If you don't have a DAC or Amp, this is a great place to start. I started off my over-ear audio journey with the Sennheiser G4me Zero (150 ohm) I immediately realized by immense lack of bass that they were not being driven correctly. Being the jobless scrub that I was, the only thing I could justify price-wise was this little Fiio E10 I found on Ebay. I do not regret it one bit, and I still use it every day.
 
Sound and such:
 
The product is straight forward with a slight twist. This is better than most* onboard audio in quality terms, and stronger in power terms too. The most noticeable result it that you will likely get a bit more extension, and some bass in less sensitive headphones.
 
What is odd to me is that the audio quality is not always better, usually, but not always. I have a particularly talented motherboard with a rogue set of audio chips that outperform their expectation. They can go to bat against, and even sometimes beat the Fiio on anything under 150 ohm. I also have the LG V20 phone with its quite excellent Quad-Dac, especially for a phone. The V20 is again surprisingly good, and can easily bat with the Fiio E10.
 
The Fiio E10 is a bit colored too. There is a bit of a bass lean, but it is nothing like tubes. The treble is a tad rolled off at the top as well. The result is not a slightly less harsh overall tone, but still tons of detail. I like this characteristic about it. Not only does it have its own character, but it does good things for gamers that play for many hours at a time with a little less fatigue than some solid-state amps, but also has a bass-boost switch which many will also love. The bass-boost does take a bit of the clarity, and adds a some hollowness in the treble.
 
I also find that I still prefer the Fiio E10 with some headphones more than any of my other options, including a $250 Project Polaris. I prefer My HD700 on the Fiio E10. The combo works well together.
 
I suspect that the Fiio E10k has some sonic improvement over the Fiio E10.
 
Features and Such:
 
The Fiio E10 is tiny. In the word of Dacs and Amps, this is Very small. In fact it is small enough that I have used 3M command velcro stuff to mount it to the underside of my desk, where I use it as a dac through the 3.5mm Line-out to my Project Polaris, or the Lepai 2020 Speaker Amp, depending on the day. Since the Line-out is on the back, it looks good, and I can plug headphones straight into the front. Here is a picture:

There is also a Coaxial line out, but I never use that.
 
The power is only through a usb to mini-usb connection, which means less wires than a full size desktop amp. Fantastic! This also makes it easier for laptop use on-the-go, and can be converted to micro-usb if you really want to use it with your Android. I did this a few times to eliminate Computer fan noise while testing Headphones.
Lastly there is a Gain switch on the bottom. This is useful for particularly low impedance things, as the High Gain switch works best for the majority of things I have tried.
 
Song recommendation: Heaven Nor Hell - Volbeat
 
I like song recommendations if anyone wants to throw a couple in the comments!
 
Conclusion: 
 
If you don't have an amp for headphones that are anything above garbage tier, the Fiio e10 will likely make a noticable difference. The Fiio still gets used by me every day as much for the combination of size and features as the sound. I highly recommend this DAC/Amp for a starter into the audio world. Is this as objectively good as O2? no. Can you do better for the money? Not that I have seen. This little Fiio got me started on an audio journey. What else needs to be said?

I'm a music lover and also quite new to the Hi-FI world, and haven't really tried higher end DACs/Amps, although I've been using the FiiO E10 long enough to have an idea of what it is capable of.
 
Starting with the first impressions:
 
This is a pretty small and light Amp/DAC, even lighter than you might think. The first time I held it, I was kind of surprised how light it was, thinking it wouldn't be able to make much difference on the sound produced by my headphones and laptop.
 
 
Build:
 
It is quite well built. I wouldn't say it is an impressive build quality, but it does feel solid and nice with its aluminum outer casing and rubbery feet.
 
It has a headphone output, a bass enhancing switch and the volume knob with a bright blue led on the front.
The back has a USB input (mini USB), a coaxial output (comes covered with a yellow rubber cap) and a line out (to connect to your stereo, bypassing the amp section).
The under side shows the gain switch (which is prone to becoming loose after only a few times being fiddled with).
The upper side has nothing but the FiiO logo and the name of the model (in this case, Olympus).
 
