FiiO e7 vs. Headroom Total Bit - Page 4

.

Sorry i am trying to edit in multi quotes into my above post and it just keeps not working.

 

Sorry but this is simply not correct...

 

I own a Fiio E7/E9 combo and the sound is really, really superb....i have also owned in the past an Asus xonar essence ST, ibasso d10, Firestone fubar iv, and graham slee voyager(for my ipod 5th gen), and this is my favourite combo yet. And it cost me half the price of the ibasso d10......oh and will comfortably drive ANY can.

 

The difference you suggested between the pico, d10 and e7.....do not come from how the wolfson 8740 is "implemented", but rather how good the accompanying amp section is.....and considering the massive price of the pico(7 times more money in the UK), and the high price of the d10(5 times more in the UK)...then the difference seems incredibly small all things considered. But throw the E9 into the mix and things change ;)

 

Furthermore.....i am guessing that a lot of people who say that the E5 isnt very good are using it directly out of the horrid ipod headphone out, in which case its only really beneficial for increasing the volume(as the ipod volume is really low)......via a lod however, the sound is head and shoulders above the standard headphone out, and for the money is a must buy if you want really decent improvements on a budget.

 

A bit fed up people slating Fiio unfairly, especially when a lot of the people who do...seem to have not really used a lot of their kit.

 

 

Yes but did you use lineout? or did you feed it out of the headphone jack...via the headphone out its never going to sound pretty, just louder, which is still a selling point for some.

 

 

I agree with you, using a Line Out Dock is very important to maximize sound quality and battery life of your amp. I would think most of these people making these assumptions are ignorant in the fact that an (LOD) is required for best sound. I recently purchased a Fiio E5 for my mom as a birthday gift and I purchased an L6 (LOD) for a Sansa fuze, and it works really good for the price. Its not as good as my E7 hooked to an (LOD) but it definitely sounds better than the sound card on the Sansa and shits all over the sound card in an ipod (eww).

At first i used the fiio L3 lod for ipod(5th gen) it was still decent with the E5/E7.....but this lod was another leap, and is what i use now.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250743642473

 

I shudder to imagine using the e5/e7 or any portable amp out of the headphone out, only on public transport where the noise is huge, and using a low volume ipod would i ever even consider that option as a last resort.

The E7 is decent.

 

Pair it with an E9 and you have a quality sounding package for a great price.

 

Of course there are better set ups out there for more money.

 

But when you compare the cost of the Fiio combo with other similar priced kit, is there anything better out there I wonder??

Even with my very humble (and tremendously underrated) Sennheiser HD203s, the e5 and L3 LOD combination offers remarkable improvement over the headphone out of the iPhone 3g. These cans are incredibly easy to drive and the iPhone has no problem getting them loud, with pretty good sound. What the e5 and LOD bring to the table is noticeably better clarity and a bigger stage. Whether I have the e5's volume at its lowest setting or cranked up, I'm listening to something better than an iPhone, from an iPhone. That is worth $20 to me.

Can anyone tell me then which of the products I should go for, the Bithead or the E7? (I own a pair of M50's)

Edited by orri - 4/17/11 at 7:41am

 

 

If you can wait a couple of days i could provide you with some info about E7..

My rig is cowon i9/Fio E7/ath m50's but i need some time to have a full perspective because i received my m50's today and i have to wait for the burn in period to pass before jumping to conclusions...

First impression is quite good though..

They all use WM8740, great DAC.
E7 have a pretty good DAC, but not so good amp. Also, it is quite portable with ONE HUNDRED hours of battery life! However, no line out.

I think this guy says about everything and help you with your pick...

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/504613/review-fiio-e7/420#post_7376329

Thank you Optimus

I've very much enjoyed the e5. 

 

It enhances the music and gives it enough juice for your headphones to slurp on as opposed to going straight through a headphone jack. 

 

Not to mention the portability is absolutely unbeatable, the finish and look is beautiful, it fits perfectly with my portable set up, and for how much it costed, it sounds very very good.

 

If i could describe it, its like an external equalizer, with a nice warm signature for cold headphones that could use a little bass boost. It gives your headphones enough power to tighten up the bass to a listenable level and clean and clarify it enough to be at an enjoyable listening level. 

 

Its not going to give you a "wow" factor, but it can definately crank, and overall i could see myself paying double "40$" for the same features and portability in a nice little package.

 

I think some of you find it easy to be harsh since most of you have owned much higher quality portable amps, but you arent really looking at it from a value standpoint! I keep hearing about the total bithead, but thats 5 times the price.

This is what I'm wondering.  A lot people call the E7 overrated or even "good for noobs only" as someone said in another thread.  But I wonder how many of those guys are running a set-up that is 3x the price or more.  If I paid close to $1000 for a DAC + Amp set up, yea I'd expect the E7 to be a poor imitation of that.  But it's ~$215 for the E7, E9, and cable, I'm still looking for something that can beat this within $50 of the price.  (I'm not looking to pay $300 for an amp+DAC, since my phones cost me $174--Sen HD598s).

 

If you have something that can, post it up please!  Thanks.

Edited by jedipastor - 11/22/11 at 8:59pm