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Is the amp bad, my hearing off, or it's my hearing?

post #1 of 12
11/30/11 at 7:00pm
Thread Starter 

For the last 2 days I've beening swapping between the Fiio E7 and E11 with my Westone 4. And after listening to the same list of songs over and over again I find that the E7 sounded much better than the E11. The E11 seems to be a bit muffled/distant (like someone put a napkin over the speaker) even though it's louder than the E7 at the same time (if that even makes sense). Is it possible that the lack of burn in on the E11 has something to do with it? The E11 was borrowed from my friend and he had it only for about 2 weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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post #2 of 12
11/30/11 at 7:05pm

What are you connecting to the amps, and how are you connecting them?

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post #3 of 12
11/30/11 at 8:02pm
Thread Starter 

LOD from the Iphone to the both E7 and E11

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post #4 of 12
11/30/11 at 8:36pm

Sounds like you're doing it right, and according to HeadFonia's review, you would expect the E7 to sound "wider". 

Just ensure that you have pushed the cables in all the way (the Fiio E6, for example, has cables that take a bit of extra effort to 'click' in all the way), and that your EQ and gain settings are the same.

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post #5 of 12
11/30/11 at 9:13pm
Thread Starter 

eq is off on both and no bass boost on either. And all cables are completely connected. The word i should have used, "congested", that's what the E11 sounds like


Edited by mrconfuse - 11/30/11 at 9:15pm
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post #6 of 12
11/30/11 at 9:33pm
I'll looking at it one a different angle - W4 is warm and thick, E7 is bright and lean while E11 is warm and full. Adding warm and full to warm and thick will make W4 sounds overly thick and warm. Adding bright and lean to warm and thick on the other hand will give a more balanced sound.

In short, it is a synergy issue.
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post #7 of 12
12/1/11 at 5:17am
Thread Starter 

So basically there's nothing wrong with the E11 just my headphones don't match up well with the amp.

 

 

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post #8 of 12
12/1/11 at 7:08am

Nothing seems out of place with it. If you're that concerned, email Fiio. Maybe they will take it in for testing.

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post #9 of 12
12/1/11 at 7:12am
Thread Starter 

The E11 are my friend's, I was thinking about purchasing them since the reviews seem to say that they are an improvement over the E7. But if it doesn't go well with my W4 then there's no point

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post #10 of 12
12/1/11 at 7:26am

I don't want to imply that something is definitely wrong, but trust your ears too... I recently bought an amp from a head-fi member that didn't disclose the reason he was selling was because it sounded bad with his headphones and  didnt match well and needed burn in to sound right according to post on Head-fi.  When I heard it I knew something was wrong and he only told me when I asked.  Luckily ALO stood by the product and replaced it.  

 

My point is only to test and be sure the amp is not defective before you give up on it.  Not likely, but possible.

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post #11 of 12
12/1/11 at 9:00am
Thread Starter 

The Fiio E11 is brand new and he can return it at the store if need be. But I'm not experienced enough to know if the E11 is supposed to sound like that or not. My friend thinks it sounds fine but if I'm getting one I wanted to be sure. It's nice to get more opinions from experienced audiophile people.

 

 

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post #12 of 12
12/1/11 at 4:19pm
Shipsupt is right, trust your ears. If all you were doing is testing the E11 because you were considering buying it, then there was no need to check with forummers about it--you heard it, it didn't sound as good as your E7, case closed.
I was only concerned because I thought you'd already bought it.
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