Ichos

Reviewer at hxosplus
The legend is back
Pros: + Balanced and neutral
+ Musical and entertaining
+ Plenty of power for the size from an ordinary 3.5mm output
+ Full aluminum made
+ Good build quality
+ Digital coaxial output
+ Fixed analog output
+ Two gain settings
+ Bass boost
Cons: - Nothing given the asking price
The sample of this review was provided by FiiO free of charge and I covered import fees and tax.
This is my subjective and honest evaluation of it.
Links inside are not affiliated and I don't get commission from them.
The price is €71.66
ex.vat and you can it from FiiO.eu.

Introduction

Long time hobbyists will surely remember the E10, a budget DAC/amp from FiiO that was released back in 2011 and with thousands of sales is rightly considered as one of the best and most successful products of the company.
For history 's sake, it was my first FiiO product that I bought when I started my headphone journey.
At some point, around 2014, they upgraded it to the E10K which although it continued to sell well, to the great surprise of the community they suddenly discontinued it without further notice.
Well, we all make mistakes and obviously at FiiO they realized their own in time, so finally after a short period of absence the legendary E10 is back again under the name of E10K TC.

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Technical highlights

The main difference of the E10K TC from the previous E10K is that the micro USB connection port has been replaced by the modern type C.
Otherwise the device continues to use the old trusted PCM5102 DAC chip but now has an independent XMF208 USB receiver from XMOS that supports sampling rates up to 32bit / 384kHz PCM and minimizes the jitter of the incoming signal.
The low pass filter is an OPA1662 and amplifier duties are handled by the operational amplifier LMH6643 which delivers 200mW at 32Ω from a single ended output.
Powerful enough to drive most of the normal headphones on the market and that is from a regular 3.5mm output without the need to go balanced while at the same time is very silent and suitable for use with sensitive earphones.
In addition to the headphone amplifier output, the E10K TC also has a fixed-level analog signal output from a 3.5mm plug and a digital coaxial output so it can be used as a USB passthrough bridge.
The device has a low/high gain adjustment for finer volume control as well as a bass boost function.

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Appearance and build quality

Visually nothing has changed with the E10K TC having the same small dimensions 79x49.1x21mm and so tiny as it is, it fits comfortably in a laptop case so you can carry it with you wherever you go.
The device is made entirely of aluminum with very good build quality.
On the front there is the potentiometer, the headphone output, an indicator light and the bass boost switch while on the back there is the gain switch, the USB type C input and the two analog and digital signal outputs.
The interface is very simple and the device supports Windows operating systems after installing the FiiO drivers and Mac OS without the need to install a driver.

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Sound performance

The sound of the E10K TC is surprisingly good and certainly better than the entry level price would suggest.
With all the headphones I have tested, from the brand new FiiO FD3 to the Sennheiser HD660s the sound was clear without distortion and internal noise while the presentation was without a doubt linear and neutral with no coloration at any given part of the frequency range.
The bass extends down to 20Hz and is mostly full bodied and not too lean, tight, dynamic enough with satisfying layering and good clarity.
Mids stand out as well defined and consistent with fine articulation, rounded presence and plenty of harmonic wealth.
Details are not missing at all and higher above the treble is characterized by the smooth response and the absence of roughness while at the same time is sparkling enough to give sound the necessary energy and extension so as not to be dull.
Timbre is mostly good and natural although it is not deprived of a certain digital glare, something that is always to be expected with entry level DAC/amps while the headstage is sufficiently extended and airy with good positioning cues able to handle complex material without seriously lacking in space allocation.
Summing-up I would describe the sound identity of the E10K TC as transparent and accurate enough while at the same time engaging, pleasing and enjoyable, a suitable match for all headphones and with all kinds of music, a performance certainly worthy of the asking price and some more.

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At the end

It is not a coincidence that the E10K is considered as the best selling product in the history of FiiO who thankfully were smart enough to resume production and resurrect it in a slightly enhanced edition.
The new E10K TC is strongly recommended as a great entry level DAC/amp for the budget conscious beginner or as a second utility device for older users alike and rest assured that there is no way to get wrong with it.

Test playlist

Copyright - Laskis Petros 2021.
B
Buckeyedentite
Nice review! Love the btr5 and q5s. This one looks like a great option too!
Ichos
Ichos
@Buckeyedentite
Thank you very much, surely a great unit for the price and I find it more musical than the BTR5 although slightly lacking in technicalities.
The Q5s is much better, no doubt.

