FiiO E11 - Impression + Information + Support - Page 54

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhanzc 

Fiio E11 makes Klipsch Image X10 sounds bad, not clear any more. I bought E11 because my Clip zip can't supply enough power for x10. X10 is a mess with E11 on my mp3 player or my pc. But the other earphones sound nice with it. It's pretty strange, got any idea for that?

Even with 50ohm impedance, Clip Zip should still be able to drive X10 properly as it has a pretty high sensitivity. As for E11 + E10, I think it is synergy issue.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhanzc 

Yes, zip(with rockbox) could drive x10 very loud, but not clear. After adding E11, it became much clear, but not clear enough.

What do you mean synergy issue?

Synergy is kind of complex issue. To put it on simple term, it is how each chain of whole setup affects the end result (a.k.a. how each gear synergises). If you pair a warm headphone to a warm amp, the result might sound worst. But if you pair a lean headphone to a warm amp, they might compensate each others' weakness. This is opposite to those who believe that everything before the headphone (i.e, source, amp, etc) must be absolutely neutral and synergy is a mistake or poor design. My POV is, we don't live in a perfect world with perfect flat gear nor have the same taste for neutralness. So getting the right synergy is an practical issue in the real world. For X10, I'll prefer to drive it with something more bright and may be a bit colored, just to counter the mid-centric sound of the X10.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhanzc 

My Musiland monitor 01 mini is a warm soundcard. I read some articles about E11, I perfer it to be a neutral one. X10 is a warm earphone.

 X10 sounds great with my soundcard, but not clear with the amp. That's the most weired thing...

I contacted with Fiio, so far they haven't gave me satisfy answer. The issue is proved by other users in China.

I believe X10 is more popular in western countries. E11 is one of the best sellers. Anyone got the same issue?

Not really sure what you mean by "clear". It is definitely not a frequency response issue as E11 has been tested to have a very flat FR curve.  (and a very low output impedance that doesn't color the FR curve of the headphone). The only thing I can think of is the perceived dark nature of E11. I call it 'perceived' because I don't perceive it as being dark. But others think it is dark because E11 has really fast and impactful bass response (which is a sign of power for me) that grabs people's attention first before they pay attention to mid and treble. If anything E11 sounds fairly neutral with a small sense of warm in it for me as I have A/Bed it with analytical amps like T3D and 3MOVE. I suspect you are having the same feeling as others. The speed and impact of the lower end overwhelms your feeling and make you feel like E11 doesn't sound 'clear'  with X10.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhanzc 

No clear, I mean dark, very dark.

In such case, I would think the E6 is more useful for you.

It depends largely on how hiss prone your headphone is. If it is very hiss prone (i.e. SE530, some custom IEM), then you will hear hissing.