As a music lover who prefers a portable means of listening to music, you might eventually discover that your device can't provide enough power for your IEMs, headphones, or earphones to reach their full potential. In situations such as these, you have three options. You can upgrade your source(dap), add a portable amp, or add an amp/DAC combo. Until recently, there weren't many DAPs (Digital audio players) to choose from. You basically had Ipod and Creative, and shortly thereafter, the Microsoft Zune., so upgrading your source wasn't a realistic option, This meant you had to add an amp or an amp/dac combo. There really were not any options for a dac/amp combo at this time, so this just left the amp as your only feasible option. Now that you decided you needed an amp, you really only had two options. You could build a CMoy for a pretty reasonable price, or you could buy one of the few expensive ($200-500 USD) production units available from a niche manufacturer. For those of us that were not that skilled with circuitry we spent a lot of money purchasing amps. Around this time frame the saying “Welcome to Head-fi. Sorry about your wallet” came about.
 
   2007 saw the emergence of a Chinese company called Fiio, whose mission was to provide quality audio equipment at affordable prices. They started production with a series of portable headphone amps, which included the e3, e4, and the e5. With everything else on the market being so expensive, many audiophiles refused to take them seriously including myself, but Fiio was undeterred. They stayed true to their mission, and continued with research and development. In 2011 I was contacted by Fiio's own Sunny Wong who asked if I could please review one of their newer amp models. I was quite skeptical, as up to that point, I had only used high-end portable amps. Giving it some thought, I agreed to write an objective review.
 
  Soon after, the Fiio e11 Kilimanjaro (www.head-fi.org/products/fiio-e11/reviews/5887) arrived in my mail box and after putting it to the test, I was pleasantly surprised. Overall, the Kilimanjaro was a much better product than I expected. It opened my eyes to new possibilities, and I have since become a fan of Fiio amps. They are a company that isn't “above” listening to their customers and enlisting the help of this community. As a result, they continue to make significant leaps in function and design. You still get a great price, but each new product feels more “premium” than the one before it.
 
This beings us to the present. Fiio recently announced that they needed reviews for an amp that was designed to replace for the e5. Needless to say, I was on board from the start.
 
             Packaging
The A1 arrived in retail packaging straight from Fiio in about 3 weeks. The packaging is a fairly small clear plastic hanger with the amp displayed nicely and black accessory package with “A1” in bold red. It is very simplistic and cost effective, yet would attract your eye if hanging on a hook at the local shop. Inside the package you get the amp, a short 2.75” 3.5 to 3.5mm interconnect with right angle TRRS, long 30” 3.5mm to 3.5mm straight TRRS interconnect, USB to micro USB charging cable, and two clear plastic belt clips. For the price this amp retails for (27.99 Amazon) it is quite a nice package of accessories.
 
Please forgive the pictures. I am without a decent camera at this moment.
 



 
Specs
  
     Fiio sent the silver version. With my experience of the past Fiio amps, I was expecting a fairly small amp. This did not disappoint. It is about the size of an Ipod shuffle. Measuring in at 42mm x 40.7mm x 9.4mm and 20g makes for a nice micro portable amp. The top of the amp features the power button, volume + and – buttons, and the 3.5mm headphone out. The bottom you get the 3.5mm, line in, and the micro USB charging port. The power button has a RGB LED that turns green when fully charged, red when charging, red flashing when low power, blue when on, and blue flashing when changing modes. The A1 is capable to driving 16-100Ω headphones at ≥ 78mW, and it can amplify a frequency range from 10Hz-90kHz. Fiio chose a 160mAh battery that should charge in around 90min and last for around 13 hours with a 32Ω impedance load. This is all pretty impressive on paper, but how does it really perform?
 




 
 
   My testing platform is from the Ipod classic 7^th gen, Fiio x1, Chrome book, Asus tablet, and Dell notebook. I used the AAW Q, AAW Nebula Two, Westone 4, Sennheiser hd439, Westone es60, and InEarz p450s. My music was an eclectic selection of genres in bit-rates from 256kbps Aac and mp3 to 24/96 flac. Majority of it being in 320 and flac.
 
Performance
 
   I was quite pleased that in the standard mode there was not much coloration to the sound from the source. The is a slight bump in the warmness, but its not bad at all. With the first bass boost activated it gives a nice bump for the bass without affecting the highs too much. When you go past the first setting into the second and third things change. You start to get bloat into the mids and a bit of muddiness on two and severe bloat and bass blends right into the mids on three and treble is all but lost.. I just don't think they needed a second bass boost setting much less a third.
 
