ZO2 vs E17 vs nothing? (HD 558's)

[Perpetualpoet]

Hello all! 
 
I am the proud new owner of some Sennheiser HD 558's. I love em for most applications however there are times that I want a bit more deep bass, not all the time, in fact I love using these raw for classical music, gaming, and most youtube use. However when I listen to some electronic or pop I could use a little more thump. 
 
Apples iphone and ituens eq kinda sucks, so I was looking into some portables with bass boost-ability. I was thinking of getting a ZO2 or E17 for the bass boost features. I don't really care about the amping since I have low impedance phones, I just want something that will give me some nice bass boost whether i'm using my iphone 4s or my macbook pro. 
 
I really like my V-moda M-80's but the bass boost is on all the time When i'm playing some mass effect the background rumbles are super amplified on those. I was hoping to make my 558's sound as close to the m-80's as I can. 
 
Thoughts?

 

[Perpetualpoet]

Bumpity

 

[Perpetualpoet]

I suppose what I'm asking is how does the bass boost compare between the zo and the e17. It seems the zo is trying to work some voodoo on the signal where the e17 is more or less just an EQ?
 
Does anyone have experience with these in comparison?

 

[Mutnat]

No personal experience, but here's what Mike @ headfonia had to say on the comparison:
 
Quote:

E17 versus Digizoid ZO2

(quoted from one of my comments)
There have been many questions asked about the Digizoid Zo vs <insert a portable amplifier here>, and the fact is that it’s hard for me to make that comparison. If I was talking about two portable amps, I can make comments about one being dark, having wider soundstage, more bass, etc. But the selling point of the Zo, I believe is the SoundVektor and the adjustable contours, both of which are not available in any portable amps I know. The SoundVektor works and so is the adjustable contours.
 
On the other hand, if I was talking purely amplifier performance, surely something like the Alpen is simply better. You get better detail level, more frequency extension top and bottom, better articulation, better soundstage width/depth/image and so on. But then I can only make that comparison based on the amplifier performance, not Z02 vs Alpen as complete products.

 
If you want to read the full reviews, here's the E17, and the ZO2.
 
I guess if you truly only need a bass boost, then the ZO2 is probably the better choice.  On the other hand, you might find you enjoy the sound of the 558's amp'd through the E17 more than you thought once you tried it, even though they don't "need" an amp. 

 

[Perpetualpoet]

I've ran across that one but thanks for sharing! I suppose the only way to really tell is to just try them out, unfortunately that means online ordering and returning I wish there was a store that had this stuff anywhere close to my area.

 

[Mutnat]

I hear you.  I would suggest you try the E17 first, because I think it will give you improvements across the board, and likely enough bass boost to keep you happy.  If that doesn't work, then return or resell it and try the ZO2, which should give you even more bass, but only improve the bass.

 

[devgru]

***IMO*** the ZOv2.x sounds terrible with all of my phones, even the bright ones. I honestly believe that psychoacoustical-bias drives 80% of audiophile hardware sales. I couldn't stop laughing when I coupled it to my Pro 900s (min-setting). The analogy of Tom Cruise's equalizer settings in Risky Business springs to mind. Horrible.
 
Edit: get the E17. I will go so far as to say that you will not be disappointed. I lost mine on a flight; does anyone know of a dealer where I can buy close to retail?

 

[Darkblade48]

Quote:

Edit: get the E17. I will go so far as to say that you will not be disappointed. I lost mine on a flight; does anyone know of a dealer where I can buy close to retail?

 
Sorry to hear that you lost your E17. I believe Hifiman still carries the E17 for 140 USD.

 

[devgru]

Quote:

 
Sorry to hear that you lost your E17. I believe Hifiman still carries the E17 for 140 USD.

Thanks, I found one.