[bowei006]

Quote:

Just received this little thing from Micca on Amazon. I should have read the review more closely as the inability to hold the volume buttons down is annoying. The clip on mine also seems rather weak (I'm going to see if tightening that little screw helps). I bought the thing out of morbid curiosity more than anything since it's so cheap. Switching the bass boost on or off gives an audible blip of static in the left channel most of the time. I'll keep it because it will be helpful for changing the tracks/volume while running on the treadmill compared to fumbling with the iPhone, but yeah, not very impressed before I've even really had the chance to listen to darn thing. 

Yeah, I note quite a few things in this review and missing them would be bad if you were basing buying a product off a feature it had or something it didn't do (that you like) that others do.
 
Mine is decently weak. It can't be used for jogging around for most clothing. It fits mainly in level pockets. Pencil or calculator pockets on polo's for example would be one that it would fit in. A sideways or near sideways clip is stable but will fall off if one gets more active.
 
Yes, that blip is stated on the product warning that you got when you opened it up. I do not think it was a good thing. I'm going to guess that it drives price down and keeps good battery life and size but the power on and power off "click" just isn't a good thing.
 
I did note all those problems in my review. The E02i isn't really a unit us major head-fi'ers would probably use. Its sound is overly warm and lacks detail but has a good boomy consumer bass boost that improves on the tech in the E5 but none the less still falls short in quality. I think that it is mainly useful for the ones that are lightly into the field or the ones in other places that think they have a usage for it.

 

[FuzzyD]

Hmm I don't see a warning about that blip anywhere. I didn't noticed it as much today. Agree that it's quite warm with the boost on. It's just too much. Makes it sound like I covered the KSC75 with a sock. I really just need to get the PortaPros with cord controls for running (I wish Koss would do that with the 75). This will get me through the winter though. It just clips right on to a lip on the treadmill.

 

[bowei006]

Quote:

Hmm I don't see a warning about that blip anywhere. I didn't noticed it as much today. Agree that it's quite warm with the boost on. It's just too much. Makes it sound like I covered the KSC75 with a sock. I really just need to get the PortaPros with cord controls for running (I wish Koss would do that with the 75). This will get me through the winter though. It just clips right on to a lip on the treadmill.

 
 
Quote:Review

Next would be the plug in and out pops. There is a warning about not having headphones plugged in while the E02i is on or something like that but sadly it is something that isn't always possible. With the E02i on and headphones plugged in, plugging the E02i into a device will sometimes if not generate a pop, plugging it out will get you crackles. Circuit design I am guessing. Not very favorable but I can live with it. The E02i itself as it matches with devices volume controls is not recommended for sensitive IEM's so it isn't too big a problem, although those with more sensitive devices beware.

 
 
Yeah, for those that just get it, it may be a bit awkward to use.

 

[8lias]

Mine came in today from Amazon.  To my surprise, it's black instead of silver like the picture shown.  I immediately check its authenticity that Fiio nicely provided on the box via a series of numbers that you can check on their website to see if it's indeed authentic.  To my relieve, it's authentic.  
 
Very well built.  I do like the black aluminum color.  The cable is thick and well made.  I am pretty happy with the overall build of this product.  For the price of $28, it's a satisfying buy.
 
So far, I am using it with my UE6000 and MacBook Air and it sure boost the overall sound quality.  Without the amp, I used to have to turn the volume all the way up but now I only need to turn it up 3/4 of volume and it sounds amazing.  I am going to use it with the iPhone 4S and Hippo VB tomorrow and see how it performs.  The volume control doesn't have the issue as you described above.  It functions normal just as it's on the iphone.  
 
The way I look at it, it has an inline volume/play/forward/backward/microphone/clip so I can use it with earphones that do not have that feature.  At the same time, to get a boosted sound quality, all for $28 is a great purchase.  Thanks Fiio for making it affordable and fun.

 

[bowei006]

Quote:

Mine came in today from Amazon.  To my surprise, it's black instead of silver like the picture shown.  I immediately check its authenticity that Fiio nicely provided on the box via a series of numbers that you can check on their website to see if it's indeed authentic.  To my relieve, it's authentic.  
 
Very well built.  I do like the black aluminum color.  The cable is thick and well made.  I am pretty happy with the overall build of this product.  For the price of $28, it's a satisfying buy.
 