   They decided to use a digital volume control with an increase and decrease buttons. They work well, but you have no idea where you are in the range of the amps capabilities. There is nothing to let you know when you reach max volume except that there is no more increase in volume. I feel they could have added an audible beep or something to give warning as to prevent someone from trying to keep increasing the volume past max. For the majority of my Iems I found it provided enough volume. With the Ipod I feel it improved the sound stage slightly over the internal amp and gave it a more pleasing sound. With chrome-book it was a vast improvement over the stock hp out. I am still on the fence on whether the x1 benefited from the x1 yet and I feel the amp in the Pioneer is far superior. It was just not worth it to pair the pioneer with the a1.. When I tried full sized cans, I found the a1 struggled. The hd439 is fairly low impedance, but it still struggled. Its not surprising as they struggle with most players using the hp out. Low impedance iem's performed quite well and sounded really good.
Conclusion
 
   For the most part I was quite pleased. For the price I think it is hard to do better. I do feel they should leave off some of the bass boost and add an audible signal for volume control, but at 30.00 its a heck of a buy. I think it would pair really well with something like an ipod nano or shuffle. It would allow the owner to upgrade their iem's to something better that the nano or shuffle can not drive very well. If you are using a larger portable player I think you would be better off spending a bit more on the new Fiio e11K Kilimanjaro 2. It will provide as much power as you need for most anything.
 
 
Update. Speaking with some other reviewers, despite Fiio saying it has three bass boost settings the third setting is actually a flat attenuation mode. The following was borrowed with permission from Brooko in his review http://www.head-fi.org/products/fiio-a1-micro-headphone-amplifier/reviews/15718
 

  But the biggest feature the A1 has is its built in EQ. This works in 4 distinct stages.  The first or default provides around 4 dB gain above your source output – and it is essentially pretty flat with a very slight roll-off in the sub-bass (this is well under 0.5 dB so it’s negligible – you won’t notice it).  Going to bass boost one adds some gradual warmth beginning slowly in the mid-range and gradually rising through the mid-bass to culminate in a +4bB rise from 100 Hz down. The second boost setting is quite cleverly implemented.  This drops everything from about 2kHz forward down by 3 dB, and then raises slowly back to 0 at ~ 600 Hz, and then slowly raises the mid-bass and sub bass to the + 4dB level.  This adds a lot more bass, but by dropping the upper mids and treble, it does it unobtrusively so that it minimises the chances of clipping. The third “boost” setting is actually volume attenuation.  It returns to the default flat signal, but drops the signal down by -5 dB. This is handy if you have very sensitive IEM’s or headphones, and need to attenuate the signal to allow yourself more headroom, or finer control on volume. One more push then returns you to the default setting again.
 

Click to expand...

Please visit his review to view the graphs and measurements he did. It is a great review.

IEMs come in all sizes, shapes, and prices. The majority of the time, I prefer custom IEM's. But when I get the chance, I like to branch out and try new and upcoming products, whether custom, universal, or full sized cans. Advanced AcousticWerkes (AAW) was kind enough to send me a pair of Q and Nebula Two IEMs for review. This review will cover the Q.
 
When I get items for review, they usually arrive in retail packaging. I was a bit surprised to discover that the IEMs were a pre-production sample without retail packaging. However, this is a more practical because it saves on shipping. What came in the package was a silver anti-static bag stuffed with the IEMs, which were held in a carrying case, a metal card with a variety of tips, a 3.5mm to 1/4” adapter, and an airline adapter. This is the first time I have seen a case like this, but it works nicely. The IEMs are safely nestled in foam, which sits inside the case with the cord wrapped around it. The case itself came a blue leatherette material with a magnetic fastener.


 
 
 
 When I opened the case to look at the IEMs for the first time, I was shocked at their size. I don't have much experience with micro driver IEMs, but these looked very small. You get a tiny silver driver housing, where the tips are larger than the whole IEM. Additionally, the silver housing contains a 6x8.8mm dynamic micro driver that was developed in-house by AAW. The driver has an ultra-thin bio-composite diaphragm. With this design, you get two rings on the membrane. The center ring is the more rigid of the two, and is coupled with a lightweight voice coil that allows for faster movement, which should improve high frequency extensions. The outer ring is softer and more delicate. This allows air to move more freely, which should offer a better bass response. The design allows a wide frequency range, from 10Hz to 40kHz. Note that this is a far wider range than most IEMs. In fact, my Westone ES-60 only reaches 8Hz-20kHz