Dsnuts

Headphoneus Supremus
Fiio E10K-TC
Pros: Solid all metal E10K-TC dac/amp for computers, speakers, amps. Can power cans easily up to 300 Ohms. High and Low gain for use with huge variety of IEMs and Cans. Easy plug and play, USB-C connection. Improved to maximize sound, amplification and dynamics of your computer onboard sound. Low noise floor and very good power for moderately demanding CANs. Very good clean neutral sound quality to amplify your media. Bass boost is not as burly as you think. Good option for watching movies and gaming.
Cons: Discovering how lame your onboard computer sound is.
No balanced out.
Fiio E10K-TC
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Fiio E10 devices have been a popular entry level dac/amp since 2011. These smaller form sound cards are an easy upgrade on your onboard computer sound and much like Fiio does for all their products they saw it fit to introduce a new upgraded E10 in the E10K-TC edition. You feel the need to get you an upgraded E10 from Fiio you can buy one on their Aliexpress page here. I would like to thank Fiio for the review sample of the E10K-TC. It was provided so I can game and listen to music all day and night.

It was a very early version of this particular dac/amp that helped bring Fiio into the mainstream as a hardware maker/ audio designers before they ventured into making daps and earphones. The new variant of the E10 sees various improvements as follows. Supporting up to 384KHz/32bit sampling rate for USB decoding, and 192kHz/24bit for coaxial output. Upgraded XMOS chip XUF208 with better decoding and compatibility, USB audio class is upgraded to 2.0. PCM upgraded from 96kHz/24bit to 32bit/384kHz. Coaxial output has been upgraded from 96kHz/24bit to 192kHz/24bit. The new E10K-TC is using a PCM5102 with use of a LMH6643 amplification chip. The new E10K also has low and high gain on a switch out back, and another switch up front with 6dbs of bass boost on tap.
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The all metal aluminum alloy shell is a solid smaller rectangular shape with ease of function and use in mind. Its larger volume knob w RGB lights indicates the type of music files used is a nice aesthetically pleasing and functional touch on the design. The E10K shares a lot of its design elements with its more advanced brother the K3 but the E10K only comes in single ended for headphone or earphone use. To be clear the E10K-TC is an entry level dac/amp with the idea of ease of function for the computer user that wants better sound from their computers.
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The simple plug and play nature of the E10K-TC means it is easy to pack up in your computer bag on your travels and is an absolute must for the computer enthusiasts that enjoys the occasional media or music from your computers. Use case scenarios are as follows, it will obviously improve your computer sound to this external sound card with a good amount of usable amplification with added dynamics and sound quality for your headphones. Its output specs are 200mW @ 32Ohm. It is recommended to play 16-150 ohms headphones and earphones but I have no issue using it with 250 Ohm Amiron Homes with more volume to spare. It can be hooked up to your power amps, TVs and your speakers. It does not include a balanced out but keeps it simple using a 3.5mm single ended out. For folks that prefer using your phones via balanced out, Fiios new K3 provides a 2.5mm balanced out, you can read about them here.
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For me it is all about enhancing my personal entertainment via computers with better sound. I recently bought a high end gaming laptop an ASUS 17.4inch ROG STRIX laptop with an RTX3080 graphic unit. Yes I am a gamer and also happen to be into my audio at the same time. What better way to get the best sounding audio from my laptop than using an external card to get that sound. As good as my new laptop is, Its sound has much to be desired. Let's be real, when you buy a laptop like this you're not looking for the best audio the laptop can throw out, not to mention beyond the software upgrade for the sound, laptops like these are made for sheer speed.

Hence the need for a better sound card to go along with the media laptop. Getting better audio for my laptop is as easy as plugging in the E10K-TC to one of the USB sockets on my laptop as the onboard stuff just doesn't cut it for me. Once you hear your media through the E10K-TC you will never go back to the onboard flat, no dynamic sound quality. It is as simple as that.
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The sound of the E10K-TC provides an excellent clean low noise floor so you can make out the details of a dynamic sound track going on for your movie watching, gaming and or music listening. Sound signature is neutral with a very good even balancing of the 3 regions of sound in tuning. I noticed the sound is not as dynamic or as technical sounding as its more expensive K3 brother but it has a clean transparent full range sound and has very good tonal and accurate imaging for the sound presentation. The E10K being an intro model does a great job at displaying the rangy tonal characters of music and media and has plenty of clean amplification for your moderately difficult to drive cans up to 250 Ohms.

The sound overall for an entry level device is very good and you're getting a marked improvement over the onboard sound of your laptops and computers. The PCM5102 has a transparent linear sound signature but it is its USB sourced amplification stage that is powerful enough for much bigger dynamics crucial for computer media.
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It has a complete sound tuning from the lowest of bass notes to treble notes that sounds a touch smoother than their K3 counterpart but not as dynamic with a bit less stage presence. Its bass is not as fully fleshed out as the K3 but provides good punch for the mid bass, especially with the bass switch on. Bass switch works well to give your sound a moderate bump in bass I believe it is 6dbs. You would figure this would add some big bloat to your sounds but in reality it adds a bit thicker note weight for the lower registers and does improve bass quantity but I don't feel it is sloppy or overly done. Where the bass switch applies is for your gaming and movie watching. Music genres that require a bit of bass emphasis, EDM, hip hop, RnB, Rock and metal. Having the option to increase some bass with a switch is not a bad thing. I do like my music more clean but for gaming and movie watching. Who doesn't like some extra rumble?

