[Quake120]

How good is the Fiio E9 for HD595 and DT880? (And possibly others, although I don't know which ones right now...). Does it have enough power to power the demanding DT880s (250ohm)?
 

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

How good is the Fiio E9 for HD595 and DT880? (And possibly others, although I don't know which ones right now...). Does it have enough power to power the demanding DT880s (250ohm)?
 

Heya,
 
Oh it will power them all right. Should be good for the HD595. For the DT880, it will power it great, but, it may sound a little more edgy and bright, if you like that sort of thing.
 
Very best,
 

 

[Quake120]

The DT880s are already pretty bright if I've read correctly. Am I correct? I've never actually heard a pair. I wish there was somewhere locally that carried them! It doesn't matter too much, though. I'm not a basshead by any means. I like detail and balance!

 

[AlfredWong]

E9 will marginally power them. Need a more powerful amp to get the most out of them two, or else will result in lesser bass and soundstage reproduction.

 

[Quake120]

Quote:

E9 will marginally power them. Need a more powerful amp to get the most out of them two, or else will result in lesser bass and soundstage reproduction.

What kind of amp would you suggest? It does not necessarily need to be portable, but I don't want to spend more than $200.

 

[stv014]

You may also consider the 600 Ohm version, which is slightly less bright and better overall, unless you want the cheaper Pro model that is only available in 250 Ohm. It is still good with the E9. Or, if you are really worried about the bright treble and would prefer to avoid any use of equalizing, just get a HD600 instead. It is also very good, and has a mostly neutral response but with smoother treble.
 

 

[stv014]

Quote:

E9 will marginally power them.

The E9 can produce almost twice as much power than what the DT880-250 can handle without damaging the drivers.
 

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

The DT880s are already pretty bright if I've read correctly. Am I correct? I've never actually heard a pair. I wish there was somewhere locally that carried them! It doesn't matter too much, though. I'm not a basshead by any means. I like detail and balance!

The DT880 would do what you're looking for.
 
However, it's quite popular to pair it with a tube amp to warm it up and juice it with a lot of excess wattage love.
 
Have a max budget?
 
 
Quote:

The E9 can produce almost twice as much power than what the DT880-250 can handle without damaging the drivers.

 
Unsayably false information.
 
So false, that it pains to read it.
 
Very best,
 

 

[AlfredWong]

Quote:

What kind of amp would you suggest? It does not necessarily need to be portable, but I don't want to spend more than $200.

I am using Keces HA-171, I sure quite some members will know how well it performs. It cost ~$350 but worth every penny. I am happy with any amp as long as their power output is enough and stable. For Keces HA-171, it drove the T1 smoothly. I suggest you to actually try some out and compare to your E9 before making decision. Actual testing defeats all claims. But never the less, FiiO is and always is prosumer grade product - I am using the E7/9 as my current DAC until I get my Keces DAC later.
 

 

[stv014]

Quote:

Unsayably false information.
 
So false, that it pains to read it.

 
Some simple maths:
  - the E9 has a maximum output voltage of about 20Vp-p, or 7Vrms, with an output impedance of 10-12 Ohms (calculated from the specs)
  - the DT880 can handle, according to its specs, 100 mW of power
  - for a conservative estimate, assume that the headphone impedance is 270 Ohms, and the output impedance is 12 Ohms. The maximum RMS voltage falling on the headphone is therefore (ignoring any reactance) 7*270/282, or about 6.7V; this translates to 6.7^2/270 W, or 166 mW
  - the above is for a sine wave; with square wave output, the power is doubled in theory, so it could be up to 332 mW
Of course, you could be right, and manufacturers also often blatantly lie about the specifications. Try connecting a 250 Ohm DT770/880/990 to the E9, connect the E9 to a computer, play a 1 kHz or 100 Hz square wave with all volume/gain controls at the maximum for a few hours (preferably not while wearing the headphones), and see what happens

 
By the way, for a loud, but not extreme listening level, only a small fraction of the above power values is needed.
 

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Of course, you could be right, and manufacturers also often blatantly lie about the specifications. Try connecting a 250 Ohm DT770/880/990 to the E9, connect the E9 to a computer, play a 1 kHz or 100 Hz square wave with all volume/gain controls at the maximum for a few hours (preferably not while wearing the headphones), and see what happens

 

Keep your math. You have no idea. It's like you saying "omg 1watt will stop your heart, don't use amps!"
 
I've put all these headphones into a Schiit Lyr and fed them way more power than this. What makes you think a dinky E9 is going to damage some headphone?
 
Do you even have any audio equipment or used it? Or are you just an internet number cruncher with no idea of the actual hardware you're talking about?
 
I'm being a little bit of a jerk about it because you're seriously giving false information telling people an E9 is going to damage a headphone of any kind. That's literally absurd.
 
Edit: Not even worth continuing with this, keep your math & theory. You clearly have no idea or experience with this. *Salute*
 
Very best,
 

 

[Quake120]

What about this one? http://www.headphone.com/headphone-amps/headroom-total-bithead.php
Again, trying to keep it below $200 for the time being. In the upcoming year I'll be able to spend a ton more on audio gear, so this is just a temporary holdover.

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

What about this one? http://www.headphone.com/headphone-amps/headroom-total-bithead.php
Again, trying to keep it below $200 for the time being. In the upcoming year I'll be able to spend a ton more on audio gear, so this is just a temporary holdover.

Not a tremendous amount of power, and uses AAA batteries if used portable. I wouldn't touch it simply due to the batteries thing.
 
Are you looking at portable amps because you want to walk around with an open-air headphone?
 
If these are strictly for at home, avoid portable amps, get something desktop (like the E9, or Asgard, or Maverick, or Little Dot, or something).
 
Very best,
 

 

[Quake120]

Quote:

Not a tremendous amount of power, and uses AAA batteries if used portable. I wouldn't touch it simply due to the batteries thing.
 
Are you looking at portable amps because you want to walk around with an open-air headphone?
 
If these are strictly for at home, avoid portable amps, get something desktop (like the E9, or Asgard, or Maverick, or Little Dot, or something).
 
Very best,
 

These will be used exclusively at home, or possibly at an office, but I'll never be walking around or anything with them. I think I might just go for the E9. What is your opinion of DT880 vs AKG K701? I listen to almost every genre of music, and I prefer an accurate sound. Perhaps something a bit "warmer" than 595s, however.
 

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

These will be used exclusively at home, or possibly at an office, but I'll never be walking around or anything with them. I think I might just go for the E9. What is your opinion of DT880 vs AKG K701? I listen to almost every genre of music, and I prefer an accurate sound. Perhaps something a bit "warmer" than 595s, however.
 

The DT880 and The K701 are very similar. Both are rather neutral, detail oriented and pretty analytical. They're not warm, musical headphones in the sense of things. The DT880 has more perceived bass, the K701 has a more 3D like sound stage (which I find synthetic sounding, not natural, but some love it). Neither are bassy, again, they're pretty flat. I think the Beyer DT line is more comfortable, the headband and pads just hug you and feel nice. The AKG is comfortable to me, though some have complained about the bumps on the headband causing pressure issues. Both will provide accurate clean detailed sound and will cover everything reasonably well (though I would say, they're not ideal for a lot of electronic or bassy music, if that matters to you). If you want something warmer, but just as detailed, accurate, etc, you may want to look at the Sennheiser HD600 and possibly the Hifiman HE-300. The Hifiman HE-300 needs very little amplification. The HD600 needs a pretty solid amplifier (but something like the E9 would be great mind you).
 
Very best,