The volume knob turns well, offering some resistance, but it's not a smooth 'oily' turn.
The inputs and outputs are well placed and allow you to connect your source (mainly the USB input), your stereo (through the Line Out) and your set of headphones (through the headphone output).
BRIGHT is what I'd say about the front LED. I mean, it is alright if you're not using your device in the dark, but if you turn off the lights, that little blue LED sends some seriously heavenly rays of light through the darkest of the rooms.
The bass enhancing switch is quite nice. It does enhances the bass, although I don't really like using it, since I prefer neutrality. It enhances the sound across all the spectrum, adding an emphasis in the low frequencies. The bass gets more punch and depth, but becomes a little bit bloated.
There is not much to say about the outputs and inputs on the back, other than that they do their job properly.
 
 
Sound:
 
I cannot compare this to any other amp/dac, since this is still the only one I have and used.
 
In my rookie audiophile opinion, this is a very good entrance into the Hi-Fi world. I've felt a huuuge difference between listening to music straight from the headphone jack from my Macbook Air and listening to music through the FiiO E10, not only using headphones, but also using my stereo (Logitech z623).
 
This small device is able to bring life to your music. It adds depth to the soundstage, strengthens the bass and defines and clarifies the trebles and all the other frequencies. It also eliminated the hiss that I used be able to hear when listening straight from the headphone jack from my laptop, thus, improving the listening experience drastically.
 
As I said before, I prefer neutrality over colourful sound, so I dislike turning the bass enhancing on. It does help to add punch and power to the low end, and, to a lesser extension, to mids and highs, but I feel like the sound gets a little bloated and loses its definition and clarity. I leave it off at all times.
 
The gear I use with the FiiO E10 are, in order of acquisition:
- Logitech z623;
- Superlux HD668B (with 100+ hours of burn-in);
- Shure SRH840;
- AKG K702.
 
The Logitech z623 is not a monitoring set, nor it is considered an audiophile grade set of speakers, but when plugged in the FiiO E10, they did sound better, more defined and with that special touch of clarity that the FiiO E10 adds up to the sound.
Thought the Line Out on the back, the sound changes little, loses very little definition (almost inaudible difference). The only difference would be that the volume will be fixed, and the volume knob in the FiiO E10 won't have any effect. The volume will be controlled using the knobs on the stereo instead.
I prefer always using the headphone out, either for listening with headphones or with the stereo, since it does add that subtle touch to the sound quality (in case of using the stereo).
 
The Superlux HD668B, and also the Shure SRH840, really came alive with the FiiO E10, benefiting in every frequency across the listenable spectrum. The highs got clarified, the bass defined and extended and the mids came forward, but all in a neutral manner, each one staying where it should stay, without invading the other frequencies. There was some improvement to the soundstage, mainly with the Superlux, since it is semi-open and already has a wider soundstage signature than the Shure, but there was also an audible difference with the Shure, and it surprised me how good the soundstage could be in a closed-back set of headphones.
 
At first, I thought the FiiO E10 wouldn't be powerful enough to feed the AKG K702, since I had read in many threads that this set of headphones is power hungry, but I was surprised on how well it did power them, even using the 'low gain' option.
If there was a change with the sound, the AKG K702 is the one which showed it the most. It is quite famous for its sound quality and brightness, but through the FiiO E10, I've heard a very nice improvement, mainly to the soundstage. It felt like I was in the middle of the stage, with the orchestra playing around me. I could hear every single detail in each instrument, even the breath that the players took to blow the air-instruments, and the slightest of touch in the cymbals, as well as the creaking of the chairs.
It might be an exaggeration coming from my rookie audiophile perception, since I am new to this hobby, but I can say that this little FiiO E10 adds quite a resolution to the sound produced by the AKG K702, which became my preferred all around headphones.
If you're a bass head and you, like many others, think that the AKG K702 lacks bass, just turn on the bass enhancing switch or use an EQ to add some punch to the low frequencies.
 
 
Are you on a budget?
Are you, like me, new to the audiophile world?
Have you been looking for a good entrance level amp/DAC?
 
Then, I highly recommend you the FiiO E10.
 
Not that I tried other amps/DACs, but I tried and bought this one and I regret nothing.
 
Hope this helps the fellow audiophile rookies that are considering buying this amp/DAC as their first/second/budget/whatever the reason amp/DAC.

