[prandi]

which one should i take?
I have bought JVC HA-RX900(yet to arrive)
use-iPod nano,X-Fi titanium(pc)
thanx!!

 

[T.IIZUKA]

I recommend Dock Cable and E5.
Please refer to the following links for the comparison article.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f105/f...graded-356177/
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f105/f...uality-425348/


Quote:

Originally Posted by prandi /img/forum/go_quote.gif which one should i take? I have bought JVC HA-RX900(yet to arrive) use-iPod nano,X-Fi titanium(pc) thanx!!

 

[fameh]

No doubt, Fiio E5. I have both. E5 has bigger detail, soundstage and better bass quality, plus you can turn on or off the bass boost, as so as control the volume too.
E3 uses a AAA battery, instead of E5 which charges via USB. Maybe this can be the only advantage of E3 over E5 depending the case.
Price difference is not very big in dealextreme, and E5 is still very cheap and an awesome buy

 

[Ronald Lee]

Dock cable + ipod, you mean line out?

i got the fiio E3, still thinking should upgrade to a better one or not. But so far, i am not that happy with the E3 capability. I like to have something with a volume control. if use a direct line out, i will be deaf!!!
Which is something that the E5 have, that' great! For sound quality, i had not tried it, but the E3 is simply amplifier out the volume.

ipod--> line out --> E5 --> earphone!

 

[KLJTech]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fameh /img/forum/go_quote.gif No doubt, Fiio E5. I have both. E5 has bigger detail, soundstage and better bass quality, plus you can turn on or off the bass boost, as so as control the volume too. E3 uses a AAA battery, instead of E5 which charges via USB. Maybe this can be the only advantage of E3 over E5 depending the case. Price difference is not very big in dealextreme, and E5 is still very cheap and an awesome buy

I've been very interested in getting an inexpensive portable amp like the Fiio E5 to drive one my better headphones when I'm in another part of the house away from my main system or on the go with my cheaper cans. At home I would be using either my Grado 352i or AKG 701s (when I'm away from my stereo) and when I'm running around I use my 8GB Sansa Clip with iGrado's.

I've read that the E5 makes the bass sound muddy and just mucks things up and I was really wanting this not to be true becasue I love that it's small and rechargeable via USB.

Do you find the E5 to sound pretty clean and basically just give you more volume or does it mess with the sound a lot? The player I would be using it with is the Sansa Clip.

 

[RASeymour]

E3 goes through too many batteries. I like the E5 with the Clip for a super portable unit. I think the E5 fills out the bass a bit.

 

[RedSky0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KLJTech /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've been very interested in getting an inexpensive portable amp like the Fiio E5 to drive one my better headphones when I'm in another part of the house away from my main system or on the go with my cheaper cans. At home I would be using either my Grado 352i or AKG 701s (when I'm away from my stereo) and when I'm running around I use my 8GB Sansa Clip with iGrado's. I've read that the E5 makes the bass sound muddy and just mucks things up and I was really wanting this not to be true becasue I love that it's small and rechargeable via USB. Do you find the E5 to sound pretty clean and basically just give you more volume or does it mess with the sound a lot? The player I would be using it with is the Sansa Clip.

Not really true. If you don't enable the bass boost function, it doesn't really affect clarity, it's only when you enable it do you get a midbass hump and muffling of detail. Really though, if you already have efficient phones which are low impedance, it probably won't help you a lot as giving hard to drive phones juice is primarily what it does, besides maybe improving the sound quality very marginally.

 

[fameh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KLJTech /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've read that the E5 makes the bass sound muddy and just mucks things up and I was really wanting this not to be true becasue I love that it's small and rechargeable via USB. Do you find the E5 to sound pretty clean and basically just give you more volume or does it mess with the sound a lot? The player I would be using it with is the Sansa Clip.

Well, i agree with RedSky0, if the headphones have low impedance, then E5 won't help you a lot. But i have too a K701 and really, this amp is, by far, very insuficient to take out all their juice. Can't talk about your Grados.

But i like to remark a very important question that i experienced with the E5. Maybe this can surprise you.
When using the E5 with an IpodNano2G, their improvement is not big. Similar to the improvement that i felt in a fast test i did with a Sansa Fuze. It increases the midrange a bit and gives the sound more body. You don't win in detail here as both portable players haven't awful integrated amps. More body and complete sound. For me? a good improvement/price, but not marvellous.

But i use E5 too on my work: crappy_Realtek_soundcard»E5»SennCX300. Well, if i connect there the CX300s to the output, sound has no bass, its like the oldskool 10$ computer speakers. If i set there in the middle the E5, with bass-boost OFF it increases too a lot the sound, making it totally credible, with body and winning too detail. Not too bass. Just perfect. This is a perfect improvement/price scenario. AWESOME

If you set the bass-boost on (in some track you can demand it) then of course it goes upper.

I used too the E5 with a Hotaudio DAC where i was experiencing some blitter noise too and the E5 cleaned too that noise.
So when your output sound its not good, then E5 helps A LOT. If its correct like Sansa/Ipod then it will help "only" a bit.
So in my experience, the impact of the E5 depends much more of the source than of the headphones.


When i used a Ibasso D2 Boa, ofc sound was much cleaner and richer. It's one portable amp i would buy if i need one. But ofc, being not much money, its still much much more expensive than the E5, so all depends on your budget.


BTW, take care with the USB recharging function. It's really good and i love it too, but if you use it while its charging, around 15-20 mins it makes a lot of background noise, similar to blitter noise but multiplicated by 3. I remark, this is only when using it while charging via USB, which is not your case, just to know

 

[Prog Rock Man]

I second the suggestion of the E5 with LOD even though the cable is more expensive than the amp. I did it for a total of £34.43 and it is worth every penny. Since the E5 is rechargeable, I will get my money back on the cost of batteries.

Presently listening to Sepultura through Grado SR80s with the bass boost on and they rock with a nice clear bass line.

 

[prandi]

and wat abt reliability??the lithium ion battery in it,,how good is it?how many years may it last?any replacements available?

 

[Prog Rock Man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by prandi /img/forum/go_quote.gif and wat abt reliability??the lithium ion battery in it,,how good is it?how many years may it last?any replacements available?

The FiiO instructions state it should last for 'hundreds' of charges and it cannot be replaced. At £14.44 for a new amp, if I spend that a year it is still way less than what I spend on batteries for other stuff, especially childrens toys.

 

[fameh]

^ +1

At 17,41$ @ Dealextreme...what do you expect for that price!!!!

Battery life is not bad in the beginning. If you are a bit careful with the charging and discharging processes it can live perfectly a couple of years. At and that moment its worth money!