Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Dedicated Source Components › FiiO E7/E9 vs Yulong U100 vs Audinst HUD-mx1
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

FiiO E7/E9 vs Yulong U100 vs Audinst HUD-mx1

post #1 of 19
1/15/12 at 2:36pm
Thread Starter 

Looking for a budget DAC/Amp combo, can pick up all of the above for right about $180. There were a few other options out there but none had RCA outs, only the COAX. I want something I can leave my Audio Engine A5+'s hooked up to via RCA's and have the amp for occasional headphone use. I like the thought of having the E7 to take with me during travel but I honestly don't think I'd use it more than once a year by itself. I mainly listen to Pandora One which streams at 192Kbps so I don't think I need anything amazing that FLAC would take advantage of. Definitely open to more and hopefully cheaper options but I haven't heard anything good about things like the UDAC-2 or similarly cheap items, but then again people on here may be far pickier than I am. I'll only be running a set of HD-201's for now and if I start listening to them enough I may upgrade to a nice set of cans like a HD-598.

 

So I guess should I stick with one of the three choices listed or can I get away with something cheaper, if so what would you suggest?

 

Thanks!

Reply
post #2 of 19
1/15/12 at 2:57pm
I am also looking for a dac/amp combo in that price range. I was talked out of the yulong as it was unstable/buggy, and the nfb-12 because of the poor sound. What i'm probably going to go for is the audinst HUD mx1, which is pretty much the baseline unit for that price range. I'd also check out the new fiio e17 as far as portability, convenience, and sound quality goes. Check out mikes review over at headfonia here: http://www.headfonia.com/the-upgrade-fiio-e17-alpen/
Reply
post #3 of 19
1/15/12 at 3:39pm
Thread Starter 

I read that about the NFB-12, which is why it isn't on the list. Didn't hear anything about the U100 being unstable though, is this a USB driver issue? I'm running Windows 7.

Reply
post #4 of 19
1/15/12 at 4:27pm
Thread Starter 

If I were to run a fiio e10 by itself (as a much cheap solution biggrin.gif) would this be suitable as a dac/amp combo? The only thing that turns me off to it is the 3.5 out vs RCA, is there any real difference in sound quality that my AE5+'s would pick up between the two?

 

Does the E10 automatically switch between front and back ports when you plug/unplug phones? Is there a coax to stereo rca adapter that wouldn't affect SQ if the 3.5 out isn't worth using?


Edited by TierAngst - 1/15/12 at 4:36pm
Reply
post #5 of 19
1/15/12 at 5:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TierAngst View Post

If I were to run a fiio e10 by itself (as a much cheap solution biggrin.gif) would this be suitable as a dac/amp combo? The only thing that turns me off to it is the 3.5 out vs RCA, is there any real difference in sound quality that my AE5+'s would pick up between the two?

 

Does the E10 automatically switch between front and back ports when you plug/unplug phones? Is there a coax to stereo rca adapter that wouldn't affect SQ if the 3.5 out isn't worth using?


 

Only thing I can really answer is the e10 can be run by itself for a decent dac/amp combo. There's one for $60 in the for sale section. And yeah the yulong has driver issues.  From what I've read though, the e17 exceeds the e10 in almost every way (sound quality wise), and it has some convenient features, like 3 different gain settings, bass boost, and treble control. I'd spend the extra cash on the e17 over the e10 any day.


Edited by steelle - 1/15/12 at 5:23pm
Reply
post #6 of 19
1/15/12 at 7:13pm

just out of curiosity, where did you guys read that NFB-12 yield poor sound quality. There are plenty of happy users including myself. I think you should have that on your list.

Reply
post #7 of 19
1/15/12 at 7:30pm
Thread Starter 

Directly from the NFB-12 page, saw mention of it somewhere else too but lost track of it. One of the people mentioned having both an E10 and the NFB-12 and liking the E10 better. For an extra $120 that doesn't give me much confidence in the NFB-12. 

 

I don't think it was so much that it was poor SQ it's just doesn't have a very good price to performance ratio.


Edited by TierAngst - 1/15/12 at 7:31pm
Reply
post #8 of 19
1/15/12 at 9:33pm

the only review that I could recall that made the NFB-12 sound like trash was on Headfonia. After that, everyone just kinda went with what the reviewer said which is quite exaggerated and un-true. IMO, either function wise, price wise and sound quality, NFB-12 definitely is a great example of bang for buck dac/amp. Just keep your options open, NFB-12 is not exactly what some people have said about it. There are going to be unhappy users for sure but on the other hand there are a heck load of people who are loving the unit. Check out the NFB-12 thread and see for yourself. 

Reply
post #9 of 19
1/15/12 at 10:53pm
Thread Starter 

It's funny how a couple people can muddy up people's opinions of a product. I'm finding it tough to narrow it down since there are so many dac/amp combos and so few people that can compare them against anything in the same price range. 

