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FiiO E17

FiiO E17
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20 reviews
100% Positive Reviews
Rated #1 in Amp/DACs
Amazon.com$121.99See It »
Pros:
“An excellent alternative to the computer user wanting something different to an internal sound card!”
“Good sound for the price”
Cons:
“Finicky to get around menu's and change things fast.”
“Better can be had for jus a little more money”
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Member Reviews

Posted
By Windsor

Pros: Great performance/price ratio; multifunctional; large number of audio input options

Cons: Not the best option for those wanting a pristine and highly-detailed sound; some crackling/distortion when using with Mac computers

AppleMark

 

I picked up a FiiO E17 when en route Germany to stay there for the 2012 Christmas period and the early days of 2013. I wanted to do some video editing work and listen to music when over there but didn't want to be without the stalwart reference quality Lavry DA10 which I didn't want to travel with on that occassion, so I decided to give the E17 a try.

 

Prior to owning the E17 I owned the FiiO E7, which was my first DAC and one I enjoyed very much, though wanting a more neutral sound than the E7 provided I upgraded from it. Since buying the E17 a few years after owning the E7, I was initially very impressed with the relatively more neutral-sounding E17, an all-in-one DAC/Amp with a clear overall sound and inbuilt EQ functions that I have enjoyed using, particularly when wanting more bass when listening with the HD 800

.

When I compared the E17 and my DA10 - a DAC/Amp costing many times the price of the E17 - the difference wasn't as night and day as I imagined it might be. The DA10 has much more high-end treble detail, which by comparison sounded a bit fuzzy on the overall less clear sounding E17 (I write this from memory as at time of writing I'm unable to use the DA10 with my laptop - more on that later in this review), but overall and considering the price of the E17, it does a great job of creating a cleaner-sounding listening experience than plugging directly into the headphone output of my laptop. The E17 also serves as a nice enhancement to my iPhone when I use the E17 as a headphone amplifier, but to be honest, when I'm out and about and listening to music I tend not to analyse the sonics of what I'm hearing and more often enjoy the music without feeling the need for a headphone amplifier as I'm happy with the level of amplification my iPhone already provides.

 

For Xmas 2012 I received the gift of a Sony PS3 and since returning to my place in the UK, the E17 has lived for many hours as part of my PS3/TV setup, which is currently also my main home cinema rig. Like how the E17 provides a clearer sound in relation to plugging into the headphone socket of my laptop, the E17 removes virtually all of the distortion I experienced when connecting my hi-fi amp directly to my TV, without a DAC in the audio chain. Adding the E17 to that setup has turned out to be a great value and cost-effective component contributing to a much more transparent listening experience than what I experienced when using my bookshelf hi-fi speakers and headphones without a DAC. For me, the E17 would be worth the money I paid for it if I just used it as part of my PS3 rig, but it does oh so much more.

 

To expand on what I wrote above, I have been unable to use my Lavry DA10 with my laptop due to snapping a headphone plug off in my laptop's headphone socket, and have been resorting to the USB-connected E17 when listening to music, editing video content, and other audio-listening-related purposes, and to be honest, since using the E17 I haven't missed my DA10 that much, though I would prefer to use the DA10 due to the enhancements in listening quality it provides. But really, considering the performance/price ratio of the E17 and what a versatile multifunctional device it is - and one with a large number of audio input options - I consider the E17 to be the best value head-fi component I have yet purchased and give it my highest recommendation to anyone (particularly those new to the 'head-fi hobby') willing to spend ~$150/£100 to investigate the benefits a great value DAC/Amp can provide.

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Posted
By peetz

Pros: Great connectivity, lightweight, small

Cons: Only 6dB and 12dB gain, EQ jumps in 2's

I've only had this a few days but it's a big improvement over the flat EQ from my MacBook Pro.  I'll add a more in-depth opinion when I've used it for a little longer.

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Posted
By Krisman

Have tried many headphone DAC/Amps in the £50 - 200 range and nothing comes close to the resolving, enjoyale nature of this bit of kit. Western manufacturers should take note. Quality, performance and a great price point can all exist together! :) Had mine for almost a year now and have no intention of letting it go...

