Reddit mentions of FiiO K5 Docking Headphone Amplifier/DAC, Titanium

150 for an HD650 is a good deal and a properly amped HD650 is taking a huge dump on the HD598CS. But using the HD650 portable is not possible, due to its open back build and the poor isolation and high sound leakage that comes with it.

The HD650 is a headphone for desktop use only and using it with a portable amp does not make much sense.

If you really need a portable DAC/Amp and want to amp an HD650 the logical choice would be

• FiiO E17K
  
• in combination with a K5
  
  ___
  
  Don't understand me wrong. The Fulla 2 will most likely work with everything you throw at it. But don't expect it to drive the HD650 while listening to Clair de lune with a track gain of +19dB

I think you need to try the headphones on the Soundblaster Z to see if it can drive them. The Z has a built in headphone amp. It may be enough.

If not, there are a number of lower cost options for amping your headphones:

1. The Schiit Magni 2 is pretty popular
   
   
2. The FiiO K5 is also a decent choice
   
   
3. The O2 headphone amp is also a great choice. Massdrop has the O2 for cheap sometimes
   
   

> FiiO K5

https://www.amazon.com/FiiO-Docking-Headphone-Amplifier-Titanium/dp/B01BBX1NNM
It has a USB IN and the title says Amplifier/DAC... I thought it did have a DAC...

At $200 you don't have a lot of options for Spotify capable DAPs as you surmised. An AMP/DAC would probably be the way to go if you're looking to put a little more juice into your current IEMs. FiiO is definitely well regarded in the price range you are looking at. I think the next best portable amp I see recommended regularly is the Oppo ha-2 at around $300 new. Like I said, I had buzzing with the my E18, but /u/AV3Nguyen didn't. I've seen others [claim to have this issue](https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/5386ko/fiio_e18k_gsm_interference/ too, suggesting that it has to do with GSM networks, so it might not matter to you either way. Otherwise the E17K is a perfectly fine option. You'd even have the option to upgrade to the docking unit if you wanted. Your mileage may vary with all of this, of course, since a lot of IEMs aren't very power hungry. You might not notice much more than a bump in your potential volume, but it will future proof you should you want to pick up something that needs a bit more oomph.

The third option would be to put the money towards a slightly better phone with the features you want, unless there's a reason you'd prefer to have your music on a separate unit. The LG v10 and v20(not yet out) have good DAC/Amps, so those might be options if your carrier allows, though I don't know how much you were going to spend on the phone.

This Fiio K5 looks interesting! Looks like the outputs on the back are line-outs, rather than pre-outs, so you'll still have to control the BX5s' volume separately.

Alright I'll go with these if there aren't any other recommendations.

Just to be clear its this and this right? Seems it comes with an RCA cable so I should be good (?)

Yeah it's confusing. If it has a headphone jack and a volume knob you can call it an amp. If it also has a digital or USB input you can call it a DAC/AMP. If it only has analog audio input then it is a dedicated amplifier. If it only has RCA or XLR outputs and no headphone jack than it's a dedicated DAC with no headphone amplifier.

Some decent combination DAC/AMPS are Schiit Fulla at $90, Audioengine D1 at at $170, Soundblaster E5 at $200, Fiio E10k $80. Those are all USB and easy to use and install.

You could also go with a PCI sound card and install it in your computer. If you do I highly recommend any of the Asus Xonar or Essence soundcards which vary in price from $50 up to $270

A cheap stand alone amplifier would be something like a Fiio K5 $109, Schiit Magni 2 $120

A cheap stand alone DAC would be something like a Musicstreamer III $160 , or a Schiit Modi 2 $120 (i didn't like it's sound but others do), etc.

The tube amp you linked is a speaker amp, not really designed for headphones. For your price range, there aren't any good tube amps. I would get a solid state amp. For rock, I like anything from Grado. Check out the SR325 (https://www.amazon.com/Grado-Prestige-Series-SR325e-Headphones/dp/B00L1O2PDY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1468937044&sr=8-2&keywords=grado) and maybe a Fiio k5 amp to go with them (https://www.amazon.com/K5-Docking-Headphone-Amplifier-Titanium/dp/B01BBX1NNM/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1468936968&sr=8-9&keywords=fiio+amp).

I currently have a SMSL SD793-II and was wondering if upgrading to a SMSL Sanskrit 6th gen/FiiO K5 would be worth it, or even an improvment.

Schiit makes a great product. Magni 2 is one of the best options in your price range.

I would also consider offerings by Fiio, like the E07K, E12, E12A, E17, and E18 for portable, or K5 and E10K for desktop.

And I'd look at anything by Topping, Teac, Audio-Technica, Musical Fidelity, and Pro-Ject.