[mtliu]

  OK, so I have two options for DACs with this. I'm setting up my friend with his first good headphone system on the cheap. He also just built a tower computer. So, I have the XS headphones already. Would a FiiO E07K Andes DAC/Amp work better or a FiiO K1 Portable DAC + Headphone Amplifier? The first is $56 on Amazon, the second is $40. 

As far as performance, both are probably very similar in terms of sound. The E07K has more features which the K1 lacks: internal battery, ability to use as an amp alone, treble/bass/volume/gain settings, as well as digital display. The E07K also has the ability to dock with the E09K and bring it up a tier in terms of sound. Also to consider would be the slightly more expensive E10K or the even more expensive E17K. The E10K is the best sounding out of the E7K, E10K, E17K crowd. The E17K can  dock with the K5, but the K5 is not widely available in the US yet.

If all he is interested in is sound, and the cheapest price, the K1 is best. But if wants even better sound, then the E10K. However, if the additional features and possible future expandability are an issue, then it's either the E07K or E17K. The E07K can be upgraded now with the E09K and the E17K can be upgraded in the future with the K5 - although Fiio keeps pushing that back.

My experience with these things is that I am more than satisfied with any of these - until I listen to something more expensive, then I realize the (subtle) flaws in the less expensive equipment. While waiting for the K5 to dock with my two E17Ks, I went and bought a more expensive DAC and now don't really use my Fiio DACs for critical listening any more. 
 

 

[Dandw12786]

So I just grabbed a pair of these new from Amazon (first pair of headphones I've spent more than $40 on), and they'd clearly been opened. Everything appears in good order, I'm pretty sure they were just opened, tried on, maybe tried out a little, and returned. Wasn't terribly opposed to keeping them, and amazon offered me a discount, but I am wondering about the clamping force.

I hear some people say it's tight, and some say you can barely tell they're on. I'm in the second camp. They feel pretty loose, and slide around my head an awful lot when I bend down to pick something up. It's not terrible, but after seeing one of you guys say you did freaking parkour with these on, I have to wonder if maybe these did get stretched out and returned (I really don't think so, there's nothing obviously wrong with them, they look great). I am only extending these a click, and sometimes not at all (trying different lengths to see what fits best), so apparently my head is a bit on the smaller side.

Any thoughts? Should I just refuse the discount and get a new pair, or are these fitting just fine and I should just stop worrying and enjoy the damn things?

 

[nbakid2000]

So I just grabbed a pair of these new from Amazon (first pair of headphones I've spent more than $40 on), and they'd clearly been opened. Everything appears in good order, I'm pretty sure they were just opened, tried on, maybe tried out a little, and returned. Wasn't terribly opposed to keeping them, and amazon offered me a discount, but I am wondering about the clamping force.

I hear some people say it's tight, and some say you can barely tell they're on. I'm in the second camp. They feel pretty loose, and slide around my head an awful lot when I bend down to pick something up. It's not terrible, but after seeing one of you guys say you did freaking parkour with these on, I have to wonder if maybe these did get stretched out and returned (I really don't think so, there's nothing obviously wrong with them, they look great). I am only extending these a click, and sometimes not at all (trying different lengths to see what fits best), so apparently my head is a bit on the smaller side.

Any thoughts? Should I just refuse the discount and get a new pair, or are these fitting just fine and I should just stop worrying and enjoy the damn things?

As previously talked about, I got my friend a pair and they were "Like New" condition from Amazon. I tested them out (er..um...*quality control*...because I can't give my friend bad sounding gear or broken stuff, right?) and I had the same problem, kind of, but not to the *extent* you're talking about. It was loose, not floppy loose, but if I tried to work out or something, I'd see them flying off. They were securely on my head but I couldn't be "active" with them. I could walk around and bend down and stuff and have them still clamped. It sounds like you either have a small head or maybe you did get a defective pair. We'd probably need a head size comparison to really make a judgment call. If you're planning on using these mainly sitting down, I'd say keep them. If you're going to be more or slightly more active and they're flying off, I'd get a new pair just in case. 
 
You know what I'd do, honestly? Before anything, I'd get in touch with V-Moda directly and ask them their thoughts on it. Maybe you can provide some information to them that they can take and make some judgment calls on for you. 

