Quote: That could well be... I listen when I'm done driving for the day. It gets noisy in my truck on the road, so as my ears relax into the headphones, they may get more sensitive. *shrug* They still sound amazing. :)  

Quote: I love how versatile they are! 'Clean and subtle' is what I would call the bass - it's there in the background where it should be. If you want a bit more power to your music, you can EQ it up a bit, as you like. I listen to Dance music with flat EQ, and it's perfect. The thump is...

  Quote: At about 25 hours, I was listening to my K702s and then put them down to get something to eat. When I came back, they seemed just a bit thin sounding from what I had just remembered, but after about 3 songs they seemed to come back. Not dramatic, but I wasn't looking for the...

Quote: Play the heck out of them to get them burned in. :)  

Quote: Sorry, don't feel like arguing with you.  

Quote: Thanx, ClieOS - that's pretty much how I thought it was happening. I didn't figure FiiO would put in two seperate decode paths, and why I thought it was very unlikely that the E17 was the problem. :)  And looking at your description, if there WERE going to be a problem with one...

Quote: Plenty of power. If I put the E17 on 12db gain they lose a bit of separation - 6db makes them sound excellent. (0db makes them sound a bit weak.) As my K702s burn in, (got them Saturday morning) they seem to fill out a bit. I'm currently watching the Star Wars blu-rays, and the...

Quote: Yes, that's normal. Increasing or decreasing the volume will change the digital data, and the E17 DAC will read that as volume. I've heard that it's best to keep the volume on the laptop full and use the E17's volume control, but as I understand it that's so you get the best data...

Quote: From the descriptions of the Ultrasones I've read, that was about what I'd expected having heard K702s. But, I like to hear the opinions of those that actually have both to compare. I was thinking of maybe getting Ultrasones for gaming, but my K702s are actually starting to 'fill...

@nsx280ps I'm curious - how do your K701s compare to your Ultrasones?

Quote: Ah, it was 96. (My computer will only do 48 on USB.)    

Quote: Okay. Then to isolate where the problem lies, the next step would be to compare with another laptop or optical out source. If USB on another laptop sounds about the same as the optical, then your Alienware sounds like it may have something wrong with the optical out (may be just...

Quote: Ah hah! So does the optical work with lower resolution and no crackling? or do you get crackling via optical no matter what, but it's just a lot worse at higher Hz?    

Quote: Backup is always a good thing, your input is appreciated. (KNEW I'd caught you skimming! :p) I think we're narrowing things down, and I'll definitely @ you if we get to the bottom of it and I can't find a solution. :)    

Quote: He has a crackling problem we're working on atm... he mentioned the 192 as possibly contributing to the problem.    

Quote: As set, you should be getting sound via the USB input setting on the E17. Have you tried this without the optical cable?  

  Quote: Speakers/Headphones will be your headphone out jack... analog out. This would go to the AUX on the E17 and the E17 input should be set to AUX.   SPDIF Interface (FiiO USB DAC-E17) would be the USB digital out... USB cable from your laptop to the mini-USB on the E17 and the...

Comment on burn-in... I have K702's I got from Amazon 2 days ago, and have been listening all day with them since. I'd say I have about 25 hours on them.   Just in the last hour or so, I've noticed a more present lower register. I stopped listening to get something to eat, and the soundfield...

My K702s sound really good with a FiiO E17 portable amp. I haven't tried other amps yet, and the 702s are new. The bass is a bit shy in my opinion (unless I up the bass on the E17 EQ) but it's definitely there. I'd say subtle would be a better word. Drum beats sound realistic, bass guitar has a...

Quote: When I try to use Dolby out via optical, the E17 just throws up it's hands and sits there. I think I like that better than crackling. :)    

Quote: HD600 directly into SPDIF? If it's a shared analog/SPDIF plug on your computer, then plugging the optical cable in may have set the computer to optical mode on the shared plug. If you go into the sound properties in your control panel and look at 'manage audio devices,' you should...

Quote: So it's bascially a piece that keeps dust out of the unit. I can live with that. Thanks for taking one for the team, SoundDreamer. :)    

Quote: Mine rattles faintly when shaken in any direction.    

Quote: Headphones are the centerpiece to any great sound. With the E17, you can go USB out from your laptop into the E17 and then to headphones. If optical out is more convenient, you can do that as well. So laptop <Digital out via USB or optical into the E17> headphones. The biggest...

Quote: Now that would be a pain. Yep, I think I'd get a mini to mini cable if the one Micca had sent was like that.