[BillsonChang007]

Hi. I'm absolutely noob in this forum. I have just bought a Senn HD598 after using hd239, Logitech Ue6000 and Soundmagic E10 and ue200 iem for 2 years. I was using cowon c2 and MacBook Air (2014) with fiio e06 as the source. I'm now planning to upgrade to fiio e07k andes. Will it make much difference in sound quality as I'm already using Cowon c2 which has a Wolfson Dac already and gives excellent output itsel? Also I was reading about sound distortion while using Andes with Yosemite. Now I'm little bit sceptical about my purchase plan. Any help will be really appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hello,

I never had distortion issue with the E07K but do jote that, the E07K is just a amplifier with DAC version of E06K. There is some improvement upgrading from your Mac DAC to the E07K but I wouldnt say it to be huge or worth the extra investment. Best to safe a little more for the new E17K IMO

Hope it helps
Billson

 

[drBeatsB]

Hello,

I never had distortion issue with the E07K but do jote that, the E07K is just a amplifier with DAC version of E06K. There is some improvement upgrading from your Mac DAC to the E07K but I wouldnt say it to be huge or worth the extra investment. Best to safe a little more for the new E17K IMO

Hope it helps
Billson

That's a huge help buddy. Thanks a lot for the info. better I'll wait for a few months more to get my hand on the new e17k.

 

[BillsonChang007]

That's a huge help buddy. Thanks a lot for the info. better I'll wait for a few months more to get my hand on the new e17k.

No problem! 

 

[drBeatsB]

No problem! 

Just came up with some more questions. My primary need is the Dac part of E17k/E18/E07k/E17 as all of my Headphones have a impedence of 50 Ohm or less, even my fiio e06 drives them with smiling face . In that case which dac you will advise me? E17k or e18? Even I have read in this thread that E17 and E07k uses same dac, only e17 has a better amp.In that case,will the E17k/E18/E17 be great upgrade sq-wise as standalone dac than the e07k?
Sorry for such numerous queries n long posts. Actually more I'm reading various school of thoughts,more my mind is filling up with confusions
Thanks a lot in advance.

 

[encoreAC]

Just came up with some more questions. My primary need is the Dac part of E17k/E18/E07k/E17 as all of my Headphones have a impedence of 50 Ohm or less, even my fiio e06 drives them with smiling face

. In that case which dac you will advise me? E17k or e18? Even I have read in this thread that E17 and E07k uses same dac, only e17 has a better amp.In that case,will the E17k/E18/E17 be great upgrade sq-wise as standalone dac than the e07k?
Sorry for such numerous queries n long posts.

Actually more I'm reading various school of thoughts,more my mind is filling up with confusions

Thanks a lot in advance.

I don't think you need a e17k at all. The e07k does the job perfectly fine for every IEM. Save your money for better Headphones instead of wasting it for DACs. The difference is minimal or even inaudible for you. The e07k dac is very good anyways.

 

[drBeatsB]

  I don't think you need a e17k at all. The e07k does the job perfectly fine for every IEM. Save your money for better Headphones instead of wasting it for DACs. The difference is minimal or even inaudible for you. The e07k dac is very good anyways

Actually I will use it with HD598 from my Android phone or Macbook air  to bypass their inbuilt DAC which i feel lacking in quality sometimes. My on-the-go IEM (Soundmagic E10) sounds fantastic with Cowon C2 itself. Should I consider the entry level E07k DAC for that purpose? E07k or E17 ?

 

[encoreAC]

Get the e07k if you only need the dac and amp function and don't need the additional features of the e17. Cheaper and does the job.

 

[BillsonChang007]

Just came up with some more questions. My primary need is the Dac part of E17k/E18/E07k/E17 as all of my Headphones have a impedence of 50 Ohm or less, even my fiio e06 drives them with smiling face . In that case which dac you will advise me? E17k or e18? Even I have read in this thread that E17 and E07k uses same dac, only e17 has a better amp.In that case,will the E17k/E18/E17 be great upgrade sq-wise as standalone dac than the e07k?
Sorry for such numerous queries n long posts. Actually more I'm reading various school of thoughts,more my mind is filling up with confusions
Thanks a lot in advance.

The new FiiO E17K uses a new DAC chip instead of WM8740 fyi. If you are planning to use the DAC with an Andrid device, the E18 is better recommended as it is designed for mostly, andriod USB OTG but do check if your Andrioid is compatible with it.

Hope it helps
Billson

 

[encoreAC]

The new FiiO E17K uses a new DAC chip instead of WM8740 fyi. If you are planning to use the DAC with an Andrid device, the E18 is better recommended as it is designed for mostly, andriod USB OTG but do check if your Andrioid is compatible with it.

Hope it helps
Billson

The old dac chip still works perfectly fine. I don't see the reason for an dac/amp to be more expensive than the headphones themselves.
 
If he has only the HD598 to drive, which the e07k does easily, he should save the money for better headphones.
 
It's true that better android compatibility might speak for the e18 though

 

[drBeatsB]

The new FiiO E17K uses a new DAC chip instead of WM8740 fyi. If you are planning to use the DAC with an Andrid device, the E18 is better recommended as it is designed for mostly, andriod USB OTG but do check if your Andrioid is compatible with it.

