[olor1n]

Quote:

The same could be said about sources. I don't care if you spent 10 million on a source. I would never use an E1 on a can. A high end source doesn't matter if you don't have tue juice to drive them. A source is very important, but it takes a good amp to deliver the goods. Amps and sources goes hand and hand. Skimping on either one would bottle neck your cans. A 10 million dollar source a a cheap amp will still sound crappy.

Yep. When I first heard the E7 (WM8740) as a usb dac I was greatly impressed when comparing it to the onboard sound out of my Macbook. Upgrading to the Audio-GD Fun (WM8741 using optical) highlighted the congestion and lack of resolution from the FiiO unit. It's an unfair comparison when you consider the E7 in isolation, but considering the number of people heralding the E7 + E9 combo as the greatest thing since sliced bread I think it's worth mentioning that the E7 may be a bottleneck in that particular chain. The value of the combo may be indisputable, but it's certainly not the only option at that price range.
 
Note: I did the Fun vs E7 comparison with low impedance cans (M50 and MS-1i) and the Fun in low gain, so the weak amp section in the E7 shouldn't have been too much of a factor (lol).

 

[brasewel]

Quote:

I don't care if you spend $10 million on an amp, I would never source from a phone.

Well he isn't sourcing from a phone now is he?

 

[brasewel]

Quote:

What would you personally recommend?

I recommend dumping the FIIO amp altogether and getting tube amps. Get an entry level tube amp from Wooaudio or Little Dot series
 

 

[moodyrn]

Meh, I'd be OK with a $5000 source, $400 amp, and $1000 IEMs. Don't talk down to me.

Talk down to you?. Are you serious? First of all I didn't talk down to you. And second, if you are that thin skinned about me replying to an outrageous comment about a phone as a source, when no one even mentioned anything about a phone as a source, then maybe you should go else where.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I'd recommend something like a Dynalo/Gilmore Lite amp. It's got plenty of power and is very clean and neutral.

Also, you might not appreciate the HD-600 until you've listened to other headphones. What might seem a little boring now can sound refreshingly neutral after you've been around the block with headphones. Most out there are colored. I eventually got tired of the colorations, so something like the HD-600 sounds good to me because of what it doesn't do. It rarely puts a foot in the wrong place, but that's hard to notice until you've spent time listening to other headphones get things wrong.

 

[tvrboy]

Quote:

I'd recommend something like a Dynalo/Gilmore Lite amp. It's got plenty of power and is very clean and neutral.

Also, you might not appreciate the HD-600 until you've listened to other headphones. What might seem a little boring now can sound refreshingly neutral after you've been around the block with headphones. Most out there are colored. I eventually got tired of the colorations, so something like the HD-600 sounds good to me because of what it doesn't do. It rarely puts a foot in the wrong place, but that's hard to notice until you've spent time listening to other headphones get things wrong.

This is true. The Dynalo is a perfect amp for the HD-600s. And they really are good headphones. I would much rather have them than the 650, K701, or anything else in the sub $400 price range. They are well-balanced and play every genre well.

 

[Proglover]

Quote:

 

Also, you might not appreciate the HD-600 until you've listened to other headphones. What might seem a little boring now can sound refreshingly neutral after you've been around the block with headphones. Most out there are colored. I eventually got tired of the colorations, so something like the HD-600 sounds good to me because of what it doesn't do. It rarely puts a foot in the wrong place, but that's hard to notice until you've spent time listening to other headphones get things wrong.

Well said
 
@olor1n
I recently did discover the limits of the E7 (or E7/E9 combo, in which the bottleneck probably is the DAC section from the E7)
Compared to my new rig I have to admit the FiiO combo is warmish (yes warmish, everybody is ranting about it being so neutral, but compared to a Neco with AD8610, it's warmish) and lacking on transparency and instrument separation.
Offcourse that's all relative. I still believe the FiiO combo is a killer in it's price range. But it's not some magical unit without flaws. I still recommend it for that price, especially in this case, since OP already have an E7.
 

 

[xaval]

Quote:

What would you personally recommend?

There seem to be quite a few recommendations now
From personal experience, and I'm not aware of your budget, but I'd look at either a vintage receiver/amp from the likes of Luxman, Sansui, Marantz, etc. These can be big and heavy, but sound wonderful of most anything headphone related and beat the crap out of most current full sized amps on the market for the price you'll get them. We don't talk enough on these boards about this little "secret".
 
The other option if you want to go the dedicated amp venue, besides others on this thread, would be a Heed Canamp or the ASL on my sig (only used now as it's out of production). The ASL sounds great on high and low impedance cans (it's the non OTL version) and you benefit from amazing tube rolling capabilities. The Heed is also very neutral and clean and with the HD600 that's what you'll get since both are just that!
 
Edit: The ASL OTL version will sound a bit better with the HD600

 

[KevM2]

I never could get the sound quality from the HD600s I wanted, even after upgrading the cord, trying it from a couple of different sources/amps, etc. The laid-back quality and politeness was simply not to my tastes. What is the specific quality that you are looking for that your current set-up is missing?

 

 

[eucariote]

Quote:

I recommend dumping the FIIO amp altogether and getting tube amps. Get an entry level tube amp from Wooaudio or Little Dot series
 

I found that my tube amp accentuated the warmth & softness of HD600, and have also settled with an SS amp for those headphones- it's about as clean and natural as can be, which does give them a bit more speed and emphasis in the upper ranges.
 

 

[brasewel]

I think the HD600 is pretty flexible with amps regarding tubes or SS. I had them paired with my concerto for a while and found them a little bright hence I recommended tubes. Still very laid-back and neutral compared to my LAs

 

[WhiteCrow]

Quote:

Since you have the e7, you might as well go for the e9.

this, dont be fooled spending mass amounts of money may not be worth it, my LittleDot MKII+ poweres my cans just fine and the k500's take alot of current to run, I cant run them out of an e7 even hahah.

 

[Mdraluck23]

Quote:

iBasso D6/D4?

THIS. Or an E9 since you already have an E7. 
 
Or one of the two reviewed here.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I'm not a huge fan of the average OTL with the HD-600. Most of them don't have a firm hand on the bass - it'll bloat and thicken a little. Quality solid state won't do that. When it comes to affordable amps, solid state is the way to go. A Dynalo/Gilmore Lite might not be as special with the mids as tubes, but it's far from bad and overall more cohesive.

 

[Jema]

Just found this thread, and must say I too was a bit unsatisfied when I tried a HD600 with an amp yesterday. The amp was a Harmony Design EAR 90, rca model, and I used both a 10 000 dollar CD-player and my low-budget MP3-player as a source. Now, I've listened to very few amps, but it didn't scale up as much as I thought - actually, I found the changes barely audible from both sources. I would think the EAR 90 is strong enough as it puts out 1W at 32 ohm, and it has been recommended for this and the HD650. Is it in fact not enough, or does the HD600 just not improve that much compared to other cans?
 
I'm in the process of buying an amp, and I've been looking at a second hand EAR 90. This test has made me a bit reluctant, but I'm considering buying it anyway to try it with some other cans over a longer period of time, since I could probably sell it again with 50-100 dollars loss. Does it sound reasonable or unnecessary?