FiiO " Flagship " portable amp Mont Blanc/E12 discussing thread, the pre order unit arrives. - Page 63

Interesting review, it seems that only good pairing is with HE400 and some bassier protable headphones and doesnt work well with iems. Anyone else agree with this?

I don't find that to be true.

 

Does E12 pair particularly well with IEM? No. But does it not working well with IEM? No as well. So there is no special synergy between E12 and IEM? Yes, I would say so. E12 biggest strength is in its raw power, and IEM just so happens don't usually need that much power, and so you won't notice much improvement on overall performance, but it is not to say it is bad.

What about using it with say the RE-262.??

Which Fiio amp is recommended for portable use,carrying it around all day ,with my i-phone??

I have a question for bassheads.  I have a strong interest in the E12 as an upgrade to my E11 and feel the overall sound will be a big improvement.  However, I am concerned I will miss the generous bass boost of the E11 since the E12's is only +3dB.  I am considering the JDS Labs C5 with a +6dB bass boost, but it will probably cost about $75 more and I don't know if the overall sound will be better.  I am also considering the Headstage Arrow 12HE that has two-stage bass boost of +3dB and +9dB, but it is $170 more.

 

I am thinking the most cost effective solution for portable use with my Iphone 4 would be to use line out with the E12 and double amp with my ZO2.3 when needed.  I'm thinking that there would be minimal degradation in SQ because, in theory, the ZO was originally made for double amping by running through the headphone jack and using the player's amp.  I am also going on the assumption that the E12, with FiiO offering the best value in amps, would hold its own sonically with the C5 and 12HE so that I can have the bass boost I want for certain genres, excellent SQ and minimize cost.

 

I currently have Vamp and should be happy with that.  The sound is fantastic, but there is no bass boost, it doesn't double amp well with the ZO and doesn't have as much power as I would like at only 150mw/channel.

 

Any thoughts?
 

Edited by Craigster75 - 2/3/13 at 7:14am

 

Thank you for the response.  I believe there is a market for those who want more bass boost.  However, I also recognize many will be happy with modest bass boost as you have currently.  Several months ago you mentioned the possibility of a special edition.  My suggestion would be to offer a limited run special edition with higher bass boost.  Maybe the E12B? You could use this limited run to test interest in more bass boost.  The ideal would be a two-stage bass boost of +3 and +8 or +9.  I would be first in line for an E12 with higher bass boost and will hold off purchasing an amp until I know if you have an interest in producing this.

 

This forum may help provide you with some insight regarding how strong the interest is for bigger bass:

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/573826/the-basshead-club

 

To expand on your comment regarding finding a headphone with good bass, a basshead want to find that great bassy headphone, then maximize the headphone's bass potential with a bass-boosted amp.  I certainly don't find this optimal all the time, but when I listen to pop, dance, EDM, hip hop or R&B, I want to have the option for my basshead side to come out and enjoy a great head thump.

Edited by Craigster75 - 2/3/13 at 8:04am

I along with other bassheads skipped the E12 because the bass boost is not enough, so yeah a better bass boost would be nice. 

If you can easily up the bass than why not make a bass version for bassheads and leave the current version the way it is for non-basshead. 

 

EDIT:

If you want more opinion than you should add a poll to this thread or start a new thread with a poll.

I never felt the need to upgrade from my E11 because of the bass boost and sound quality was almost perfect for me, I was really looking forward to the E12, but right now the C5 is the better option for us bassheads if we're looking to upgrade.

Edited by RoMee - 2/3/13 at 8:07am

This option would work for me as well if it is too much investment in retooling for a two-stage switch and easier/more cost effective to just increase the EQ internally on the bass.  You could market as the Monte Carlo BTB edition (for Bring the Bass) for mass appeal beyond Head-fi. 

Edited by Craigster75 - 2/3/13 at 8:09am

With my Sennheiser HD558 and even my Bose AE2i the E12 gives depth. When that low bass is in the song, the sudden impact is inspiring, musical and fast.

I couldn't care about specs. I just want to know what it sounds like. I would describe the E12 being able to find music in the music, and with music that goes from quiet to loud to exploding, the E12 delivers.

Maybe that's what excessive power provides?

As a point of interest I didn't like the E11. Bass was too much or too little and the sound felt dark.

The other day I was lying on the bed listening to the soundtrack from Titanic. I was so involved in the music, that when my wife tapped my arm I jumped out of my skin. For me, this is what I adore about the E12.

I'm also a basshead and skipping E12 due to lack of bass adjustment, currently spoiled with ZO's unique 32-lvl bass boost adjustment and it'll take some serious sound quality boost to give up 0.5~1dB bass boost increment adjustment for me.

 

For me one setting isn't enough, 3dB is pretty fine for one setting but I'd rather have at least +2dB, +4dB and +6dB because obviously it will depend on how much the headphone comes with for how much is needed so therefore one setting won't increase the chances of reaching the desired bass levels that much (can either be too little or too much). See it this way too, a bass recessed headphone can even be made neutral in the bass so I wouldn't just assume bass boost takes away from the "seriousness" of an amp, it just increases the chances for the consumers to get the desired bass levels and the choice of headphone becomes a slightly less picky process when there's one less factor to worry about.

Edited by RPGWiZaRD - 2/3/13 at 9:01am

Hmm, maybe I should finish my E12 review now that the general release is starting.

You can count me in for a bassier E12. I'm going to be getting a portable amp to use sometime in the future, and something like a E12/DigiZoid hybrid would be perfect. In other words, you'll have something like a +/- button on the side that you push to either increase or decrease the bass quantity in increments. That'll allow people to fine-tune whatever setting they want for the low end, instead of having one switch that's either too much or too little for a particular headphone or song. 

Looking forward to it, especially comparisons to other portable amps.

Wolfson and Cirrus Logic flagships(or equivalent) both sound good.

Yeah this is the same for me. 

 

Even on 0 gain, it isn't really easy to use with IEM's, and especially linear armature ones.

 

For nuetral/monitor armature IEM's. the E12 is of course much better than say using an E11 if you are going for clarity. 

 

For example, pairing the 4ai with the E11 works. If you want more bass and color that is. But the 4ai's quality is a smooth neutral IEM and some probably wouldn't want any of the added coloration of the e11(not saying that the e12 doesn't have any) and so then, the E12 would pair better in that sense.

 

But of course, the e12 is raw power. And sometimes it just doesn't do too well with some IEM's