[mechgamer123]

Quote:

And he responds
 
 
Thanks.
 
 
Shout out to Mechy for letting me borrow the E11 for comparison review 

 

Shout out to Bowei for letting my borrow the E07k in return and as a result, me having my first proper DAC!!!
Are you going to take some comparison pics?
Also, how is the noise on the E12 compared to the E11?

 

[bowei006]

I had to prepare for my assembly.

I only listened to E11 for 20 s today. 3 seconds every hour or so to make sure it was playing audio correctly and burning in another review unit

When i get back. Ill have a pic shoot of the Fiio legends. Basically the flagship portables throughout the years

E5, E11, E12

I may also drop the rendition into the pics

Ill be leaving home tomorrow for half a week. I wont have E11 with me.

Only E12 , DN19, L9 and iPod.

 

[Evshrug]

Shout out to Bowei for letting my borrow the E07k in return and as a result, me having my first proper DAC!!!
Are you going to take some comparison pics?
Also, how is the noise on the E12 compared to the E11?

Someone posted on my YouTube video thinking there would be too much background noise with his Shure e215 because the Mont Blonc has so much power :rolleyes: Here was my response:

Power output isnt directly related to background noise generation.
When fed a clean line-out signal or unplugged from an input, the E12 with my AD700 headphones (32 ohm, 98dB/mW sensitivity) is silent throughout the volume range @low-gain, & I can just faintly hear background noise @high gain. The only thing about pairing the Shure se215 with an E12 is that your canalphones would get loud very quickly. Listening vol with my AD700, low gain, is @ about 10 o'clock on the dial, off is @ 7 o'clock.

IMO canalphones are very efficient and get very little improvement from extra power. That said, it's up to you to decide if the amp built-in to your music player is low quality.
I think the amp in my 5th gen iPod Video is medium quality, pretty good for a built-in amp. Volume is set around 50% for listening volume with my AD700 sounds pretty good. Using an LOD to the Mont Blanc at about the same listening volume (10 o'clock on the dial, low gain), I hear more kick, depth & instrument layering.

I also read Mike's review... I think when he reviews the Mont Blanc he will be impressed with the build quality, the fit and finish is clearly more exacting than what I see in the article's pictures. I haven't heard the Audinst amp so I won't say which is "better," but I like that FiiO offers more technical information if you want to dig in to the specs, and I think the E12 generally uses nicer components. Personally, I think the bump is more odd in a pocket than the E12's length. I'm sure the other amp is quite nice, and it "sounded" good from the well-written review, but I don't have any buyer's remorse compared to what I have been enjoying

Edit: I just realized, if the original poster thought "higher power ==more background noise," then he'll probably get the wrong idea from the "high gain" mode. Gain boosting circuits (FWIR) always introduce some background noise, but that doesn't affirm his earlier assumption. I'll edit that part out of my reply on YouTube, you wouldn't need the extra volume from high gain with the already-sensitive SE215 anyway.

 

[mechgamer123]

Quote:

Someone posted on my YouTube video thinking there would be too much background noise with his Shure e215 because the Mont Blonc has so much power

Here was my response:
I also read Mike's review... I think when he reviews the Mont Blanc he will be impressed with the build quality, the fit and finish is clearly more exacting than what I see in the article's pictures. I haven't heard the Audinst amp so I won't say which is "better," but I like that FiiO offers more technical information if you want to dig in to the specs, and I think the E12 generally uses nicer components. Personally, I think the bump is more odd in a pocket than the E12's length. I'm sure the other amp is quite nice, and it "sounded" good from the well-written review, but I don't have any buyer's remorse compared to what I have been enjoying

Edit: I just realized, if the original poster thought "higher power ==more background noise," then he'll probably get the wrong idea from the "high gain" mode. Gain boosting circuits (FWIR) always introduce some background noise, but that doesn't affirm his earlier assumption. I'll edit that part out of my reply on YouTube, you wouldn't need the extra volume from high gain with the already-sensitive SE215 anyway.

Ugh... Idiots...
By that logic, my O2 would be unlistenable due to all its "background noise."

 

[Evshrug]

^ who's calling it logic? Can't say I blame him for an incorrect assumption, there seems to be almost as much hocus-pocus as science around audio gear. The myths arise, I think, because most people don't understand the very technical side of audio and make guesses based on incomplete info. And you'll see incomplete product descriptions adding to the confusion, especially box store and eBay listings where maybe they purposefully show specs to mislead buyers that their product is better...