 

[nbakid2000]

  As far as performance, both are probably very similar in terms of sound. The E07K has more features which the K1 lacks: internal battery, ability to use as an amp alone, treble/bass/volume/gain settings, as well as digital display. The E07K also has the ability to dock with the E09K and bring it up a tier in terms of sound. Also to consider would be the slightly more expensive E10K or the even more expensive E17K. The E10K is the best sounding out of the E7K, E10K, E17K crowd. The E17K can  dock with the K5, but the K5 is not widely available in the US yet.

If all he is interested in is sound, and the cheapest price, the K1 is best. But if wants even better sound, then the E10K. However, if the additional features and possible future expandability are an issue, then it's either the E07K or E17K. The E07K can be upgraded now with the E09K and the E17K can be upgraded in the future with the K5 - although Fiio keeps pushing that back.

My experience with these things is that I am more than satisfied with any of these - until I listen to something more expensive, then I realize the (subtle) flaws in the less expensive equipment. While waiting for the K5 to dock with my two E17Ks, I went and bought a more expensive DAC and now don't really use my Fiio DACs for critical listening any more. 
 

Yeah, the E07K was only $15 more than the K1, so I went with the more expensive E07K because of the slew of options it provided. I figured it was well worth the investment. 
 
He better f*<#i^' appreciate this. 

 

[nbakid2000]

 

The lack of rotation about the vertical axis is also a problem with the XS fit. 

 
Definitely a problem. It wasn't a problem, per se, for me --- but I could see it being a problem in general for others. It needs to be fixed in the next model.
 
So, I tried them out extensively over a day, and found I don't really like on the ear headphones. I found these to be uncomfortable to wear, because of the "vacuum" or "seal" or whatever you want to call it over my ears. It got very uncomfortable (again, not talking about the headphone clamping itself - the headphone itself is extremely comfortable) but that little vacuum pocket that gets created when it's sitting over your ear hole. I just don't like it. It makes me feel claustrophobic. Anyone else have this problem in general with on the ear headphones? I went to Best Buy and tried some Senn Momentums and had the same exact issue. It's fine for a while but then the "feeling" starts taking hold and I have to remove them. 

 

[SpiderNhan]

So I just grabbed a pair of these new from Amazon (first pair of headphones I've spent more than $40 on), and they'd clearly been opened. Everything appears in good order, I'm pretty sure they were just opened, tried on, maybe tried out a little, and returned. Wasn't terribly opposed to keeping them, and amazon offered me a discount, but I am wondering about the clamping force.

I hear some people say it's tight, and some say you can barely tell they're on. I'm in the second camp. They feel pretty loose, and slide around my head an awful lot when I bend down to pick something up. It's not terrible, but after seeing one of you guys say you did freaking parkour with these on, I have to wonder if maybe these did get stretched out and returned (I really don't think so, there's nothing obviously wrong with them, they look great). I am only extending these a click, and sometimes not at all (trying different lengths to see what fits best), so apparently my head is a bit on the smaller side.

Any thoughts? Should I just refuse the discount and get a new pair, or are these fitting just fine and I should just stop worrying and enjoy the damn things?

It really varies person to person. I'm the one who did some light parkour with my XS, but that was when they were new. The clamp has loosened over time and while they don't fall off my head, they can slip if I nod or wiggle vigorously. My girlfriend also has an XS and they get jostled off her head on the subway, which doesn't happen when I wear hers. She now supplements with a hat. If it's a nice discount I'd keep it.

 

[Dandw12786]

It really varies person to person. I'm the one who did some light parkour with my XS, but that was when they were new. The clamp has loosened over time and while they don't fall off my head, they can slip if I nod or wiggle vigorously. My girlfriend also has an XS and they get jostled off her head on the subway, which doesn't happen when I wear hers. She now supplements with a hat. If it's a nice discount I'd keep it.

Thanks.  Liked your review, by the way, helped immensely with my decision.
 
The pair I bought went down to $142 new today on sale, so I just said screw it and returned these and bought a new pair.  The discount they offered was only $20, so not really enough to make me comfortable with not knowing the extent of their use.  Now at least I know I'm the first person to use them.  Thanks for your help, though, as well as nbakid2000, I appreciate it!

