E10 USB DAC question

[sam9s]

Hi Friends,

I am planning to buy this DAC ..

http://www.amazon.co.uk/FiiO-Headph...7LG6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342093966&sr=8-1

What I need to know is what is the best possible way to connect my iPod with this and also since it also has a headphone amp, which headphones to go for with a budget of 5K, which can shine with this DAC.

Regards
Sammy

 

[kGr99]

I hope you are aware that FIIO is available in India and costs less as well when compared to the pricing abroad.

Link: FIIO E10 USB DAC Headphone Amplifier

 

[soulforged]

I read somewhere (though not sure) that if you turn off the USB charging, you can bypass iPod's DAC. If that works, that should come in handy...

 

[varunjh]

this is meant more for use with laptops and the like as it has a DAC. It wont accept a LOD from your ipod.
for ipod use why dont you look at the Fiio e11? I have one use it with the Fiio L3 LOD.
Use it with my grado 225is and soundmagic pl50s. quite happy with its performance.

 

[varunjh]

oh and i bought mine from hifimart the price was decent. although they got it shipped via pristine note, maybe some tie up or whatever.

 

[koushikp]

oh and i bought mine from hifimart the price was decent. although they got it shipped via pristine note, maybe some tie up or whatever.

PN is the distributor of Fiio in India

 

[Audiodoc]

I am the one using the cck with my iPads. For DACs with an independent power supply e7 with USB charging off, e10 or desktop DAC you can just connect using the camera connection kit. USB powered DACs like odac will not work directly you will need a powered USB port in between like the Belkin 4 powered USB port that I use.

 

[sam9s]

I hope you are aware that FIIO is available in India and costs less as well when compared to the pricing abroad.

Link: FIIO E10 USB DAC Headphone Amplifier

yes, Audiodoc, provided th elink for Pristine. I should have posted that link.

this is meant more for use with laptops and the like as it has a DAC. It wont accept a LOD from your ipod.
for ipod use why dont you look at the Fiio e11? I have one use it with the Fiio L3 LOD.
Use it with my grado 225is and soundmagic pl50s. quite happy with its performance.

I mentioned iPOD since its one of the best player out there. Else what other options do we have for a decent audio player to complement this DAC ...
WD TV, Squeezebox Touch ..????? any suggestions here ...
I will be connecting this to my Polk Audios via Onkyo AMP

I am the one using the cck with my iPads. For DACs with an independent power supply e7 with USB charging off, e10 or desktop DAC you can just connect using the camera connection kit. USB powered DACs like odac will not work directly you will need a powered USB port in between like the Belkin 4 powered USB port that I use.

I dont have any camera connection kit. any specific iPOD doc/adapter available to be used as a quality substitute ...???

 

[sam9s]

Also friends, any info about headphones to go with this DAC for a budget of 5000. Heard KOSS is a decent buy for the price point I mentioned ...

 

[sam9s]

mmm any suggestions ..... was hoping to get some help. Was thinking to order both in one go ...

 

[Kevian]

This listing helped me in buying my headphones(only if you believe in ratings). I bought 518s for 5k odd. Search for my thread.

 

[esanthosh]

@sam9s,

If you are thinking of portable headphones, check out

Shootout: 102 Portable Headphones Reviewed (Panasonic RP-HTF600 added 04/29/12)

 

[sam9s]

@sam9s,

If you are thinking of portable headphones, check out

Shootout: 102 Portable Headphones Reviewed (Panasonic RP-HTF600 added 04/29/12)

Wow thats a truck load of choices. My budget comes under 50-100USD segment so I didnt even read the others, but the point is the availability ...... if we go through the entire 5-100 USD segment, with a sound quality of 8 and 8+ we boil down to below choices ....

Creative Aurvana Live! 8.5/10
Alessandro MS1 8.0/10
Denon DN-HP700 8.5/10
Superlux HD668B 8.2/10

Out of the lot Superlux become a choice given the price. Its the cheapest of the lot at 49USD with a score of 8.2, it does seems something ...

.... also we can make all the choices we can, but if the availability is not there then we cant do a thing about it .......

Panasonic RP-HTF600 seems interesting as well, with a price tag of just 27USD it scores 7.2 .......


But availability .... availability ...availability !!!!

 

[esanthosh]

We can't get it at $30 for sure. But, HTF-600 is available on eBay for $53+ shipped.

Superlux HD668B is costlier on eBay at $90 shipped. I got mine from for cheaper from this guy long back.

Alessandro MS1i was available with PristineNote before, but not sure about the status now.

 

[sam9s]

esantosh, how did you place you order for HD668B, what about shipping to india, cost , customes and all, can you direct me here. I will place the order, as I see its still available on audiohipster's website ..
also from what you wrote I presume that you own both a HTF-600 and HD668B, which one do you think is better. Crystal clarity and tight hitting bass is what I like.

 

[sam9s]

BTW I ordered E10 from HiFi Mart, should receive the product within 4,5 days ..

 

[Kevian]

Crystal clarity and tight hitting bass is what I like.