Hope it helps
Billson

That was truly helpful for me.
 
BTW,  Fiio e17k uses TI PCM1502 instead of W 8740  as in E17 or other Fiio devices. Anyway it would be somewhat overkill for my Noob needs I will rather consider a E17 if I get my hand on one when there will be heavy discount  caused by the newcomer improved E17k
 
** Off topic: isn't my Cowon C2 having Wolfson 8960 chip is a much better DAC  source than any portable dac/amp having apparently older gen 8740 chip? or I'm missing something here?  

 

[BillsonChang007]

That was truly helpful for me.

BTW,  Fiio e17k uses TI PCM1502 instead of W 8740  as in E17 or other Fiio devices. Anyway it would be somewhat overkill for my Noob needs I will rather consider a E17 if I get my hand on one when there will be heavy discount  caused by the newcomer improved E17k

** Off topic: isn't my Cowon C2 having Wolfson 8960 chip is a much better DAC  source than any portable dac/amp having apparently older gen 8740 chip? or I'm missing something here?  

Did some search on the Cowon C2, it seems like it can only hit up to 16/48. Its fine if you dont have any files that are higher than that and believe it or not, you wont hear much difference from anything that is of higher resolution.

But if you are looking for something that you can plug into your lappy/smartphone to bypass their DAC, its definitely worth looking into one of the dac mentioned.

What headphone do you plan to use with them btw?

 

[drBeatsB]

Thanks for those Info about Cowon.didnt know this much details.
I want to connect that dac to MacBook Air and my Android smartphone (Mi3) to use it with Senn HD598, Logitech ue6000 and senn hd239. The last one has only 32 ohm impedence,so doesn't sounds much different when i use it directly from the source. But in case of other two, fiio e06 definitely brings fullness and life in sound. Directly connected to the source, they sounds much anaemic and feeble, and the battery life of both my phone or cowon decrease significantly.
I'm now comparing between e07k and e17. As I dont need much powerful amp for my headphones, I'm leaning towards e07k for dac only usage. (also it leaves me with some more savings for my next impulse buys )

Btw, my music collection comprises of 320kbps MP3 and few experimental high resolution flac (24/96) and truly I'm yet to hear significant diff between a well recorded 320kbps MP3 and flac. Either my Audio player or my ear not performing Upto that HD audiophile level.

Ps-more I'm using this forum more I'm getting addicted to music in new ways. Members of this forum are awesome.. *Feeling sonically excited *

 

[BillsonChang007]

Thanks for those Info about Cowon.didnt know this much details.
I want to connect that dac to MacBook Air and my Android smartphone (Mi3) to use it with Senn HD598, Logitech ue6000 and senn hd239. The last one has only 32 ohm impedence,so doesn't sounds much different when i use it directly from the source. But in case of other two, fiio e06 definitely brings fullness and life in sound. Directly connected to the source, they sounds much anaemic and feeble, and the battery life of both my phone or cowon decrease significantly.
I'm now comparing between e07k and e17. As I dont need much powerful amp for my headphones, I'm leaning towards e07k for dac only usage. (also it leaves me with some more savings for my next impulse buys )

Btw, my music collection comprises of 320kbps MP3 and few experimental high resolution flac (24/96) and truly I'm yet to hear significant diff between a well recorded 320kbps MP3 and flac. Either my Audio player or my ear not performing Upto that HD audiophile level.

Ps-more I'm using this forum more I'm getting addicted to music in new ways. Members of this forum are awesome.. *Feeling sonically excited *

Oh yessss welcome to Head-Fi and sorry about your wallet >

Yeap, I guess you can dip your toes into the E07K and have a taste of it first then you can upgrade to something much bigger in the future (perhaps, the Chord Hugo TT )

Happy listening!
Billson

 

[encoreAC]

Thanks for those Info about Cowon.didnt know this much details.
I want to connect that dac to MacBook Air and my Android smartphone (Mi3) to use it with Senn HD598, Logitech ue6000 and senn hd239. The last one has only 32 ohm impedence,so doesn't sounds much different when i use it directly from the source. But in case of other two, fiio e06 definitely brings fullness and life in sound. Directly connected to the source, they sounds much anaemic and feeble, and the battery life of both my phone or cowon decrease significantly.
I'm now comparing between e07k and e17. As I dont need much powerful amp for my headphones, I'm leaning towards e07k for dac only usage. (also it leaves me with some more savings for my next impulse buys

)

Btw, my music collection comprises of 320kbps MP3 and few experimental high resolution flac (24/96) and truly I'm yet to hear significant diff between a well recorded 320kbps MP3 and flac. Either my Audio player or my ear not performing Upto that HD audiophile level.

Ps-more I'm using this forum more I'm getting addicted to music in new ways. Members of this forum are awesome.. *Feeling sonically excited *

Dude just get the e07k. It's a great device and you will miss nothing from the e17.

 

[drBeatsB]

  Dude just get the e07k. It's a great device and you will miss nothing from the e17.

thanks a lot dude. I have placed the order. waiting eagerly now