I am using this little dealie for 3 months now.
On my laptop I use it with a pair of Sony Headphones (MDR-MA300, nothing special) and this sounds way, way more open, dynamical and more powerful than through the laptop's own minijack.
The USB connection should have been a USB B instead of a mini USB IMHO, this should make a cable upgrade a little easier.
A nice extra - I found out later - is the Digital Coaxial RCA SPDIF Output. I use the E10 as a USB - SPDIF converter now too.
 
Very handy to record internet streams!
I do this as follows:
Play a stream on laptop 1 ->
Convert from USB to SPDIF with Fiio E10 ->
Convert from SPDIF to Analogue with a Cambridge 740C CD player with digital inputs -> 
Convert from Analogue to USB with an ADL Furutech GT40 Audio Interface ->
Record with Audacity on Laptop 2  
 
I know there are probably more practical ways to do this, but all the stuff was already there..
The chain simply was complete when I added the E10
It enables me to make recordings from the internet of surprisingly good quality without being held back by disabled internal soundcards that sound like crap anyway.
 
So I think the E10 is worth every cent - I use it at home as a headphone Amp and as a Converter - I use it on the road as a great sound enhancer while listening music on my laptop.
IT SOUNDS GREAT!!
 
With Kind Regards, Emiel (Netherlands) 
- feedback welcome!!

I bought the FiiO E10 Olympus to pair with my Sennheiser HD 280 Pros for music production work (primarily classical music). The 280s have a sufficiently neutral response to make them useful for monitoring purposes and testing mixes on balanced 'phones. The rig they were connected to had a terrible Realtek chip inside it which was doing disastrous things to the audio channel. The FiiO E10 has rescued me from that at a very decent price. Individual instruments and tracks now leap out clearly, as does the fine detail in the recordings - the sound of a bow stroke, the little "ripple" as a trombonist hits their first note, and so on.
 
The FiiO sounds pretty neutral to me paired with the Sennheiser's. Some have complained that the E10 makes the mids too forward. Perhaps this is actually countering the Sennheiser veil. Although to be clear, I personally do not really hear said veil myself. In any case, the FiiO is more than good enough for my purposes, giving me a detailed uncoloured sound.
 
The 280s and the FiiO are okay for recreational listening. For me they are almost a little too clinical. The FiiO doesn't warm the 280s at all (which is exactly as I wanted it to be). So if this combination is for recreational listening your mileage may vary depending on what you're looking for. Having said that, if you'd like to hear a nice neutral balance with good detail for about £200 all in, then the FiiO and the 280s could serve you well.
 
There is also a fantastic bass boost switch on the FiiO which does pump up the lower frequencies in a very pleasant and restrained manner. The effect is very subtle, but you'd certainly notice the extra oomph on a bass drum hit. Great if a piece is just lacking a kinetic punch on the neutral response. Build quality is also very nice.

Edit: Said it faded from left to right in my review a few months ago. Yeah.. That was actually my amp.
The Fiio is alright
The latency sucks a bit..

I've been using one of these in the office for a while now with various headphones and IEMs. It's kinda difficult to assess something like this because it costs under $100 and comparing it to other equipment I own, some of which is several times the price, seems unfair.

First of all the build. It seems very well made for the price. Nice solid metal chassis. A good smooth volume knob and the jacks all seem secure. It's also very light and very small, which I like. Perfect for carrying around with a netbook or something.

But the sound. This is the big negative. Going from the E7 to E10 as a DAC/amp combo I immediately noticed the E10 was less muddy sounding, with less emphasis on the bass and more prominent, smoother treble. It seems to be trying to achieve a more hi-end, balanced sound. This should be a good thing, but unfortunately it just lacks the detail. What you end up with is something that betrays its own lack of refinement, there is a kind of fuzziness where the details should be. Using the line out and a different portable amp (a JDS labs cmoybb) improves things a fair bit, but ultimately the DAC is just as much of a problem. Like I said, it's hard to assess this because it is only $100, but even compared to a $30-$40 soundcard like the Xonar DS, the E10 comes second best. I suppose if portability is the priority, then it is worth it. But for a desktop computer, soundcards are going to offer far better bang for buck.

