiers with black aluminium chassis or clear chassis. project polaris is the only solid state in their line-up, but if you are interested in hybrid tube amplifiers at all. http://www.garage1217.com/.
 
I believe schiit has a few black Bifrosts still in stock if you are interested in adding a black dac to that. o2+odac comes in black & you can get an extender cable to route the wires to the back if you want.
 
otherwise, some sexy looking well-recommended black combos I can think of right now include:

1. emotiva stealth dc-1 (https://emotiva.com/products/electronics/stealth-dc-1)
2. nad 3020 (http://nadelectronics.com/products/digital-music/D-3020-Hybrid-Digital-Amplifier)
3. NuForce uDAC-3 DAC/Amp Combo (i've seen it in all black before: http://www.head-fi.org/products/nuforce-icon-udac-3-high-resolution-usb-digital-audio-converter-dac-silver)
4. matrix M-stage (http://www.amazon.com/Matrix-m-stage-HPA-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B0056ER22E or the HP2  version is available on massdrop now for 3 more hours here)
5. Aune has a bunch of black amp/dac combos (sexiest one is their T1 tube amp/dac: http://www.amazon.com/Aune-T1-Generation-Amplifier-Decoder/dp/B00A2QJMRY)
6. CEntrance DACmini PX Integrated Amp/DAC (http://centrance.com/products/dacmini/px/)
7. Fostex HP-A4 DAC/Headphone Amp (http://www.amazon.com/Fostex-Digital-Converter-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B00IK2IKHU)
8. Creative Sound Blaster X7 (http://www.soundblaster.com/amplifiers.aspx)
9. Woo Audio WA7 fireflies (in black: http://www.wooaudio.com/products/wa7fireflies.html).
10. Audio Gd products are all black, offer extremely good sound for their price, but are mostly all mid-range or luxury options (http://www.audio-gd.com/Products-EN.htm)

 
Or you can go for the small black unobtrusive usb type dac/amps:

1. LH Geek Out has a bunch model #450/720/etc
2. Audioquest Dragon v1 & v1.2
3. Audioengine has the D1 dac/amp 
4. Resonessence Herus is the most expensive one out of these (in black) at $350

 
the rest I can think of from meridan, HRT, audioengine D1 are all silver.
 
price ranges for the options above are all over, but you didn't specify a price range & after the schiit m&m combo and the jds labs/mayflower o2/odac combo, you are basically looking at either usb-hub options or mid-range type stuff anyways and the mid-range amp/dac prices go all the way up to $1k.
 
hope this giant list is semi-helpful.
 
note: this giant list is just of black amp/dac combos that I could think of. there are a ton more options out there if color is not a sticking point or looking for separate components.

 

[xfloggingkylex]

   
My setup is all black equipment on a white desk. I love the schiit but it just doesn't match.
I understand O2 is 'the' amp most people will ever need but I'm not sold on it b/c of the front facing jack. 
The E17 is actually more expensive on Amazon but do you think the saved money on the E07k is worth the lost features?

The front facing jack like the headphone jack?  

 

[newbatthis]

Oh wow yeah that's a lot of info! I definitely should have specified... My budget is actually only 100-150 atm. The reason I liked the Schiit is b/c I have the option to upgrade later with a DAC if I wanted too. Well I suppose you can do so with the O2/ODAC as well but I would prefer the 2-in-1 in that case.
 
I'm heavily leaning towards an E07k now but I'll check out some of your reqs although I guess those are mostly outta my range. I'm still entry level in this hobby and I'd feel uncomfortable spending more on amp/dac than I spent on a K7XX.
 
I'm sure your reqs will be great information for someone else looking through this thread though
 

  The front facing jack like the headphone jack?  
 

 
I mean the power jack. That's just really weird design imo.

 

[money4me247]

  Oh wow yeah that's a lot of info! I definitely should have specified... My budget is actually only 100-150 atm. The reason I liked the Schiit is b/c I have the option to upgrade later with a DAC if I wanted too. Well I suppose you can do so with the O2/ODAC as well but I would prefer the 2-in-1 in that case.
 
I'm heavily leaning towards an E07k now but I'll check out some of your reqs although I guess those are mostly outta my range. I'm still entry level in this hobby and I'd feel uncomfortable spending more on amp/dac than I spent on a K7XX.
 
I'm sure your reqs will be great information for someone else looking through this thread though
 
 
I mean the power jack. That's just really weird design imo.

aune t1 is under $150ish. tube hybrid dac + ss amp. pretty fun. headphone jack on the front unfortunately. most dedicated headphone amplifiers have their jack in the front. 
 
if that positioning really bothers you, I would strongly suggest checking out the usb dac/amps as listed above. they are usually around the sub-$200 price range. AQ dragonfly v1.2 is sub-$150 (v1 sub-$100).
 
think most of the other non-usb type options are outta your price range :S sorry. they all look pretty sexy tho

 

[xfloggingkylex]

  Oh wow yeah that's a lot of info! I definitely should have specified... My budget is actually only 100-150 atm. The reason I liked the Schiit is b/c I have the option to upgrade later with a DAC if I wanted too. Well I suppose you can do so with the O2/ODAC as well but I would prefer the 2-in-1 in that case.
 
I'm heavily leaning towards an E07k now but I'll check out some of your reqs although I guess those are mostly outta my range. I'm still entry level in this hobby and I'd feel uncomfortable spending more on amp/dac than I spent on a K7XX.
 
