[Necrontyr]

SPDIF , sony phillips digital interchange format is a digital to digital signal, transmitted over de ould light waves inside that shiny optical cable .
 
That means the digtal to analog converter in the Fiio does the grunt work converting the signal as faithfully as it can. 
 
You wont be able to find the SQ difference tbh, after doing some personal research and double blind testing and I personally think anything above 16bit 44.1khz doesnt change a thing.
 
That said having optical and usb is deadly, I have my optical connected to my laptop and my USB connected to my desktop, and when i want to switch over from one machine to the other all i need to do is toggle a switch on the fiio, AWESOME functionality

 

[musicinmymind]

Thanks for replay...I will continue using USB

 

[VickB]

Guys 
 
I need some advice.
 
I purchased Fiio E17 yesterday. I charged it using my laptop USB for 6 hours. There was a bright red light on. When I tried to turn it on ( ensured that HOLD switch is off), it turned on for 2 seconds , the red light tuned blue and all I could see was a very quick message saying " Low Battery" and the "Bye Bye".  I reset the device by pressing the reset for about 30 secs and tried to turn it on probably 10 times but no success. Then I charged it using a wall charger for another six hours, and now the red light's colour faded. I plugged usb out and tried to start the device and got the same error of low battery. I have also tried different USB cable too and tried to reset the device many times. I plugged USB from wall charger in after half an hour and device had intense bright red light for about 15 minutes and then turned to faded red colour. The same happened when connected to Laptop.  I left it charging all night , but still no success. All it shows is a fade red light when connected to laptop or wall charger.
 
The laptop recognizes the device. I have also tried turning Hold button on n off a few times too. Just to experiment at one stage, I turned on the device and very quickly pressed the input button and kept holding, and found that the device started changing inputs sources but also surprisingly the device kept turned on. After 20 secs or so I tuned on the hold button simultaneously and then tuned it of and found that the device was still on but froze. The E17 device was connected to PC and I connected my headphones to the E17 and it was receiving the output . I can hear the music but i wasnt able to play with any functions on E17. I tried to reset E17 again but when tried to restart it had the same low battery error. 
 
I was so excited to buy this gadget but I am so disappointed with it.
 
Please give me some advice apart from the option of returning it back to the local retailer which ultimately I would if the frustration continues.
 
cheers
Vick
 
 
 
 
 
 
UPDATE:
 
Took the unit to the retailer the next day. They also felt it was a faulty unit and replaced it with a new one. 
 
The new one is working marvellously great. Thanks to  bowei006 for excellent piece of advice.
 
Cheers

 

[bowei006]

Quote:

Guys 
 
I need some advice.
 
I purchased Fiio E17 yesterday. I charged it using my laptop USB for 6 hours. There was a bright red light on. When I tried to turn it on ( ensured that HOLD switch is off), it turned on for 2 seconds , the red light tuned blue and all I could see was a very quick message saying " Low Battery" and the "Bye Bye".  I reset the device by pressing the reset for about 30 secs and tried to turn it on probably 10 times but no success. Then I charged it using a wall charger for another six hours, and now the red light's colour faded. I plugged usb out and tried to start the device and got the same error of low battery. I have also tried different USB cable too and tried to reset the device many times. I plugged USB from wall charger in after half an hour and device had intense bright red light for about 15 minutes and then turned to faded red colour. The same happened when connected to Laptop.  I left it charging all night , but still no success. All it shows is a fade red light when connected to laptop or wall charger.
 
The laptop recognizes the device. I have also tried turning Hold button on n off a few times too. Just to experiment at one stage, I turned on the device and very quickly pressed the input button and kept holding, and found that the device started changing inputs sources but also surprisingly the device kept turned on. After 20 secs or so I tuned on the hold button simultaneously and then tuned it of and found that the device was still on but froze. The E17 device was connected to PC and I connected my headphones to the E17 and it was receiving the output . I can hear the music but i wasnt able to play with any functions on E17. I tried to reset E17 again but when tried to restart it had the same low battery error. 
 
I was so excited to buy this gadget but I am so disappointed with it.
 
Please give me some advice apart from the option of returning it back to the local retailer which ultimately I would if the frustration continues.
 
cheers
Vick

You have a defective device....that is really about it.
 
 
Just had private chat with the user here, he will be exchanging it when the weak restars in his country as he bought with authorized dealer. 
 
I can not think of anything else but defective unit.

 

[ClieOS]

Probably an issue with the battery. Sometime improper shipping and storage can damage internal components, happened to my first E17 review unit as I have posted on the first page. Just send it back and request for a replacement.

 

[beaver316]

This exact crackle and hiss occurs with my Fiio on my macbook pro , 2011 13' version , its not the fiio's fault , its the usb port, however I dont think it is 100% a power supply problem, your laptop can easily provide the 5v and amperage your fiio needs, more of an interference problem, my MBP has two usb ports, on one of them is crackles like hell, but connect the fiio to the other, then its clean and perfect.

Just use a different port, from my experience as a Computer scientist and my knowledge of usb and electronics I would say it has to do with interference in the usb port is caused by having a shared ground with another noisy source, thus the ground isn't actually at 0 volts relative to the 5v supply, this difference can cause some upsets for the internals of the fiio , 

TLR your fiio is fine, in fact its awesome , just use a different USB port




This comment is also addressed by my point, an external powered usb hub if designed right , will have good grounding for each port, thus giving the fiio clean DC electricity, and thus mitigating the crackle that way

Thanks for this post. Very useful information. I'm now seriously considering a USB hub now. My laptop only has 3 USB ports anyway so I'll have the advantage of extra ports too, plus hopefully a clean connection for each.

 

[bowei006]

Quote:

Thanks for this post. Very useful information. I'm now seriously considering a USB hub now. My laptop only has 3 USB ports anyway so I'll have the advantage of extra ports too, plus hopefully a clean connection for each.

powered USB hub, is what I think you mean and or want for such a device..probably.
 
They are usually $15 USD. Not sure for your location.

 

[solserenade]

Quote:

 If I were to use my E17 as a temp DAC, what would you guys recommend for an interconnect from the E17 to a Schiit Valhalla? AUX/3.5mm to RCA? Also, any recommendations on decent interconnect cables? Any input would be great.

I'm using a relatively basic cable I got from Amazon. (monoprice) Looks like 2 ft. long. I have not researched anything more "fancy" than that. I will supply a link for it if you want. All I can say is it seems to work, the quality feels good, and it's a bit beefy (shielding, etc.).

 

[BassBoy04]

correct me if i'm wrong but i know that you cannot charge the E17 using a wall charger right?.. it has no voltage options like the new feature of Mount Blanc..

 

[shockdoc]

Is the E17 USB 3.0 compatable?

 

[prsut]

Quote:

correct me if i'm wrong but i know that you cannot charge the E17 using a wall charger right?.. it has no voltage options like the new feature of Mount Blanc..

 
You can use any wall charger with USB out. For example, I'm using charger for mobile phone or navigation. You can even use car CL adapter. If charger has USB out, then for sure you can use it....

 

[ghardashyan]

Quote:

Is the E17 USB 3.0 compatable?

Yup!

 

[bowei006]

To further elaborate on these even though they have gotten replies:
 
Quote:

Is the E17 USB 3.0 compatable?

Yes but IT DOES NOT HAVE USB 3.0. USB 3.0 is backwards compatible with USB 2.X and thus is compatible with the E17. Your E17 does not have or use USB 3.0 output or as a standard, it is just compatible with it.
 
Quote:

correct me if i'm wrong but i know that you cannot charge the E17 using a wall charger right?.. it has no voltage options like the new feature of Mount Blanc..

You can use any wall charger that fits the cable that the E17 uses to charge but be careful. The fast charging chargers can reduce battery life.
 
A general rule of thumb that isn't always true but generally is for battery:
Fast charge = generally "worse" battery life and use time (it is accumulative really, think of it as smoking)
 
Slow charge = generally better battery life or keeping it healthy and a generally longer use time (think of it as healthy excercise)
 
However again, depending on the circuits of that charger, if it has something wrong with it, it could lead or hurt battery life which is why FiiO has said before to hopefully use good authentic chargers. I use authentic Apple ones with mine.

 

[BassBoy04]

Quote:

 
You can use any wall charger with USB out. For example, I'm using charger for mobile phone or navigation. You can even use car CL adapter. If charger has USB out, then for sure you can use it....

 
Quote:

Yes but IT DOES NOT HAVE USB 3.0. USB 3.0 is backwards compatible with USB 2.X and thus is compatible with the E17. Your E17 does not have or use USB 3.0 output or as a standard, it is just compatible with it.
 
You can use any wall charger that fits the cable that the E17 uses to charge but be careful. The fast charging chargers can reduce battery life.
 
A general rule of thumb that isn't always true but generally is for battery:
Fast charge = generally "worse" battery life and use time (it is accumulative really, think of it as smoking)
 
Slow charge = generally better battery life or keeping it healthy and a generally longer use time (think of it as healthy excercise)
 
However again, depending on the circuits of that charger, if it has something wrong with it, it could lead or hurt battery life which is why FiiO has said before to hopefully use good authentic chargers. I use authentic Apple ones with mine.

 
thanks guys for clearing things up.. i thought that i cannot charge it through a wall charger since it has no voltage options
 
just to make sure, i'll just be using an iPad 3 USB charger

 

[tme110]

It's just USB.  As long as it's built to spec one USB charger is the same as another.  The voltage doesn't matter because...it's  usb so it's the same as other usb connections.  And if you do use some kind of higher voltage/faster charging charger, certainly don't keep it plugged in continuously.