Should I upgrade my DAC/AMP?

Submitted by TouchofRed t3_zxikws in headphones

Greetings!

I got myself a pair of Hifiman Edition XS headphones to get closer to a true hifi setup and see what I've been missing out on. Initial impressions after a few hours of listening to them and wow are they amazing.

I have an aging setup and haven't been listening to them much. These headphones are replacing my old Audio Technica M50x

The Hifiman pair make the 50x seem muddy in comparison. The highs especially are so clear. It's really amazing how many things I can suddenly hear for the first time in tracks that I thought I knew really well.

My question is this: How much if any am I held back by this older Fiio E07k Andes Edition DAC/amp combo?

Would I notice much of a difference with a newer setup? The E07k is portable, that's no longer a requirement for me.

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sustained_vibrations t1_j20h10u wrote

I have a Hifiman XS as well. I have tried the headphones on the JDS atom+ stack and a stack with the THX 887 balanced and SU9 dac, a much better stack, and they didn’t scale too much more. You should be happy with what you have.

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TouchofRed OP t1_j20hvty wrote

That's good to hear. I have no problem driving them to volume levels too high for my comfort.

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sustained_vibrations t1_j20h6r7 wrote

And yes the headphones are out of this world awesome!

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TouchofRed OP t1_j20i2pr wrote

They really are. I was worried they would be too big since I don't have a large head but they're actually really comfortable.

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boredinballard t1_j20piar wrote

I actually had the same setup, Fiio E07k and the original M50!

The E07k actually sounds really nice and has just enough power. Never tried driving any planars from it though.

The Fiio has a bit of a softer sound in the details, but it's nice. When I upgraded to something "nicer", I actually missed the softer sound.

The differences are subtle though! If your budget allows, upgrade. But if I were you, I'd get used to the sound of the XS and Fiio for a while, you'll notice more of a difference if you are very familiar with the sound, as the upgrade will probably be very subtle.

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TouchofRed OP t1_j20q88w wrote

Great advice! That's really cool you had the same setup. The XS sound amazing to me through the E07k so I'll just run this setup for a few months and then upgrade to the K7.

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TouchofRed OP t1_j20h3c5 wrote

Actually my old headphones are M50 not M50x.

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ostuniman t1_j20k8ev wrote

If you like Fiio, they released several new products in past couple of months. Sort it by Newest on Amazon.

K7

BTR7

Q7

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TouchofRed OP t1_j20lb4i wrote

I don't have an opinion one way or another. My only experience is with the Fiio E07k. Sounds like upgrading the DAC/amp wouldn't do much for me anyway.

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ostuniman t1_j20ne0u wrote

I got the new Fiio and its with the THXAAA related chips. Supposedly its beefier performance wise.

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TouchofRed OP t1_j20olqh wrote

Interesting, I could probably swing the K7. I may pick one up in the near future and keep the E07k as a portable solution if needed.

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