A portable player with built in amplifier? | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

BassHeadJim · Jul 23, 2017 at 10:15 PM

Hi folks,

I'm searching for my next set of headphones, but some of the options I'm looking at need amplification. I really don't want to have to carry around and keep charged an amp (I already have a Fiio E11) as well as my phone and potentially a player too.

Is there a portable MP3 player anyone can recommend that is capable of driving 100+ (or even 200+) ohm cans?

Thanks!

Me x3 · Jul 24, 2017 at 1:57 AM

Hey,

(For reference) FiiO X3II is almost as powerful as FiiO E11.
Your listening levels play an important role here.

BassHeadJim · Jul 24, 2017 at 2:16 AM

Me x3 said:
Hey,

(For reference) FiiO X3II is almost as powerful as FiiO E11.
Your listening levels play an important role here.

Thanks! I'll check it out.

cossix · Jul 24, 2017 at 6:41 AM

+1 for X3II, very powerful little guy

ProtegeManiac · Jul 24, 2017 at 9:19 AM

BassHeadJim said:
Hi folks,

I'm searching for my next set of headphones, but some of the options I'm looking at need amplification. I really don't want to have to carry around and keep charged an amp (I already have a Fiio E11) as well as my phone and potentially a player too.

Is there a portable MP3 player anyone can recommend that is capable of driving 100+ (or even 200+) ohm cans?

Fiio X5 and X3.

bixby · Jul 24, 2017 at 11:09 AM

lg v10 or v20

blackrain139 · Jul 24, 2017 at 3:45 PM

You could wait for the X7 Mark II with swappable amp modules

BassHeadJim · Jul 25, 2017 at 9:49 PM

Thanks for the responses everyone!

I went to my local store and tried as many of your suggestions as they had in stock. In the end I opted for an E17K Alpen 2 DAC amp. I know I said I didn't want to cart an amp around, but I figured it was no worse than carrying a player and a phone.

What swung me was the ability to use it as a DAC driven from my laptop at home & work. After thinking about it I realised the convenience of being able to just play anything from my network drives and Spotify over having to keep uploading stuff to a player would make a much bigger difference than I previously thought.

I have a bad habit of just putting a load of albums on devices and then leaving them for way too long - basically until I'm terribly bored of hearing the same stuff too much.

So far I am absolutely loving the E17K. The extra power and the ability to give a little boost to the bass & treble settings has made me fall in love with my M50Xs all over again. I can't wait to try it with my incoming Fostex TH-X00s.

Thanks again for all the suggestions!