FiiO E09K and E07K

[TripBitShooter]

Yah i know so that is why i want to try the new LE first.

 

[worminater]

So i am planning on buying the sennheiser HD650,,,i have a sansa fuse...will this amp combo work with my sansa (im a newbie lol)

I had e17/e09k combo driving bunch of different headphones happily. When I picked up a 650 it just felt... lifeless.  I had an O2/Odac combo that performed *much* better. I eventually upgraded my entire home chain and how have the FiiO stack at work on a pair of AKG k27s.

 

[Bix-Lives]

The FiiO E07K and E17, while different in their final stage, are the best sounding headphone units I have heard yet.  The price is outstanding. I have been bench testing both.  The E17 has variable impedance matching in the headphone circuit (not the line circuit).  Hence, I can not be sure it is a MOS-FET or class D.  Either way, the performance is astounding.  The final analysis is the sound.  I have tried them with everything from the Sony 40 and 50mm standard studio cans to the Grados, the Sony F1 "Earspeakers"  and many in between.  -For headphones, I am a Sony booster these days.  I am also a turntable guy as I must transfer the lacquer, shellac, acetate, vinyl -whatever, before I can make it digital and work on it in the digital domain.  And I STILL realise over 75% of my restoration on the analogue side.   Funny how that works...
 
Look for MLCCs (Multi Layered Ceramic Capacitors) to revolutionise all amplification.  Remember;  with ANY amp, it is the power supply to which you are listening.  The output is a simply a replica of the input signal.  This is why we design preamps and amps, first from the power supply. With class D, one might say all there is is a power supply!  
 
We are in a time of great revolution.  but be careful.  More often than not, a high price simply guarantees you of a nice sculpture.  Chassis (external) are  something I don't do well, but too often determine the sales success of a product.    
 
I have been walking around with my 160 GB iPod and a homemade device with the Apple (proprietary) decryption chip to get that SPDIF stream out of the ipod and converts it with a FiiO E17. -Too much to carry on a subway at my age!   But it sure sounds good.  I rip using MP4s (m4a/ACC) at 320 kbps (VBR) stereo or 160kbps for mono. For my old ears it sounds darn close to the CD. Still, I look forward to hearing my high-res mixes on the X5 -THIS, is gonna be fun!  From Sound Forge 11 Pro to the Fio -no compression!  I like walking around with a master —helps me decide if it is good enough.  
 
Glad to join your forum.  I look forward to seeing how others find the FiiO X5. The FiiO x5 is a revolutionary toy and I am not about to be left out of this one!  I like music too much. 
 
My senile wisdom:   The "interconnect" industry contains more snake oil than any other aspect of the industry.  Be careful.
 
Also, the first 3 -4 chapters of the ARRL Handbook are often more enlightening than a lifetime of learning electronics and hi-fi from web posts...like this one!   After, who am ? —No one important!

 

[Chris J]

The FiiO E07K and E17, while different in their final stage, are the best sounding headphone units I have heard yet.  The price is outstanding. I have been bench testing both.  The E17 has variable impedance matching in the headphone circuit (not the line circuit).  Hence, I can not be sure it is a MOS-FET or class D.  Either way, the performance is astounding.  The final analysis is the sound.  I have tried them with everything from the Sony 40 and 50mm standard studio cans to the Grados, the Sony F1 "Earspeakers"  and many in between.  -For headphones, I am a Sony booster these days.  I am also a turntable guy as I must transfer the lacquer, shellac, acetate, vinyl -whatever, before I can make it digital and work on it in the digital domain.  And I STILL realise over 75% of my restoration on the analogue side.   Funny how that works...

Look for MLCCs (Multi Layered Ceramic Capacitors) to revolutionise all amplification.  Remember;  with ANY amp, it is the power supply to which you are listening.  The output is a simply a replica of the input signal.  This is why we design preamps and amps, first from the power supply. With class D, one might say all there is is a power supply!  

We are in a time of great revolution.  but be careful.  More often than not, a high price simply guarantees you of a nice sculpture.  Chassis (external) are  something I don't do well, but too often determine the sales success of a product.    

I have been walking around with my 160 GB iPod and a homemade device with the Apple (proprietary) decryption chip to get that SPDIF stream out of the ipod and converts it with a FiiO E17. -Too much to carry on a subway at my age!   But it sure sounds good.  I rip using MP4s (m4a/ACC) at 320 kbps (VBR) stereo or 160kbps for mono. For my old ears it sounds darn close to the CD. Still, I look forward to hearing my high-res mixes on the X5 -THIS, is gonna be fun!  From Sound Forge 11 Pro to the Fio -no compression!  I like walking around with a master —helps me decide if it is good enough.  

Glad to join your forum.  I look forward to seeing how others find the FiiO X5. The FiiO x5 is a revolutionary toy and I am not about to be left out of this one!  I like music too much. 

