[RedJohn456]

I picked up a second hand Fiio E17 from an authorized dealer and had a question. Online in pictures the back of the E17 says E17 while my one says Just Alpen in big letters and in smaller letters "headphone amp and dac." As well is the optical input jack supposed to be pink? My one is black. My unit has static and some channel imbalance. Any fix for those?

 

[SolariS]

  Has there been a firmware update which adds auto screen timeout to the E17? It's been about a year and I try to utilize the Hold feature whenever possible but I still have burn-in in the middle when I scroll the settings. It makes it hard to read that whole middle line without adjusting your viewing angle and simply looks bad; I tried taking pictures of it but they don't come out clear. It just gets cumbersome when you regularly need to change the volume etc. when another step of toggling the Hold is involved. Nevertheless, I think that an easy firmware update that adds screen timeout would have greatly increased the convenience and value of using this device. The sleep timer already has a timer involved so its not like its not there already, combine that with the Hold outcome and voila?

 

   
This is exactly the reason why I bought a 3 year warranty on mine because my Fiio E5's headphone connection got loose in under a year making it useless. In regards to the E17, like I said a few posts above, why even have a firmware version display and default menu option if none was ever to be released? FiiO supposedly mentioned that the E17 firmware isn't user upgradable and that only the ASIO drivers are available for download. Your issue could have potentially been avoided by a simple screen timeout menu option. My screen burn-in would have absolutely been avoided and I know I'm not the only one to have this happen. As it stands, it seems like they release a product and completely abandon it in terms of support and upgrades to move onto the next newer one.
 
Edit: Link added, no firmware update ever released: http://www.fiio.net/en/supports/26

Nobody huh? Nobody from FiiO, James or otherwise. So I hit the nail right on the head but was expecting at least one other member to back me up. 

 

[SolidMusic]

I picked up a second hand Fiio E17 from an authorized dealer and had a question. Online in pictures the back of the E17 says E17 while my one says Just Alpen in big letters and in smaller letters "headphone amp and dac." As well is the optical input jack supposed to be pink? My one is black. My unit has static and some channel imbalance. Any fix for those?

Hi is like yours( i think)


And work fine, although occasionally hear static "crackling"

 

[SpiderNhan]

The crackling could be from wi-fi or cellular interference. The E17 isn't shielded well from electronic noise. Try keeping it away from your modem or phone and see if that helps.

 

[RedJohn456]

Hi is like yours( i think)


And work fine, although occasionally hear static "crackling"

 
Thank you, glad to see it
 

The crackling could be from wi-fi or cellular interference. The E17 isn't shielded well from electronic noise. Try keeping it away from your modem or phone and see if that helps.

 
That helped a bunch thank you! Do you know if the E17k is better shielded?

 

[SpiderNhan]

You're welcome! I have not used the E17K so I can't comment on it.

 

[RedJohn456]

You're welcome! I have not used the E17K so I can't comment on it.

Is it possible to use it with my phone and minimizing the interference? Any thing I can use to shield it? This is my first portable amp/dac and I am surprised how much it improves the sound of my blackberry! It makes me more interested in buying the E17k for full price down the road

 

[SpiderNhan]

You can put your phone into airplane mode when listening to music, although you won't be able to make or receive phone calls. The only other(very ugly) option would be to wrap your E17 either in EMI foil or EMI tape.

 

[SolidMusic]

The crackling could be from wi-fi or cellular interference. The E17 isn't shielded well from electronic noise. Try keeping it away from your modem or phone and see if that helps.

Yes , I had read , I did some tests with an iPod Nano 1GB (few songs) .. and the static disappeared.
But my iphone has a lot of songs and then I still connect the E17 to iphone. I have not tested the E17K not know if has the same problem . the E11 dont have the problem because I tested it.

 

[RedJohn456]

I am in love with my Fiio E17. Best purchase by far. From my initial readings on this device I was reading that its not that good or that it has a medioce amp yadda yadda. It is making my Havi B3 Pro 1 and Brainwavz HM5 sing like they never have before! My hm5 has definitely come out to play with a more firm bottom end and better soundstage to my ears. Cant wait to use it with my ps3 and see how my favourite games sound
 
I also love how easy it is to use and how intuitive. Can only imagine how good the dedicated amps like e12 or e12a sound. 
 
Is the E17k sound much better than the E17? 

 

[JGPenfield]

  Guys! I've got a bit of a problem.
 
I just received my E17 a few days ago, and when I got my new soundcard yesterday (Creative Titanium HD) I was finally set for audio awesomeness - or so I thought.
 
I'm using the optical output on the soundcard:

 
.. and into the E17:

 
Now, as the setup is at the above picture, everything works fine. Optical out on soundcard into E17 and out through 3.5mm into headphones = everything works.
 
Now, when I dock the E17 into my E9 and use the 6.5mm headphone (or 3.5 for that matter), nothing happens

 
Am I missing something here?
 
