FiiO amps are pretty warm otherwise, go tubes. The FiiO e12 could be a good choice for you if you need portable

billsonchang007 said:

FiiO amps are pretty warm otherwise, go tubes. The FiiO e12 could be a good choice for you if you need portable

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Fiio amps, like any modern amplifier that isn't faulty, aren't warm. If your amp is changing the frequency response of your headphones then there's something wrong with it.

 

kraken2109 said:

Fiio amps, like any modern amplifier that isn't faulty, aren't warm. If your amp is changing the frequency response of your headphones then there's something wrong with it.

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I agree.

I have the E12 and have compared it with other amps. I never perceived it as warm. Any differences in solid state amp sound regarding frequency response is ever so slight, IMO.

portable would be more universal solution for me.
i prefer to have the ability to "be portable".
i heard a lots of great things about the Fiio E12.
 
what's the main difference between E12 vs E17 (in regards of an AKG K6xx / K7xx line) ?
(only the amp section of course...)
 
are there any other portable amp in this size (or smaller) which are capable of 880mW (at 32Ohm) ?
i mean that's an enormous power in the pockets...

The E17 features an extra DAC but the E12 offer better amp section.

As for power in portable amp, there's not a lot with high output power like the E12 as portable amp are after all "portable", if you were to house a power amp in portable amp, you will need bigger at trey otherwise, the battery drains out fast.

Currently, the most powerful portable amp that I know is, E12, O2 and Micro iDSD

Hope it helps
Billson

honestly I didn't notice much improvement in E12 compared to E17, even compared to Essense One too.. E12 clearly possess more power, that's it. E17's incremental bass controller is a great option to increase bass so you can get the precise amount of bass without overshadowing other frequencies.

maybe I will pick E17 because of the bass controller.

agoston.berko said:

maybe I will pick E17 because of the bass controller.

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Be sure that the additional power is not important to you. I find that the E12 barely is able to drive the K612s to very loud volumes that I occasionally like to listen to before starting to distort, and I know that the E17 would likely not serve me as well.

YMMV, however, since it depends on the volume you want. Also, how much bass you EQ in and the genres you listen to. Boosting the bass requires more power from your amp than it would listening at the same volume without the bass boost. Bass heavy music can require more power than music that doesn't have much heavy bass content.

Removing the foam ring inside the pads turn these into clarity monsters....I think I like them a lot better without the foam.

cel4145 said:

Be sure that the additional power is not important to you. I find that the E12 barely is able to drive the K612s to very loud volumes that I occasionally like to listen to before starting to distort, and I know that the E17 would likely not serve me as well.

YMMV, however, since it depends on the volume you want. Also, how much bass you EQ in and the genres you listen to. Boosting the bass requires more power from your amp than it would listening at the same volume without the bass boost. Bass heavy music can require more power than music that doesn't have much heavy bass content.

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very strange.. volume 30-35 is very loud for me, when I'm using E17 with my PC (USB, SPDIF ) with 12db  gain setting, I hardly go above 40,  with USB I can use E17 for weeks without any recharge. but battery drains somewhat faster when using SPDIF.
 
P.S: but I wouldn't recommend going above bass setting 4 with E17, (bass will become too boomy and will bleed in to mid-range).

appsmarsterx said:

very strange.. volume 30-35 is very loud for me, when I'm using E17 with my PC (USB, SPDIF ) with 12db  gain setting, I hardly go above 40,  with USB I can use E17 for weeks without any recharge. but battery drains somewhat faster when using SPDIF.

P.S: but I wouldn't recommend going above bass setting 4 with E17, (bass will become too boomy and will bleed in to mid-range).

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Shouldn't be strange. Volume expectations are relative to listening preferences, which is why I said YMMV above.

The E17 is rated 220 mW@32Ω, recommended for up to 150 ohm headphones, and has a maximum output voltage of > 7.3 Vp-p. The E12 is rated @ 880MW32Ω, recommended for up to 300 ohm headphones, and has a peak output voltage of 15.5 VP-P. The E12 is clearly the stronger amp when it comes to powering voltage hungry cans like the K612.

So while I can understand that the maximum clean volume of the E17 or E12 might suit many people's needs, I think it's helpful for people to realize that the K612 are not portable amp friendly in the way that 98% of the headphones and IEMs are. They really are better suited for desktop amp usage *if* one likes to listen very loud.

Also, if the E17/K612 is starting to sound boomy with more bass boost at higher volumes, that could be the amp reaching its limits at producing those frequencies. At the same time, the maximum rated power that AKG specifies is 200mw so they could be distorting when being pushed by the E17. These headphones are really not designed to handle a lot of bass boost. Speakers tend to exhibit increased levels of harmonic distortion in bass frequencies near and below their tuning points (the frequency where they start to roll off). Not sure if this is true of headphones because I've not seen harmonic distortion tests like that, but I would imagine that the same might be true for dynamic drivers.

I can't imagine going above volume 50 with E17 unless you seriously want to damage your hearing . I can assure anyone you ll damage your hearing with that volume. I'm not sure about those manufacturer marketing specs for amps but volume 40 on E17 is really similar to volume 40 on my Xonar Phoebus (on 12db) which is advertised to drive up to 600ohm headphones (9.9 Vp-p). 

appsmarsterx said:

I can't imagine going above volume 50 with E17 unless you seriously want to damage your hearing . I can assure anyone you ll damage your hearing with that volume. I'm not sure about those manufacturer marketing specs for amps but volume 40 on E17 is really similar to volume 40 on my Xonar Phoebus (on 12db) which is also advertised to drive up to 600ohm headphones. 

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Yeah. I don't know about the Phoebus. But I used to own the E17, and I can tell you that the E12 is more powerful than the E17 and that my NFB-11 can drive the K612s to louder volumes, and much more cleanly, too. I would be really surprised if the E17 can reach reference volumes with the K612.

And just be sure you aren't confusing seeming loud with actual SPL at which headphones are too loud to listen. Speakers and headphones can start to sound excruciating loud when a weaker amp is distorting, even though they may not sound too loud with a more powerful amp at the same volume.

yes clearly E12 is more powerful than E17 . there shouldn't be any argue about it ... I can confirm it since I used E12 too. but the point is according to my hearing, E17 has more than enough power to drive 612pro properly. also I just checked the volumes while connecting my phone using USB OTG functionality with E17, I can easily confirm E17 has more than enough power for 612 . (I'm sure most of the people can stay around 30-40 volume range) .
 
E12 can be a very safe bet if you don't want that incremental bass controller in E17.. may be this is just me, but as I mentioned before I didn't notice much improvement in sound quality with E12 or any other high-end amps like Essense One compared to E17..
 
imo both E12, E17 are 2 great affordable options for 612pro.. just pick one and enjoy the music  
 
 
P:S: btw I don't notice any distortion with E17 in higher volumes (with 612).

and what about E18 kunlun ?