If this is what you are wanting then go ahead and order HD 518 on 24sevenindia.com. This is my thread prior to my purchase.

 

[esanthosh]

I never owned HTF-600, but owned HD668B in the past (sold in the forum last year).

I do not remember the signature very clearly - Bass was tight, had adequate quantity for me. Signature was slightly dry in the overall sense, not warm and engaging - as you'd have guessed from the review. It's clarity, from vague memory was good for the price, but definitely not class leading or shockingly good. It's been a long time, so that's the vague fragments of memory I could recollect. The gear I used then (Maverick D1?) and the gear I use now (DacMini CX, Burson HA-160) are entirely different. I do not think highly of D1 either, so that may have a bearing on my impression at that time. It comes with a shorter cable, which was useful when I was using portable amp and a longer one which I used with my DAC-Amp.

I actually E-mailed Doyen. It was marked as "Gift", valued at $15, complete with a small gift card...... and customs charged me Rs. 541 as their additional gift (probably because they didn't buy the fact that such a "gift" could be sent by USPS priority?). He gave me a good discount at that time ($35), but sometime last year, another FM (on TE?) asked him and he refused to give too much discount. I'd say if you can get them for somewhere around $50-60 shipped, it would be a nice deal.

Locally, there's ATH-M35 (Review on TE). But, I did not suggest it due to the 11' cable.

 

[sam9s]

If this is what you are wanting then go ahead and order HD 518 on 24sevenindia.com. This is my thread prior to my purchase.

HD518 goes way beyong my budget actually, almost touching 6. 5 is my limit. Is it exceptionally good, something like "one would be blown away" ... mmm I might think ..... till then I will try to confine myself under 5K. The DAC which I bought as well is not something out of extraordinary I guess.

I never owned HTF-600, but owned HD668B in the past (sold in the forum last year).

I do not remember the signature very clearly - Bass was tight, had adequate quantity for me. Signature was slightly dry in the overall sense, not warm and engaging - as you'd have guessed from the review. It's clarity, from vague memory was good for the price, but definitely not class leading or shockingly good. It's been a long time, so that's the vague fragments of memory I could recollect. The gear I used then (Maverick D1?) and the gear I use now (DacMini CX, Burson HA-160) are entirely different. I do not think highly of D1 either, so that may have a bearing on my impression at that time. It comes with a shorter cable, which was useful when I was using portable amp and a longer one which I used with my DAC-Amp.

I actually E-mailed Doyen. It was marked as "Gift", valued at $15, complete with a small gift card...... and customs charged me Rs. 541 as their additional gift (probably because they didn't buy the fact that such a "gift" could be sent by USPS priority?). He gave me a good discount at that time ($35), but sometime last year, another FM (on TE?) asked him and he refused to give too much discount. I'd say if you can get them for somewhere around $50-60 shipped, it would be a nice deal.

Locally, there's ATH-M35 (Review on TE). But, I did not suggest it due to the 11' cable.

mmmm thanks .. okey mailed to the guy, let see what he replies ....... tell me what would be class leading, I mean how much decently possible should I extend to get a decently audiophile headphones. Plus the DAC n Headphone AMP I have ordered, is it worth to extend my money to get better headphones ...... I might consider HD518 then ...or other choices might pop up .......

 

[esanthosh]

Do you have any headphones / IEMs currently?

If you have nothing, I'd stick with 668B for the time being. E10 should be an interesting product to have, but I am not really sure if it would in typical audiophile terms, "beat DACs 2-3X it's price". Better stick to budget, try it for sometime and then see how you feel. Usually, other than bankruptcy and lack of interest, upgraditis never ends...

I must also stress the fact that I am not as knowledgeable about headphones as IEMs. My experience is limited to headphones listed in my head-fi profile.

Own:

Alessandro MS1i
Beyerdynamic DT880/600
Brainwavz HM5
Fostex T20RP (SFI drivers)
Sennheiser HD600
Sennheiser PMX-60

Departed: Audio Technica AD-700, Koss KSC75, Sennheiser PX-80, Superlux HD668B

Among them, if you stretch your budget, you can look at... (based on your signature preference)....

MS1i is a bright, energetic rock can. Leaks sound, good bass (but not too much quantity), very upfront presentation with little sound stage (or headstage if you prefer). Not mighty comfortable for longer durations as it makes you sweat with those "hot" pads. Grado signature is usually a love or hate. If you like it, you should be playing air guitar in no time.

AD700 is a slightly bass light, wide sound stage can. It also leaks sound very much (cannot use it outside). Said to be very good for gaming due to good presentation of positional cues (I never used it for gaming). Might make you look like a pink loving alien in the mirror. Comfortable. iaudio still has it, so you can ask him for an opinion as well.

Of what I've read, M50 seems to be an universal recommendation. Many say it's "monitor sound" with good bass quantity, in which case it might as well be better than 668B.

At some point, I am thinking of unloading most of my headphones. But then, I am damn lazy to take photos and start a thread....