EDIT: It's worth mentionen, that the E17 says "DOCK" when I dock it in the E9, and it's charging the battery, so I can't imagine the docking being faulty

Several issues to address. A soundcard and this E17 DAC are duplicates and there will be no benefit in using them together. Both convert the digital signal to an audio signal and the E9 amplifies the signal. The correct way to get the best sound is to connect the E9 to your computer using a USB cable. Flip the dock switch to dock on the E9 amp. This brings a digital signal from your computer to the E9 where it is directed to the E17 for DACing (digital to analog conversion) so you now have a very good analog signal. This analog signal is then sent back to the E9 where it is amplified and sent to your headphones and you start grooving out to superb sound.
Your setup: You are taking a digital signal from your computer via the soundcard. That digital signal is identical to the one coming across the USB cable mentioned above. I don't know if that signal is converted to analog when the E17 is docked to the E9, but I do know it will not be sent to the E9, so plugging your headphones into E9 headphone jack will produce not sound. You might be able to hear sound in your setup by plugging your headphones into the E17, but you would not get amplification from the E9.
So... the bad news for you. You have probably wasted money when you purchased the sound card. It does not add to the E17/E9 combo.
There are options for you to decide which is better, the soundcard or the E17:  Setup like I recommeded above for E17/E9 sound and listen to your music.
Now for your soundcard: Trash that optical cable. It is teasing you and not needed and is no better than the USB cable. The purpose of the soundcard is to be a DAC like the E17, not just a simple bypass for a digital signal. To test that soundcard, get a cable that splits the analog stereo plug signal into a left and right RCA analog signal and attach that to the E9 auxillary input. Flip the dock switch and now the sound you hear is coming from your soundcard and not the E17. You also have to change the sound output on your computer to either the Fiio E17 or your soundcard via the playback option on your sound program (if using Windows). Switch back and forth to decide which one sounds better, your soundcard or the E17.

 

[saiko7]

My local dealer is selling
 
 
E17 for 103 USD
E17K for 141 USD
Also E07K for 88USD
 
I think E17 at this price is great but it's pretty old model now and for me it has few issues like you have carry a not so common USB Mini cable to connect it to PC... on the other had E17K is new hardware (I like the design much more) but it might need some to iron out all the hardware issue and software bugs etc as it's launch just now.
 
So I am confused...
 
Which is better to buy?
Is E17K substancially better in terms of sound quality?
 
If I buy the older model E17 is there any implication in terms of future compatibility etc?
 
I think at this point only for E17 I am getting a very good deal - perhaps because it's phasing out. 
I would like to know if I should go FiiO E17 for 103USD or is it worth paying 35-40 USD extra for the new E17K?
 
Could anyone help me to decide?

 

[Allucid]

My local dealer is selling


E17 for 103 USD
E17K for 141 USD
Also E07K for 88USD

I think E17 at this price is great but it's pretty old model now and for me it has few issues like you have carry a not so common USB Mini cable to connect it to PC... on the other had E17K is new hardware (I like the design much more) but it might need some to iron out all the hardware issue and software bugs etc as it's launch just now.

So I am confused...

Which is better to buy?
Is E17K substancially better in terms of sound quality?

If I buy the older model E17 is there any implication in terms of future compatibility etc?

I think at this point only for E17 I am getting a very good deal - perhaps because it's phasing out. 
I would like to know if I should go FiiO E17 for 103USD or is it worth paying 35-40 USD extra for the new E17K?

Could anyone help me to decide?

The E17 is pretty damn good. The K version I haven't tried yet.

 

[Walderstorn]

  Has there been a firmware update which adds auto screen timeout to the E17? It's been about a year and I try to utilize the Hold feature whenever possible but I still have burn-in in the middle when I scroll the settings. It makes it hard to read that whole middle line without adjusting your viewing angle and simply looks bad; I tried taking pictures of it but they don't come out clear. It just gets cumbersome when you regularly need to change the volume etc. when another step of toggling the Hold is involved. Nevertheless, I think that an easy firmware update that adds screen timeout would have greatly increased the convenience and value of using this device. The sleep timer already has a timer involved so its not like its not there already, combine that with the Hold outcome and voila?

 
unforunately doesnt seem they care much about support, i dont have burn-in /yet, but i had to upgrade to w8 on my job computer and christ the problems im having with them both...

 

[Autoholic]

I've had my E17 for several months, and I finally purchased an E09K yesterday. My initial impression is that it makes my headphones sound more cohesive, full, and dynamic. The thing is, I found myself using the E17 more often with my smartphone (Sony Xperia Z3) than with my laptop because of the convenience, even with my high impedance HD650 and deceptively power hungry HE-400.

So I tried to set up the E17+E09K combo with my phone. I docked the E17 in lo-bypass mode to the E09K, and attempted to use it with my smartphone with the USB OTG cable. The phone acts like nothing is plugged in, and proceeds to use it's own speakers. In my ignorance and excitement, I assumed that it would work because the E09K runs off DC power, and the phone would be 'streaming' to the E17 DAC, which in turn would be amped by the E09K.

So what now?

The obvious answer would be to plug a 3.5mm to RCA cable from my smartphone's headphone jack to the AUX IN the E09K. Would I be using the E17's DAC this way? Or would I be double amping?

Another option before I bought the E09K was to track down a Fiio L7 Line Out Dock to utilize the DAC portion of my E17 and let an O2 or something similarly priced do the amping. I can still return the E09K. If I did this, could I then use my smartphone via USB OTG through the L7?

Or is there another way? Thanks in advance!