[Forty6]

Alright, thanks man. I always handle my electronics with caution. Just a question about charging. Can I use it purely as a desktop amp plugged in at all times? Sure the battery might die but doesn't matter as I'm not sure if I'm going to use it as portably amp at all.

Then you shouldn't look at the E5 in the first place . G5 should be the one put into consideration .

http://m.creative.com/us/p/sound-blaster/1135/sound-blasterx-g5

 

[Forty6]

Probably a silly question: why bother buying any other DAC that does not have an equalizer?
Most of other DAC offer at most a bass boost and that's it.
How to fine tune the sound, when using a USB DAC other than Creative ones?

You may choose the option of using 3rd party apps on play store , app store .
Countless Eq apps are available , Neuron music player , power amp is just a few worthy you can try it out .
If you're purely on android mobile , rooting it is another consideration .

 

[Forty6]

Then you shouldn't look at the E5 in the first place . G5 should be the one put into consideration .


http://m.creative.com/ie/p/sound-blaster/sound-blasterx-g5


http://m.creative.com/us/p/sound-blaster/1135/sound-blasterx-g5

 

[spyrusthegreat]

You may choose the option of using 3rd party apps on play store , app store .
Countless Eq apps are available , Neuron music player , power amp is just a few worthy you can try it out .
If you're purely on android mobile , rooting it is another consideration .

So, the USB processing does not by-pass the music player equalizer?
So, the audio quality is not affected by the extra processing of the equalizer?

 

[Forty6]

So, the USB processing does not by-pass the music player equalizer?
So, the audio quality is not affected by the extra processing of the equalizer?

You have to experiment it with various options available yourself .
Sounding is a very personal thing , different ears different opinion . Some preferred no EQing with their music and they could live with that , to some Eq is a religion thing , they couldn't live without Eq on their music . It's best you go try it out .

I been experimenting on my E5 with the SBX eq together with the neuron , that's double eq , and a few of my tracks which is hard to eq till perfect in nature , does sound better with double EQ .

 

[spyrusthegreat]

You have to experiment it with various options available yourself .
Sounding is a very personal thing , different ears different opinion . Some preferred no EQing with their music and they could live with that , to some Eq is a religion thing , they couldn't live without Eq on their music . It's best you go try it out .

I been experimenting on my E5 with the SBX eq together with the neuron , that's double eq , and a few of my tracks which is hard to eq till perfect in nature , does sound better with double EQ .

What about using the dac to output from it digital out?
Will that be the same quality wise with just using the digital out from laptop?

 

[RojasTKD]

  Probably a silly question: why bother buying any other DAC that does not have an equalizer?
Most of other DAC offer at most a bass boost and that's it.
How to fine tune the sound, when using a USB DAC other than Creative ones?

I've used an application called EqualizerAPO. It is a system wide equalizer that really good. More info here: https://sourceforge.net/p/equalizerapo/wiki/Documentation/

 

[Forty6]

What about using the dac to output from it digital out?
Will that be the same quality wise with just using the digital out from laptop?

No , it is not going to be of the same quality . Different source different signature .

 

[Sonic Defender]

Just ordered my E5 today. It is only for portable use, and limited use there as have gone Bluetooth. However, some older quieter albums I just can't get to a satisfying volume level so for those I will use my headphone wired into the E5, but I will Bluetooth from my phone to the E5 which is really what I'm after, the least amount of wires to deal with. Ideally I wouldn't even need this, but I don't think the built in amps in any BT headphone I have tried are quite powerful enough for quieter material (70s, 80s and even some 90s). The E5 I'm sure will be great and I may even find some other uses for it.

 

[trellus]

  Just ordered my E5 today. It is only for portable use, and limited use there as have gone Bluetooth. However, some older quieter albums I just can't get to a satisfying volume level so for those I will use my headphone wired into the E5, but I will Bluetooth from my phone to the E5 which is really what I'm after, the least amount of wires to deal with. Ideally I wouldn't even need this, but I don't think the built in amps in any BT headphone I have tried are quite powerful enough for quieter material (70s, 80s and even some 90s). The E5 I'm sure will be great and I may even find some other uses for it.

