[Impression] FiiO E7 (warning: lot of pics!!!) - Page 13

Of course not. The one I have is the easiest edition that use a different front panel design. Only a handful was made for review purpose. The inner is however the same though.

Yes, only the amp will work.

LOD means 'line-out dock', meaning it is a dock cable that send the line-out signal (which already in analog form) from the iPod to the amp. To utilize external DAC function, you will need iPod to send the un-decoded digital signal to the portable DAC and it will require a special chip to enable that function. The two fully portable DAC that have that chip both cost over $500. So LOD =/= DAC, they are two different things.

 

Switzerland might not have an FiiO dealer, but you can find a few EU dealers that are will to ship it to Switzerland.

 

Here: http://www.fiio.com.cn/where/index.aspx

What do you mean by 'audio cable' and 'special iPhone cable'? Do you mean 3.5mm interconnecting cable and line-out dock (LOD)? At max, E7 only increases the volume by around 4~5dB (3dB is double the Sound Pressure Level). However, it takes human roughly 10dB to perceive a double in listening volume (human hearing are not quite sensitive about SPL change). If you are using a 3.5mm interconnecting cable and do not find the volume to be enough, you need to increase the volume on the iPhone. For LOD, iPhone automatically set it to max so it is not a problem for E7 any more.

You should get the 4~5dB gain in signal, though you might not notice it. In this case, I'll suggest you stick to the LOD. On a less related note, amplifier doesn't always amplify. In fact, a lot of the time they are used to reduce the volume from the source, like in the case when used with line level signal. The other benefits of using amp, such as better current reserve, damping, etc, have nothing to do with increasing the volume, but making the headphone sounds better by giving it more control.

 

E17 also has SPDIF input, treble and bass EQ, channels balance adjustment and slightly better SQ. If you are only using it as a desktop DAC / amp like the E10 and none of the other features, then there isn't a lot of point to get the E17.