FiiO E17 "ALPEN" - First Impression + Final Thought - Page 325

Hello!
I just received my E17 and the darn thing will not turn on unless the USB is connected.
I've made sure the lock switch is not on and I've let it charge for almost a whole day.
The battery indicator shows that it is full. It just will not turn on if I unplug it from the usb.
Anyone experienced this? I thought I'd check here before requesting an RMA.

Did you try the reset switch up top? Not too sure but it seems to be faulty battery.

With usb plugged in. Turn OFF usb charge. Does it turn off?

The moment I turn off USB charge, it shuts off.

Has anyone else had a problem with the battery level indicator never showing a full charge? I leave it plugged in until the red light goes off on the power button but when I turn it on the battery indicator does not show a full charge, it looks like it is missing 1 bar on the indicator. Brand new E17. Anything I can try?

I got my Fiio E17 for about a month now. 

Wanted to make sure id get the right impression on it before i wrote something here.

First of all, let me tell you that if i am not using my Fiio E17, its because i forgot to pick it on my way to work. I actually carry with me the fiio, the cowon i9 and some senns 380 HD Pro on my way to work, and the trip is 20 minutes.

 

Also, the cowon has clearly proven that my tracks need more quality (a lot more), since i have music that sounds so good i cant get enought of it, and other i just want to skip right away (didnt have that before the Fiio E17).

 

I am currently thinking of upgrading my headset to a HIFIMAN HE-500, 400 or sennheisers HD 600, 650 yet i have first to confirm that the Fiio can drive them since i dont have any other amp.

 

It costed me 150E moreless, but was well worth it as far as my needs go.

 

The best part however is the DAC. My laptop already produces decent sound from the 3.5 mm jack, but the Fiio E17 is simply better. At start for me it was a bit hard to notice any diffrence, but when my ears got used to the Fiio Sound, i simply have to plug it on everytime i use my laptop.

 

Id say the sound simply "has more in it". Kinda noob term, but so far i am unable to exactly describe it.

Return to the buyer you bought it off of. Either return for refund or exchange if possible.


Battery indicators are usually not accurate. That happened to me once with the E17 but I paid it no mind

Yet more USB trouble: besides the various issues it causes on PCs it is plugged into, there is a significant sound difference between:

 

- Plugged direct into USB2 port

- Plugged direct into USB3 port

- Sharing a USB2 hub with several devices, all attached to a USB3 port

 

I'm not going to spew subjective audio crap and say which is better/worse, but they're distinctly different.

 

Very likely this is due to driver/chipset/controller issues on the PC end to be fair, guess this is why there is a market for asynchronous usb audio.

 

 

Thank **** it has a flawless S/PDIF input (sounds unbelievably good hooked up via optical to a xonar dx), now if only there was a cheap way to get S/PDIF on a laptop...

Edited by Darkimmortal - 11/30/12 at 11:04am

The add on spdif units for computers usually arent that good.

It could be but i dont know how likely the chipsets could unless something was really wrong.

Look at my sig. Im co founder of the anime thread, join us

Well if it happened once I would not mind but it always shows this way even after having discharged it and charged it several times now to see if it would correct itself.

so, right after it shows fully charged, you unplug it or turn off USB charge, and it only shows 4 bars instead of 5?

It never shows the 5th bar at all even if it is still plugged in with usb charge on and a full charge.

Has anybody tried the DAC function with the Shure srh-840? Would this be a good improvement for those?

Been using mine now for a week solidly. No problems just great performance. Very pleased. It looks good too.

Did not get to try the DAC but did the amp+lod and it works fine. Granted I did not like the 840 sound signature to begin with but in terms of whether or not it works well, yes it could work very well.
Improvement over what?

I received my FiiO E17 a day earlier than expected. I bought one used off ebay from a seller with 0 reputation. Fortunately, I wasn't scammed. Hey, everybody's gotta start somewhere right?

I am a bit confused, or disappointed with the sound quality, namely the bass.I am probably just used to the sound signature of my less-than-stellar M-Audiobox USB's DAC and amp, but I feel as though there is significant muddiness and lack of definition in the bass. The low end extension comes out much better and I can definitely feel the bass a lot more now, but I feel there is a lot of cloudiness around 60-125hz.

Would an ideal description of the E17 be "mostly neutral, with a slight emphasis on bass"? This is what I have read throughout the thread, but I feel maybe I underestimated the "emphasis on bass".

I will keep listening and see if I become accustomed to the so-claimed, "warmly neutral" sound of the E17.

Besides that, I was pleasantly surprised upon opening the less than mint-condition box and being greeted by the E17. It is definitely a lot smaller than it looks in pictures. It also looks a lot cleaner than in most pictures. To be honest, it looks a bit crap in most pictures people post (due to flash and lighting exaggerating dust and lint). The controls are very nice and the interface is very straightforward and simple. I do wish the EQ options could go in intervals of 1. To those who say that 2 is fine instead of 1 because you wouldn't be able to hear the difference then, trust me, I can hear the difference. If a change of 1db is under the difference threshold, especially for treble, then I don't see why you guys spend so much money on cables. Obviously, a change of 1db is not as distinct as a change of 2db, but that's exactly the point. Also, have we established that the EQ intervals are indeed expressed in dB? I seem to have missed that as I read the thread.

Sorry if I come off as arrogant or rude or anything else negative and not nice . I'm just trying expressing my opinion, and MY experience regarding the topic. All of our sonic preferences are different, along with the way we hear, whether a result of the way we as individuals are physically or psychologically wired. And yes, I am aware Feiao has stated that the 2db interval is a result of unchangeable hardware properties.