[rms141]

Hey all,
 
First, Merry Christmas!
 
"Santa" was good enough to leave a Fiio E7+E9 combo under the tree this year. I've set it up with my MacBook Pro, and after some initial bumps—like not realizing that the E7 must be turned on separately from the E9—I'm off and listening. But I'm still not quite clear on some functions, so here are my questions:
 
1. Does the E7 charge when docked in the E9? I see the battery bar display on the E7 flashing from one bar to full and back to one bar. Does this indicate charging, a low battery, or something else? Is it fine to just leave it docked without charging separately?
 
2. Slightly embarrassing… do I plug my headphones (Sennheiser HD 598) into the top of the E7, or the front of the E9? I have them currently plugged in to the E9, but does this bypass or negate the E7's DAC in any way?
 
3. Are there any Mac-related pointers to using the E7+E9 combo I should know about? I have the E9 connected via USB, and I've set it as the default sound device. It works, but is any additional setup required? I've gone into Audio MIDI Setup and set its output to 48,000 KHz and 2channel 16-bit integer. Is this correct?
 
Thanks in advance for any help or replies, and happy holidays!

 

[ZombieZebra]

I have the E7/E9 combo, like you, and this is what I can say about them:
 
1. The E7 is charging when the FiiO logo on it lights up red and/or when the battery on-screen is charging.

2. I have my ATH-M50s plugged into the E9, I just tried plugging them into the E7 and didn't even get any sound from them, so I'm pretty sure you're supposed to plug your headphones into the E9.

3. I'm on an mid-2011 iMac (booting Windows through Bootcamp) and haven't found any special stuff you should know about.

 

[rms141]

Quote:

I have the E7/E9 combo, like you, and this is what I can say about them:
 
1. The E7 is charging when the FiiO logo on it lights up red and/or when the battery on-screen is charging.

2. I have my ATH-M50s plugged into the E9, I just tried plugging them into the E7 and didn't even get any sound from them, so I'm pretty sure you're supposed to plug your headphones into the E9.

3. I'm on an mid-2011 iMac (booting Windows through Bootcamp) and haven't found any special stuff you should know about.

 
Great, thanks. Looks like I'm doing it right. 

 
Did you ever adjust the sound quality output in Audio MIDI Setup? I'm sure it has no (perceivable) effect on sound quality, but I put everything on the highest available setting just in case.

 

[Head Injury]

Set sampling rate to whatever your files are. That usually means 44100.
 
You don't get sound from the E7 when it's plugged into the E9 because the E9 bypasses the E7's amp (and subsequently its headphone jack) so it can get a line level signal from the E7's DAC. The E9 doesn't have its own DAC, it uses the E7's.

 

[rms141]

Quote:

Set sampling rate to whatever your files are. That usually means 44100.

 
I'm in the process of transcoding my FLAC library to ALAC for OS X/iTunes compatibility, so whatever FLAC and ALAC output, that's what my settings are. Of course, I have no idea if that's 44100 or 48000.

 

[Head Injury]

Quote:

I'm in the process of transcoding my FLAC library to ALAC for OS X/iTunes compatibility, so whatever FLAC and ALAC output, that's what my settings are. Of course, I have no idea if that's 44100 or 48000.

CDs are 44100. If that's where you got your FLAC, that's how you set it.

 

[rms141]

Quote:

CDs are 44100. If that's where you got your FLAC, that's how you set it.

 
44100 it is. Thanks for the info!