 

The cord exits the IEMs at a 90°. You get a full copper cord with nylon strands to add strength. The upper chord is coated with an ultra flexible nylon sleeve. The Y is terminated in a silver cylinder with knurling. This feels like the same stainless steel used for the drivers. The remaining cable is covered with a braided sheath, which ends in a straight, gold-plated 3.5mm single-ended male connector, with the same silver tube with knurling


 
 I used a variety of music in my collection to test these, from classical to rap and hip/hop, contemporary Christian to jazz and metal. For a source, I used my PC, an Ipod Classic 7^th gen player (both amped with a Fiio A3, and unamped), a Fiio X1 player, and an Asus TF701 transformer tablet. My preference for earphones and sound signature is slight B-shaped: mids and bass slightly forward from the treble. I have fairly sensitive ears that pick up frequencies from 5000kHz to 18,500 kHz. Excess frequencies in the upper range are usually painful.
 
It's All About The Bass
 
The bass through these IEMs is strong and impactful, but it's even better when amped. When I hooked them up straight to my iPod Classic, the bass guitar became muddy and bled into the other instruments. With the amp added, there is better separation and it cleans up the bass. Plugging straight into my Fiio player gave better sound, but it still benefited from the amp. The bass drums were powerful and natural, with good separation. The bass guitar gave distinct notes, with a nice metallic thud on the strings. Synthetic beats were strong and powerful, and when amped, it didn't overpower the other frequencies as it did unamped. There was a real sub-woofer quality with electronic music. Although reaching down to 10Hz, the sub-bass isn't strong. The mid-bass focus was much stronger than the sub-bass, from about 35-100Hz.
 
Oh Sweet, Sweet Mids!
 
Mids are where the Qs shine. Amped or unamped, they sound amazing in this range. This was true for male or female vocals, acoustic guitar, jazz, or classical music. Acoustic guitars sound especially natural. You can even hear metallic re-verb as the pick strikes the strings. Vocals are very lush and full, whether female or male. Female vocals are particularly rich and enchanting, while male vocals can be soothing/relaxing, or downright gritty and rough (as in Leslie West's rendition of “House Of The Rising Sun”). It's hard not to smile while listening to these with my signature preference in listening equipment.
 
Hearing Like A Bat
 
Treble is a complicated mistress. If there's too much, it's harsh and painful. With too little, music sounds dull, flat, and muddy. The goal is to get the perfect balance, but the problem is that each person is different. With the Qs, AAW tried to find a happy medium. Given my listening preferences, they accomplished this fairly well. Personally, I don't like a flat signature. I like the bass and mids slightly forward, with the treble slightly recessed.
 
With my unamped Ipod, the highs were fairly rolled off and lacking, even for my taste. But once amped, there was a vast improvement. The highs came back, without being overly harsh and having nice detail and clarity. With the Fiio player unamped, there was a noticeable improvement over the iPod. However, it really shined with a more powerful amp. The cymbals sounded life-like, with amazing re-verb and decay. Treble instruments sounded airy and clean, without sharpness or sibilance. Operatic female vocals were crisp and rich, while never becoming uncomfortable. Overall, I am quite pleased with how the treble was presented.
 
She Breaks Everything!!
 
I have not babied these IEMs on bit. In fact, I have been quite rough; even more so than I normally would be. What I discovered is that they are of great build quality. They may look small, delicate, and fragile, but they are actually quite robust and hold up to all sorts of abuse. They have been thrown around, wound up and tucked in my pocket (bare), wrapped around my player and left hanging, and tugged on when they were caught on drawers and other things. I am not afraid of breaking these. In fact, I would not be afraid to give them to my daughter, who is rough on all her gear. Especially her earphones!
 
Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow
 
For the most part, I have found that the source greatly affects the sound of these IEMs. If you have a good source with enough power, you get detailed highs that are not too rolled off, amazing mids that are fast and precise, and a wonderful bass response that is equally impactful, clear, and not sluggish. But if your source is mediocre, you still get outstanding set of micro-driver IEMs for the money. But remember: they have so much more potential. You get big sound out of such a small package. I have learned that my iPod Classic is just a mediocre source.
 
 
 
 
 
 
* To be technical, the Qs are actually inner-canal monitors (ICMs), rather than in-ear monitors (IEMs).  
 
