[Brooko]

Are there any differences when utilizing each with an Android phone?

 
With Android - you'd want the E18.

 

[otherlives]

With Android - you'd want the E18.

Can you please expound as to why? This thread is almost 6000 posts long and next to impossible to search, even via Google. Sorry, as I'm sure its been covered before.

Thanks

 

[Brooko]

OK - if using an Android phone as source, and wanting to use the Fiio as DAC, then the E18 can do that, the E17 can't.
 
http://www.fiio.net/en/products/20
 
What I'd suggest (if interested) is researching on the various E18 threads (http://www.head-fi.org/newsearch?search=fiio+e18), and seeing if it is what you are after.  I don't have Android, ahven't tried the E18 - so can't really give you any more info.

 

[otherlives]

OK - if using an Android phone as source, and wanting to use the Fiio as DAC, then the E18 can do that, the E17 can't.

http://www.fiio.net/en/products/20

What I'd suggest (if interested) is researching on the various E18 threads (http://www.head-fi.org/newsearch?search=fiio+e18), and seeing if it is what you are after.  I don't have Android, ahven't tried the E18 - so can't really give you any more info.

Thanks... None of this makes sense as this list shows them both as well as the x3 and x5 as capable.

http://www.extreamsd.com/index.php/2015-07-22-12-01-14/usb-audio-driver

 

[Brooko]

Thanks... None of this makes sense as this list shows them both as well as the x3 and x5 as capable.

http://www.extreamsd.com/index.php/2015-07-22-12-01-14/usb-audio-driver

 
All of them can be used as DACs (PCs / laptops).  But if you want to use one as DAC for your Android phone the E18 is the only one which can do that.

 

[EagleWings]

Can you please expound as to why? This thread is almost 6000 posts long and next to impossible to search, even via Google. Sorry, as I'm sure its been covered before.

Thanks

 
I was trying to figure out the same information a few weeks back and here is what I found out:
 
1. The USB Dac functionality on the X3ii, X5ii and E17K were designed with PCs(and Macs) in mind and not so much the smartphones
2. There are issues such as adequate power supply and non-compatibility with smartphones
3. There is a work around for this. You would connect the smartphone to a powered USB hub and connect the DAC/Amp to this Hub so that the power needed by the DAC/Amp is provided by the Hub (Even by this method, it is not guaranteed that it will work as some smartphones may not provide digital out)
4. E18K was designed to also work with Android phones. So your best bet if you want a device for your android smartphone is the E18K. Fiio advertises the E18K with the same feature.
 
Hope this helps!
 
Edit: P.S: I haven't tried any of this set up myself but I am telling you based on my online research. I have even seen an article where the user made the E17(not E17K) work as a DAC/Amp for HTC One without an additional power supply. Head-Fi is a great source. Use the right key-words for search and there is nothing you can't find here.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Hello Brooko,

It's actually quite a mess. Yes the E18 was advertised for Android and the E17K isn't. But in actuality, they both work for about the same number of Androids. Some phones work with the E18 and not the E17K, but some phones are the other way aorund. Both can be set to not draw power from the connected phone (the E18 by switching to PHONE IN, the E17K by setting USB CHG to OFF).

In theory both the E18 and E17K should just all work with phone / OS combinations that formally support USB audio in-system, require special software like Hiby or UAPP with phones that support USB OTG but not USB audio formally, and only refuse to work at all with phones with no USB OTG support. But small differences in the particular USB receiver chipset used in the E17K and E18 and devil's details in the particular USB outputs of different phones result in the hit-and-miss situation described at the top. In this respect the E18 and E17K don't seem too different from other brands of USB DACs.

