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Creative MKII - FiiO E5 amp?

Pineh

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I would know, I've been reading so much the past few months!

Edit: That's an awesome post, I'm still reading. Thanks!

Edit: Done reading. That was an absolutely wonderful post! Thanks so much for showing me the light!
 
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Wile E

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If sound isolation is a priority, have you considered going with in ear monitors? That's what I primarily use.

HiFi Man (formerly Head Direct) has some really killer deals on IEMs. I have both a pair of RE2's and RE0's.
 

Pineh

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The AD700's, judging by that long article and the guy's conclusion, is about equal to the PC350. It's just different. Sound isolation is a priority but not of the absolute utmost importance. Sound quality for music and then gaming is what I'm after, as well as comfort. I'm looking for a good, full size circumaural headset for use solely with my PC (Maybe, but rarely with a portable device - probably won't get enough power from a mere iPod anyway) and I wanted a microphone for ease of communication, because having a separate microphone really ends up being a bit of a hassle after some time, at least for me. But thanks for the advice - maybe in the future when I want to upgrade my portable listening experience. I saw the RE2's for $30 over at Head Direct, seemed like a pretty good deal - are they usually expensive and high end IEM's?

Edit: Here's a pretty good review of the AD700's. They're pretty darn great, but I do want some nice bass, and on account of a few other tiny reasons (Open, no mic, etc) they're not as ideal for me.
 
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Wile E

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The RE2's compete with IEMs in the $100 price range, and the RE0's compete with IEMs in the $200 price range. You can always use a lapel mic with them too. The RE0's are light on bass, but retardedly accurate. You hear things you never knew were in the music.

I use the RE2's as my portable cans, and the RE0's are my desktop cans.
 

Pineh

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The RE2 and RE0 are both tiny IEM's - why not use the higher end RE0's for everything?
Yea, I think I might actually go with one of those in the future, very well priced.
Currently sporting Creative EP-630's as my portable audio solution, I find them pretty great.
Time for some sleep, it IS 1:30am after all. Time flies when you're drooling over cans.
 

Wile E

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I just don't want the RE0's to take damage, get lost, or be stolen. While priced very well, $80 (or $100 for the slightly updated balanced input model) isn't exactly pocket change. I'm much more comfortable risking $30 headphones on the go.
 

Pineh

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Yea, I could easily imagine that.
Would you by chance have any idea how the RE2's would compare to the EP-630's? I got a a couple on sale for $8 about a year ago (Don't let that fool you, they're pretty good *as far as I would know*)
 
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oh and dont forget the thanks button :toast::rockout::respect:
 

Wile E

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Yea, I could easily imagine that.
Would you by chance have any idea how the RE2's would compare to the EP-630's? I got a a couple on sale for $8 about a year ago (Don't let that fool you, they're pretty good *as far as I would know*)

RE2's are much better.
 

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What did you decide on Pineh? I expect a followup report of how they sound within the week!
 

Pineh

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Well, I've got the PC350's coming and by darn I'm going to listen to them!
Many people report they sound great even without the mod, and I've seen quite a few people with my sound card (AuzenTech X-Plosion) say they work marvelously together. I haven't ever owned a true audiophile headset, and PC350 is a pretty huge upgrade. I'm sure I'll like them, I'll have a thread going when they get here!

I was wondering about the IEM's for future reference, since the PC350's are probably much too demanding for a mere iPod.
 

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Once you hear amazing sounding headphones you will never go back to crap ones. Just give them to your friends and they will be blown away. You will thoroughly enjoy them, I promise!
 

Pineh

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Thanks for the reassurance, can't wait to review them with my horribly limited skills :eek:
 

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Thanks for the reassurance, can't wait to review them with my horribly limited skills :eek:

It's ok, you kind of become an audiophile once you "feel" the amazingness of good sounding headphones.
 

Wile E

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It's ok, you kind of become an audiophile once you "feel" the amazingness of good sounding headphones.