 
 

I received these from a friend that got them on my recommendation on Sennheiser. They were a gift from his sister; but to his ears did not provide enough bass, so I bought him a set of hd419. They came in the usual Sennheiser clam shell with only a 3.5mm to 1/4" adapter and extra cable as accessories. You cant complain about the lack of accessories as you can find them for around 50.00 usd or under.
 
  They are constructed of black plastic with a slide adjustment. There is a silver plastic ring around a metal grill that makes you think they are open cans, but they are closed.The earpads are a nice soft velour earpads and headband cushion. Only thing I wish is that they clamped down a bit more. Some reason this pair does not clamp down as much as other pairs of Sennheiser headphones I have tried. They are constructed with single neodumium magnts on each side. They have a frequency response from 17hz to 22.5 KHz. They are 32Ω impedance with 112dB sensitivity. They weigh in around 421 grams with the standard cable.
 
 
The first few weeks listening to them I found the sound changed a lot. I do find they do improve a lot with a good burn in. I listened to them from several sources. My desktop pc from the line out, my ipod classic 7g from line out, ipod classic with fiio a3 using l9 lod, and Fiio x1 both with and without the a3. With only 32Ω impedance, they are pretty easy to drive, but I find thy do benefit greatly from using the amp. Using the amp on high gain gives these a much fuller sound with a solid bass and great treble and highs. I do find there is a bit of a treble bump in the mids from around 2k to 8k range. It gives the vocals a nice presence over the bass and the highs.  I dont really find the highs rolled off just that the mids are brought forward. The bass is there. It is fairly tight and strong enough unless you are a basshead. If you are you can do the bass mod and it should make you happy. I really find these handle female vocals, rock, acoustic guitars, and jazz really well. I do like how it handles techno and dance, but I can see how many would love much more bass for these genres. I also find your source does play a big roll in how they sound. My ipod with the amp sound great, but the x1 with amp is much warmer as is my asus transformer tablet unamped compared to my ipod headphone out unamped.
 
I will cut this review shorter than my usual reviews. I still get a smile when listening to them out of an amped source and love using them when I want a change of pace or dont want to use iem's They would be a great purchase if you can still find them for someone wanting to get into quality headphones or dabble into the audiophile world without breaking the bank. I just wish they were still being made. I would take these over Beats or skullcandy any day. If you want more bass either try and find the hd 419 or get these and do the bass mod as you can do the bass mod and keep the highs that are missing on the hd419.

This is a review i did back in 2011.
 
I have had these a little over a week and I feel it is time to do a review. A little background in my experience in iems. I would say I really started my journey about 7 years ago. Now before that I would listen to cheap buds with a cd player. In 2003 my stepmother won an ipod 3g and I purchased it off her for 100.00 unopened. I discovered I did not like the feel of the buds nor the sound rushing out as I played my favorite bands. I decided to go find a better feel and sound. I have tried so many different ones through the years and never found what I was looking for. Finally in 2005 I had a pair of Shure e5c that I thought sounded amazing, but was not fond of the feel and I found Head-fi where I was guided to Ultimate ears customs. From that time on I have been using customs, but have heard most of the high end iems out there.
 
Now the D jays arrived on scene and I am listening to them as I type up this review. Starting off with the packaging. They come in the typical box that Jays put their high end iems in. I is a black box with 2 windows displaying the D Jays surrounded by a green background. There is Jays logo on the bottom left with D- Jays in bold print and a description.

 
It is quite a nice package, but I could not wait to open it up. As you pull plastic clam shell packaging out you see the D-jays and an airplane adapter attached to a splitter.  
 

 
You flip the clam shell over and see 3 pairs of tips and a manual. Opening up the clam shell reveals everything included. You four different sizes of sleeves,a pair of foam tips, an extension cable, and a small carrying case. I was surprised this one did not have any filters included.

 
The carrying case really needs to be larger or a different design. It is pretty much useless to carry the iems in. The airplane adapter is quite useful if you travel, and the splitter can be quite handy listening to music with someone. the extension cable is quite needed as the cables on the iems are quite short. It is nice to actually have four different sizes in tips. My wife has a hard time finding any that are small enough. Overall it is not a bad packaging and comes with some nice accessories. 
 
The D- Jays are a single micro armature similar to the q- jays and many other high end iems. They have a sensitivity of 115 dB SPL @ 1 kHz and an impedance of 115 dB SPL @ 1 kHz. The frequency response is 20 Hz - 20 000 Hz, which is not bad for a single armature design. They weigh in at 14 grams and have a 23.5" cord ending with a straight gold 3.5mm plug. The extension cable measures 35.5'. The silicone tips are xs,s,m,and large, and the foam tips are about a medium.
 
