[Hiltonk]

Search is your friend. The E17 has a wonderful sound and is a good match for many fones.
For it to be compared to AMPs more than 4 times more expensive should give you some indication just how good it is.
(The quality is not at all questionable, it just delivers simply amazing quality for a price that seems unbelievable)
 

  The Fiio E17 pairs fantastically well with the DT1350. I received mine last week and couldn't be happier. Having access to adjusting bass, mids, and treble right on the E17 is a godsend, and this fantastic portable gets even better when paired. 

 

  OMG people, I can't believe my eyes... the LARGEST audiophile forum in the WORLD, and no single meaningful answer for 3 months.

 
MH01, you will be happier with me

I digged quite a heap of forums and here is the short list of the best(?) portable amps for AK120 / AK100:
 
CEntrance HiFi-M8 (LX configuration) - probably, the best choice at the moment.
Ray Samuels RSA-SR71B - also very cool amp with powerful output.
ALO audio Rx Mk3-B+ - also very frequent choice.
Ray Samuels Intruder - know little about it, but also recommended option.
Bispa PHPA 05B - they say AK120 sounds better than other top-grade players with it... (means Colorfly C4, HiFiMANs obviously)
FiiO E17 - cheap and questionable option for AK120 (but very good amp aside of A&K). You should listen to know the difference between this and 2-4 times more expensive amps (listed above).
 
I haven't heard any of these amps, but want to buy an amp in foreseeable future.
I highly recommend to listen first(c) before bying, if you have on opportunity.
Also, you should read recommendations from this thread:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/669502/got-the-ak-120-but-i-have-a-problem
 
No.

 

[llivzz]

In Windows, I have the sound format set to 48kHz 24bit. On the E17, I see 48kHz 16bit displayed. Does the E17 convert the 24bit input to 16bit, or is the 16bit display incorrect? I understand that 44.1 and 48k share the same "48k" display on the E17, but was wondering if this is the same with the bit depth. 
 
In the manual, it says "default value is 24bit when sampling rate is 96k and 192k, others are 16bit". I also found this chart, which doesn't even show 48kHz 24bit as an option: http://fiio.com.cn/UploadFiles/main/Images/2012/12/20121219103419.jpg

 

[pennylane]

Just to clarify how the menu works. Once you've selected and changed balance in the menu it will go back to volume after 10secs, but it's only 2 menu clicks to go back into balance so it's pretty quick.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  Wow.
Sorry to hear that, I feel for you not being able to just hit play and enjoy.
 
The balance would be easy enough to adjust on an album basis, per song it would get a little annoying though.

 
Thanks again for the replies.  I ended up jumping in and am quite happy.  It sounds great and 2 clicks to adjust balance is actually super convenient, probably as convenient as I could reasonably expect.  One more question... it seems that the balance (as well as the treble and the bass) adjusts in increments of 2.  Is that how it's supposed to be?  Any way to change that to 1?  If not, seems like there's no point in the menu saying 2 when it can just as easily say 1 and have the total range be -5 to +5.

 

[TrollDragon]

   
Thanks again for the replies.  I ended up jumping in and am quite happy.  It sounds great and 2 clicks to adjust balance is actually super convenient, probably as convenient as I could reasonably expect.  One more question... it seems that the balance (as well as the treble and the bass) adjusts in increments of 2.  Is that how it's supposed to be?  Any way to change that to 1?  If not, seems like there's no point in the menu saying 2 when it can just as easily say 1 and have the total range be -5 to +5.

Congrats and welcome to the club!
 
Glad you find it easy to adjust the balance, unfortunately we are stuck with a 2 step jump on the E17, there is no way to change it to 1.
 
It's just part of the magic that is FiiO, great sound but very obscure functionality and UI's on most all of their products.

 

[bracklefish]

Just out of curiosity why would someone rig their E17 to an E09K?
 
A need for more power? A bigger volume knob? I already find the E17 pretty sweet for desktop use.

 

[TrollDragon]

  Just out of curiosity why would someone rig their E17 to an E09K?
 
A need for more power? A bigger volume knob? I already find the E17 pretty sweet for desktop use.

Because it is a lot more convenient as I use the E17/E09K as a Line Out for my tubes. The E09K has the most In/Out options in it's price range, drives the DT880 Pro's better than the E17 can and with a lot more headroom.
 

 

[bracklefish]

Huh cool. The Fiio e17 is pretty sweet for a portable rig too. I've been running my ATH-900x's through my Fiio e17 from my CM Nexus 5 via usb. 

 

[seppy50]

Hello guys, I bought the e17 almost over a year ago and I never found the time to look into it until now; my problem is with my akg 550 it produces some faint static noises and I don't know what it means. I'm on 0 db gain and I'm hoping that I'm not ruining my headphones. Anyone have this problem?

 

[Allucid]

Hello guys, I bought the e17 almost over a year ago and I never found the time to look into it until now; my problem is with my akg 550 it produces some faint static noises and I don't know what it means. I'm on 0 db gain and I'm hoping that I'm not ruining my headphones. Anyone have this problem?

It means your AKG's are really sensitive. Not much you can do.

 

[seppy50]

It means your AKG's are really sensitive. Not much you can do.

Am I ruining my headphones by using the e17?

 

[Allucid]

It means your AKG's are really sensitive. Not much you can do.

Am I ruining my headphones by using the e17?

Not at all, it just means that your AKG's don't need an amp, the more power coming from a source, the more noise or static.

 

[pennylane]

Has anyone experimented with the different gain settings?  Is there a recommended one?
 
Thanks

 

[Allucid]

Has anyone experimented with the different gain settings?  Is there a recommended one?

Thanks

6 gain is recommended, but 12 gain is used for headphones that need more power due to not being loud enough.

 

[pennylane]

Thanks.  Are the different gain settings just a change in power drain mostly?

6 gain is recommended, but 12 gain is used for headphones that need more power due to not being loud enough.

 

[TrollDragon]

  Thanks.  Are the different gain settings just a change in power drain mostly?

They alter the input gain on the amplifier.
 
Input Sensitivity for 0/6/12dB = 2.25V/1.125V/565mV