[Roller]

You do have to keep in mind that the further you go up the audio ladder in terms of headphones, you will also have to keep the rest of the gear more or less evenly matched.
 
Also, congrats.

 

[macrocheesium]

 
Quote:

You do have to keep in mind that the further you go up the audio ladder in terms of headphones, you will also have to keep the rest of the gear more or less evenly matched.
 
Also, congrats.

Yeah, I'm aware of that. Right now I'm a little skeptical of the entire amp market, after getting a tube amp for my DT990/600s and not being able to tell a single difference from my E10. Either I lack the golden ear, or all amps are just snake oil and I'm the only person who can see through it. Either way... the PRO 900 will probably be used with the E10 for quite a while, should I decide to keep it.
 
I do have an Onkyo receiver, might that give me an idea of what a better amp would sound like with the 900?

 

[curtisinoc]

 
Quote:

I've been looking for an HFI-580 upgrade and I think I'll give these a try. Should an E10 be sufficient?

I had my ATH M-50's paired with a E10 and really enjoyed that combo (low gain + bass boost sounded great).  When I upgraded my cans to the Pro 900's, I paired them with the E10 and was disappointed.  I tried every setting: low gain, high gain, with/without bass boost.  If I remember correctly, I think the high gain without bass boost sounded the best.  The E10 made the Pro 900's bass sound extremely bloated and muddy.
 
I wound up getting a NuForce Icon HDP and really like the pairing with the Pro 900's.
 

Quote:

Well, it depends. The Pro 900 don't sound bad unamped, they sound ok/good with an entry/mid-fi amp, and sound great with good amps. So I should say yes, an E10 will improve their sound.

 
I agree that the E10 will improve the sound of the Pro 900's vs un-amped (especially with the bass boost "off")

 

[macrocheesium]

 
Quote:

I had my ATH M-50's paired with a E10 and really enjoyed that combo (low gain + bass boost sounded great).  When I upgraded my cans to the Pro 900's, I paired them with the E10 and was disappointed.  I tried every setting: low gain, high gain, with/without bass boost.  If I remember correctly, I think the high gain without bass boost sounded the best.  The E10 made the Pro 900's bass sound extremely bloated and muddy.
 
I wound up getting a NuForce Icon HDP and really like the pairing with the Pro 900's.

Do you think it was the amp or DAC section that needed improving?
 
Sadly, there's no way I'll be able to spend $300+ on extra equipment; I'm thinking 200 max, and that's only if I'm sure it will make a significant difference.

 

[Roller]

Considering tube amps are warm by nature, and that E10 has also a warm signature, that could've made you perceive little to no discernable differences in sound, depending on the tube amp you got.
 
About the Icon HDP, I would never get it for the Pro 900, as they both have the same signature, so it would end up reinforcing sound even further on that direction, making the Pro 900 unbearable to listen IMHO. Now, if it was paired with the D7000, that would be a different story.
 
What you would benefit from is definitely the amp section. The E10 has an acceptable (effective) 16bits resolution output, and that should be enough for Red Book content. Still, replacing that E10 with an E17 or even an iBasso D7 would be a big improvement in both sound clarity from the source and a tighter sound from the amp section.

 

[curtisinoc]

Quote:

 
"About the Icon HDP, I would never get it for the Pro 900, as they both have the same signature, so it would end up reinforcing sound even further on that direction, making the Pro 900 unbearable to listen IMHO. Now, if it was paired with the D7000, that would be a different story" . . .

 
 
 
Have u listened to this combo or are you taking an educated guess?  I can tell you that they sound amazing together, especially for "bass heavy" music (R&B, hip hop, edm etc)
 
 
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Roller]

Quote:

 
"About the Icon HDP, I would never get it for the Pro 900, as they both have the same signature, so it would end up reinforcing sound even further on that direction, making the Pro 900 unbearable to listen IMHO. Now, if it was paired with the D7000, that would be a different story."
 
Have u listened to this combo or are you taking an educated guess? I can tell you that they sound amazing together, especially for "bass heavy" music (R&B, hip hop, edm etc)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

An educated guess. Pairing a bright amp with bright headphones isn't a good idea. Considering I'm rather treble sensitive, that would be far too much for me. The sensible option is to go with a warmer DAC/amp.
 
