FiiO Amps?

Dragonzeanse · March 22, 2014

I've been tossing the idea in my head around: maybe I should buy a portable amp if I want to get really nice headphones in the future. FiiO has a reputation for making affordable, portable amps. But as far as their quality and the power they produce, all I have to go off of are some vague Head-Fi recommendations and Amazon user reviews. I would probably end up using a portable amp at home sometimes, just because I'm rather economical and prefer things that can pull double duty.

So how do FiiO amps fare for their price? Are there any options from them that would make a good desktop and portable amp? Keeping in mind that I wouldn't be powering Sennheiser HD 800s with these; just something that could see some improvement from a dedicated amp.

Of course, if I had the money, I'd buy an amp/DAC combo, but this is the scenario I'm faced with.

AMICLG · March 22, 2014

Honesty unless your buying HD 600 or DT880 250 ohm pro you don't really need and amp but it can't hurt getting a E10 AMP/DAC for $150 cans, my HD 518's which are the same drivers more or less of the 558/598 are 54 ohm and run just fine off my Galaxy S2 further more onboard audio will likely be just fine on your pc as long as you plug the headphones into the rear jack on the motherboard.

dylandylandylan · March 22, 2014

I've been tossing the idea in my head around: maybe I should buy a portable amp if I want to get really nice headphones in the future. FiiO has a reputation for making affordable, portable amps. But as far as their quality and the power they produce, all I have to go off of are some vague Head-Fi recommendations and Amazon user reviews. I would probably end up using a portable amp at home sometimes, just because I'm rather economical and prefer things that can pull double duty.

So how do FiiO amps fare for their price? Are there any options from them that would make a good desktop and portable amp? Keeping in mind that I wouldn't be powering Sennheiser HD 800s with these; just something that could see some improvement from a dedicated amp.

Of course, if I had the money, I'd buy an amp/DAC combo, but this is the scenario I'm faced with.

I purchased the FiiO e17 not because my on board is low-powered or failing in anyway, it just didn't drive my headphones to the level of "loudness" that I wanted them to go to. I also use this amp coupled with my Mp3 player to drive and EQ my takstar HI-2050s while I'm out and about. They are a little bit pricey compared to the E10, but the feature set was worth it to me in the end. Being able to use it while charging is also a win, and the 18 hour battery life is amazing.

Just my 2 cents from a FiiO owner!

Dragonzeanse · March 23, 2014

Thanks for the info. It's too bad that the E10 got discontinued. That looked like one of the best values in the amp market. Believe me, I hope to save up for some really nice headphones in the future.