The E18 was designed for the Android to the extent that it had play/fwd/rwd buttons that would trigger the corresponding operations on the player program on the smartphone. But in the end the compatibility for the audio working in the first place seemed no better than any number of self-powered USB DACs. This stung FiiO enough to have them offer ten internets for a solution, and now the marketing department has given up advertising Android compatibility altogether, it seems. But they need to learn how to say "We're not saying it won't work, we're just saying we don't guarantee it will work" in English in answer to queries, instead of stuff like "we don't support it" :rolleyes:

Best regards,
Joseph Yeung (FiiO spokesperson)

P.S. The X3 and X5 series (1st and 2nd gen) are like the above, with the added caveat that they can't be told not to charge themselves from the phone, with the result that more phones refuse the connection because of too much power drain.

 

[Brooko]

Thanks Joe for the in-depth answer.  Makes a lot of sense when you consider its just a USB controller - and the actual usability depends mainly on the phone's chipset and features.
 
If Fiio ever come out with an iPhone compliant dac/amp at a reasonable price - then I'd certainly be more than interested. 

 

[otherlives]

   
I was trying to figure out the same information a few weeks back and here is what I found out:
 
1. The USB Dac functionality on the X3ii, X5ii and E17K were designed with PCs(and Macs) in mind and not so much the smartphones
2. There are issues such as adequate power supply and non-compatibility with smartphones
3. There is a work around for this. You would connect the smartphone to a powered USB hub and connect the DAC/Amp to this Hub so that the power needed by the DAC/Amp is provided by the Hub (Even by this method, it is not guaranteed that it will work as some smartphones may not provide digital out)
4. E18K was designed to also work with Android phones. So your best bet if you want a device for your android smartphone is the E18K. Fiio advertises the E18K with the same feature.
 
Hope this helps!
 
Edit: P.S: I haven't tried any of this set up myself but I am telling you based on my online research. I have even seen an article where the user made the E17(not E17K) work as a DAC/Amp for HTC One without an additional power supply. Head-Fi is a great source. Use the right key-words for search and there is nothing you can't find here.

 
 
Thanks a lot.  I promise you I searched this forum via google with every applicable term I could think of and nothing answered the question with any sort of clarity.
 
 
And thanks to Joe for the additional info.

 

[shuto77]

Oh, hey, on a whim I decided to see if the x3ii would play nicely as a DAC with my HTC One M8 over OTG (running Android 5.0.2), which is why I originally bought one. (Independent of the discussion happening above.)

Good news: To my surprise, it works flawlessly as a DAC. It's easy to do an A/B comparison, and the Fiio sounds, as expected, worlds better.

Bad news: It kills the phone's battery in about 2-3 hours.

I'm not sure if I want to spend more on a USB hub to remedy this, because it might be more practical to just grab an Oppo HA-2 or Soundblaster E5 at that point.

If I'm not mistaken, the Oppo unit comes standard with a special "two-way" OTG cable that prevents the unit from drawing the phone's power. Can anyone shed light on this, or tell me I'm nuts?

Thanks!

Edited a typo.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Hello shuto,

As said above the E17K should also work, and not drain your phone battery. Its amp power and quality are also in the same ballpark as the X3 2nd gen.


Joe

 

[shuto77]

Hello shuto,

As said above the E17K should also work, and not drain your phone battery. Its amp power and quality are also in the same ballpark as the X3 2nd gen.


Joe

Hi Joe-

Thanks for the speedy response!

Is the DAC in the E17 comparable to the x3ii's?

Thanks,
Shuto

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Hi Joe-

Thanks for the speedy response!

Is the DAC in the E17 comparable to the x3ii's?

Thanks,
Shuto

I think so, yes

 

[EagleWings]

 
Thanks a lot.  I promise you I searched this forum via google with every applicable term I could think of and nothing answered the question with any sort of clarity.
 
And thanks to Joe for the additional info.

 
I hear you buddy. I had to do a lot of digging and asking on forums to figure these out. 

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Hey folks, just wanted to let you guys know that the FiiO X7 preview world tour is now open for applications!
http://www.head-fi.org/t/782490/fiio-x7-preview-world-tour-yes-its-here-apply-now

Joe