I have listened to these out of my 7g 160gb ipod classic with and without my two portable amps, RSA p51 and Fiio e11., using both a RSA lod and the L9 from Fiio. I listened to everything from metal to classical and folk music. I used the foam sleeves and the medium tips.
 
The fit is very comfortable for the most part, Coming from customs with outstanding sound isolation I was struggling to get the perfect seal without any sound leak. I would use the silicone and my wife could hear the music coming from my ears. I would use the foam and the sound was not quite right. If you use universals all the time you would not see a difference between these and most others as far as fit is concerned. What I did to remedy this was pull the foam off the tubs and put it in the silicone tip.


 
I feel this has pretty much fixed my issues with these and the isolation is much better. When I listen to them first thing that comes to mind is neutral. I think of the early days of me trying to find the right iems and Etymotic pops up. I really enjoy classical music, some christian music like Shane and Shane, and folk music like Lorena McKennet,. Music like this work really well with these. They allow the vocals to come forward and the music is really balanced. For me rock is hit or miss. Some recordings sound great while others lack the low punch I like. Electronic music is also hit or miss depending on my mood. I am listening to The prodigy right this second and it is hitting hard enough for my taste, but while in two hours I might want a harder bass.
 
These are fairly easy to drive straight out of the ipod. I can not go much higher tan half. With something this like this one may ask why use an amp.Well with an amp the sound stage opens up quite a bit and the bass hits a little harder. The highs are precise and tight. While there is not a huge amount of bass, it is tight and controlled. I feel the rsa 51 handles these great, but I do like the option on the e11 to boost the bass.
 
As I dwindle down this review I think to my self what do I think of the Jays D-Jays. Well the highs sparkle and the vocals are amazing. In some music I find the bass and the isolation lacking with the stock tips. I fell if one had shure olives it would greatly increase the performance. I feel they are constructed well however qc on this pair was a little off as there was a bit of glue around the iems showing and I was missing the filters that usually come with them. I feel that if someone is looking for a neutral or reference iem these would do nicely. If someone is looking for a hard hitting bass then look elsewhere. I also feel that using two drivers would increase the performance to a level I would love. I also feel that if you have a e11 amp these would be a great pair as you can control the bass output. I would recommend these without hesitation to a certain group around here and would recommend using a portable amp if you could.

 
There has been a lot of talk lately about affordable portable amps. Coming from using high end portable amps in the past I was quite skeptical. I thought that there is no way a sub 200.00 amp could compete with RSA and Headamp. I had the same mentality towards portable amps as I did towards customs. I guess I thought that if you could not afford the big boys then you really did not need an amp. I have seen so much change in the portable music industry in the last six years I have been a member here. Amps and customs were for the elite audiophile and that justified their price.If you wanted to Join the club you had to pay.
 
Let me give you a little of my background gear. I have tried several high end portable amps over the years. I started with the RSA hornet. I was so thrilled those many years ago when it was released. I was so amazed at the sound it could produce through my Custom ultimate ears. Shortly after the Hornet was released Ray came out with the Tomahawk. Hey a smaller portable amp that could perform better yet more battery life. I jumped on the wagon. As soon as I jumped purchased the Tomahawk Justin from Headamp posted about this new dac/amp called the Pico. Man my world was spinning around, I had to have it. Now I could use a dac to improve my pc sound and then take it on he go with my ipod. I was so thrilled with this amp till Ray posted about his new ultra small amp called the P51 Mustang and its Dac/amp counterpart called the Predator. I managed to hold out on this amp until recently. I have been enjoying this amp for a few weeks now.
 
Well with all the talk of affordable amps lately, I decided to contact Fiio and ask a few questions about their idea of providing cheap amps to the community. I thought it was another Chinese company trying to rake in the bucks on the efforts of people like Ray Samuels and Justin W. I thought this was tragic. I thought it could leave a bad impression and possible drive new audiophiles away from the hobby because of a shoddy product. When Fiio offered to send me an e11 and a L9 ipod LOD I agreed. I thought I would finally be able to differ people away from this product and protect them. I promised to give a honest review no matter what my biased beliefs were.
 
Well two days ago I received a package from Hong Kong by DHL.It took about four days to arrive which is quite good seeing as they did not send it express. There was a small box enclosed in the DHL envelope. Within the box there was some styrofoam protecting a small silver box about the size of a wallet and a small static envelope.