 
That's my main use for the E5, is iPhone via BT to E5, then from E5 to my HE-400 or DT 880 Pro, neither of which get enough power for some of my music directly from headphone out.  
 
Using BT allows me to reduce by a small amount the cable tangle, since there is no cable between E5 and iPhone, and also allows me to charge iPhone at same time.
 
I also like experimenting with the EQ and SBX using the app, regardless of sound source on iPhone - built-in Music app only has EQ presets, for example, and Spotify has a "eh, ok" EQ -- and often, I don't use EQ at all in Sound Blaster app, just the SBX effects like Bass boost.

 

[Forty6]

Just ordered my E5 today. It is only for portable use, and limited use there as have gone Bluetooth. However, some older quieter albums I just can't get to a satisfying volume level so for those I will use my headphone wired into the E5, but I will Bluetooth from my phone to the E5 which is really what I'm after, the least amount of wires to deal with. Ideally I wouldn't even need this, but I don't think the built in amps in any BT headphone I have tried are quite powerful enough for quieter material (70s, 80s and even some 90s). The E5 I'm sure will be great and I may even find some other uses for it.

Congrats to your latest purchase . Hope the E5 can bring you hours and hours of non-stop Hifi audiophile quality fun

This is probably the best DAC / AMP + mobile phone combo for portability , mobility at under 200usd without having a need to stack bundled with cables .

You'll be amazed at what the E5 have to offer , one of the best selling point which comes with the E5 is the SBX central eq , which need you to download at apps store before you can start to gain control of its settings on the E5 device .

You may also wish to cable it on and set it up the initial setting on your PC first before use .
After downloading the required drivers for your PC and have it successfully installed , connect your E5 to the pc will allow the application program to search for the firmware of your E5 , after which you may check the latest firmware available then perform a update for your E5 .

Click on the link below to help you get it started .

http://support.creative.com/Products/ProductDetails.aspx?catID=1&CatName=Sound+Blaster&prodID=22019&prodName=Sound+Blaster+E5

 

[Sonic Defender]

Thanks to both of you for the welcome and info. I am now considering selling my iFi iDSD Micro as it is getting less use now that my main music room has finally come together. Before I found myself using my kitchen table frequently where the Micro was perfect. I will miss the preamp out as I did like to use it with my active speaker rig. Trying to figure out how I could use the E5 in this role? I don't think it would perform to the Micro's level, but if it could be used in this manner it would be interesting/bonus.
 
As for the EQ application, is that separate from the Sound Blaster Central app? I just installed central on my G3 now. Really looking forward to using this nice little device.

 

[Forty6]

Thanks to both of you for the welcome and info. I am now considering selling my iFi iDSD Micro as it is getting less use now that my main music room has finally come together. Before I found myself using my kitchen table frequently where the Micro was perfect. I will miss the preamp out as I did like to use it with my active speaker rig. Trying to figure out how I could use the E5 in this role? I don't think it would perform to the Micro's level, but if it could be used in this manner it would be interesting/bonus.

As for the EQ application, is that separate from the Sound Blaster Central app? I just installed central on my G3 now. Really looking forward to using this nice little device.

Yes the EQ is within the Sound blaster central apps , until the E5 arrived at your doorstep , you can start to play around with your ideas about how you're going to maximize and better suits the E5 into your lifestyle .

In any case , like the majority here , you won't be getting too much of a disappointment or none at all from the E5 .

Do share and Update us with your experiences once you get your hands on with it .

 

[Sonic Defender]

Yes the EQ is within the Sound blaster central apps , until the E5 arrived at your doorstep , you can start to play around with your ideas about how you're going to maximize and better suits the E5 into your lifestyle .

In any case , like the majority here , you won't be getting too much of a disappointment or none at all from the E5 .

Do share and Update us with your experiences once you get your hands on with it .

Thank you again, and I'm quite sure I will enjoy the E5, and I will of course be more than happy to post about my experience.

 

[Sonic Defender]

E5 charging!