Question about amps: Monolith Liquid Spark vs FiiO E10K

[PackYourBaggins]

So today I just received my Beyerdynamic DT 770s (250 Ohms) and I paired them with a Monolith Liquid Spark amp because someone else here on the forums recommended this amp to me. But one of my friends just told me that this headphone/amp combo is great for just about everything except for a PC (which is going to my only form of use for these headphones). He then recommended me the FiiO E10K DAC amp. I'm not sure which one I should go with, considering I know NOTHING about audio. This is my first time getting higher-end headphones, and my first time owning an amp. I'm not sure what the difference is between my amp I have now or a DAC amp either. Can anyone out there with some real knowledge tell me which amp is better for my case?

[Wingfan]

15 minutes ago, PackYourBaggins said:

So today I just received my Beyerdynamic DT 770s (250 Ohms) and I paired them with a Monolith Liquid Spark amp because someone else here on the forums recommended this amp to me. But one of my friends just told me that this headphone/amp combo is great for just about everything except for a PC (which is going to my only form of use for these headphones). He then recommended me the FiiO E10K DAC amp. I'm not sure which one I should go with, considering I know NOTHING about audio. This is my first time getting higher-end headphones, and my first time owning an amp. I'm not sure what the difference is between my amp I have now or a DAC amp either. Can anyone out there with some real knowledge tell me which amp is better for my case?

I have the E10K and its great with my DT990 Pros (250ohm), it was a good buy for me.

[PackYourBaggins]

17 minutes ago, Wingfan said:

I have the E10K and its great with my DT990 Pros (250ohm), it was a good buy for me.

That's good to hear, but I kinda need more info than that. I wanna know if I made the right choice getting the Liquid Spark over the E10K, and get a decent idea of what each one offers. Maybe one does something better than the other, better/worse sound, etc. That sort of thing.

[rice guru]

2 hours ago, PackYourBaggins said:

So today I just received my Beyerdynamic DT 770s (250 Ohms) and I paired them with a Monolith Liquid Spark amp because someone else here on the forums recommended this amp to me. But one of my friends just told me that this headphone/amp combo is great for just about everything except for a PC (which is going to my only form of use for these headphones). He then recommended me the FiiO E10K DAC amp. I'm not sure which one I should go with, considering I know NOTHING about audio. This is my first time getting higher-end headphones, and my first time owning an amp. I'm not sure what the difference is between my amp I have now or a DAC amp either. Can anyone out there with some real knowledge tell me which amp is better for my case?

The e10k is old and just ok it's a popular reccomendation but compared to your spark you lose out on overall power, the headphone might sound brighter and a little more boring. The e10k power wise should be able to handle the 770 but there are better options than the e10k these days. To me the spark out of a motherboard will sound much better than a e10k as a person that owns both. The spark is a warm sounding amp lots of power known for its strong bass and rolled off treble that makes beyers smoother sounding and help the mids sound more natural. The e10k has a very clinical sounding amp and does nothing special and again for the price there are better options for amp dacs. The dac is ok but not that much better that a modern motherboard. The amp vs the spark is pretty weak and not that much more powerful than a apple usb c dac plugged into my computer. 

[PackYourBaggins]

1 minute ago, rice guru said:

The e10k is old and just ok it's a popular reccomendation but compared to your spark you lose out on overall power, the headphone might sound brighter and a little more boring. The e10k power wise should be able to handle the 770 but there are better options than the e10k these days. To me the spark out of a motherboard will sound much better than a e10k as a person that owns both. The spark is a warm sounding amp lots of power known for its strong bass and rolled off treble that makes beyers smoother sounding and help the mids sound more natural. The e10k has a very clinical sounding amp. The dac is ok but not that much better that a modern motherboard. The amp vs the spark is pretty weak and not that much more powerful than a apple usb c dac plugged into my computer. 

This lets me breath a lot easier. After using this amp/headphone combo now for a few hours, I'm definitely satisfied with the sound. Apparently the Spark also has a break-in period of about 100 hours according to the instruction booklet that came with it, so the sound will only improve as well. Lucky me that someone on here actually owns both of these amps. Thank you for your response!