The silver box contained the E11 amp, a 3 inch 3.5mm to 3.5mm interconnect, short usb mini cable, and a silicone band. It was packaged quite nicely and accessories were great. The anti static bac contained the L9 right angled LOD.


 
The construction of the amp is mostly plastic.The volume knob is an ALPS potentiometer. They do this to ensure a low noise and good channel balance. There is a built in high-performance lithium battery. It is a BL-58 model. Basically that is a cellphone battery that can be easily replaced To one side you see five 220 16v RVT solid state capicators. Underneath the battery you see a switch to change from high to low power.

 
As you look on the outside edge of the amp you see gain switch and a 3 position eq switch. The other side has the usb charging port, and the front has the volume knob, input and output connectors. There is a blue power led and red charging led on the top of the unit.



 
The frequency response is 10~1000Khz. Signal to noise ration is ≥98dB. Crosstalk is 60dB. Gain ≥ 12dB High, and ≥ 6dB for the low. total harmonic distortion is <0.009%(10mW). Voltage on high is 300mW(16Ω), 200mW(32Ω), and 35mW(300Ω). Voltage on low is 120mW(16Ω), 88mW(32Ω), and 13mW(300Ω). The recommended headphone impedance is 16~300Ω, and the input impedance is >5KΩ.
 
The size is quite acceptable for a portable use. It is quite thin and light. It measures 92.55mm x 54.2mm x 13.4mm and weighs 65g with the battery.In my opinion it is easier to slip in the pocket than the p51 and ipod combo.
 
The L9 lod is a right angled 3.5mm connector with a low profile 32pin connector. It uses two 6cm PCOCCA-A copper wires with PFA insulation and a cotton rope medium surrounded by a black TPE sheath. the impedanceof the wire is a max 0.07Ω and has a resistance of min 2MΩ.


 
 
I have been listening to the amp almost constantly for the past few days and it has about 30 hours on it. The battery lasts between 10 and 12 hours. and takes about 3 hours to charge. I was using my ipod classic 7g with ALAC and 320 KB/ps files. Iems I used were my ultimate ears ue-5c, ue-11 pro, and jvc marshmallows. I will use other iems as I get them in shortly. I was unable to use fill size cans as I don't have any on hand currently. I used many genres of music from Loreena Mckennitt to Disturbed. Basically every genre other than country. 
 
There are a few things I don't like about the amp. I don't like the how the volume knob was designed. I understand that they did this to prevent accidental operation of the volume knob. When the unit is piggy backed with the ipod it is very difficult to manipulate the volume knob. They could help prevent this by including some sort of feet to attach like RSA and headamp do. This would provide a bit more room between the amp and the ipod. I also feel that in this configuration the L9 is not suited.



 
I do find the amp provides more than enough power for my iems and probably enough for full size cans. With my ue-11 pro I have the volume on 3 with a low gain and no eq. I would be afraid to turn it up any louder or put it on high gain as it would cause hearing damage. In my opinion it should be able to power most any iem or headphone out there you would take portable. There is plenty of detail and separation in the music. There is a strong punch in the bass and really tightens up sloppy bass. For the most part I dont use the eq, however I think it is a good idea for someone that does not have their desired bass in their cans. you can use a flat iem to listen to classical music and then add some bass to techno or rock to make the same iem fun.How does this compare to high end amps? Well the p51 has a larger soundstage and a bit more accurate bass and detailed highs.I think it would be quite hard in a blind test to tell this was not a high end amp.
 
The L9 is not a bad lod for the price ( around 20.00) there are a few things that could be better. I dont think the right angled connectors suit my current needs. The LOD sounds good. It is a bit warmer than the RSA lod I am comparing it to, but is more flexible.The 30 pin connector is a bit loose. It wiggles in the line out of the ipod and a little too easy to pull out. You can just lightly pull on it and it releases. I worry the connector can come loose when removing from my pocket.
 
In conclusion Fiio has opened my eyes. It is quite possible to provide a great product for an affordable price. There is plenty of power to amp most any can and has a great sound. I do prefer aluminum housings over plastic and would like a different knob or silicone feet, but this is a solidly built portable amp with great accessories. I love the silicone band they include. It is a good amp no matter how much the price tag is. I have no problem recommending this amp alongside the Pico, P51, and the likes. I do feel there are better amps out there but at 3x-5x the price.
 
The L9 on the other hand is different. I feel it could be a lot better. It has great sound but I just cant get over the connector. I would like to try a different LOD from them and see if it is better or suits my needs more.
 
Update.
I bought some silicone bumpers and it seemed to have fixed my problems.