Mad Lust Envy

I c whut u did thar! Punch-out sfx, make this an auto-win, not to take away from the fantastic and dream-like rendition. Very relaxing and....friendly? U herd rite. I liek mai mudkipz. <3

Fiio sells the L3 which is the LOD cable for the Ipod. The E7 is my BEST purchase in audio equipment due to it's sheer versatility and performance for the price. I'd suggest getting it now, then later on once you get some powerful headphones, you can get the E9 to pair with the E7.

Okay, so my Fiio E9 full-sized amp came in. Man, it is AWESOME. It can power my AKG K701 and DT990/600ohm quite well, and the amp is very neutral/transparent, so it doesn't color the sound, giving you a pretty much crystal clean picture of how your headphones are supposed to sound. This is gonna become a very popular amp in the future, I guarantee. Paired with the E7 (docked on top), you get a spectacular amp+dac for $200 together. Anyone using their basic onboard soundcards would cry if they heard what a gap in quality a good amp/dac does to their headphones. I'm loving it!

Yeah, I agree on the PSP. It does output very good sound, though I wish it had a stronger internal amp.

Absolutely. The E7 is getting rave reviews, but it simply works, and it works for a ridiculous affordable price. The built in DAC portion DESTROYS crappy soundcards in quality, and the amp plus several EQ options aid it in versatility. I have ran my super hard to drive K701 with the E7. It's not ideal, but it works. Granted, you won't be getting anywhere near the sound quality they are capable of... The reason why it's a good thing to have is because really soon, the Fiio E9 is coming out, and it pairs up with the E7 to become an affordable, yet high quality solution for amping all sorts of headphones from easy to drive to notorious hard to drive headphones. If you wait until the E9 comes out (sometime in the next few weeks), you can get the E7/E9 combo for $200. That's portable amp/dac AND desktop amp. http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/518997/fiio-e9-pre-release-unboxing-review-part-1 This is gonna be the budget solution for those budget conscious headphone users that happen to have hard to drive headphones. The reviewer owns various high end equipment, and he says the E9 can power his hard to drive phones as well as his $600 amp. I was sold right then and there. I love what Fiio is doing: selling high quality products for a lower price, and earning the respect of people like me not by name, but because their products are actually good and they stand behind them.

The Creative Aurvana Live uses Fostex drivers, which is the same drivers used in the Denon D1001. Believe me, the quality is anything but low end. It compares to $200 headphones (actually they were around $200 when they first came out). They are my fave closed headphones to date. If open is fine I really think you should try the KSC75 first. For the very small amount you have to spend, I don't think you'll be disappointed. If I hadn't given my pair to my brother, I'd probably be using them while I lay down and relax. They don't ever move or slip off (since they're clip ons, and I'd probably fall asleep with them on at low volumes). But the Porta Pros and perhaps the Grado SR60 may be a treat for you.

So what you want is a pair of headphones that don't leak out much sound, but don't isolate well (let's sound in). Most if not all closed headphones don't leak out much sound, but they do isolate you from outside sounds a bit more than what the KSC75 allows (the KSC75 is very open). If you had around $100 budget, I'd say the Denon D1001 or Creative Aurvana Live (same headphone, different brands) are well known to keep sound from leaking out but let sound in. As for sound, open headphones aren't LOUD, but people can hear what you listen to if they are within 15 feet from you. I certainly wouldn't use open headphones if someone were sleeping in the same room as you. You're gonna have to sacrifice either isolation or sound leaking out of your headphones. My fave pair of closed headphones on a budget is the JVC HA-S700. They look like the $130 Bose (the JVC actually looks better IMHO) and feel the same (veeeeery comfy), and they cost around $30. They do isolate well and keep sound from leaking out. I still like the sound off the KSC75 more though. As for open, the KSC75 is probably only beaten by Koss's own Portapros, and they are around $30 as well. Their aesthetics are love it/hate it. Kind of retro, but they sound amazing for the price. They do leak out and don't isolate well...

I agree about budget headphones. Even though I have started dabbling into higher end headphones, I continue to find budget headphones that are totally bang for the buck. You mentioned the JVC Marshmallows, which happen to be my main ones on the go. They are indeed awesome. Even after owning some $200-300 headphones, I still buy some budget ones and enjoy them almost just as much. If you want good sound on a budget, you can't go wrong with the KSC75. They are absolutely amazing for the $15 price. I honestly don't believe they could be so cheap.

I hear lots of good things about the K271 MKII. I was very close to getting them last year, as gaming headphones, since they don't color or emphasize anything, making it ideal for competitive gaming. That is until I bought the K701, and promptly saw how ridiculously awesome they were for that very purpose. Still, the K271 MKII is pretty neutral/flat and I want something a little more fun with emphasized bass and treble to be different from what I already had in the K701. Neutral headphones are an absolute necessity by professionals, as they don't color or distort the sound, making the K271 ideal for mixing and monitoring. You remixers would most likely agree. I'm also interested in some Alessandro MS1 in the future. I hear they're fantastic cans for rock. Bah, this addiction is gonna be the end of me.

Nah, they will not be as good. The M50s are usually found in places like Sam Ash. They can be found on Amazon for about $100.

