[Evshrug]

1. Uh, enough? Well the amp section is about twice as powerful, you should notice an improvement on your Q701's. I'd say $60 is a great value for the amp by itself, but it's up to you if you think you need to replace your E7 you already own. If I was you I would at least get the L7 dock thingie for the E7 (so you can get a line out signal from the E7 that bypasses the internal amp) so that I would extend the life of the E7 purchase, but I am not you. Your mileage may vary.

2. I have a desk & an improvised nightstand (cardboard box with a few books stacked on top), so I don't quite have the same setup as you. If you look at pictures, the E9 isn't huge. I would guess its 6" long, 4" wide, and 2" tall? If you look at a picture with an E7 docked in it, you should get an idea of the size. From what I've read, the "bugs" improved by the E09k are that the smaller 1/8" headphone jack on the older amp gets some distortion, but the workaround is to just use the 1/4" jack instead, and that the old dock mechanism can wear out. There are also different inputs and outputs on the back, but the tone of the sound is the same for both models.

I don't think you could go wrong with either the E9 (or E09k) or E11 amp, though I can understand if you'd find the E11 more versatile. If you get the L7 LOD for your E7, you could connect it to either amp to power your headphones.

 

[biggbenn74]

Quote:

1. Uh, enough? Well the amp section is about twice as powerful, you should notice an improvement on your Q701's. I'd say $60 is a great value for the amp by itself, but it's up to you if you think you need to replace your E7 you already own. If I was you I would at least get the L7 dock thingie for the E7 (so you can get a line out signal from the E7 that bypasses the internal amp) so that I would extend the life of the E7 purchase, but I am not you. Your mileage may vary.
2. I have a desk & an improvised nightstand (cardboard box with a few books stacked on top), so I don't quite have the same setup as you. If you look at pictures, the E9 isn't huge. I would guess its 6" long, 4" wide, and 2" tall? If you look at a picture with an E7 docked in it, you should get an idea of the size. From what I've read, the "bugs" improved by the E09k are that the smaller 1/8" headphone jack on the older amp gets some distortion, but the workaround is to just use the 1/4" jack instead, and that the old dock mechanism can wear out. There are also different inputs and outputs on the back, but the tone of the sound is the same for both models.
I don't think you could go wrong with either the E9 (or E09k) or E11 amp, though I can understand if you'd find the E11 more versatile. If you get the L7 LOD for your E7, you could connect it to either amp to power your headphones.

So, you DO think for portability AND power, the E11 is a good choice? And the LOD has been bought already in advance.

 

[Evshrug]

Without hearing it, and despite wanting a big 'ol volume knob... my research points to either the E11 or fred_fred_2004 3-channel amp as being the most versatile and hitting the price/performance sweet spot. I think the final nod goes to the E11 for transparency, size, output power, and cost, but I had to mention the other portable amp since ClieOS was such a fan, and it has a slightly more neutral presentation a la the O2 amp.
I probably have my desktop amp needs met by my Yamaha Receiver actually (RX-V367). I think Yamaha put a little more thought into their headphone amp section than most integrated amps, mostly because they designed a virtual binaural codec for headphones called Silent Cinema (similar to Dolby Headphone) that is great for movies and gaming, and because the amp sounded quite clean in my subjective tests with my Q701s. The only thing is, mine is packed up right now because of space restrictions, and I want to be able to move out from my Mom's house as fast as possible.

ClieOS's sub-$100 portable amp review (with emphasis on low-ohm output with high current, ideal for hard to power amps with low Ohms such as IEMS):
http://www.head-fi.org/t/596482/the-sub-100-portable-amps-shootout-8-1-amps-compared

eBay page for the 3-channel amp (kinda interested in his similarly priced hybrid tube/solid state desktop amp too, but obviously that's not portable):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-channel-Headphone-amplifier-Audiophile-Cmoy-dual-LM4562-high-current-LM6171-/200712295581?pt=AU_Electronics_Audio_Amplifiers&hash=item2ebb62949d#ht_3632wt_895

Authorized FiiO E11 dealer, offering a spare battery & wall charger:
http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier-Accessory/dp/B004QVPGXK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1345645684&sr=8-2&keywords=e11+fiio

Please note that I haven't personally heard either of these amps, just my FiiO E5 and the headphone amp built into my standalone Yamaha Receiver.

 

[Evshrug]

Just re-oriented myself by reading earlier posts in this thread, and the slightly warmer than neutral E11 (small difference, but you also have two bass boost settings above that) is most likely the best fit for versatility AND your preferences. The two authorized dealers on EBay I linked for you earlier would let you use your eBay cash and/or coupons.

Let me know how it goes by posting an update to this thread with your impressions once you get it! I still recommend keeping the E7 with a line-out as a DAC for your laptop, but I'll adopt it if you don't want it anymore

 

[biggbenn74]

Quote:

Just re-oriented myself by reading earlier posts in this thread, and the slightly warmer than neutral E11 (small difference, but you also have two bass boost settings above that) is most likely the best fit for versatility AND your preferences. The two authorized dealers on EBay I linked for you earlier would let you use your eBay cash and/or coupons.
Let me know how it goes by posting an update to this thread with your impressions once you get it! I still recommend keeping the E7 with a line-out as a DAC for your laptop, but I'll adopt it if you don't want it anymore

Haha, I actually think I'll move the E7 to my car. I thought about selling it, but I thought my car speakers would appreciate a little more bass. But yes, I will definitely post an update. The thing is, I'm debating whether to get these Numark Electrowaves for a good price or the E11... Probably will still be the E11.

 

[Evshrug]

I'm excited for you!
Never heard about Numark or their Electrowaves... now I'm probably going to lose half an hour looking them up, lol.

 

[Evshrug]

Lol google pointed me to your comparison between the Electrowaves and the red waves. I thought it was going to be another amp, not headphones! If you already have Q701s and the Red Waves, I don't see why you'd need another closed headphone. I also didn't see anything about Numark's products performing on the level of the Sennheiser HD-25, Beyerdynamic DT1350, or V-MODA M-80, so...

Just get the amp, it'll be a nice upgrade for all your headphones

 

[biggbenn74]

Update: I'm pulling the trigger on the E11! Thank you, everyone!

 

[Evshrug]

Update: I don't remember if we talked about this, but my Recon3D gaming sound processor review is up! Leave a comment!

http://www.head-fi.org/products/creative-sound-blaster-recon3d-thx-usb-external-sound-enhancer-for-pc-ps3-xbox-360-and-mac-sb1300/reviews/7395