I’ve recently had a Fiio E6 headphone amp delivered with an L9 cable for the iphone 4s.
So far i’ve tried it with 6 pairs of headphones ranging from the basic apple ear buds to a couple of +£200 in ears and +£500 over ears.
All sound dramatically fuller with nicer separation and depth.

Three of my colleagues who are “into” music are also equally amazed.

Stunning bit of kit for £25

Obviously wont replace a proper amp but for a potable and cheap bit of tech, it’s an awesome buy.

Cheers for that, it’s a new one on me, I’ll check that out. For that money, it’s got to be worth a punt! 😀

It makes Apple ear buds sound good??

Assuming this won’t work on the iPhone 5? Just had a look on Amazon and they seem to be the old style connection?

It makes Apple ear buds sound good??

I don’t think ANYTHING could make those sound good…

I have one for use with my laptop at work, and it’s a must buy – the extra power is welcomed, and as mentioned, much more depth.

I paid £18 for mine, and would buy another without a second thought.

Works well with an iPhone or other generic music player.

“It makes Apple ear buds sound good?? “

good….uuurrrrr, almost acceptable 🙂

I’m using it with a pair of ultimate ears 5EB’s.
Bloody amazing with some big can’s which portable audio devices tend to find hard to drive.

can be used with an iphone 5 but phono out not the full composite out.
not sure if this will alter the effect

I’ve ordered one anyway 🙂
I’m thinking – between iPod and in-car Aux.. a boost is needed – could be just the ticket.

Things must have moved on a bit. I had an E5 and didn’t think much of it. Used it a couple of time and chucked it in a drawer never to be used again.

I got one the other week too to boost the output of my ipad when I am having a lazy run on the treadmill watching tv series. Definitely increases the volume over the thud thud thud. Not tried it on the iphone yet

Just moving from the headphone jack to the line-outs from the bottom connector makes a huge difference.

It makes Apple ear buds sound good??

I don’t think ANYTHING could make those sound good…

Nothing could make the old earbuds sound good, but the new EarPods are surprisingly good sounding, and comfortable to wear as well.
Once they’ve ‘burned in’.

Was going to get some to drive my Audio Technica M50’s but was told by my local hifi specialist that they are utterly pointless for low impedance headphones and will often actually degrade the sound.

I cant agree with that.
I used the E6 with some Audio Technica 551’s and they really came alive.
equally some B&W P5’s were vastly improved from their IMHO usual dull sound.
anyhow, £25 is worth a punt.

Well, if they have to high an output impedance they are going to cause hiss and distortion in low impedance headphones.

Yeah, but if the impedance driver is compatible with the doohimgummy ploughright pointer then the distortion driven by the wiffle portent hi-lo frequency positioner will compensate won’t it?

LOL

Hmm, I am very interested in this. Is this what you refer to?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/FiiO-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier-FE6blk-L3/dp/B005OQPQDG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1361897452&sr=8-2

Kev

That’s what I ordered Kev (and as you can probably tell, I know my stuff 🙂 )

Well, if they have to high an output impedance they are going to cause hiss and distortion in low impedance headphones.

please explain, preferably with reference to some electronics principles, how impedance mismatching causes hiss and distortion?

genuinely interested, no troll, etc.

Yes but they do a version with the L cable instead.
No difference between th cables other than the shape.

Bwaarp , I’ve not encountered any hiss with any of the sources or headphone combos ( so far ) I’m very audio and any hiss would drive me mad. I’m genuinely impressed with these little amps.

Because I’m not an electrical engineer or physicist I’ll quote wiki hahah.

In order to ensure an even frequency response, adequate damping factor, and undistorted sound, an amplifier should have an output impedance less than 1/8 that of the headphones it is driving (and ideally as low as possible).[6] If output impedance is large compared to the impedance of the headphones, significantly higher distortion will be present.[7] Therefore, lower impedance headphones will tend to be louder and more efficient, but will also demand a more capable amplifier. Higher impedance headphones will be more tolerant of amplifier limitations, but will produce less volume for a given output level.

Although I guess, look at those Fiio’s the output impedance is stupidly low anyway. I guess I might give on a put, quite interested in the DAC/Amp models actually.

Nothing could make the old earbuds sound good, but the new EarPods are surprisingly good sounding, and comfortable to wear as well.

This +1

The new Apple Earpods are superb. I’ve tested them against some £200-£300 headphones in a couple of places and I think they’re better then pretty much anything I’ve ever put into my ears. I certainly see no reason at all to spend any more money. The only problem is that they are useless for sports, as they keep falling out, which is a real pity.

The new Apple Earpods are superb. I’ve tested them against some £200-£300 headphones in a couple of places and I think they’re better then pretty much anything I’ve ever put into my ears.

Most reviewers seem to think that’s a total exaggeration – guess I’ll have to try a pair.

Sorry to put a downer on this post guys, but just a word of caution.I used to listen to my music with loads of volume and didn,t think anything of it.
Now here i am at the age of 58 suffering from Tinnitus, 🙁 and going deaf in one ear.
When you are young you think that it will not happen and you are o.k,but believe me it will.
The Tinnitus is like a torture at times and nothing can be done.
😥

When you are young you think that it will not happen and you are o.k,but believe me it will.
The Tinnitus is like a torture at times and nothing can be done.

Thanks to the late Phil Lynott, I have tinnitus as well. Mine is no worse than the residual ringing that you get after a gig, which is exactly what mine is. Thanks to modern canalphones, which damp down background noise, I can enjoy music at reasonable volume, with little risk to my hearing.
Which gets tested at work, and is very good for my age, 57, in fact is on a par with someone in their late twenties.
To my astonishment!

well done stw, yet another thing i did’nt know about 5 mins ago but now i really do NEED!!!

iPhones are more likely to stop me going to gigs than the risk of tinnitus!