For example 300W receivers, someone might think "this 300W receiver that comes with speakers is a great deal, the whole package costs less than a Marantz with 110W!" But what the 300W receiver listing doesn't say is those 300W are shared between 5 or 7 channels/speakers, while the Marantz has 110W discrete amps for each channel. And still power isn't the last word in quality.

 

[mechgamer123]

Quote:

^ who's calling it logic? Can't say I blame him for an incorrect assumption, there seems to be almost as much hocus-pocus as science around audio gear. The myths arise, I think, because most people don't understand the very technical side of audio and make guesses based on incomplete info. And you'll see incomplete product descriptions adding to the confusion, especially box store and eBay listings where maybe they purposefully show specs to mislead buyers that their product is better...

For example 300W receivers, someone might think "this 300W receiver that comes with speakers is a great deal, the whole package costs less than a Marantz with 110W!" But what the 300W receiver listing doesn't say is those 300W are shared between 5 or 7 channels/speakers, while the Marantz has 110W discrete amps for each channel. And still power isn't the last word in quality.

I guess I should have said "by that chain of thought, then..."
Part of it's true I guess... If you have a noisy source, an amp with a higher gain will make a noisy source sound more noisy.
Haha, I hate how people always judge everything by power. It is NOT an accurate way of picking components. However, people seem to think the higher power consumption, the better something will sound.

 

[Evshrug]

Aw, but it's not as funny that way!
And yeah, gobs of power "on tap" might make a difference, but the quality and implementation of parts and your whole music system make a difference in all situations.
This was pretty much the first time I saw someone say "more power = bad, bad thing!" though. Indeed, the noise will be heard more if it's part of the signal feed and you amp that signal, but that's not the amps fault if it doesn't add it's own noise.

 

[Craigster75]

New competition for the E12?  Any thoughts?
 
http://www.firestone-audio.eu/shop/products/allproductslisted/fireyeha.php
 

 

[bowei006]

FiiO has competition everywhere. But they are a large brand for headphone audio with many posts, reviews, feedback, and fan loyalty.

So it is more of an indirect competitor as the E12 will be easier to attain and have more feedback from a name brand.

Both good and bad depending on what side you are looking at.

I have an MRB . Anyone heard of it? thats the problem with most Chinese amps.

Im a bit worried about the E12 conducting something though

 

[pekingduck]

For sensitive IEMs, are there any channel imbalances at low gain/low volume?
 
By the way, for those who can read Chinese, there's a review over at erji.net

 

[JamesFiiO]

dep

New competition for the E12?  Any thoughts?

http://www.firestone-audio.eu/shop/products/allproductslisted/fireyeha.php

 

depend on the feature, it should compete with our e02i or e6 because it used a max9722 in the amp section.

anyway it is a good thing if more brand go into this market

 

[Evshrug]

Pekingduck,
The only IEMs I have are Etymotic ER6•i, pretty detailed and sensitive, but not the most sensitive IEMs ever. 1 kHz sensitivity: 108 dB @ 0.1V
Impedance: 16 Ohms

ClieOS will be the authority on IEMs, as always. But I'll post a short bit about the ER6•i with the Mont Blanc in my full review, as I expect people will want to know about both harder to drive headphones and very sensitive headphones. The fact that the AD700 can play comfortably, without being volume dialed down to almost off, gives me hope that the ER•6i will be usable, though probably have to have the volume set pretty low.

What impression does the Chinese review give of the Mont Blanc?
Is it just me or has the headphone amp market exploded with many new products in the past year?

 

[Craigster75]

Quote:

Pekingduck,
The only IEMs I have are Etymotic ER6•i, pretty detailed and sensitive, but not the most sensitive IEMs ever. 1 kHz sensitivity: 108 dB @ 0.1V
Impedance: 16 Ohms

ClieOS will be the authority on IEMs, as always. But I'll post a short bit about the ER6•i with the Mont Blanc in my full review, as I expect people will want to know about both harder to drive headphones and very sensitive headphones. The fact that the AD700 can play comfortably, without being volume dialed down to almost off, gives me hope that the ER•6i will be usable, though probably have to have the volume set pretty low.

What impression does the Chinese review give of the Mont Blanc?
Is it just me or has the headphone amp market exploded with many new products in the past year?

It seems like the portable audiophile market in general has exploded over the past year.

 

[pekingduck]

Actually it's more like a shootout between the E12 and C&C XO
 
Here are some highlights:
- Soundstage is adequate but not great
- Bass is tight and fast and does not bleed into the mids
- Some hiss on high gain (phones are IE80)
- Signature is on the neutral side
 
Quote:

What impression does the Chinese review give of the Mont Blanc?

 

[SNSDluv]

Any comparison between the E12 and C&C BH? They are priced around the same.