[bowei006]

Quote:

Thanks for the reply.
 
I will try different things to isolate it. Oddly enough, now I'm getting a small crackle when playing music (very faint. Every song has a fuzzyness to it). Ugh. I will try another computer though.

Try another USB cable too. Another person before had a similar problem with a somewhat faulty cable.
 
Or it may be EMI or other interferance. Try a different enviroment even maybe as depending on your enviroment, electronic frequncies depending on countries may affect it and cause those sounds. And check your cable, if your cable be it USB or headphone cable is resting on a or near a electric cable it can also cause fuzzy humm problems or distortion
So yeah, check another cable and look out for those two types of EMI 

 

[Kjeldsen]

I'm having a small issue with the fit of the headphone-out of the E17 to the 8 inch jacks on my headphones. It's not a very snug fit, for some reason and the jack keeps popping out when i'm on the go. It takes very little touch to come loose. More precisely, it doesn't feel like the jack "clicks in" and stays put.
 
Anyone else with this issue?

 

[bowei006]

One or two others have. Who did you purchase the E17 from? On the back of your E17, does it say E17 on the bottom or Alpen?

Its not 8inch. Its eigth inch or 1/8inch or 3.5mm haha.

 

[Kjeldsen]

Quote:

One or two others have. Who did you purchase the E17 from? On the back of your E17, does it say E17 on the bottom or Alpen?
Its not 8inch. Its eigth inch or 1/8inch or 3.5mm haha.

 
I got it from Amazon in the UK. It says "Alpen". Haha, confusing myself on the whole inch/mm issue. 8 inches is rather big! Trying to use what i hear people use the most, but if i had my way i would say "3.5mm"  

 

[Kjeldsen]

I messed around with some more 3.5mm jacks from various devices and it seems that the 3.5mm fit is simply VERY, VERY snug, and the reason why the jacks came half-way out again was because they weren't fitted properly. It feels like i have to use a bit of force, but in the end the 3.5mm connectors will "click in". Doesn't seem quite natural, but maybe it'll get better.

 

[bowei006]

So it fits snug but you have to "press" it first?

Hmm its up to you wht to do.

Im in the u.s so i should be saying the ridiculous standard of saying eigth inch but for some reason my vocab likes to use
3.5mm and quarter inch. I guess that we always say 3.5mm but always say quarter inch online :/

Well hope you get back to us on if a spdif cable will fix your problems.

 

[Kjeldsen]

Quote:

So it fits snug but you have to "press" it first?
Hmm its up to you wht to do.
Im in the u.s so i should be saying the ridiculous standard of saying eigth inch but for some reason my vocab likes to use
3.5mm and quarter inch. I guess that we always say 3.5mm but always say quarter inch online :/
Well hope you get back to us on if a spdif cable will fix your problems.

 
Correct. It fits snug, but i have to apply what seems like unnatural force to get it seated properly. It seems to have gotten a bit better (i've been "exercising" the headpone out for a bit), so maybe it's just growing pains.
 
I'll definately update once i get the spdif cable. Should be in the mail tomorrow Woo.
 
I guess i could add some early impressions aswell. I'm still waiting on my HE-400's, but even now with a pair of Denon AH-D1100's, i'm pretty impressed about what i'm hearing on a portable setup using an ipod Nano 4th gen with a Line out dock. The E17 probably won't do that much for headphones of that caliber, but the difference is definately there. Vocals are more crisp and appear less clouded, bass is tighter and less muddled, soundstage more wide. I'm really looking forward to testing it with a pair of proper HP's

 

[bowei006]

I believe that many do use the he400 with the E17 but i also believe that some have said that those are really picky. Either way. For headphones of such caliber, having enough amping power is crucial.

Ill be getting my own next test desktop unit too in the comming month. So yay us

 

[Kjeldsen]

Quote:

I believe that many do use the he400 with the E17 but i also believe that some have said that those are really picky. Either way. For headphones of such caliber, having enough amping power is crucial.
Ill be getting my own next test desktop unit too in the comming month. So yay us

 
Yay us. I'm sure you'll let us all know when you do get it? 

 
And ...you're probably right. I went blindly with the E17 + HE-400 recommendation based on other peoples preferences/oppinions, so here's to hoping it suits me! We're hard pressed for things like CanJam overhere, so everything is based on a hunch.

 

[Kjeldsen]

Quote:

So it fits snug but you have to "press" it first?
Hmm its up to you wht to do.
Im in the u.s so i should be saying the ridiculous standard of saying eigth inch but for some reason my vocab likes to use
3.5mm and quarter inch. I guess that we always say 3.5mm but always say quarter inch online :/
Well hope you get back to us on if a spdif cable will fix your problems.

 
I received my mini-toslink optic cable today. Problem solved. Zero noise, even with gain. Seems like a pretty cheap solution if you've got S/PDIF output on your soundcard
 
That being said i'm really happy with the sound i'm getting from the Xonar Essence (DAC) / E17 (AMP) combo. Even using my mediocre headphones it's a vast improvement. 

 

[bowei006]

With spdif. You cant exactly call it an essence and e17 combo anymore unless the escense is adding its own virtual surround data to spdifs lpcm stream being sent to the e17

 

[Kjeldsen]

Quote:

With spdif. You cant exactly call it an essence and e17 combo anymore unless the escense is adding its own virtual surround data to spdifs lpcm stream being sent to the e17

 
That was actually going to be my next question. I found this:
 
"But yes, the ST/STX will pass through 5.1 Dolby/DTS signals over SPDIF"
 
However, most seem to think it's a waste to use spdif out with a card like the Xonar Essence since you circumvent the powered amp, and there's no way to tweak using opamps. So using spdif, i'm actually using the E17 DAC? Or am i using neither (Dolby/DTS affected data stream over optical)?
 
*edit due to new insight*

 

[bowei006]

You are using E17 dac and amp. But with options, youcan either output a "clean" pcm signal or one laced with surround sound QUALITIES.

 

[Kjeldsen]

Quote:

You are using E17 dac and amp. But with options, youcan either output a "clean" pcm signal or one laced with surround sound QUALITIES.

 
Allright. Guess i better figure out what the real problem is then I've got some more cables and adapters to try out. Thanks.

 

[ayres]

hi all, looking to replace my aging dac/amp, and i'm considering the e17.
 
in terms of amp section, can the e17's aux in handle 2.2volts?  i like the idea of at least having the option to connect my v-dac II to the e17's headphone amp.
 
cheers