So far, I am using it with my UE6000 and MacBook Air and it sure boost the overall sound quality.  Without the amp, I used to have to turn the volume all the way up but now I only need to turn it up 3/4 of volume and it sounds amazing.  I am going to use it with the iPhone 4S and Hippo VB tomorrow and see how it performs.  The volume control doesn't have the issue as you described above.  It functions normal just as it's on the iphone.  
 
The way I look at it, it has an inline volume/play/forward/backward/microphone/clip so I can use it with earphones that do not have that feature.  At the same time, to get a boosted sound quality, all for $28 is a great purchase.  Thanks Fiio for making it affordable and fun.

Yes, I recieved a pre-production model that was silver. A silver variant is also out. Black is what is generally sold in the states though I find(silver E5, and silver E02i are hard to find in American sites).
 
Yes, there are faults with all and any product but the price makes it hard to really say much about it other than report it as objectively as possible. Sometimes I do not like using the "rating" system, but I find that many would rather have one. I would also prefer an objective rating system where 5 is median average(most will fall here) rather than having 7.5 be the average median right now.

 

[elzafir]

I figured I might add to this thread for future owners of the Rocky.
First a disclosure: I do not own a high end headphone and never experienced headphones more expensive than $500. So this short review is geared to more budget oriented budding audiophiles like myself.
 
Bought mine from kantong-kresek.com (I live in Indonesia). 
Paid $25 for it including shipping.
And it's black. It came charged.
 
My Setup
I'm pairing it with my portable closed-back Superlux HD661 ($60).
As source I'm using an LG E960 Nexus 4 running Paranoid Android Jelly Bean 4.3 with PowerAMP as media player and EQ'd to compensate the dips on 250-1000Hz, 4kHz and 18k-20kHz frequency on the HD661.
The Volume Up/Down buttons do not work with Android, as expected, as it is only compatible with iOS device.
 
Controls
The middle button acts as controls: 
single short-press (Play/Pause),
long-press (opens up Google Now voice search, but does not pause the music. Will have to short-press first before firing up Google Now to use voice search),
double-short press (Next song),
triple short-press (Previous song)
 
Sounds
With HD661, to my ears, the FiiO does not improve soundstage. 
What it does improve is the gain/volume on my HD661. When plugged directly to the Nexus 4, the HD661 is too quiet. Probably because of the can's rated 68 Ohm impedance (usually a phone is only able to drive 32 Ohm cans with satisfying volume).
 
It also improves the bass and sub-bass. I finally can feel the rumblings when listening to bass heavy tracks. The right amount of punch for me.
The mids is more forward, although a little on the warm side. On some tracks, I feel I want more forwardness.
The highs are somewhat improved, if not a bit lacking, but the improvement is leveled by the improved bass, so no piercing highs, although the HD661 is not that piercing to begin with.
 
I feel I have to turn off the bass-boost when listening to hard rock tracks, as it muddles the sound, due to the small soundstage.
With hip-hop songs, the bass-boost is a god send with a fairly balanced can like the HD661.
 
Conclusion
I think this tiny amp will benefit any headphones under the $150 mark.
Most importantly, I don't have to unplug my headphone when there's an incoming call. The microphone works flawlessly.
And my portability is not hampered because this amp is so tiny and can be clipped to my shirt.
For home use, I plan to buy a semi-open headphone (I gave my Samson SR-850 to a friend) and although I already have the Rocky, I'm tempted to buy a $100 DAC/amp combo like the iBasso D-Zero.
Bottom line, for the price, this amp is perfect for portable use.
 
Thanks to bowei006 for his initial review. 
 

 

[MadMusicJunkie]

Hello to this old, old review.
 
I'm seeking this out becaues my THIRD Rocky just broke.  Each time, i believe it has been due to the weak strain relief where it connects into the phone itself.  I have a proper amp for my desktop, but i enjoy having an amp while out and about.  What's more, the Rocky actually had a good mic; could be heard clearly without it picking up all slight noises around me.
It seems the only portable amp that has the ability to take my many, many calls through the day is this Rocky or the Soundblaster E3.  Is Fiio going to follow up on this model and release a new and improved, or did they decide to steer away from the smartphone market altogether?  
  I appreciate any feedback.
 
 
Thanks!