Reddit reviews FiiO E7 USB DAC and Portable Headphone Amplifier

Which is why I said "and a decent DAC". There is a market for higher-grade portable audio, as evidenced by dedicated external portable DACs and IEMs. Such a device could also serve those of us that want to keep all of their music on them.

> Macbooks already dominate the musician/DJ portable device market

Surely you see the distinction between a MacBook and an iPod for portable audio listening.

I'm /u/whitefeather14's friend. If it's solely for headphones and you're not looking to spend a lot, then I would strongly recommend something by Fiio. I have an older one, the FiiO E7. They don't sell this one anymore, but they have a newer one called the FiiO E70k. I haven't personally used it, but I can only assume it's like mine but better.

If it's a little more than you want to spend, then I'd look at the Q1. I've heard good things about these as well.

These are nice, because they double as a USB dac and a portable headphone amplifier. Which means if you're traveling or something you can plug your phone into it and still get the amplifier out of it, no need for a USB source.

If that doesn't interest you, then there's the FiiO K1, which is just a USB DAC, and does not have an analog 3.5mm input, only the micro USB.

Now, understand that any of these aren't going to be the greatest DAC ever. Sub $100 is pretty cheap for a DAC, and I'm pretty sure these are all 24-bit, with 32-bit being more or less the best you can get (There's some debate on whether or not you can hear a difference, but that's entirely a different conversation.)

If you do want something a little more pricey and nice, the Schiit Modi DAC and Magni amp are really quite nice. They also have a Amp/DAC combination for $80 which I haven't heard anything about, but Schiit is pretty good.

The one /u/whitefeather14 said is a PreSonus AudioBox USB. You probably don't want this, as it is primarily an audio interface for recording instruments and microphones, and isn't a dedicated DAC, though the DAC is pretty nice, and as a bonus has a 1/4in headphone out as well as two 1/4in outs for L/R powered speakers, such as studio monitors, if that's of any benefit for you.

As for the SMSL one you posted, I have also heard good things about that one, though it's a desktop unit and does not have an analog 3.5mm input.

Let me know if you have any questions, I'm happy to help.

Received wisdom is that something like a Fiio E7 is the best way to go.

It provides a very good DAC and headphone amp, away from the "noisy" interior of the PC.

I'm a huge fan of Fiio for this

http://www.fiio.net/en

(EDIT: looks like their website sucks, but Amazon carries a ton of them http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-USB-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B003N0XDT4 for example...)

I'm using these

With this

And I've owned everything from TB x41s, to the this headset and even astro a40/50, but my current setup (which I got for $170) is by far the best I've owned.

Micro USB Host OTG Cable with Micro USB Power

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CXAC1ZW/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_fNeaub0DNF2KH

FiiO E7 USB DAC and Portable Headphone Amplifier (Black)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003N0XDT4/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_FOeaub1EY7PQ2

I have a Fiio E7- works perfectly with Linux (pulseaudio under Fedora, Mint and Ubuntu) via USB (no drivers required) and has dual outputs and is portable. Sounds is great and works fine with all headphones as well. I paid $69 for it.

If you want an external dac & amp you'll have to plug it in via USB. If you want to use your onboard audio then you just plug the AD700s into the 3.5mm audio jack on your computer.


You can see some dac & amp suggestions here. Behringer UCA202 is essentially an external sound card that costs 30$, you could give that a shot.

Edit: looks like your AD700s are rated at "Impedance: 32 ohms" which means you might not get the best sound with the Behringer UCA202 due to it's high output impedance.

Perhaps check out the Asus Xonar U3.

FiiO E7 is another option worth looking at.

From my personal experience, I jumped from the Behringer UCA202 to an Audioengine D1 now, since I bought a set of Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro's.

I played around with a friend's setup, and he really loved the Fiio E7 at ~$60

Portable, good looking and can handle your cans without breaking a sweat.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003N0XDT4/ref=redir_mdp_mobile my preferred amp, and also means that if you upgrade to some high impedance headphones you can always grab http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004M172FY/ref=redir_mdp_mobile to attach it to later on.

I have a pretty cheap portable amp (Fiio E7) that I use when playing music from my phone. Works surprisingly well.

If you want an amp, the Fiio E7/E9 Combo is really nice.

Thx for the fast answer. I took a look at the schiit magni it appears to be a very good amp for little money. The problem is I live in Europe (sorry for not being specific in my question) so the amp+shipping would cost me around 150 $.
So I took a look at some over amps and amp/DAC's . What do you think about the FiiO E7 Amp/DAC

http://www.amazon.com/Fiio-USB-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B003N0XDT4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1382207136&sr=8-2&keywords=Fiio+E7

Sounds like you need an external amplifier instead - something like the FiiO E7 should work: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003N0XDT4

Or maybe the FiiO E5: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001P9EQH8

Here's a possible solution. Relatively expensive, though.

http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-USB-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B003N0XDT4

I don't think ANY motherboard has a good enough sound card for headphones because you can hear every background noise that poor insulation involves (and most motherboards have that problem). The problem with dedicated sound cards is that they're most of the time geared towards pros and very expensive and packed with features you won't need, I think you should get a USB DAC if you're not bothered by the fact that you're going to have something outside of the computer's case, the advantage is that you can use it on every computer you own while it still works. The FiiO E7 is a popular choice because it's portable and cheap for what it does (DAC + amplifier), you can get it on Amazon or elsewhere. If you want to go for a dedicated sound card, browse head-fi.org, I cannot really help you with that, I've never found them that interesting.