This would be a turn on if there was something better than crappy stock ipod buds connected. :/ I'd get one out of sheer curiosity. My girl would finally get some use out of her Ipod classic. XD

Guide is a bit outdated and missing a few key players like Beyerdynamic, but it is a relative good guide. Blue Magic, you don't want noise cancelling headphones. A good pair of closed ear headphones will isolate you extremely well. The M50 is probably the most recommended (and with good reason, and the typically go for less than $100). They isolate well, have a very good and balanced frequency curve, with a slight emphasis on the low end for fun bass. If you want utter neutrality from a closed headphone, I think the AKG 271 MKII and 272 (same headphone, different cosmetics and pads) are probably the most well know for extremely flat response. The 271 MKII is around $150. For cheaper, the ATH-M40 is pretty neutral as well. Still, I'd say the best starting point for a GREAT headphone is the ATH-M50.

I hear that. My E7 alone doesn't drive them as well as I'd like, but I'm hoping the addition of the E9 in the near future will do just that. I believe it will as it's made for headphones ranging from 16-600ohm. The K701 and K702 are notorious as being stupidly hard to drive for a 62ohm headphone. Actually hear they are as hard to drive as 600ohm headphones... they have such a low sensitivity, it's not hard to see why... Thankfully the Astro Mixamp powers them VERY well for surround sound video gaming on my consoles but only if I don't mess with the voice chat settings and have the mixamp fully juicing the game audio. Otherwise, the amp becomes another victim for the power hungry AKGs. I wanted the K701 mostly for the white color, but I WISH they had a detachable cable like the K702. I would have gotten a really good custom cable for it... but it's not a big issue as a recable probably improves the sound by an incremental amount.

Blue magic, what kind of music do you mostly listen to? If you want tried and proven great all arounders, the Audio Technica M50 is highly regarded as great cans for the price. A few head-fiers who own headphones that cost 4 times as much still have their M50s. I myself had them and sold them to my roommate, and I can personally attest to them standing up to headphones worth much more than them. Some well known performers: ATH-M50 ATH-ES7 (these sound fantasic but there are a lot of fakes out there. They can also be torture on the ears as they can be very uncomfortable. I sold these too. I couldn't take take another 'on-ear' headphone ever again. Never again will I sacrifice comfort for sound quality. It needs to have both.) Denon D1001 or Creative Aurvana Live AKG 271 MKII AKG 240 Shure SRH840 Sennheiser 555 (5 minute mod to make them sound excatly like the Senn 595) Sony V6 Sony XB700 (if you want thunderous bass and fun sound, said to sound like the Senn HD650). The HD650 is over $300, while the XB700 is $70. I owned them and they were awesome. EQ-ing them is well worth it. They're one of few headphones that can take abuse in equalizers and still sound untouched. They also go so low in bass, to inaudible depths. I'm not much of an in ear monitor guy, but the Hifiman RE0 is VERY highly regarded as one of the best sub $100 purchases in headphone gear. They compare with in ears that cost 3 times as much. Very neutral and transparent sound. If I can say anything about them is that they to me sound like they give you the sound that a music producer intended for you to hear. Well worth it. I paid $13 for my JVC Marshmallows not because thy are hi fi, but because they supply the most comfortable tips I have ever felt in IEMs. They also seal almost too well, and won't fall out of your ear. With EQ, the Marshmallows sound just fine for my portable needs. Other great value performers: Koss KSC75 ($15 clip ons, very trusted around head-fi. I myself can't believe the sound coming off these. They sound like $75 headphones) Sennheiser HD201 ($15-20) JVC HA-S700 (Looks like the $130 Bose that sell in stores, but are worth just $30 and sound great) JVC HA-RX700 ($30, known for their terrific performance even with video games) Never ever buy headphones from Ebay. There are a lot of fakes out there. If you want a very effective DAC/AMP, the Fiio E7 is an amazing buy for less than $100 (usually around $80). When connected to your computer via USB or line out, the Fiio E7 bypasses your computer's soundcard for it's very good internal DAC and also amplifies the signal for your headphones. The upgrade in sound is astronomical when compared to most stock onboard sound cards. I couldn't believe what I was listening to prior to getting the E7. To headphone users, I can't stress how good a DAC/AMP is for your music listening. Do yourselves a favor and get the Fiio E7, as it has components found in DACs that cost 3 times as much. Fiio makes their business selling products that rival bigger companies but at a more consumer friendly price, and their build quality speaks SO MUCH when it comes to how much they care for their own products. The E7 also works as just a portable amp, in which you can get an LOD cable to hook up to your mp3 players like Ipods, Sansas, and whatnot. The LOD bypasses the usually crappy amp/headphone out of your mp3 players and feeds you a clean, strong signal for your headphones. The E9 is going to be released very soon, and the E7 is going to dock with it, allowing users to have the DAC part of the E7 and the desktop amp power of the E9 for the harder to drive headphones like the HD650. This is gonna be a great combo for $200. The E9 itself is gonna be no more than $150 (I'm gonna guess in the range of $130, final price hasn't been posted by Fiio yet)

Could you tell me which Turtle Beach you own? I know the HPX and HPA2 give a really solid performance for their price even with music considering their price. I myself recently purchased the Turtle Beach Z2 and PX21, but both left me severely underwhelmed, though I guess that can be attributed to me being spoiled by the sound off my headphones. The PX21 has an inline amp that hissed waaaay too much for my liking, and the Z2 was just a pretty poor product all around, IMHO. I quite liked the PX21 IF the hissing wasn't there. In the end, I returned both. The Creative Aurvana Live shares the same drivers as the Denon D1001 (which cost around $130 in many places), but at half that price. Assuming you can find the CAL nowadays for the reduced price. The CAL still continues to surprise me for the $65 I spent on them. They beat the Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 which cost me $200 at one point, and compares to them favorably with the same music. If you want a really good mid fi headphone for a low end price (less than $90), the Sennheiser 555, Audio Technica AD700 (though light on bass), and Creative Aurvana Live are my top picks.