Yeah. The downside to this is, you suddenly feel the need to spend inordinate amounts of money on audio gear. lol.
 
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Yeah. The downside to this is, you suddenly feel the need to spend inordinate amounts of money on audio gear. lol.

It starts with a headset and then your desk starts looking like this :eek:



Curious how the PC350's perform. Looks like a headset that's not laden with the usual gimmicks, but it's still a headset with a mic boom that can break / stop working / gets in the way.
 

Pineh

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That's quite the plethora of expensive audio equipment of my dreams you have there! :eek:
I'm thinking since many reviews said the PC350's lacked some in the low end of the audio spectrum, the FiiO E5 amp might come in useful with the Bass Boost feature. Of course, I'll try them out first, but does anybody think it might be a helpful gadget?
 
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It starts with a headset and then your desk starts looking like this :eek:

[url]http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/3228/cansl.th.jpg[/url]

Curious how the PC350's perform. Looks like a headset that's not laden with the usual gimmicks, but it's still a headset with a mic boom that can break / stop working / gets in the way.

lets see..AD700s, ESW(9s?), and...another audio technica? man you love those things dont ya! I just ordered some Grado sr225i's. cant wait for them to get in ;D
 

Pineh

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Those are some M50's if I'm not mistaken...a buddy of mine has those.
What amp is that on your desk, hiding behind the monitor?

Edit: I see a CMoy too :D

So any idea on the E5 amp helping the PC350's with their high impedance and supposedly low bass?
 
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The RE2s are quite bass light compared to the EP-630s.

Check our review section there are reviews of all the HifiMAN in-ears and the AD700s.
 
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If the PC350's are anything like the AD700's they will be excellent for FPS games (fine detail, large sound stage) but severely lacking in the bass department. I would question a direct comparison though since one is closed and the other open, there are inherent acoustic differences. Only advice on the amp is you can't amp out of cans you don't like. The E5 will produce more volume but I'd be very skeptical about its bass boost circuit and it's known to produce background noise.

Everything is subjective though and I don't claim to be an expert. When I say "lacking bass" my comparison is DT770's and M50's.
 

Pineh

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Alright, thanks for the info on the E5.
We'll see if I'm not satisfied with the bass. I do appreciate a decent bass amount, and if it's not enough I can always consider doing the drilling mod and/or playing with some sound card settings.
 

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Alright, thanks for the info on the E5.
We'll see if I'm not satisfied with the bass. I do appreciate a decent bass amount, and if it's not enough I can always consider doing the drilling mod and/or playing with some sound card settings.

Pineh where are you located again? I would be willing to ship you E5 cause I hate it so much. I really need to buy another headphone amp at some point, but I cannot decide, too many! Built a CMOY at 1 point, but it really is kinda meh.
 

Pineh

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Well, I'm definitely not in Texas :banghead:
I'm in North York, Ontario.
I called up a Rep at NCIX and he said that the PC350's were sold out at all the warehouses in Canada and that an order for the PC350's had been put in to come from the US four days ago (as of today). He gave me a 1-2 week estimate for when they'd be at the NCIX retail location at which point I'll pick them up. Given that and a bit of time to get used to them/burn them in, it might be a good 2-3 weeks before I'm able to review (once again, with my horrible lack of knowledge) these cans.

Edit: I'm so conflicted...the thing is, the PC350's get ridiculously mixed reviews. Sound horrible, shallow and bassless, cost too much here. Sound INCREDIBLE, perfect bass, the best headset EVER there... A lot of people reccomend the AD700's, which are also light in bass and that's confirmed (Unlike for the PC350's, where they might not be) and I do want a good bit of bass, but if both of these cans have poor bass response, it doesn't really matter which one i get in that respect, in which case I have a different problem. The AD700's will leak sound into any nearby microphone is my main problem, making any nearby microphone unusable, which is a deal breaker. So I don't know :banghead:
 
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