Using it with pricier headphones (like the T70, RS-1 for example) seems to me like a bit of a waste when I've come from hearing them on better gear (for example an STX). I really notice where the detail and punch is missing. I'd probably say to someone who has invested more than ~$250 in a pair of headphones not to bother using the E10 with them. It's certainly enough of a bottleneck to warrant a better source.

Also, the amp was certainly loud, but not quite up to powering more demanding headphones. For example, it drove all my IEMs with considerable ease as well as my AD900s. But even reasonably efficient headphones like my 80ohm DT250 and T70 feel flat and lack dynamism. Now it could just be the lack of sound resolution making them seem like that, but I don't think so because it is not something I noticed with the more efficient gear. The JDS labs cmoy just walks all over the the E10 in this respect, especially if you pump the power up north of 15v.

Having said that, I don't mind the E10. It's certainly well made and would serve someone well as a durable and portable little device that improves on onboard or laptop sound. In my office, for example, I don't have the luxury of installing a soundcard so I'm happily using it until I get something better. It's also fantastically easy to use, IMO much improved in this respect over the fiddly buttons on the E7.
If you can use an internal soundcard though, there's really no competition: For my money, Asus and Auzentech's offerings are by far the best bang-for buck audio gear in the sub $100 category.

So what this device is really great for is situations where you need a small, cheap, portable amp that can offer a decent upgrade from stock computer sound. Like if you wanted something to carry around with your laptop to listen to your IEMs through. Or if you are in an office and and something discrete and decent for some efficient headphones. In this respect the E10 excels. It's certainly better than any smartphone I've compared it to, giving more power and better SQ. There are other cheap external soundcards out there, but I haven't listen to many, so I can't really comment in regards to comparison with them.

All in all, if you are looking for a home based hi-fi setup, the E10 isn't really the best option. For those on a budget, internal soundcards will offer better bang for buck most of the time. For those with money to burn, more expensive full-size DACs and amps are obviously going to be vastly superior. But if you are looking for something small, well made and low priced, to match with IEMs or efficient headphones, this is a great choice. It's what I use it for, and I am happy with it for that.

I don't really like this. My impressions of it have been like a roller coaster. First it sounded good, then just ok, then terrible and back and forth. It will sound good on some headphones, but then on other ones it will sound like garbage. I don't want a DAC or AMP like that really.
 
If you don't agree with my impressions, then that is OK. These are just my opinions and how I heard it.
 
These are for straight out of the DAC:
 
My impression of it is that it makes the lower mids of my headphones (sound) much too forward. My DJ100 magically sounds as if it has even more fatiguing mids. The DJ100 should never sound this way. It's not that bad. Then the bass is quite bloated. Again, It's not THAT bad, but it's a huge distraction and is extremely annoying. It's clear that something is "off" because I've never heard the DJ100 sound this colored. The DJ100 and 598 will sound much less balanced with the E10. I will note that the DJ100 with this sounds very slightly better with the high gain option. A little more clear too.
 
I've found that this makes the HD-598 sound a bit more muffled and something just sounds off. I also got the fatiguing mids and couldn't take it anymore.
 
What makes no sense is that it doesn't actually sound like it has any lack of treble. At one point it clearly sounded like it had more than my HRT MSII. Something has me fooled perhaps.
 
To make matters worse, I could not get this thing to make any of my headphones with forward mids to sound normal when using the line out to any amp. Out of nowhere I tried the headphone out to amp and it sounded a little more balanced. Why? I have no clue. Even the soundstage seemed larger and the sound even clearer. Why the difference in sound between the two jacks? No idea. Should sound the same right?
 
I think for ME this dac/amp might only be a good match for some headphones. Maybe the Q701 or any headphone that isn't too warm or bassy. I think I might be sensitive to forward lower mids, so maybe this is why it bothers me. I imagine I would hate this with the HD-650, M50 or anything with a larger mid-bass hump. I also didn't like it too much with the PX100-II. I bet it may be impressive with the Koss A/250 or DT-880.
 
I prefer the E5 or even E11 to this as an amp. As a DAC I actually prefer the $35 X-Fi Go Pro. It sounds much more balanced sounding and plays well with all my headphones. I've seen graphs of the E10 and it doesn't look bad, so I don't know why it sounds so weird to me.
 