 

[mtliu]

These cans can be somewhat formed to the shape of your head. The metal bar is meant to be contorted until the gap between your head and cans is minimized. There is a specific way to do this, since it take a lot of force and doing the wrong way will break them. The lack of rotation about the vertical axis still is annoying and thus, I don't use my XS too much.

 

[dbdynsty25]

The original M80 headphone had significantly more clamping force than the XS.  That is one of the main reasons I don't wear my XS all that often, they just aren't as secure as the M100s or CFW I prefer.

 

[nbakid2000]

Thanks.  Liked your review, by the way, helped immensely with my decision.

The pair I bought went down to $142 new today on sale, so I just said screw it and returned these and bought a new pair.  The discount they offered was only $20, so not really enough to make me comfortable with not knowing the extent of their use.  Now at least I know I'm the first person to use them.  Thanks for your help, though, as well as nbakid2000, I appreciate it!

Yeah, at least now you can know for sure the situation. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[Tom22]

Thanks.  Liked your review, by the way, helped immensely with my decision.

The pair I bought went down to $142 new today on sale, so I just said screw it and returned these and bought a new pair.  The discount they offered was only $20, so not really enough to make me comfortable with not knowing the extent of their use.  Now at least I know I'm the first person to use them.  Thanks for your help, though, as well as nbakid2000, I appreciate it!

i think the general consensus for xs including my personal experiences are that they are quite loose and i also didnt like that they didnt have any swivel on the vertical axis.

u can bend the headband to fit, but i dunno something about doing that doesnt sit well with me.

and becauseo of these issues both the xs and m100 dont evenly distribute the pressure on youe ears and head.

theres more pressure up front then in the back.

the xs compensates for this with the light clamp

the m100s do this by being over ear and u can use the xl pads to help

 

[blazinblazin]

Unless your head is smaller than XS head band or else it should be secure.

Unless you extend the headphone all the way and wear... thats another reason why its loose. Cause its worn wrongly. I did saw people wear wrongly before.

 

[Dandw12786]

Well, I got my new pair in today, and got to do the proper V-Moda unboxing, which just makes me want to buy more V-Moda stuff.  Packaging and accessories are fantastic.  After having the weekend with the used pair and time with the new pair today, let me just say these things are awesome.  This is my first pair of headphones that I've spent more than $60 (which were IEMs), and I'm thrilled.  They sound fantastic and feel great.
 
One feature I think gets overlooked is the fact that you can easily dual input.  I can throw one cable to the left side and plug into my xbox controller, and throw another cable into the other side and plug it into my tablet to watch the game in the background while playing video games.  Sweet.  All the reviews talked about daisy chaining headphones, but this is something sweet that I don't recall anyone really talking about.  I wanted to grab a pair of over-ear headphones eventually as well, any my plan was to grab the ATH-M50X, but I may have to save up for the M-100s instead, because I'm sold on V-Moda.

 

[mtliu]

  Well, I got my new pair in today, and got to do the proper V-Moda unboxing, which just makes me want to buy more V-Moda stuff.  Packaging and accessories are fantastic.  After having the weekend with the used pair and time with the new pair today, let me just say these things are awesome.  This is my first pair of headphones that I've spent more than $60 (which were IEMs), and I'm thrilled.  They sound fantastic and feel great.
 
One feature I think gets overlooked is the fact that you can easily dual input.  I can throw one cable to the left side and plug into my xbox controller, and throw another cable into the other side and plug it into my tablet to watch the game in the background while playing video games.  Sweet.  All the reviews talked about daisy chaining headphones, but this is something sweet that I don't recall anyone really talking about.  I wanted to grab a pair of over-ear headphones eventually as well, any my plan was to grab the ATH-M50X, but I may have to save up for the M-100s instead, because I'm sold on V-Moda.

The M-100 fit me better than the XS, but I prefer the XS sound much more over the M-100. The M-100 is too V-shaped for my tastes. I'd like the sound of the XS and the fit of the M-100, but it's not available.

 

[blazinblazin]

I highly recommend V-Moda XS + Fiio X5II combo~
 
Fiio Settings:
 
EQ: Off
Gain: High
Volume: 65