[rice guru]

Just now, PackYourBaggins said:

Apparently the Spark also has a break-in period of about 100

Eh you'll probably just notice yourself getting used to the sound over time than actually hear a overall legit difference.

[PackYourBaggins]

Just now, rice guru said:

Eh you'll probably just notice yourself getting used to the sound over time than actually hear a overall legit difference.

Most likely. But either way, I'm still satisfied, and I'm now confident in the purchase I made.

[rice guru]

1 minute ago, PackYourBaggins said:

Lucky me that someone on here actually owns both of these amps. Thank you for your response!

I started off with the e10k to power my 990 when I was doing my first major audio upgrade and liked the sound thought it sounded too sharp most of the time. I eventually got a liquid spark and that was probably the best thing I did for it the liquid spark is a favorite pairing with any beyers I try. 

[rice guru]

4 minutes ago, PackYourBaggins said:

Most likely. But either way, I'm still satisfied, and I'm now confident in the purchase I made.

And this should add to your confidence as well. Not that most people need the power but it's just a  good way to show the difference in quality. Also my e10k is currently broken after a year of use while my liquid spark is alive and well so there's that as well.

[PackYourBaggins]

Just now, rice guru said:

I started off with the e10k to power my 990 when I was doing my first major audio upgrade and liked the sound thought it sounded too sharp most of the time. I eventually got a liquid spark and that was probably the best thing I did for it the liquid spark is a favorite pairing with any beyers I try. 

That's really good to know. If I could ask, as someone who is a total novice with audio stuff, should I not touch the "Enhancements" in the Windows 10 audio manager? Like could I play around with settings or should I leave them all unchecked? 

[rice guru]

Just now, PackYourBaggins said:

That's really good to know. If I could ask, as someone who is a total novice with audio stuff, should I not touch the "Enhancements" in the Windows 10 audio manager? Like could I play around with settings or should I leave them all unchecked? 

No turn off all enhancements. If you wanna play with eq there are way better programs for that. Equalizer app and peace eq as a interface is my favorite also this post has some excellent presets you can look through as well to add to equalizer apo

 

[PackYourBaggins]

Just now, rice guru said:

No turn off all enhancements. If you wanna play with eq there are way better programs for that. Equalizer app and peace eq as a interface is my favorite also this post has some excellent presets you can look through as well to add to equalizer apo

 

Ohhh this is something I've always thought about doing with my gaming headsets, but never ended up doing it. Now is the perfect excuse. Thanks! I'll check it out.

[PackYourBaggins]

2 hours ago, rice guru said:

No turn off all enhancements. If you wanna play with eq there are way better programs for that. Equalizer app and peace eq as a interface is my favorite also this post has some excellent presets you can look through as well to add to equalizer apo

 

Follow up question: Should I turn my amp off when not using it? Or is it better to leave it on all the time?

[H713]

4 hours ago, PackYourBaggins said:

Follow up question: Should I turn my amp off when not using it? Or is it better to leave it on all the time?

You're going to get a million different answers to this question. Some are going to say to leave it on 24/7, others will say to shut it off the moment you're done using it.

 

Seriously, there are 30 page long threads over at Gearslutz about whether it's better to leave a console on 24/7 or to shut it off every night. Even manufacturers haven't come to a consensus.

 

Here's my opinion, which is worth exactly what you paid for it:

I usually leave small things like headphone amps and audio interfaces on 24/7. It's way less hassle, they don't consume much power, and most of them don't run particularly hot. 

 

Anything that runs really hot I like to power down if it won't be used for a while. This is mostly to prolong the life of electrolytic capacitors, but it also avoids cooking the PCBs. How long "a while" is depends on how long it takes the device to come up to temperature. Usually if I'm not going to use an amp for more than a day or so, I shut it off.

 

Any equipment that I deem to be "less than trustworthy" voids this rule- it gets powered down. Equipment that is old, in questionable condition or of questionable design (all power amps without protection circuits are of questionable design) fall under this category.

[rice guru]

6 hours ago, PackYourBaggins said:

Follow up question: Should I turn my amp off when not using it? Or is it better to leave it on all the time?

Yeah that's a bag of worms right there. As previously stated people will argue for and against leaving things on for ever. I aggree with this and basically do the same thing. 