Maybe i'm just too picky and need to try the E17. Again, differences in impressions can be due to different headphones. I'm sure I can find a headphone I love this with.

For the price of this thing, you definitely can't go wrong.  It has a very nice Wolfson WM8741 chip in it and immediately you will find out what you have been missing in your music/gaming.  It brings everything to crisp pure life and detail.  I found it can even drive some hard to drive headphones like the Beyerdynamic DT series in the 250 Ohm area very well.  The bass boost on it is very nice.  The only thing I miss is a 1/4" jack and an optical connection.  But for the price, you can't go wrong with this thing.  You can hook up an external amp to it to get even better power.  It has a Low/High gain switch on it as well.  Many people say it's better than the E7 and I probably have to agree since it is a newer model.  The only bad thing is, it will only work with a computer usb connection which a lot of people, including myself dislike.  But for the price I paid, you can't go wrong with it at all, it's very nice.

Much much much better than my onboard sound-card. Clean, black background, nice bass, nice vocals, nice treble if tad bright, nice separation, nice soundstage, nice bass boost. Everything is very nice, and at price only $80!!!!
 
And the features too! You got bass boost (as I already said before), gain switch, line out, coaxial out, and usb powered, and VERY TINY.

http://apple-gadgets.de/fiio-e10/
 
 

Fiio E10 – Audioupgrade für den Mac

Wer bereits einmal teuere Kopfhörer oder auch Lautsprecher gekauft hat, kennt das Problem bestimmt: Man packt den neuen Schatz voller Vorfreude aus, schließt ihn an und ist enttäuscht. Zu leise, rauscht und ist irgendwie platt. Nun bereut man den Kauf. Doch meist liegt das Problem gar nicht am Kopfhörer oder den Lautsprechern. Oft ist der Zuspieler einfach nicht gut genug für hochwertige Ausgabegeräte.

Im Falle vom Mac bzw. PC als Zuspieler kann diese Situation mit einem neuen Audiointerface und einem Kopfhörerverstärker verbessert werden. Genau hier kommt das Fiio E10 zum Zuge. Es verbindet diese beiden Geräte in deinem kleinen schwarzen Metallgehäuse. Das E10 ist ein USB DAC Headphone Amplifier – ein Hoch auf Akronyme und Anglizismen.

USB steht einfach für den bekannten Anschluss am Rechner. Über diesen verbindet man das E10 mit der Rechner und versorgt es auch mit Strom. Netzteil oder Batterien sind nicht nötig.

DAC steht für Digital-Analog-Converter. Dieses Teil ist die eigentliche Soundkarte. Die verbauten Chips wandeln digitale Signale in Analoge um, denn nur analoge Signale können in Schwingen der Lautsprecher umgesetzt werden. Die Qualität dieser Digital-Analog-Umsetzung ist entscheidend für den letztendlichen Klang.

Das E10 kommt in einer kleinen silbernen Metallbox mit USB-Kabel und Stoffsäckchen für den Transport.

Hat man das E10 per USB an den Mac angeschlossen, kann man es direkt als Audiointerface auswählen. Treiber sind nicht notwendig. Doch ein Blick in das Audio-Midi-Setup ist angebracht, um die volle Leistung des E10 nutzen zu können. Die Audiochips liefern eine Samplerate von 96 kHz/24 Bit. Sie lösen also sehr viel feiner auf, als es standardmäßig verbaute Soundchips können. Diese schaffen meist nur 48 kHz/16 Bit. Um diese höhere Samplerate aber nutzen zu können, müsst Ihr diese im Mac OS Audio-Midi-Setup aktivieren, denn die Defaultsettings sind leider niedriger definiert.

Nun ist es leider so, dass 99% der Musik eh nur in 44 kHz/16 Bit vorliegen. Doch beiHDtracks bekommt man einige ausgewählte Alben zu ziemlich hohrenden Preise. Solltet Ihr mehr legale Quellen kennen, meldet euch gerne. Ich bin persönlich aber auch der Meinung, dass man die Unterschiede der höheren Samplerates oder auch loseless Dateiformaten meist vernachlässigen kann. Diese Aussage gibt bestimmt Haue von den Audiofreaks 

Dennoch ist das E10 für seinen günstigen Preis ein wahres Sound-Wunderkästchen. Es liefert rauscharmen – um nicht zu sagen rauschlosen – Audiogenuss. Dabei werden alle Audiofrequenzen sauber und klar wiedergegeben. Es ist einfach ein Traum. Man schließt seine altbekannten Kopfhörer/Lautsprecher an und hat ein ganz neues Etwas in den Händen.