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Posted
By autumnholy

Pros: Neutral. Multi-function. Solid built.

Cons: Nothing extraordinary or impressive. Just did it job fine.

I've owned E7 before, and had a Centrance DacPort LX. Well, E17 fits the bill to be the value buy (Over here Audio gears are expensive).

 

Sound Quality: Nothing impressive. Just plainly neutral with slightly rolled off treble. Not as energetic as the previous Dacport LX. Doesn't like to mess with the bass/treble boost functions. As an amp, it's quite powerful. Can drive my T70 (250 Ohm) with ease (my comfortable listening volume is at 45, minimal gain).

 

Built: Tough as tank, solid. Love the LED, looks classy. Quite bulky.

 

Features: Lots of features available. Bass/Treble Boost, channel configuration (left right +/- gain), is portable with built-in battery inside. Lots of optional connectivity (coax, usb, aux-in) and also DAC part supports up to 24/96 on USB (well, even the screen will show the playing song's bitrate info).

 

Value: Considered one of the cheaper and versatile DAC/Amp combo. Great for on-the-go audiophiles.

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Posted
By Gozzer

Pros: DAC

Cons: AMP

The amp section is okay its not great. I would rate it 7/10

 

The DAC section data streamed from a computer USB is much better. I would rate it 8/10

 

Computer USB -->E17(DAC) docked with E09K with lo-bipass on is the best quality. I would rate it 9/10

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Posted
By Gerbil

Pros: compact and surprisingly good

Cons: some hiccups as a dac

an amazing product, as a dac it sometimes stutters when you work your computer hard.

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Posted
By SandvichDISH

Pros: Sounds 100 times better than onboard audio, portable, built in equalizer, nice interface.

Cons: None that I can think of

Well, this is my first amp and DAC, but I can tell you that if you have some decent headphones and are just plugging it straight in your PC, you're doing it terribly wrong!

It just sounds so much better with this lil' guy.

 

I got it with the cable to connect it to your iPod so that I can have awesome audio on the road too.

 

Maybe it'd be nice to be able to equalize the mids too, but you can just lower the treble and bass to raise the mids, technically.

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Posted
By GSARider

Pros: Excellent sound quality

Cons: No proper EQ

Great little amp that improvs the sound on my IE80's no end. I use it everyday for commuting and have no hesitation recommending for out of home use. Bought in the UK from Amazon for £100
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Posted
By Slipstream

Pros: Value for money. Compact. Well built.

Cons: No mid range. Only bass and treble. Disappointing.

I wanted a device with full EQ adjustments and had expected this to be it.
Unfortunately there is no mid range adjustment.
The versatility and features of the E17 are impressive.

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Facts and Details

FiiO E17
By:
Description:

USB DAC and Headphone Amplifier USB Receiver- Tenor TE7022 DAC- Wolfson WM8740 Operational Amplifiers- ADI AD8692+AD8397 Input: USB, AUX, SPDIF (Coax + Optical) USB Support (max): 24bit / 96kHz SPDIF Support (max): 24bit / 192kHz Channels balance: +/-10dB Left/Right Gain selection: 0dB, 6dB, 12dB (12dB gain not available to USB-in) EQ: Treble - +/-10dB (14.6kHz); Bass - +/-10dB (20Hz); in 2dB step Line-out: Bypassable to pre-out. Output Power: 277mW (16Ω); 215mW (32Ω); 35mW (300Ω) Headphone Impedance Range: 16 Ω ~ 300 Ω SNR: ≥109dB (A weighted) on AUX-in; ≥104dB (A weighted) on USB-in Distortion: <0.001% (10mW)on AUX-in; <0.007% (10mW) on USB-in Frequency Range: 10Hz ~ 100kHz (amp); 10Hz ~ 20kHz (DAC) Power Supply: Internal 1500mAH rechargeable Li-ion battery Battery life: 15 hours Recharging: USB 5V Size: 96mm x 55mm x 15.2mm Weight: 112g

Details:
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Guide: FiiO E17

 

Related Media/Links:

Add related videos, links to item guides, etc.

 

FiiO E17 Complete How to Use Guide and Overview:

 

 

Troubleshooting/Known Issues:

Had an issue other users should know about? Put it here.