The Pro 900, by definition, sound great with bass emphasized music, even without additional amplification, but the treble... or dear lord, the treble :S I've read an amusing description of the treble on the Ed. 8, that it could kill mosquitos from quite a distance, so considering the Pro 900 are much more analytical, that would only make it worse.
 
I once considered the Icon HDP, but its signature prevented me from getting it, as I tend to enjoy a neutral sound with a hint of warmth.

 

[macrocheesium]

Quote:

What you would benefit from is definitely the amp section. The E10 has an acceptable (effective) 16bits resolution output, and that should be enough for Red Book content. Still, replacing that E10 with an E17 or even an iBasso D7 would be a big improvement in both sound clarity from the source and a tighter sound from the amp section.

 
The D7 is looking really good; I'll probably end up making that upgrade after the 900s.

 

[kgleeson]

Hi all,
 
I'm looking to upgrade my E7+E9 combo to something a bit better, I'm feeling i'm not getting the best out of my 900's with it.
My 900s have been upgraded with a Bluedragon cable, J$ pads and a few other tweaks, and I have about 400 hours play time on them.
 
I've a budget of about €500 but could be convinced to spend a bit more if its worth the increase.
Currently I've a few amp/dacs i've been considering in no particular order.

1. Yulong D100 II
2. Matrix mini-i
3. DacMagic Plus
4. Audiolab M-DAC (If its worth the extra)
5. Schiit Asgard + Bifrost (If its worth the extra)

 
I mostly listen to minimal techo, idm, dnb, some house and some early 90's alternative rock.
 
Any advice is appreciated!

 

[Roller]

Quote:

Hi all,
 
I'm looking to upgrade my E7+E9 combo to something a bit better, I'm feeling i'm not getting the best out of my 900's with it.
My 900s have been upgraded with a Bluedragon cable, J$ pads and a few other tweaks, and I have about 400 hours play time on them.
 
I've a budget of about €500 but could be convinced to spend a bit more if its worth the increase.
Currently I've a few amp/dacs i've been considering in no particular order.

1. Yulong D100 II
2. Matrix mini-i
3. DacMagic Plus
4. Audiolab M-DAC (If its worth the extra)
5. Schiit Asgard + Bifrost (If its worth the extra)

 
I mostly listen to minimal techo, idm, dnb, some house and some early 90's alternative rock.
 
Any advice is appreciated!

 
Mainly, you should steer away from neutral to bright sounding units, especially bright ones. That excludes the DacMagic Plus, the Matrix mini-i and the Yulong D100 MKII.
 
The Audiolab M-DAC seems to be a good performer, and I'm not yet sure on how the Schiit Bifrost handles music.

 

[InfectedStyles]

I too am considering upgrading from my E7+E9 combo to something in the 300 dollar range. I want to try tubes but I am unsure at this point if it's worth it. Any general suggestions from people who have used the 900s with an amp in my range?

 

[kgleeson]

Quote:

 
Mainly, you should steer away from neutral to bright sounding units, especially bright ones. That excludes the DacMagic Plus, the Matrix mini-i and the Yulong D100 MKII.
 
The Audiolab M-DAC seems to be a good performer, and I'm not yet sure on how the Schiit Bifrost handles music.

Thanks for the reply, just as a matter of interest, why avoid the neutral amps?
I thought i read before for the 900s to steer clear of anything but neutral amps as they'll ruin the sound signature of the 900s.
I've only tried them with the E7 and E7+E9 combo so I don't know how they'd sound on others.
 

 

[Roller]

Quote:

Thanks for the reply, just as a matter of interest, why avoid the neutral amps?
I thought i read before for the 900s to steer clear of anything but neutral amps as they'll ruin the sound signature of the 900s.
I've only tried them with the E7 and E7+E9 combo so I don't know how they'd sound on others.
 

Neutral amps are acceptable, but neutral leaning towards warmth or just warm amps are the best pairing since they balance out the Pro 900 signature. The ones you really should never touch are neutral amps leaning towards brightness and fully bright amps, as they push the Pro 900 signature even further, and that's really an unpleasant experience IMHO.

 

[LFG530]

Any of you guys found a way to reduce the campling on these, cause I have regular headaches since I restarted using them... 

 

[devgru]

Quote:

Any of you guys found a way to reduce the campling on these, cause I have regular headaches since I restarted using them... 

Clamping pressure? The headband has a metal-insert and you can bend it a bit and it will retain the new shape.