[epicnoobpwn]

My HD 558's sound great unamped with my MacBook and my desktop PC, which has an Asus Xonar DX sound card.

My Samsung Galaxy S3, however, sounds bad with the HD 558's due to it's ****ty onboard amp (I've been told that the amp is the problem, not the DAC). The highs are not as crisp and the bass is very lacking to the point where I need to EQ them. EQing obviously messes up the headphone's sound signature. They just sound dull with my Galaxy S3. I have the US variant of the Galaxy S3 with the Qualcomm audio chip instead of the global variant with the Wolfson audio chip.

So my solution is to get a portable headphone amp for the phone (I will not be using it with my computers, they sound great). I'm considering the E6 because I don't want to spend too much on an amp. I just need an amp that will fix the sound quality issues caused by my phone's ****ty amp. Should the E6 be a good amp or do I need to get the E11 (which is slightly more than I want to pay for an amp)? I like tight, accurate bass, so I don't think I'll use the bass boost function on the amps.

I'm also considering some Sony MDR-V6's or MDR-XB500's for portable use at school because open-back headphones aren't good in a noisy environment. In that case, would an E6 or E11 be better?

If you guys are wondering what music I listen to, I listen to dubstep, dnb, house, hardstyle, trance, classic rock, hard rock, heavy metal, death metal, and some alternative.

I no longer own the PRO700MK2's in my profile picture. I sold them. I just haven't bothered changing it the picture yet.

 

[akash neagi]

I like the E11 and HD518 combo and I too use a s3 in my portable rig.....
The HD518, HD558 and HD598 use the same drivers......
All the headphones you mentioned are very easy to drive.....
The E11 had an awesome low end so if you like good lows I say get that......
If you want a bass heavy can I day get a HD439 they are awesome.....
I'm a huge Sony fan but I hear mixed things about the XB500's but the V6's are great.....

 

[epicnoobpwn]

I like the E11 and HD518 combo and I too use a s3 in my portable rig.....
The HD518, HD558 and HD598 use the same drivers......

All the headphones you mentioned are very easy to drive.....
The E11 had an awesome low end so if you like good lows I say get that......
If you want a bass heavy can I day get a HD439 they are awesome.....
I'm a huge Sony fan but I hear mixed things about the XB500's but the V6's are great.....

Like I said, I don't need bass boost. The bass levels are perfect on the HD 558's. Not too much. Not too little. I just need an amp that will make my Sennheisers sound how they do on both of my computers. That's all. The Sennheisers have amazing low end that is way clearer than any closed back headphone. Again, it's not that they are hard to drive, it's just that my SGS3's amp sounds terrible (like on most laptops). So would the E6 be enough to fix the sound to my liking? I kind of don't want to spend $60 on an E11 if an E6 will do just fine.

 

[akash neagi]

Quote:

Like I said, I don't need bass boost. The bass levels are perfect on the HD 558's. Not too much. Not too little. I just need an amp that will make my Sennheisers sound how they do on both of my computers. That's all. The Sennheisers have amazing low end that is way clearer than any closed back headphone. Again, it's not that they are hard to drive, it's just that my SGS3's amp sounds terrible (like on most laptops). So would the E6 be enough to fix the sound to my liking? I kind of don't want to spend $60 on an E11 if an E6 will do just fine.

The E6 can drive the hd558's but....
An advantage of having a open back can is that it has a good sound stage.....
the E6 can clip the soundstage so that's why I don't suggest a E6 with the HD558......