Upgrade from Fiio E110k £100 ish

Andy Pandy · 25 Sep 2020 at 18:20

Hi all. I am using a pair of AKG K702 and a Fiio E110k dac/amp to listen to music. Overall I am happy with the sound quality and volume, but is there something better that will really impress me for around £100-£130?

Thanks!

PapaLazaru · 27 Sep 2020 at 09:18

iFi Zen DAC is the obvious choice.

KiiYzOo · 27 Sep 2020 at 14:12

Yeah the zen dac is possibly the best you could go for at that price range.

Andy Pandy · 27 Sep 2020 at 14:52

Thanks for the replies. Will the zen be a noticeable improvement over the Fiio?

KiiYzOo · 27 Sep 2020 at 18:12

I’d say so, it should be able to drive your k702s better and possibly give them a bit more warmth whilst keeping the highs of the 702

C64 · 28 Sep 2020 at 12:44

soundblaster x g6 worth a shout too
I have an ae5 plus which is the same thing but internal and I can tell you it's better than my schiit magni amp

Andy Pandy · 24 Oct 2020 at 15:40

Sorry for the late reply to this thread.. I just received the Ifi zen dac and It's fantastic. I have the headphones connected to the unbalanced port, is this the best way to do things?
I've got it connected via usb to draw its power, will having it plugged into the mains socket be worthwhile?

PapaLazaru · 24 Oct 2020 at 20:28

Unbalanced is fine and yes, you will notice some improvement if you run the DAC off the mains, but if you do go down that route, buy a good 5v DC.

Glad you like it.

southernorth · 24 Oct 2020 at 20:46

Andy Pandy said:
Sorry for the late reply to this thread.. I just received the Ifi zen dac and It's fantastic. I have the headphones connected to the unbalanced port, is this the best way to do things?
I've got it connected via usb to draw its power, will having it plugged into the mains socket be worthwhile?

What differences did you notice between new and old DAC?

Andy Pandy · 24 Oct 2020 at 20:51

PapaLazaru said:
Unbalanced is fine and yes, you will notice some improvement if you run the DAC off the mains, but if you do go down that route, buy a good 5v DC.

Glad you like it.

I saw a £10 one available instead of the Ifi one which is around £50. Can a plug really make that much difference :eek:

. I'm now eyeing up the Ifi zen can lol. Overall I'm really happy with the zen dac but it's still tempting to upgrade haha.

southernorth said:
What differences did you notice between new and old DAC?

On the Fiio dac/amp when I changed the volume with the volume nob it would crackle which was quite annoying. I'm not an audio expert... But the Ifi just seems better. It's hard to explain but it just sounds so clear.

kidloco · 25 Oct 2020 at 07:19

Andy Pandy said:
I'm now eyeing up the Ifi zen can lol. Overall I'm really happy with the zen dac but it's still tempting to upgrade haha.

And so it starts.... it’s a slippery slope

Andy Pandy · 25 Oct 2020 at 12:14

kidloco said:
And so it starts.... it’s a slippery slope

I've just ordered the zen can to go with the zen dac. This will be my first stack and my first step into better quality sound than I'm used to. I will try and go at least a week without ordering another pair of headphones now..

southernorth · 25 Oct 2020 at 12:30

Andy Pandy said:
I've just ordered the zen can to go with the zen dac. This will be my first stack and my first step into better quality sound than I'm used to. I will try and go at least a week without ordering another pair of headphones now..

Be careful not to get stuck in mid-fi hell for headphones

If you upgrade next, go bigly - something like Hifiman Sundara etc.

Andy Pandy · 25 Oct 2020 at 12:34

southernorth said:
Be careful not to get stuck in mid-fi hell for headphones

If you upgrade next, go bigly - something like Hifiman Sundara etc.

They look like nice headphones. Are they a lot better than the akg k702 then? I hear people rave about the sennheiser hd600 or is it 660s too.

southernorth · 25 Oct 2020 at 12:37

Andy Pandy said:
They look like nice headphones. Are they a lot better than the akg k702 then? I hear people rave about the sennheiser hd600 or is it 660s too.

The HD600/650 have been around for decades, and for many it's their reference point for quality (and end-game). The 660S is quite new, and responses are a bit more mixed - some see as an improvement, others not so much.

Depends what you're looking for really, the HD600/650 have a narrower sound stage vs. your AKGs but should have higher sound quality. The Hifiman has a larger sound stage and also higher audio quality.

Andy Pandy · 25 Oct 2020 at 12:44

southernorth said:
The HD600/650 have been around for decades, and for many it's their reference point for quality (and end-game). The 660S is quite new, and responses are a bit more mixed - some see as an improvement, others not so much.

Depends what you're looking for really, the HD600/650 have a narrower sound stage vs. your AKGs but should have higher sound quality. The Hifiman has a larger sound stage and also higher audio quality.

The hifiman sounds like the ones to get then. I'll add it to my wishlist :cool:

Andy Pandy · 26 Oct 2020 at 11:23

So the Ifi Zen Can came today to go pair with the Zen Dac. Wow.. The amp really takes this to the next level. It's so powerful. Before on the zen dac I would have the volume nob quite far to the right, at about a 2-3 o clock position. But with the amp I can barely take it past 11 o clock!

Very happy :cool: