[beaver316]

Hey guys, i have a few questions for those who own both the E17 and the iPod 5.5 (or 5) G.
 
As i mentioned before i have the iPod Nano 2g and i mentioned how i loved the sound from it when connected to the E17 with an LOD. However after further listening and careful comparisons, i have come to the conclusion that the dac in the iPod 2g is not as good as the one in the E17 (not unexpected really). I tested by first listening to a song on my computer with the E17 through usb mode, then listening to the same song with the iPod connected with LOD. First case utilizes the E17 dac, second case the iPod dac. 
 
It seems that the E17 dac has better transparency and just feels more musical and energetic. It's much more enjoyable to me. Now knowing me, im going to want to go out and solve this problem and my immediate thoughts went to the iPod 5.5g because of all the praise it gets. 
 
Can anyone post their thoughts on the differences between the E17 dac and the Ipod 5.5g dac? 

 

[Toorc]

Quote:

Trust me.
We are rather effective in brainwashing you into thinking you need more gear than you actually do in reality, and we are masters of doubling or even tripling your initial budget.
One needs a strong mind to survive around this place.

This forum already did!
I wanted to have a decent can at the beginning. I had a (bad!?) habit of doing some research on different forums before i buy something. My budget was like $50 for the can. After some browsing i came to know about the amps. Then made a decision to buy E5. The next day got the idea about dac. Then i finalized my buying list in which there was the E7.
AND ... what i bought?
---- E17 ----
I am having this setup (M1 + E17) for less than a month. Grado sr60i will come on 21st of this month, and planning to buy SRH840 .. i think i have already lost my mind.

 

[MattTCG]

I read through this thread but need a few points of clarification. I have an Schitt amp and want to try the e17 as just a dac.  I ordered the l7 doc already and have a somewhat decent 3.5 to rca cable. My questions. 
 
1. How is the e17 properly set to be dac only?
 
2. I think that the "lo bypass" switch has to be set but not sure.
 
3. When setup as dac only, do I loose control of the hardware EQ?
 
 
thanks....

 

[vegeto626]

Guys, its back in stock at amazon for $139 + $5 shipping!! Sold by Head-Direct/HiFiMan

 

[JosephKim]

And on mp4nation you get free brainwavz beta and free shipping

 

[jono454]

Quote:

I read through this thread but need a few points of clarification. I have an Schitt amp and want to try the e17 as just a dac.  I ordered the l7 doc already and have a somewhat decent 3.5 to rca cable. My questions. 
 
1. How is the e17 properly set to be dac only?
 
2. I think that the "lo bypass" switch has to be set but not sure.
 
3. When setup as dac only, do I loose control of the hardware EQ?
 
 
thanks....

I'm doing exactly that but with an EF-5.
 
To use only the DAC section you have to set the lo bypass downwards so the little dot is close to the text "LO BYPASS". 
 
You lose control of EQ settings on the E17 and you control volume through your amp.

 

[elykrab17]

Awesome review and comments on the e17... definitely set my mind sure on buying one!

 

[finchouse]

Quote:

 
Oh cool! How were you notified?

I got a ship confirmation email. They're supposed to arrive today, will post impressions once I've had a listen.

 

[ninjames]

How is this as just a DAC? I just bought a Little Dot MKIII amp and then a Muse DAC for like $40 from ebay just because I was short on cash ... then this E17 came on sale so I bought it just because I needed a portable amp anyway. Can I just use it as a DAC with the Little Dot MKIII? Does it function well in that capacity, and do you think it would be better than the Muse I bought? And of course, better than just running my MKIII out of my laptop? There's an awful lot of posts to sift through here..!
 
EDIT: Looking back over some posts, I would need to buy the L7 to make this work? I don't want to double up on amps. The L7 would require me to use a 3.5mm to RCA to connect to my MKIII, right? Laptop USB - E17 - L7 w/ 3.5mm to RCA - MKIII input - awesome headphones.

 

[MattTCG]

Quote:

How is this as just a DAC? I just bought a Little Dot MKIII amp and then a Muse DAC for like $40 from ebay just because I was short on cash ... then this E17 came on sale so I bought it just because I needed a portable amp anyway. Can I just use it as a DAC with the Little Dot MKIII? Does it function well in that capacity, and do you think it would be better than the Muse I bought? And of course, better than just running my MKIII out of my laptop? There's an awful lot of posts to sift through here..!
 
EDIT: Looking back over some posts, I would need to buy the L7 to make this work? I don't want to double up on amps. The L7 would require me to use a 3.5mm to RCA to connect to my MKIII, right? Laptop USB - E17 - L7 w/ 3.5mm to RCA - MKIII input - awesome headphones.

 
Yes, you would need the L7 and to set the low bypass switch. I owned the e17 several months ago but never used it only a dac. I just bought another and plan to use it as a stand alone dac at least some of the time. 
 
I should have it tomorrow and will let you know. 

 

[ninjames]

Quote:

 
Yes, you would need the L7 and to set the low bypass switch. I owned the e17 several months ago but never used it only a dac. I just bought another and plan to use it as a stand alone dac at least some of the time. 
 
I should have it tomorrow and will let you know. 

Cool. Are those the cords I'd need? I just wasn't exactly sure how it connects. Do you lose anything by going 3.5mm to RCA?

 

[MattTCG]

No not really. Just don't use a cheap 3.5 to rca...something decent.

 

[jono454]

i've been using these cables from monoprice and they work pretty well but to be fair i've only used these monoprice cables and temporary cables i got from bestbuy that cost roughly $30+ with no difference in SQ.
 
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021815&p_id=5597&seq=1&format=2
 
Can't really go wrong for something less than $5 and many users on head-fi definitely recommend monoprice.

 

[finchouse]

E17 FIRST IMPRESSIONS (after 30min)
 
I'm an audiophile noob, and this is my firs dac/amp combo. I'm currently running them: windows7 -> foobar -> wasapi -> e17 -> d5000
the biggest changes I noticed right away (vs using just the computer 3.5mm out) are:
- bass is tighter. drums sound like real drums inside my ears.
- no sibilance on the highs. at the moment I'm really digging florence + the machine, and on some of her songs at louder listening levels I used to get a bit of harshness. that's all gone. will update as I listen more.

 

[JosephKim]

Dang the price went up by $20 overnight lol