 

1 hour ago, H713 said:

Here's my opinion, which is worth exactly what you paid for it:

I usually leave small things like headphone amps and audio interfaces on 24/7. It's way less hassle, they don't consume much power, and most of them don't run particularly hot. 

 

Anything that runs really hot I like to power down if it won't be used for a while. This is mostly to prolong the life of electrolytic capacitors, but it also avoids cooking the PCBs. How long "a while" is depends on how long it takes the device to come up to temperature. Usually if I'm not going to use an amp for more than a day or so, I shut it off.

My spark stays on for the most part though and if I remember to I will turn it off before I go to bed. Honestly though its a solid state amp so your not gonna kill it leaving it on for a long time but you could kill it by turning it off and on constantly but like if you turnn it on at the start of your day and turn it off and the end I highly doibt that does anything at all.

[CTR640]

Like rice guru, I started off with the E10K and it sounds as good as my onboard audio which is the Realtek ALC1151.

The only one difference between those two is the power. My motherboard audio can't drive my DT880 for shit so the E10k and was happy with it. Then when I got my Asus portable monitor that had a built-in DAC, the sound was actually much better, miles better than the E10K! So I went for an upgrade which I didn't expect and I had to return the monitor because of fucking quality-control, yeah, fuck Asus. So then I ended up with the Fiio K5 Pro. And it had to be a single-unit because a stack won't cut it for me because of limited space on my desk.

 

Since this dac/amp is literally next to my monitor, I just turn it off. No big deal at all.

[PackYourBaggins]

7 hours ago, rice guru said:

Yeah that's a bag of worms right there. As previously stated people will argue for and against leaving things on for ever. I aggree with this and basically do the same thing. 

 

My spark stays on for the most part though and if I remember to I will turn it off before I go to bed. Honestly though its a solid state amp so your not gonna kill it leaving it on for a long time but you could kill it by turning it off and on constantly but like if you turnn it on at the start of your day and turn it off and the end I highly doibt that does anything at all.

Noted! And one last question I've been curious about: On the back of the Liquid Spark, there's 2 sets of RCA ports. One set has the letter "P" under it, and the other has the letter "I". Is there any difference between these 2 sets? The instructions booklet doesn't mention anything about these ports so I assume there isn't, but I wanted to he sure. If the letters weren't there, I wouldn't ask at all, but they have me second guessing myself. I assume if they're labeled differently, then each set serves a different purpose?

[rice guru]

The I means I input. p means preamp. The P is really useful if you have several amps and needed to chain amps for some reason. I used to use mine to feed my speaker amp.

 

[PackYourBaggins]

2 minutes ago, rice guru said:

The I means I input. p means preamp. The P is really useful if you have several amps and needed to chain amps for some reason. I used to use mine to feed my speaker amp.

 

I see. Does one sound different than the other? I have mine plugged into input right now.

[rice guru]

4 minutes ago, PackYourBaggins said:

I see. Does one sound different than the other? I have mine plugged into input right now.

Not sure what you are asking Basically think of P as an output. So like if you need to pass the signal down to another piece of equipment you use that. 

[PackYourBaggins]

11 minutes ago, rice guru said:

Not sure what you are asking Basically think of P as an output. So like if you need to pass the signal down to another piece of equipment you use that. 

Right, I understand that. But I have an RCA to 3.5mm cable that connects the amp to my PC. I have the RCA cables plugged into the Input ports on the amp. If I were to move them to the RCA ports that have the P, would the audio sound the same?

[rice guru]

36 minutes ago, PackYourBaggins said:

Right, I understand that. But I have an RCA to 3.5mm cable that connects the amp to my PC. I have the RCA cables plugged into the Input ports on the amp. If I were to move them to the RCA ports that have the P, would the audio sound the same?

you wouldn't get sound. unless you were feeding the input with some kind of of signal into the input. but the sound that would come out of the pre amp out should be the same as the normal headphone out but quieter

[PackYourBaggins]

1 minute ago, rice guru said:

you wouldn't get sound. unless you were feeding the input with some kind of of signal into the input. but the sound that would come out of the pre amp out should be the same as the normal headphone out but quieter

Ahh, I gotcha. I guessed correctly in which ports to plug the cables into then, considering I didn't know what the P or the I meant.