[Bullpride]

Speaking of optical, does anyone have any experience with the FIIO L12 3.5 to 3.5 optical cable? Considering picking one up to use with my Macbook so I can take advantage of the optical signal instead of using the USB. 
 
http://fiio.com.cn/products/index.aspx?ID=100000018364884&MenuID=105026009

 

[benbenkr]

  Speaking of optical, does anyone have any experience with the FIIO L12 3.5 to 3.5 optical cable? Considering picking one up to use with my Macbook so I can take advantage of the optical signal instead of using the USB. 
 
http://fiio.com.cn/products/index.aspx?ID=100000018364884&MenuID=105026009

 
There's no difference (at least I doubt anyone will be able to hear it, it's digital anyways) to an ordinary optical cable + the included converter.
 
The only reason to get it is that you're sick of removing the converter from the optical cable and afraid of breakage. But yeah, it's a convenient cable I guess, but other than convenience there's no reason to get it.

 

[Bullpride]

   
There's no difference (at least I doubt anyone will be able to hear it, it's digital anyways) to an ordinary optical cable + the included converter.
 
The only reason to get it is that you're sick of removing the converter from the optical cable and afraid of breakage. But yeah, it's a convenient cable I guess, but other than convenience there's no reason to get it.

 
I am currently not using an optical cable.  Signal from my Macbook to my e17 is through the USB. My question:  is it worth getting an optical cable instead of using the USB. 

 

[TrollDragon]

Only if you want 24/192 playback through the E17.

 

[benbenkr]

   
I am currently not using an optical cable.  Signal from my Macbook to my e17 is through the USB. My question:  is it worth getting an optical cable instead of using the USB. 

 
Nope.
USB = digital.
Optical = digital.
 
There isn't going to be a difference. Perhaps if your power source is dirty (your Macbook), it could create unwanted pops, hiss and distortion when you move your mouse. That's unlikely however, since Macbooks are generally well designed and the E17 runs off its battery anyways.
 
The only other use is that if you play games and you're using a DSP like Dolby Heapdhone and want to output that to the E17, otherwise nope no point to the optical cable.

 

[ClieOS]

TOSlink (optical) can have higher jitter than USB (and often it is in many case), but whether it will be significant enough to be audible or not is another matter. But as pointed out, using TOSlink avoid the problem of dirty USB.

 

[howdy]

As far as the amp goes which do you prefer and why the E11 or the E17? I don't care about the DAC of the E17 only the amp. Thanks in advance.

 

[ClieOS]

As far as the amp goes which do you prefer and why the E11 or the E17? I don't care about the DAC of the E17 only the amp. Thanks in advance.

 
Is this a question for me? I don't actually find one to be superior to the other. Besides E11 is a bit more warmish while the E17 is slightly more neutral (while still on the warm side), the difference in performance is small between the amp sections.

 

[benbenkr]

As far as the amp goes which do you prefer and why the E11 or the E17? I don't care about the DAC of the E17 only the amp. Thanks in advance.

 
Honestly, the E17. I found the E11 to be too dark.
But the entire point of buying an E17 is versatility and that's pretty much the sole reason you have to decide on if you're planning to have either.
 
But honestly if you don't care about the DAC on the E17, why not just head for the E12 instead?

 

[howdy]

Is this a question for me? I don't actually find one to be superior to the other. Besides E11 is a bit more warmish while the E17 is slightly more neutral (while still on the warm side), the difference in performance is small between the amp sections.

Yes it was directed at you, but anyone who has both can answer. So is there a huge sonic difference? I had the E17 a while back and liked it but if I can save 80 bucks I will. I have tried the E12 and did not like it as much as theE17 and the E12 is to big and way more power than I need.

 

[TrollDragon]

I have the E11, E12 and E17 and I enjoy all three.
 

1. E11 is attached to the Colorfly C3 due to its low powered output for driving full size headphones.
2. E12 is attached to the X3 for when I want to listen with the DT880's, the E12 add the needed power that the X3 just cant quite deliver to those headphones.
3. E17 stays docked in my E09K as a desktop DAC and Line stage for my tube amplifier.

 
So I use them for different purposes, I really don't worry about minor sonic differences between the amplifiers as different headphones are used with all three rigs.

 

[howdy]

Thanks Troll, so how do you like the E11 overall than? Do you find it dark or warm. How do you think it would pair with an iPod classic?

 

[TrollDragon]

I run the C3 with my JVC HAS500's and Ultrasone HFI780's with a lot of EDM, so a warm amplifier is a plus for me, Bass Boost setting 1 on the E11 and I'm good to go. Before the C3 I ran it with a 3rd Gen nano and the FiiO L9 LOD.

If you leave the Bass Boost off, I didn't find it that bad, it's no Zo2 by any means, if you need more power out of the Classic, the E11 should give you the boost you need depending on the headphones. Does not drive my beyer's at all but its's a $50 amplifier and there are not many at that price point that perform as well as the E11.

Pick it up from Amazon, if you don't like it send it back.

 

[howdy]

I'm going to buy the E17 , I can get one new for 110.00. Thanks for the help

 

[Yawdib]

Hi guys. I've been reading this forum quite a lot over the last few weeks, researching my first real foray into this seemingly endless money pit of a hobby... Now I have a question or two about this lovely little FiiO device 

 
Well, maybe this isn't exactly my first attempt at getting quality audio, since I had some Sennheiser HD555s a few years back (and yes, I'm sure they don't even come close to the 598s and 650s of the world today), but this is certainly my first leap into the world of DACs and amps anyway...
 
Basically I just bought myself one of these E17s and first impressions out of the box were fantastic. It really looks and feels like a quality piece of equipment; a far cry from the plastic clad Asus U7 Echelon USB sound card I decided to return a few weeks ago.
I've been using the E17 for a few days now and unfortunately I honestly haven't heard much of an increase in SQ over my laptop's on-board Realtek chip (though I do gather it's apparently one of Realtek's better offerings: the ALC269), which is obviously disappointing, but I'm going to give it time to grow on me as I do like the build quality of it so much. It's likely I'll be keeping it if only for the optical input to connect it up to the Xbox and PS4 anyway, which is a very handy feature.
 
For reference, I'm using the Sennheiser PC360 headset, which has the same drivers as my old HD555.
 
So anyway, a question! Basically I'm already looking towards possible future purchases (all this audio research is getting to me!) and I have my eye on the Sennheiser HD650s which will apparently need more power than the E17 can probably provide. I am wondering how well the E17 will perform as purely a DAC alongside something like either the Objective2 or Schiit Magni amps?
 
From my limited knowledge I gather that the E17's DAC component is of particularly high quality, so I figured combining that with one of the above amps would result in an excellent combination for the price. Is that correct, or would the Modi/Magni and ODAC/O2 DAC/amp combinations blow the E17's DAC out of the water?
 
Perhaps I'm unfairly dismissing the E09K? I was under the impression that the O2 and Magni are much better options for pretty much the same price though.
 
Thanks in advance!