FiiO " Flagship " portable amp Mont Blanc/E12 discussing thread, the pre order unit arrives. - Page 66

It can be used while charging but there is a faint buzzing noise.

For the reasons above.

Thank you for the clarification.  I prefer more of a lower bass boost anyway. Also, +4.5dB is better than I thought.

 

Yeah, I got 14 hours on the first run (~50% volume), too. But just to say... if I ever run out of battery (because I forgot to charge last night), then I can always use an external battery to charge while listening without significantly degrading sound quality. Plugging E12 directly into my MacBook or laptop (tested with a Vaio TZ) still creates unpleasant noise and distortion, so I think an external battery is about the only way to do it.

 

Also, I may have to use E12 on a 18-hour flight a few months later (US to Asia), so... the longer I can go on battery, the better.

 

 

Actually, there is noise coming from the wall socket as well. I have tested that with the USB charger of my iPhone and also by plugging the Zagg Sparq directly into the wall socket.

 

To be fair, even the Zagg Sparq is not completely noise-free. It has a very faint (undetectable) whine noise at high frequency. But that's a lot better than the noise generated by wall socket or from laptops. Those are very audible, and they also distorts very audibly.

Makes sense, I have been told a number of times how wall-outlets are usually prone to "noisy power," that's the reason there is a whole industry around power conditioning (particularly for audio/video). That's one more nice thing about using battery power most of the time.

On another note, I found out another Head-Fi'er lives near me, and sometime next week we're gonna have a mini-meet (lol) and we'll both have a listen to the E12 with a Q701, DT880, HD650, HE-400, and if I feel ok loaning my amp then he's got an LCD "that stays at home." I've always wanted to hear the "magic mids" of the HD650 and "incredible transparency" of the DT880! I'll append a write-up about our impressions to my review, which I think I'll finish this evening.

Looking forward to your review.  Would you also be able to include comparisons to other portable amps?

So is the noise mostly a result of the ripple / noise on the +5V from whatever USB source, or is it from the E12's internal boost converter or whatever it's using to change the +5V into something high enough (e.g. 15V?) to charge the battery?  I wonder how much noise you'd get with a perfect 5V input.

 

Not that this is exactly a scathing criticism, considering the extra costs, space (size), and weight of a less-noisy charging system.  I'd imagine many people would mainly use E12 with relatively high-impedance or insensitive headphones anyway.

I'm making a stand-alone review first, but I don't have a "library" of other amps to compare to. I think first the amp should be judged by it's own merits, hopefully I can give info that you can "quantify" and then compare that to other "quantifiable" info from other amp reviews. To be honest, ClieOS will probably be able to compare against more amps directly than me, but once I do my "Crazy Comparison" of amps (crazy because they're different types of amps & implementations, so more "for fun" than "strictly scientific" as I do not feel qualified for the latter), I will listen with my iPod's iPod-->L11 line-out with the E5, E12, my Tube Hybrid (modest-sized desktop amp), and my Yamaha receiver, and lastly the very unscientific (because we're changing too many variables here) impressions with the built-in amping from my Recon3D USB soundcard and my desktop computer's motherboard. That's a wiiiide range of very different "amping solutions," and again not particularly scientific, but hopefully it provides some insight and why I might prefer one over another.

Spoiler alert: the Mont Blanc is much more agreeable than the built-in amps of my sources, and more portable than the desktops

I mainly use my E12 on battery power

 

Some might even call that its intended purpose.  How could you ever do such a thing?  

 

Just curious if this can pretty much be considered a replacement for the E9, at least in performance.  E9 still has the native 1/4" jack and maybe more convenient form factor for desktop use, but E12 really seems like it encroaches on E9's territory and more or less matches it with its output power levels.  FiiO didn't bring out the big guns with LME49710 + LME49600 and the (relatively) huge honking battery for nothing, I hope.

 

It's like carrying a portable E9 with a battery, except it has a crossfeed feature and lower output impedance?  For ~$30 more?

That was my thinking when I jumped on the preorder! At least for performance, it matches your description, but remember it he E09k is basically something that is a good amp on it's own (very good for the price), but it's also meant to integrate with the DACs of the E07k and E17, so the E09k is more like part of a system that transforms from adequate for portable use (with amping from the E07k or E17) to a neat and tidy hi-fi headphone system at home using the E07k/E17 DAC combined with the desktop E09k amp. Can the E12 still be used with an external DAC? Certainly. Basically, FiiO offers the choice whether or not you need/would like all that power available portably.

It's nice using the E12 at bedtime ^_^

 

like this one? xD

 

 

 

 

and im jelly because you guys in the US can already get an E12 =(

 

i hope when it arrives in our country 1-2 months from now, fiio hasnt changed its bass boost yet! if ever fiio will change it in the post production units!

Edited by Dyaems - 2/4/13 at 9:35pm

 

 

How do you know this?

 

http://www.chipworks.com/blog/recentteardowns/2012/10/18/inside-the-apple-lightning-to-30-pin-adapter/

 

There's a Wolfson WM8533 DAC inside.

Just got my E12!!!  So far so good, this is a really nice and classy piece of equipment. I was worried that the bass boost wasn't going to enough but I think the way it is implemented is beautiful- it adds a certain richness/lushness to the sound that makes it far more enjoyable to listen to, more musical even. My only complaint, and it's not really a complaint, is that it's a little on the large size. With my iPod classic velcro'd to it it's not very pocketable. Portable still, but not pocketable. Small price to pay for such great sound. Gonna have to give it some good listening time, which I plan to do with all the traveling I have coming up, but so far I am VERY happy with my purchase. 

Good feedback.  I have been focused on portable amps lately now that I am situated with headphones and the only portable amp I have found with more power is the Centrance M8 which offers charging, DAC and lots of bells and whistles, but is also 3X the size of the E12 and 5X the price.