[MaGie]

Hello all, I'm using a Fiio X5iii with several headphones (B&O H6, Fidelio X2HR, 1More triple, Sennheiser Momentum 2, Soundmagic HP150, Grado GW100). The UI of the Fiio is not it's strongest point. I have updated and down-dated again. I have been looking for a new DAP and there are several options but the M11 seems to be the best value for it's price. And maybe a new headphone. I have been looking at Denon AH-D5200, Hifiman Sundara and Beyerdynamic Amiron Home. Different phones with different technologies, I know. Many reviews online, but they haven't help make a choice. No nearby stores that have them for a listen and comparison. Any suggestions?

 

[pjones5]

What are your music tastes and what do you look for in tuning?

 

[MaGie]

What are your music tastes and what do you look for in tuning?

I listen to pop/rock. Some progressive rock, and mostly the older music. 70's was the best period I think. I don't like flat cold sounding headphones. I stille have my AKG K501 that I bought in the eighties. It's great for acoustic music (jazz/classical), but for pop/rock it sounds flat and somewhat boring.

 

[pjones5]

That's hard to say...
The only planar dynamics I have are the HE4XX, which are pretty good. My favorite open-back is still the HD6XX. Favorite closed back is going to be the Meze 99 Noir, BUT they are an exceptionally warmer sounding headphone, to the point of almost sounding boosted. All of them can be driven by the M11 no problem. Though, the HE4XX and HD6XX do benefit from more powerful DACs and amps.

Personally, I've never really been a fan of the Beyerdynamic sound, its too "U" shaped the highs are pretty aggressive. The planar magnetic HE4XX still give that high detail that's intrinsic to rock without the ear fatigue that Beyerdynamics gave me. Never heard of the Denon's until now, but after a quick look arounds, they look pretty nice. Like you said though, the wood dynamic closed back of the Denon is almost incomparable to the open-back planar magnetic of the Sundara.

Take my opinion with a grain of salt as I have not tried the Denons or the Sundaras... I would go Sundara because 1) they're cheaper, and 2) the planar magnetic might better deliver on those rock songs. If you still want a warmer sound signature, look into the Meze 99 Noirs. The Sundara's are cheap enough you could get both the Sundara's and the Meze 99 Noir's and still spend less than on the Denons.

 

[bzippy]

Unless I'm mistaken, the M11 is actually a lower powered amp with lower voltage capability than your X5. Well it's true for my X5ii at least (you might want to compare the specs yourself). Anyway my point is you might get slightly reduced performance with harder to drive headphones like planars, Senn HD 6__, etc. when moving to the M11. BUT this is likely only true for single-ended mode. If you plan to get balanced cables, then according to what I've read about the M11 (I'm considering upgrading to one myself), there will likely be a significant improvement driving most headphones in its balanced mode (compared to the X5).

I want to stress that I'm only reporting what I've read in researching the M11 for myself. I have never heard a balanced setup personally. But after reading and posting questions here, I came away with the impression that if I don't run it balanced then there's no reason to upgrade from my X5ii, from a solely sound quality perspective that is. Features and UI are obviously a different discussion.

 

[MaGie]

That's hard to say...
The only planar dynamics I have are the HE4XX, which are pretty good. My favorite open-back is still the HD6XX. Favorite closed back is going to be the Meze 99 Noir, BUT they are an exceptionally warmer sounding headphone, to the point of almost sounding boosted. All of them can be driven by the M11 no problem. Though, the HE4XX and HD6XX do benefit from more powerful DACs and amps.

Personally, I've never really been a fan of the Beyerdynamic sound, its too "U" shaped the highs are pretty aggressive. The planar magnetic HE4XX still give that high detail that's intrinsic to rock without the ear fatigue that Beyerdynamics gave me. Never heard of the Denon's until now, but after a quick look arounds, they look pretty nice. Like you said though, the wood dynamic closed back of the Denon is almost incomparable to the open-back planar magnetic of the Sundara.

Take my opinion with a grain of salt as I have not tried the Denons or the Sundaras... I would go Sundara because 1) they're cheaper, and 2) the planar magnetic might better deliver on those rock songs. If you still want a warmer sound signature, look into the Meze 99 Noirs. The Sundara's are cheap enough you could get both the Sundara's and the Meze 99 Noir's and still spend less than on the Denons.