Auf der Frontseite befindet sich der geregelte Kopfhöreranschluß, ein Bass-Boost-Kippschalter, eine LED und der Drehregler für die Lautstärke.

Die Lautstärke des Kopfhöreranschluß wird mit dem Drehregler verstellt. Der integrierte Kopfhörerverstärker arbeitet hervorragend. Der Drehregler läuft angenehm gleichmäßig. Seine Skala reicht von 0 bis 10. Bei mir reicht zum normalen Hören schon eine Einstellung von etwa 1.8, über 3 komme ich eigentlich nie. Man hat also noch viel Reserve nach oben für Kopfhörer die mehr Leistung benötigen. Der Kopfhörerverstärker ist ebenfalls sehr rauscharm. Erst ab einer Lautstärke von etwa 5 kann man bei Stille sehr geringes Rauschen wahrnehmen.

Der Bassboost liefert etwa ein +3 db Verstärkung im Bassbereich. Der Hardware-Bassboost arbeitet laut Hersteller anders als seine Software-Brüder und liefert bessere Ergebnisse, genauer wird dies aber nicht beschrieben. Bei mir liefert er je nach Musikart wirklich ordentliche Ergebnisse und es macht Spaß in ab und zu nutzen und hört meiner Meinung nach sehr angenehm an. Kraftvolle Basssteigerung ohne die Musik zu sehr zu verfälschen.

Auf der Rückseite findet man neben dem Micro-USB-Anschluss noch einen ungeregelten LineOut Ausgang sowie einen koaxialen Digitalausgang. Mit diesen beiden Ausgängen lassen sich auch Aktivlautsprecher, Verstärker oder Sourround-Receiver mit bester Qualität bespielen. Achtung: Es wird in jedem Fall nur (PCM) Stereo ausgegeben. Lautstärkeregler und Bassboost wirken nicht auf diese Ausgänge.

Auf der Unterseite gibt es noch einen Gain Schalter, dieser wird nirgendwo weiter erklärt. Ich habe ihn ausprobiert. Ich denke er stellt die Empfindlichkeit der Audiokonvertierung um. Normalerweise steht er auf Low. Stellt man ihn auf High, kann man noch einen ganz kleinen Fetzen mehr Detail in der Musik wahrnehmen, allerdings stieg bei mir das Rauschverhalten unangemessen stark an.

Das E10 nutzt einen Wolfson WM8740 DAC Chip, AD3897 Kopfhörerverstärker und Tenor 7022 USB-Receiver.

Klar man kann auch DACs und Kopfhörerverstärker für mehrere hundert ja sogar tausend Euro erstehen, und High-End Audioevangelisten werden auf diese Geräte schwören. Doch ich denke, für einen Preis von nur 69 € teleportiert das E10 Musikliebhaber mitsemiprofessionellem Equipment (besonders Kopfhörern) in ein neue Soundgefilde.

Features

1. externe Soundkarte mit USB-2.0-Anschluss
2. 3 Ausgänge:
   1. regelbarer Kopfhörerausgang
   2. ungeregelter Line-Out
   3. digitaler Coax-Ausgang
3. Stromversorgung über USB
4. 96 kHz/24 Bit Samplerate
5. Bassboost-Modus

Technische Daten

1. Ausgangsleistung: 150 mW (32 Ohm Last)
2. Samplerate: 96 kHz/24 Bit
3. Frequenzbereich: 20 Hz ~ 20 kHz
4. Größe: 79 mm × 49,1 mm × 21 mm
5. Gewicht: 82 g
6. 3,5 mm Klinkenstecker

Shopping

Zu kaufen gibt es den Fiio E10 zum Beispiel bei Amazon für günstige 69 €.