I'm sure your reqs will be great information for someone else looking through this thread though
 
 
I mean the power jack. That's just really weird design imo.

Check out JDS, their customized O2/ODAC allows you to select a rear power jack for an extra 3 bucks.  Looks snazzy on my desk.
 
EDIT: Link http://www.jdslabs.com/products/48/o2-odac-combo/ 

 

[Sillyness]

Received them today. The other Schiit arrived on Wednesday.

I'm coming from a DT 770/80 running straight off of a Focusrite 2i4.

I'm really enjoying this.
 

Sorry for the potato photo.

 

[Defiant00]

After some research I'm contemplating between Monoprice, Magni 2, and E17k for my k7xx. Primarily using iPhone 6 and occasionally computer.

I like monoprice for having line outs but that blue LED is troubling.
The Magni 2 doesn't match my color scheme and lacks line outs for speakers.
The E17K is sleek and portable.

Thoughts? Any other recs?

Just to mention, the Magni 2 Uber has preamp outs if you want an easy way to hook up powered speakers. Still won't match the rest of your stuff, but at $150 it sounds like that would still be in your budget.

 

[canthearyou]

Oh wow yeah that's a lot of info! I definitely should have specified... My budget is actually only 100-150 atm. The reason I liked the Schiit is b/c I have the option to upgrade later with a DAC if I wanted too. Well I suppose you can do so with the O2/ODAC as well but I would prefer the 2-in-1 in that case.

I'm heavily leaning towards an E07k now but I'll check out some of your reqs although I guess those are mostly outta my range. I'm still entry level in this hobby and I'd feel uncomfortable spending more on amp/dac than I spent on a K7XX.

I'm sure your reqs will be great information for someone else looking through this thread though


I mean the power jack. That's just really weird design imo.

$3 moves power jack to rear.

 

[Kamakahah]

Sillyness
Glad you're enjoying your stack.

So did you end up using the Magni or the SYS to control your monitors?

 

[Gloomy Moonie]

Hey guys, I'd like to talk a bit about the sound signature of the K7XX, and whether there's a way to balance it's sloppy mid-range out.
For reference, I own both the Q701 and the K272, and the following examples I think would best represent the reasons for my (mild) dissatisfaction.
Rock and metal, which are my genres of preference, sound splashy and, I daresay, muddy in the mid-range, as opposed to the perhaps more subtle, but controlled mids of the Q701. Speech also sounds a bit too full-bodied in comparison, and it gets pretty annoying after a while. I don't know, is this something you guys are finding as well, or is it just me?
Possible solutions that I can think of are burn-in, and maybe the bass port mod, so if anyone has already tried those please report back!
 
I'll start: tried burning it in using the music I listen to, at levels just about where it begins to be uncomfortable, in hopes that it would level out the splashy mids. After 10-20 hours I've noticed no improvement, and maybe even the opposite of what I wished to achieve. If that is indeed the case, I think that using pink/white noise as burn-in tracks should bring some of those highs back, which is what I'm going to try next. 
 
Aside from that, I've tried replacing the memory foam pads with the angled pads from the Q701, and found that I prefer the added space effect that they provide, albeit minimal. Said swap also gives enough room for the ear to not have contact with the inner part of the pad, to solve which I've had to reposition the headphone as forward as possible, but it usually just slides back after a while. I suspect there are quite a few of you who are also experiencing this issue, as my ears are far from large. Thankfully the angled pads can be purchased for about $30 on ebay.

 

[Oktyabr]

  Oh wow yeah that's a lot of info! I definitely should have specified... My budget is actually only 100-150 atm. The reason I liked the Schiit is b/c I have the option to upgrade later with a DAC if I wanted too. Well I suppose you can do so with the O2/ODAC as well but I would prefer the 2-in-1 in that case.
 
I'm heavily leaning towards an E07k now but I'll check out some of your reqs although I guess those are mostly outta my range. I'm still entry level in this hobby and I'd feel uncomfortable spending more on amp/dac than I spent on a K7XX.
 
I'm sure your reqs will be great information for someone else looking through this thread though
 
 
I mean the power jack. That's just really weird design imo.

If you are looking for black I can second the Audio-GD line of products.  Mine runs a bit warm to the touch but sounds fantastic and easily has enough juice to blow up both my ears and the K7XX.

Another that I have enough experience with first hand to recommend is the Creek OBH-11.  Made in the UK it's also more than enough to drive these phones and it's built like a tank.  Mine has been up and running for years, often 24/7, without a hitch.  Also has RCA line level pass throughs to hook up external speakers or daisy chain another amp.

 

[newbatthis]

I've gotten a few recs for E12. From what I get it's essentially a portable Magni. Damn so many choices... 
 
On another note, anyone experiencing slight discomfort due to the headphone drivers touching the ear? I get a slight itch wearing it for extended periods although a quick adjustment fixes it temporarily. 

 

[Change is Good]

Cayin C5 is another good choice for a portable amp.

 

[money4me247]

  I've gotten a few recs for E12. From what I get it's essentially a portable Magni. Damn so many choices... 
 
On another note, anyone experiencing slight discomfort due to the headphone drivers touching the ear? I get a slight itch wearing it for extended periods although a quick adjustment fixes it temporarily. 

yes, the driver lightly brushes my ear as well. discomfort is minimal due to the light clamping pressure.
 
for other headphones with too shallow a depth, you can always stuff tissue/paper towels under the earpads edge to prevent it from compressing as much if it is really bothering you.