Thank you for your reaction. I had ordered the Meze 99 once (not the Noir) but they were way too dark for me. So I sent them back. I also had the Hifiman HE400. They went back as well. They sounded flat and boring. Besides the build quality was quite poor. I had to re-assemble it after delivery, so that didn't leave a good impression. I have been looking at Drop.com and they have some interesting Sennheisers. Although the HD600 is around 270,- dollars here in the Netherlands, so that might be interesting. With Drop I have to pay import taxes, shipping and VAT so for me that may not be such a bargain. I read that the Sundara's are much better built then their previous models. Don't really want to buy an amplifier. That is OK if you are always listening in the same place. The more review you read the more opinions you get. But the search is part of the pre-fun.

 

[MaGie]

Unless I'm mistaken, the M11 is actually a lower powered amp with lower voltage capability than your X5. Well it's true for my X5ii at least (you might want to compare the specs yourself). Anyway my point is you might get slightly reduced performance with harder to drive headphones like planars, Senn HD 6__, etc. when moving to the M11. BUT this is likely only true for single-ended mode. If you plan to get balanced cables, then according to what I've read about the M11 (I'm considering upgrading to one myself), there will likely be a significant improvement driving most headphones in its balanced mode (compared to the X5).

I want to stress that I'm only reporting what I've read in researching the M11 for myself. I have never heard a balanced setup personally. But after reading and posting questions here, I came away with the impression that if I don't run it balanced then there's no reason to upgrade from my X5ii, from a solely sound quality perspective that is. Features and UI are obviously a different discussion.

Thank you! Honestly I am not a tech nerd, so all the specs I read don't really mean much to me. I understand that the higher impedance phones need more power. And that the sound better, if they get enough power. There are quite a few high impedance models like Sennheiser HD600 (300 ohms), different Beyerdynamics at 250 ohm. I would be interested to try the balanced output since I have not tried that yet. I have overall good experiences with Fiio. The hardware is great. And I believe (and hope) that the UI will keep improving. I also have an X5 first generation. That has a scoll wheel that worked well at first. Now it is a hit and miss experience. The X5iii has android and worked well out of the box. Untill I decided to update it. That was a mistake, really horrible. So I went back a few steps and now it is better, but often slow and non responsive. Hopefully the M11 is much better. It is priced OK I think at around 480 dollars in Europe.

 

[pjones5]

Thank you for your reaction. I had ordered the Meze 99 once (not the Noir) but they were way too dark for me. So I sent them back. I also had the Hifiman HE400. They went back as well. They sounded flat and boring. Besides the build quality was quite poor. I had to re-assemble it after delivery, so that didn't leave a good impression. I have been looking at Drop.com and they have some interesting Sennheisers. Although the HD600 is around 270,- dollars here in the Netherlands, so that might be interesting. With Drop I have to pay import taxes, shipping and VAT so for me that may not be such a bargain. I read that the Sundara's are much better built then their previous models. Don't really want to buy an amplifier. That is OK if you are always listening in the same place. The more review you read the more opinions you get. But the search is part of the pre-fun.

Totally agree with that - love doing the hunt!

I'll admit, I think the 99 Noirs are an acquired taste - they're sort of my acoustic-based headphone. The HE4XX are my go-to's for anything rock related. The HD6XX is a bit high in your area - you might be able to find them through Amazon?
Yeah, I think the Sundara's look pretty nice, but I have a feeling they'll share a very similar sound signature as the HE4XX. You might consider looking at AKG 7XX, another open-back with reasonably good reviews?

 

[kinkling]

Senn HD660S sound good with the M11 and it has enough juice to drive them with the balanced cable

 

[MaGie]

Senn HD660S sound good with the M11 and it has enough juice to drive them with the balanced cable

Haven't made up my mind yet. I did order the M11 and I have to say it sounds significantly better than the X5iii. It arrived yesterday and with the Fidelio X2HR it is fantastic! I was considering Sennheisers and it's good to know that they work well with the M11. Most of my headphones are around 30 Ohms, Sennheiser HD660 is 300 Ohm? Is there a good site to buy balanced cables? Thank you.

 

[kinkling]

Haven't made up my mind yet. I did order the M11 and I have to say it sounds significantly better than the X5iii. It arrived yesterday and with the Fidelio X2HR it is fantastic! I was considering Sennheisers and it's good to know that they work well with the M11. Most of my headphones are around 30 Ohms, Sennheiser HD660 is 300 Ohm? Is there a good site to buy balanced cables? Thank you.

660S is 150ohm and comes with a balanced cable, although a long one.