Fotos

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Bewertung

sehr gut
Wer seinen teueren Kopfhörer bzw. seine teueren Lautsprecher wirklich ausnutzen möchte, kommt an der Anschaffung eines hochwertigen Audiointerfaces nicht vorbei. Das Fiio E10 liefert hier mit seiner puristischen Ausstattung genau das, was man eigentlich benötigt – rauscharmen Audioausgang inkl. Kopfhörerverstärker. Wer Musik liebt findet hier einen günstigen Einstieg in die Welt der DACs und Kopfhörerverstärker.

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THEMATISCH ÄHNLICHE BEITRÄGE​

1. Es existieren leider noch keine passenden Einträge.

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Dieser Eintrag wurde veröffentlicht in Featured, Testberichte und verschlagwortet mit audio, audiointerface,DAC, Kopfhörerverstärker, sound, usb von Jan. Permanenter Link zum Eintrag.

Über Jan

Ich bin Begründer, Betreiber, Webadmin und Hauptschreiber hier auf dem Blog. Ich nutze den Mac seit etwa elf Jahren sowohl beruflich als Mediendesigner im Verlag, als auch privat und seit zwei Jahren auch für mein Informatikstudium. Am Wochenende mache ich auch noch meinen Podcast den apfelklatsch. Außerdem freue ich mich über jeden neuen Twitter Follower. Zeige alle Beiträge von Jan →



 

Got this for a friend off the FS forum, but decided to use it myself for a few days. This was supposed to be the uDAC killer? Really?
 
My unit (first edition) is presented well and looks to be built all right, though there have already been three revisions and reports of numerous problems with the jack on the forums. So it gets 3 stars there from me.
 
Clarity is the main issue for the Fiio E10. The upper bass is boosted a little, and the mids around 2500hz are recessed a little. This is enough to create a veil on most of my non-bright headphones. It does tame a Grado very well, however, and the E10 is a nice match for it. It sounds okay until you hear the competition in the same price range.
 
My HP Touchpad (Beats Audio processing disabled) and NuForce uDAC1 actually sound better than it. This comes as a surprise, since there's at least multiple reviews that state the E10 sounds better than a NuForce uDAC2. Not to my ears, it doesn't. The uDAC1 has significantly more bass impact, percussion impact, soundstage, and airiness. As for the HP Touchpad, it actually has a superior Wolfson DAC compared to the iPad, and it really does give the uDAC1 a run for its money. The HP Touchpad has the best clarity and overall sound quality of the three. It's too bad I can't use it as a dedicated DAC.
 
(Upon research, the HP Touchpad uses the newer Wolfson WM8958, while the Fiio E10 uses the older WM8740. This may explain the reasoning behind the HP Touchpad's superior sound; it just has a better chip.)
 
The bass boost is a nice idea, until you realize it boosts the 200hz-500hz range. This is way too much, as most headphones are close to neutral there. Most of the bass help is needed below 100hz. Had the bass boost only affected frequencies below 100hz, it would've been suitable. However, as it stands, it turns the sound into mudville. Sadly, and I hate to admit this, but the Beats Audio processing on the HP Touchpad boosts the bass in a more subtle and ideal way. Guess the Beats brand does something right.
 
So pair it up with your favorite bright headphone, like a Grado. But if you try pairing this up with a less-bright headphone like a Sennheiser, you might be getting a sound that's just too dark. This isn't much better than integrated sound on your computer, to be quite honest, though it'll boost the volume to levels that integrated sound cannot.
 
I am astounded as to why this product gets so much praise, but I guess the dark signature just isn't for me. All that negative publicity surrounding the nuForce uDAC really hurt its standing, but I must have been lucky with my uDAC1, since I really do believe it sounds better than the E10. The Headfonia review (http://www.headfonia.com/the-latest-must-have-the-fiio-e10-usb-dacamp/) hinted at the worse soundstage and airiness in its review, but still recommended it over the uDAC2. However, I believe these issues are too significant for the people who prefer a brighter sound signature.
 
One last thing. The E10 doesn't have the channel imbalance issue that the uDAC1 and uDAC2 have at ultra-low volumes.
 
(Tested with: Sennheiser HD595, Grado SR225i, Sennheiser CX980, Koss KSC35, Audio-Technica M50)