 

At this point I think I've talked myself into going on the cheap and getting something in the $80 range. My main concern with a lot of these is if you plug in some headphones in the front port if it will automatically cut out the rear outputs to my speakers. A lot of them don't have switches for output and it makes me wonder if they are automatic or if you'd have to unplug one to use the other. This would be a huge choosing point if one did it automatically and the other did not. 

Reply
post #10 of 19
1/16/12 at 10:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TierAngst View Post

It's funny how a couple people can muddy up people's opinions of a product. I'm finding it tough to narrow it down since there are so many dac/amp combos and so few people that can compare them against anything in the same price range. 

 

At this point I think I've talked myself into going on the cheap and getting something in the $80 range. My main concern with a lot of these is if you plug in some headphones in the front port if it will automatically cut out the rear outputs to my speakers. A lot of them don't have switches for output and it makes me wonder if they are automatic or if you'd have to unplug one to use the other. This would be a huge choosing point if one did it automatically and the other did not. 



Just curious, and maybe I'm reading this wrong, but why do you need your headphones and speakers to play at the same time?

Reply
post #11 of 19
1/16/12 at 11:17am
Thread Starter 

No no no, that's what I'm trying to avoid. I want to leave my speakers plugged in to the dac at all times but when I plug the headphones in I want the speakers to automatically stop playing and just have output to the headphones.

Reply
post #12 of 19
1/16/12 at 11:22am

there are plenty of units that can do that. But the NFB-12 that I'm currently using is exactly what you want because I'm doing the same thing as well. I have the DAC permanently connected to my Swans Speakers. But when i need to listen to my Grados or other headphones, I just plug it in and switch the output to HEADPHONES, once im done I'll switch it to back the DAC only. Very convenient and useful.
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by TierAngst View Post

No no no, that's what I'm trying to avoid. I want to leave my speakers plugged in to the dac at all times but when I plug the headphones in I want the speakers to automatically stop playing and just have output to the headphones.



 

Reply
post #13 of 19
1/16/12 at 5:21pm
Thread Starter 

Ended up going with the Audiotrak DR. DAC2 DX that was in the classifieds. After digging through tons of E10 posts I finally confirmed that it doesn't switch between outputs when you plug/unplug the headphones and just plays through both at the same time. If I had speakers with the power switch in the front it wouldn't be a big deal. Also liked the fact that I can just leave the headphones plugged in at all times with the DR. DAC2 and not have to worry about fumbling with cords or wearing out the HP port. Has some other cool features/options that I may find useful down the road. Hope this thing is worth having destroyed my budget. 

Reply
post #14 of 19
1/16/12 at 5:26pm

good choice, let us know how it sounds. I've always wanted to try the Dr. DAC.
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by TierAngst View Post

Ended up going with the Audiotrak DR. DAC2 DX that was in the classifieds. After digging through tons of E10 posts I finally confirmed that it doesn't switch between outputs when you plug/unplug the headphones and just plays through both at the same time. If I had speakers with the power switch in the front it wouldn't be a big deal. Also liked the fact that I can just leave the headphones plugged in at all times with the DR. DAC2 and not have to worry about fumbling with cords or wearing out the HP port. Has some other cool features/options that I may find useful down the road. Hope this thing is worth having destroyed my budget. 



 

Reply
post #15 of 19
1/19/12 at 11:54am
Thread Starter 

 

Mostly a review of the HD 201s for now:
 
Got the DR.DAC2 in today, unfortunately the rca cables I ordered from monoprice a week ago just shipped yesterday so they won't be in for a few days. Will post again when they do so I can give my impressions for the speakers.
 
HD 201: First off they are fresh out of the box and not broken in. Newegg had them for $15 shipped so I thought I'd see how I like using headphones vs speakers. If it turns out that I use them frequently then I will definitely upgrade to something in the $200 range but worth the few bucks I paid for them. Bass seems to be accurate sound but lacks any sort of punch, maybe flat would be the proper word to describe it. The rest of the frequency range seems to have the same lack of feeling to it. None of it sounds off by any means but nothing stands out and they just seem acceptable across the line. Tried all sorts of music and liked classical best on these. Comfort wise they aren't the greatest since they fold in my ears a bit but isn't intolerable. Will also have to update when these have broken in some more, I feel like even after just an hour they were starting to sound better. Did not try plugging them directly into the computer, will do that for an actual comparison for how much difference the DR.DAC2 makes.
 
ER 6i: Didn't notice as big of a difference amped vs unamped as some people let on. They do sound better across the board than the HD 201s however. I mostly have these for mowing lawns and riding on an airplace as they do an excellent job of blocking out noise and are highly portable. I didn't spend much time with these since I won't be using them at my PC.
 
 
 
Eclipes,
How do you like the Swans? Those were my first choice for speakers but were $100 more than the AE 5+ and I couldn't justify the expense.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Dedicated Source Components
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Dedicated Source Components › FiiO E7/E9 vs Yulong U100 vs Audinst HUD-mx1