My senile wisdom:   The "interconnect" industry contains more snake oil than any other aspect of the industry.  Be careful.

Also, the first 3 -4 chapters of the ARRL Handbook are often more enlightening than a lifetime of learning electronics and hi-fi from web posts...like this one!   After, who am ? —No one important!

 


Question, why do you think the E17 has impedance matching in the headphone circuit?
The gain may be adjusted, for 0 to 6 to 12 dB, but I'm not sure where you get the impedance matching from.
This amp has an output impedance of 0.3 Ohms.
It's a VLF voltage source so should have as low an output impedance as possible to operate as an ideal voltage source.

Signed,
Confused.

 

[Mjolnir125]

I certainly have no complaints about my E07k powering my K702's. The only other "quality" sources I have tried them with are my x-fi sound card, McIntosh stereo (using the headphone out in the MCD7007 CD player, which I am sure is good given how high end the unit is, but I am not entirely sure which sort headphones they had in mind when designing it so I don't know if it is the best "match" for the K702), and Pioneer elite home theater receiver (which seems to have some sort of bass boost on the headphone out).
 
The E07k is what I use 90% of the time with it, and the sound quality is certainly better than anything else I have heard, but that is mostly because the K702 are such good headphones. I have no idea if they could sound better on a more expensive amp (although I have a hard time imagining what "better" would sound like).

 

[BillsonChang007]

  I certainly have no complaints about my E07k powering my K702's. The only other "quality" sources I have tried them with are my x-fi sound card, McIntosh stereo (using the headphone out in the MCD7007 CD player, which I am sure is good given how high end the unit is, but I am not entirely sure which sort headphones they had in mind when designing it so I don't know if it is the best "match" for the K702), and Pioneer elite home theater receiver (which seems to have some sort of bass boost on the headphone out).
 
The E07k is what I use 90% of the time with it, and the sound quality is certainly better than anything else I have heard, but that is mostly because the K702 are such good headphones. I have no idea if they could sound better on a more expensive amp (although I have a hard time imagining what "better" would sound like).

The K702 is better off pairing with something warmth for boosted bodies as they are lacking a bit of it. The E07K is a good pairing but IMO the E09K gives it the final blow in power. 

 

[Chris J]

The K702 is better off pairing with something warmth for boosted bodies as they are lacking a bit of it. The E07K is a good pairing but IMO the E09K gives it the final blow in power. 

Matrix M Stage headphone amp is fuller, clearer, more transparent and has a better sense of space.

 

[benbenkr]

Matrix M Stage headphone amp is fuller, clearer, more transparent and has a better sense of space.

 
Indeed and I fully agree.
 
But isn't it also quite a bit more expensive?
 
E07k - $80
E09k - $100
 
M Stage - $300
 
Obviously money is a subjective thing, but I don't know if the M-stage is worth an extra $120.
 
Alternatively the Aune X1 Pro goes for $200.... so~ 

 

[BillsonChang007]

I think my next journey after this is to collect some of the hot amplifier, well known amp together and compare them hehe desktop amp war xD at the same time, closed headphone war... Hehe xD

 

[TripBitShooter]

Dont forget to include stuff from ifi audio!!

 

[Chris J]

 
Indeed and I fully agree.
 
But isn't it also quite a bit more expensive?
 
E07k - $80
E09k - $100
 
M Stage - $300
 
Obviously money is a subjective thing, but I don't know if the M-stage is worth an extra $120.
 
Alternatively the Aune X1 Pro goes for $200.... so~ 

 

Yep, the Matrix sure is more money! I guess that's for the buyer to decide for himself! YMMV!

 

[Mjolnir125]

  The K702 is better off pairing with something warmth for boosted bodies as they are lacking a bit of it. The E07K is a good pairing but IMO the E09K gives it the final blow in power. 

Honestly, I don't need any more "warmth" out of these; I am used to the sound and they sound just fine. I have a feeling the amps that people say make the K702 sound "warm" are actually coloring the sound from what was intended rather than realizing some higher level of accuracy.
 
 
Edit:
Well this is interesting, my E07K just up and died on me. First it would make the right driver pop when turning it on or off, then it started cutting out in right ear, then whenever I plugged headphones into it they would emit a high pitched squealing. I can't seem to find anyone with any issues anything like this on the internet, but there it is. Over the past day or so it has also been getting much warmer than it used to for some reason; something is clearly broken inside.

 

[bassophile]

Can this power the HE-6?

 

[BillsonChang007]

Can this power the HE-6?

Maybe the E09K but not the E07K for sure

 

[broooooobi]

I have an AKG Q701, its impedance is 62 Ohms. As mentioned in your review, the E09K is not so good with headphones with impedance that is below 80 ohms. so shall i get the e09k or the e07k for my q701?