The Shure 846 IEM's, seriously? The ones with multiple filter-rings for different sound signatures? Daaaang son, you have WAY more money to spare on audiophile-equipment than I do, I'm pretty jealous right nowThose things are like a thousand bucks, right? Where'd you get them?
Anyway man, about the amp. . .with the Shure 846, I wouldn't use the amp at all, ever, if I were you! There's just no need. Those things, like other IEM's, are very low-impedance because they are meant for portable use more than anything. In fact, the impedance on the 846's is especially low, at only 9 ohms. There is no reason to drive them from an amp, and in fact, you SHOULDN'T drive them from an amp, it could end up, worst-case-scenario, blowing-out drivers in the earphones due to over-driving them with too much power for them to handle! Also, make sure that when driving the 846's from the X3, you have the player set to low-gain, not high-gain.
Headphone amps are meant for HIGH impedance headphones,j and won't benefit the sound at all in something like the majority of IEM's.
Also, dang, if you were able to spend a thousand dollars on a pair of earphones, why don't you splurge and get a really super high-end Astell and Kern music player instead of the X3, or at least the X5? If I were you that's what I'd do
One more question. out of curiosity, what filters do you generally use on the 846's, from among the custom filters that come with it for changing the sound?
Ah, I see, that makes sense. Just be sure to be absolutely positive that the amp isn't over-driving the IEM's, because it would be a REAL shame to blow out a driver in a 1000 dollar pair of earphones! Personally, I love the sound of the Fiio X3 2nd Gen, without any EQ, through my V-Moda M-80's. . .but they cost less than a fifth as much as the SRH846, haha
Just to clarify further. If you use the digital out (coax) - you are sending a digital signal, and require a separate DAC at the other end to convert it to analog
If you are using line-out, then you are using a fixed level signal from the X3ii DAC - you're just bypassing its amp
If you are using headphone out, you're using the X3ii DAC and amp section
Just a couple of things - because using a dedicated amplifier is not just about having high impedance earphones - and they often DO benefit sound from IEMs. Here's a few scenarios .....
- If your DAP has a higher impedance from the H/O and you have very low impedance IEMs. Damping factor, and frequency response can be affected - so an amplifier with better specs can correct this.
- If your IEMs are very sensitive, and your DAP has a higher noise floor, you can often get hiss. This can be corrected by using a better amplifier.
- If your DAP output is weak, and you're over-driving your earphones into clipping. A better amp can help
- And if (like hykhleif) you want hardware EQ rather than software EQ, or if you just like the particular tonality of an amp, that can be a factor as well.
Saying all of this though, the X3ii shouldn't have issues with noise floor, SNR, impedance or power - so generally I'd agree that most IEMs won't need an extra amp as long as the source is good.
Shure doesn't list maximum input, but I seriously doubt you'd be able to damage the SE846 using the digizoid - though over driving them. You'd deafen yourself long before that happened
Woot woot, went to start my computer red light on X3 w.e play song no audio w.e go to shut it off and BSOD
Both have reasonably benign power requirements, and the X3ii should be a be to drive them easily - on high or low gain. Because of the X3ii's low output impedance, there shouldn't be any issues with damping.
In my own tests, there is very little difference bewteen the X3ii H/O and L/O
So that leaves you with preference. If you like the sound of the E11K in the mix, then definitely use it. It's not required, and it's not going to change the oft-quoted "sound-stage" / "detail" / "dynamics" etc.
The biggest issue with most people comparing amped vs non-amped (especially with headphones that don't need it) is that most don't volume match. So the differences are usually actually only in volume. It's quite funny really. Turn up the volume slightly and what do you notice - more vivid sound, more detail, more dynamics etc - our human perceptions
I have the E11K as well - it's a good amp. I personally don't use mine a lot - yet I do use the E17K from time to time - with headphones that don't really need it. My reason is simple - I like its tonality, I like the analog tone controls, and I like the better battery life I get from my DAPs.
am used to it
Don't worry about it, I just wanted to share that. Is epic to BSOD a device other than windows. I just reset it lol, have to do that a lot for FIIO products for me any ways. I think I fried them a little when I plugged a digital cable with variating poles in backwards. Still works just keep a pin in your pocket
But yes that is something isn't it, especially since it was shutting off when it failed you can even see the "see you" in the picture.
Always work on a combination of impedance and sensitivity - both figures are required to work out how much power is needed. And for an understandable lesson on relationships between current, voltage and resistance - try this link (https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/voltage-current-resistance-and-ohms-law) - I found it really helpful.
It wont be just the high impedance cans that need additional amping. Take the K701 - 62 ohms, but lower sensitivity - depending on HOW you measure it. This article you'll find really interesting (https://lsirui.wordpress.com/2009/04/15/k701-vs-hd650-electrical-measurement/). So unless you pair it with a high current amp, you never really get an idea of how well they can perform. And no way an X3ii or X5ii can drive them well unless you use a dedicated amp. You'll get volume - but they'll sound thin.
Anyway - getting slightly off topic. I've found the X3ii to be marvelous by itself with most IEMs, but I still us an amp from time to time if bulk is not an issue. Not because it needs extra power, but rather because I like the other things an amp can bring.
Also the acoustic-engineering, of course 
I'd like to say hi to everyone
This is my first post in this forum & I've been following Head fi for a while. This is indeed a very informative site & everyone is eager to help. As someone new, I'd want to ask two questions... dont know if these have been asked previously...
"How better is the x3k compared to iPod touch 4g ? "
Also
"How is the overall performance with Shure SRH1540 ? "
As I have a plan to buy SRH1540 & x3k and have some months to decide... So I'm eager to know.
Thanks in advance.
), and the one from my computer's onboard Realtek sound, which was AWFUL and varied by about 10 decibels or more in some parts of the treble and bass ranges! Keep in mind that my computer has built-in Beats Audio (UGH, seriously), but that I de-activated the Beats Audio in the control-panel for the test I did of the onboard sound. I also did another test of the on-board, this time having it use ASIO4ALL, and it was much better. . .no more than 4.5db variation, the VAST majority of which was now almost entirely in the low-bass between 20 and 28hz, and the extremely high treble between 17kHz and 20kHz.