 

Device not responding: Press and hold the rest button at top with a pen tip.

 

Device won't turn on: Make sure it was charged and make sure the hold switch is in the upper position where the orange is not showing.

 

I can't get 192KHz?: E17 only supports 192 KHz sampling rate over S/PDIF. Make sure you are using the S/PDIF interface and the device is set to "COX" or "OPT". Your computer also needs to support 192KHz for S/PDIF. Updating audio driver may help
 

Power and Menu button not too responsive?: The E17 requires not a large but a decent amount of pressure for the Power/EXIT and MENU buttons to operate. The force needed is not large and is only noticeable when turning on or off the unit or when exiting/going back a screen with the power button. As it may seem unresponsive when you do it lightly.

 

Hearing hiss and this click-click-click sound?: It seems this is a problem due to the digital volume stepper and is normal for it's implementation. This will usually not happen on 0 gain, but depending on use and headphones/earbuds it may. To fix this, make sure music is not playing and make sure you can not even play the music in case you hit something by accident. Then quickly raise the volume. After a while it should go away, or if it doesn't, wait for a bit. The hiss and clicking sound should now go away. You should now decrease volume to where you were before and continue listening. This is a problem mainly for the harder to drive can's and even then you would usually only hear it when music is not playing.

 

The unit does not raise or lower the volume the first time I hit the buttons?: This seems to be built into the E17 Alpen's system or code. Where it would want you to hit it twice after a set period of inactivity. There is no fix for this as it does not seem to be a problem for most.

 

This device is taking forever to charge!?: Depending on where you are charging the E17, be it from your computer or a wall charger will have different speeds of charging. Some computers have low power USB ports that only send out a small amount of power and thus would cause a very slow charge. If your computer has a fast or high powered USB port, then you can use those for a faster charge. Wall chargers can also be used. FiiO recommends to use high quality USB wall chargers like the one's Apple make's. Buying a cheap one off a site would work but is not recommended. Spending a bit more(very small amount more) to ensure the quality of that wall charger is recommended. Keep in mind the faster the charge, technically the worse it is for the batter. How much worse is very very minimal, so please continue to charge or use it as is.

 

This device has a rattle?: It has not been widely confirmed but it seems this is attributed to the LO bypass switch. There is a part in there that can not be secured down and thus is causing the rattle. Again this has not been confirmed to be the true source of the sound yet, but does seem to be likely.

 

 

How To:

Advice on installation, customization, and anything else.

 

Everything on HOW TO USE is explained in the video above.

 

Turn off USB Charge: The E17 can turn off USB charging when plugged into a computer or anytime it's connected through the USB port through the menu's. Press the "menu" button and scroll down with volume keys until you see "USB CHG". Press "menu" again to enter into the menu setting and then use the volume buttons again to navigate to the OFF or ON setting. Once you are done, press the Power/Exit button to go back to the menu, and press the same button again to go back to the main active use screen.

 

Attach gel feet?: The gel feet that come with the E17 are used to prevent slipping or scratching. If two devices are secured together, metal on metal could cause scratching. The gel would create a space to separate the devices. There are 6 that would come with the unit, this is in the HOW TO section as most can not get them on. Please remember to peel off the clear sticker on the bottom of each gel feet or else they will not stick. It seems it comes with 4 for each corner of the device and 2 for extra's. These feet will slide off eventually if you attack the E17 Alpen to a device and it moves around a lot.

 

Related Items and Accessories:

Not necessarily items within the community, just any other recommendations.

 

Toslink to mini-Toslink adapter may be necessary if you are going from E17 to Macbook Pro or any equivalent as only one adapter for optical is included.

 

FiiO L7 is used to bypass the E17's and E7's internal amplifier's so to use the E17 with another amp as a dedicated DAC unit.

 

Line Out Docks; popular one's from FiiO and iBasso and even self made one's are recommended for use with E17 and other devices. Line Out Dock's for the most part are used with iPod's but Sony Walkman's also have support for them.

 

 

 

Where to Buy It

Amazon.comFiio E17 USB DAC Headphone Amplifier at Amazon.com$121.99See It »
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