It has a linear treble to mids tuning that is more flat and even in how the sound is portrayed but shows good transparency and details from your media. Mids sounds very accurate with no real coloration to the sounds all the way up through to the trebles. The words that come to mind for the sound are detailed and transparent. Trebles seem to be very even handed with the mids emphasis and shows very good range and detail. While It lacks a bit of stage and dynamics of its more advanced K3 brother it makes up for it with an equal amount of sheer power and adaptability to any sound generated from your computers.
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Media was tested using my 250ohm Beyerdynamic Amiron homes, Fostex THX00, my Sennheiser HD58X and Fiios own FH5s, FD7 and FD3 earphones in conjunction with two laptops my Lenovo 14.2 in Y40 media laptop and my ASUS ROG STRIX 17.3 inch .
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A gaming laptop is a gaming laptop if it has the speed and the sheer graphic power to play AAA titles at high graphic settings. I am very much into my immersive gameplay and as such I demand high frame rates and smooth detail. The sound department without the E10K-TC is just ok. Nothing great but not bad. The difference is absolutely worth getting at the minimum a E10K-TC as sound becomes every bit as good as the game play. My first tester is a very fast racing game called Gravel that has realistic engine sounds with environmental effects that require good sound to really get you immersed in the game.

The difference is huge here. Without the E10K-TC everything sounds so much flatter and not as nuanced here, it is one of those things when you hear a game with and then without you will just hear how much you have been missing out from what you’re hearing in game.
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The next game tested is one of my all time favorites the Witcher which is an older action RPG game where you are actively hunting monsters and foes in the game with a big story arch. The game has an entire world where the sound design does a great job to immerse you into this different world. The sound design of this game is superb and with each changing weather effects and even wild birds chirping in the trees can be heard. Galloping around using a horse sounds very real and sound cues all around the game play the E10K-TC sounds stunning with this game as you can make out every bit of detail all around you.
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Movie/video watching is yet another real reason why you want a sound card to use with your laptop. Tested watching one of my favorite cinematic masterpieces. Gladiator. The sound performance here lives up to the grand scale of the sound design and will completely immerse you in the sweeping Hans Zimmer movie score. Once you use a good sound card it is difficult to watch movies without it. A lot of folks take a premium in how good a copy of a Blu-ray or quality of the 4K video is and such yet they watch using the onboard sound? That makes little sense to me. The E10K-TC here performs admirably and lets you fully enjoy the sounds as they were meant to be.
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Lastly used for music listening. The clean, even sound of the E10K-TC means you're getting accurate music production from your computers. My media laptop is filled with my music I listen to and it is used all the time for testing out various cans and IEMs I use and the EK10-TC being a transparent tool to listen to music with brings forth exactly what my cans and iems are doing to add to the sound. This in turn makes the E10K-TC a very nice tool to evaluate an IEM for me.
I appreciate the great high end sounding sources but they are high end sounding due to the addition of emphasis for bass mids and or treble and any combination thereof. The E10K-TC has the least coloration from a source I have heard in a long time. I look at this as a positive as it really lets me hear my tunes and earphones for what they are. Tested using my lossless tracks. The sound is pure, even clean and with good power to spare. That's all anyone can ask for in a simple device.
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So there you have it. These little sound cards clearly have their uses and make your media sound like they should. I have to admit I mostly do reviews for earphones and it was surprising to me that Fiio wanted me to try out their sound cards both the E10K-TC and their new K3. Both devices are solid, well made quality sound cards for your computers. If you only have cans and earphones in 3.5mm single ended. Get yourself a E10K-TC and be glad your no longer listening to your boring laptop sound. If you need or want balanced with the benefits of balanced out performance get yourself a K3. It has been a lot of fun listening to my music and media trying out both sound cards and if your in the market to clearly improve your onboard sound. These devices are priced right and best of all sound great. I can tell Fiio has honed their skills to bring out these devices with the best functional, good power and most of all sound quality in mind and for that they have succeeded. Thanks for taking the time to read. Happy listening always.
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TheSteveMyster
TheSteveMyster
Hi, just curious. Does the bass boost work when stacked (coax out) with another dac?,, plan to hook this or a topping d10 with my smsl m300.
Ichos
Ichos
Hi, no it doesn't work.
Coax is pure digital passthrough.
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