EDIT: btw, to answer your question about headphones, try the Sennheiser HD-25s if you want to get good isolation (so that you can use it in public and not bother anyone and not be bothered too much), they're excellent monitoring headphones for the price and nobody complains too much about the sound AFAIK, the main problem is the clamp, they can hurt after a few hours and over-the-ear headphones are more comfortable by design. If you're really on a budget or want to expand your possibilities, get Koss Porta Pros, they're cheap and they're really good for the price (less than 30$ IIRC), or Sennheiser PX-100, these are both smaller and more portable open headphones. Good luck anyway, and don't make the bet of not trying any headphones live before buying, I never regretted getting my HD-25s, but I wasn't aware that the clamp might hurt that much.

This will be my second time typing this out, since I hit the fucking Browser-Back shortcut on my mouse.

I wouldn't recommend the Koss Plugs as a set of mixing phones, even while travelling. The clarity is simply nonexistant. My suggestion is just to use them as a second pair to check out your bassline before you finalize a track. For something more balanced, you might want to set aside an hour or two and drag your eyeballs over this thread over at head-fi.

As an off-the-cuff recommendation, Velodyne vPulse have gained quite a reputation in the under-$150 category. they have plenty of bass output, but it's much tighter than the Koss, no muddiness. They also get plenty of compliments on the detail in the midrange/treble.

/r/Audiophile is a great resource, as is /r/Headphones, but to save yourself from shame, I will tell you ahead of time, anything called a soundcard will almost certainly get you laughed out.

Puts on top hat and monocle, raising a cup of tea with the pinky out

>A gentleman uses a DAC with a seperate Headphone Amplifier.

In all fairness a soundcard is nothing but a DAC with a built-on amp, though the integrated amp circuits are terrible, in terms of audio reproduction.

You can get a DAC and feed an amp with it, or you can get a DAC/Amp combo, which is a popular place to begin, and is a great solution for a personal digital studio, especially if you use your laptop as a creative device away from home. The most recommended (for good reason) is the FiiO e7. It performes both the DAC and amplifier functions, as well as including an input jack and a battery so you can stick it in your pocket and connect it to your ipod/phone/whatever and increase the quality of your portable listening as well (This bypasses the DAC and only uses the amp). The only drawback to the e7 is that the amp is kind of puny. Mind you it is still more powerful than whatever is built into your devices, but it can leave you wanting if you have some high-end, high-impedance headphones. To solve that, you can either get a FiiO e9 amplifier to leave on your desk and dock the e7 to when you are at home, or you can pick up a FiiO e17 which is almost identical to the e7, but with more juice to the amp. You mentioned a speaker setup at home, so you would also want a FiiO l7 line out plug so you could run the un-amped output of the DAC to your speakers. Keep in mind, none of this passes as "Audiophile grade" hardware, but it's certainly (digital) studio quality.

All in all, an e7 and a pair of vPulse IEMs would set you back about $150, give you the low-end you need, a full-up system you could pack in your pocket while you're on the move, and also boost the quality of your 8400's, and whatever monitors you choose at home.

I'll get off my soapbox now. Hopefully that gives you a head start on your research.

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^tiny ^disclaimer: I don't work for FiiO, I'm not trying to sell you FiiO stuff, I don't even use FiiO myself. They just have a great reputation, and market at a reasonable price-range.

In that price range the only things I can think of is the FiiO E7 or E10. Those are both a DAC and an amp though, so either will more or less replace the E11, although you could bypass the amp in either and run a line to your E11 if you really wanted too.

Alternatively, you could buy the ODAC from JDS Labs for $150, which would be your best option. It doesn't include an amp so you'll have to run it to your E11.

You could probably also pick up an internal pci soundcard (I see the ASUS Xonar thrown around a lot but I know nothing about it) for much cheaper. But I'm an external kind of guy, and usually internal sound cards aren't recommended (due to potential noise issues similar to what you are currently experiencing).

That's still for a computer, though. Looks too big to fit in your pocket. [This] (http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B003N0XDT4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344016364&sr=8-1&keywords=Fiio+e7) however would be good if you really wanted to take your huge ass audiophile headphones on the go and have them sound good. More than anything, I find that my headphones (Sennheiser HD 380s) are just too big to walk around with.

But if the device used to play is a computer, then Arve ,your comment looks pretty awesome.

If your'e looking at portable amps I recommend this.

Edit: Forgot that it was a two piece set, this is the portable that goes a long with it, they work perfectly hand in hand.

FiiO E7. It will let you take it with you as well, for when you want to use your headphones away from the computer.

This one and that one are a good place to start if you want a dac/amp

I tried the Xonar USB and no mono mode. I also tried a sound blaster USB with the same results. It seems the only things I have that do mono are my Dell workstation(not sure what sound card it has) and Fiio E7.

This is what I have. A lower end model would probably achieve the same effect but I can't say for certain. However using thay with a micro usb on the go cable works great!

links for the lazy

http://www.amazon.com/electronics/dp/B0006NL5SM

http://www.amazon.com/electronics/dp/B003N0XDT4

It's the FiiO E7 USB DAC and Portable Headphone Amplifier.