[witt]

Hi all, 
 
I'm using the E17 paired with my Q701s and they sound great. If I get the E09K, will it improve the sound quality of my setup? I think the E17 power the Q701s just fine, so I'm not necessarily looking for more power for power's sake. I honestly want to know if it will improve the sound enough to justify the purchase. If not, should I consider a better amp pairing?

 

[Hiltonk]

  Hi all, 
 
I'm using the E17 paired with my Q701s and they sound great. If I get the E09K, will it improve the sound quality of my setup? I think the E17 power the Q701s just fine, so I'm not necessarily looking for more power for power's sake. I honestly want to know if it will improve the sound enough to justify the purchase. If not, should I consider a better amp pairing?

 
Hi the sound signature of the E09K is similar enough to the E17 but I wouldn't say better, unless your driving a difficult high impedance headphone, you wouldn't need the E09K.  However, I have an E09K at work and at home for the convenience of docking the E17 and also having a quick rotary volume.
 
The E09K is a little cleaner and more neutral sounding compared to the slight warmer E17.  There is definitely a big difference in power however, and if you like loud music or bass heavy music the E09K will do a better job punching out the bass than the E17.  They're a great combo.  The E17 cant handle my HD650's as well as the E09K.
 
 
The portable FiiO E17 DAC/Amp setup with iPhone 6+ and JRemote (playing back from MC20 on HTPC)

 
 

 

24bit 96K playback through JRemote

 
 
The desktop setup I use at work and at my PC with the E09K/E17 DAC/Amp.
 
 

 
 
5S vs 6+ (The 5S feels like a toy now after having the 6+ for a few days.)

 

[iceman600]

Im selling my Fiio E09k... Pristine condition if anybody here is interested.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/742257/fiio-e09k-desktop-headphone-amplifier-w-dac-function-and-usb

 

[Col888]

Have the eo7k with the eo 9k plenty of power to drive my 701s and Grado rs2I, good sound for the price. Would love deeper bass and extended highs, have to save up for LCD2s or the like.

 

[LeroyJones]

Great review.
 
I have this same combo and it's awesome. I have M-Audio AV40s going out of the pre-out.
But they really shine with headphones.

 

[darkninja67]

Can this pairing drive 600 Ohm Beyers or is that just too much?
 
TIA

 

[Delance26]

  Can this pairing drive 600 Ohm Beyers or is that just too much?
 
TIA

Yes it should.  The e09K has a lot of juice behind it.  It is rated at 600OHM so number wise yes.  I use it to power my DT990 250ohm and I have way more juice then needed, so my guess would be yes it will power them with ease.  It is a nice overall package and looks pretty slick as well!

 

[bngbox]

Hey, Hiltonk!
 
I meant to thank you a while ago for contributing to this thread! A lot of really helpful information on here for everyone interested!
 
Quote:

   
Hi the sound signature of the E09K is similar enough to the E17 but I wouldn't say better, unless your driving a difficult high impedance headphone, you wouldn't need the E09K.  However, I have an E09K at work and at home for the convenience of docking the E17 and also having a quick rotary volume.
 
The E09K is a little cleaner and more neutral sounding compared to the slight warmer E17.  There is definitely a big difference in power however, and if you like loud music or bass heavy music the E09K will do a better job punching out the bass than the E17.  They're a great combo.  The E17 cant handle my HD650's as well as the E09K.
 
 
The portable FiiO E17 DAC/Amp setup with iPhone 6+ and JRemote (playing back from MC20 on HTPC)

 
 

 

24bit 96K playback through JRemote

 
 
The desktop setup I use at work and at my PC with the E09K/E17 DAC/Amp.
 
 

 
 
5S vs 6+ (The 5S feels like a toy now after having the 6+ for a few days.)

 

[prez]

Some anecdotal info for E17/E09K users:
 
I recently got some HE-500 headphones, and I have ordered a higher powered amp and dac.  However, I wanted to run them in my E09K to see how they sound. 
 
I've run them with the with the E17(as dac)/E09K combo, and I have run them line out from my mac pro into the E09K.  Even after configuring the line out to be 24/96, the audio in the E17/E09K combo was noticeably more detailed.  I am not 100% sure on the reasoning, as I have heard the line out of my mac sound much better into other gear.  So either the AUX in of the E09K isn't great, or the line out of the mac is not as good as I recall.  

 

[bngbox]

  Some anecdotal info for E17/E09K users:
 
I recently got some HE-500 headphones, and I have ordered a higher powered amp and dac.  However, I wanted to run them in my E09K to see how they sound. 
 
I've run them with the with the E17(as dac)/E09K combo, and I have run them line out from my mac pro into the E09K.  Even after configuring the line out to be 24/96, the audio in the E17/E09K combo was noticeably more detailed.  I am not 100% sure on the reasoning, as I have heard the line out of my mac sound much better into other gear.  So either the AUX in of the E09K isn't great, or the line out of the mac is not as good as I recall.  

 
 
Interesting...I've never tried the actual analog signal into the E09K so I can't comment on that. I am kind of dying to get those HE-500 headphones though. I hope you enjoy them!

 

[prez]

   
 
Interesting...I've never tried the actual analog signal into the E09K so I can't comment on that. I am kind of dying to get those HE-500 headphones though. I hope you enjoy them!I

I haven't used the line out of the mac in a long time.  Until now, I'd never tried the aux in on the E09K.  Definitely a subpar combo!  I am enjoying the HE-500s so far.  My new amp/dac should be here in a couple days, and I'll be able to push more power into them.

 

[CuongCZ]

Only e09k can use with smartphone, or not?

 

[bngbox]

Only e09k can use with smartphone, or not?

Yeah, I guess you could try to connect it through RCA by the headphone jack.

 

[dropadred]

And what about e17k+e09k?...is it possible to use bass and treble controls while plugged in e09k ? I am a basshead, so I (unfortunately) need some sort a bass boost to really enjoy the music (still I love clear sound, great separation, soundstage, magic mids and trebles, but I need punchy bass, to feel the bass) - next month I am going to buy Hifiman HE-400i and this combo would be great in my opinion, BUT...270€ (260$ - prices on amazon.com) is a lot of money and for that price there is for example beautiful Audio-GD NFB 15(2014), but yes, I would more likely invest in this combo because of the bass boost.
 
So will I be able to boost bass, trebles through DAC while stacked in e09k ?
 
Then...has anyone experience with e07k and e17k ? or e10k vs. e17k ? Because I have e10k (bought it week ago) and...hell, I have MSI Gaming 5 (Realtek ALC1150 + Sound Blaster ****) and through foobar(with wasapi plugin) I've had hard times finding (without any EQ) any differences between those - maybe just tiiiny warmer characteristic on the ALC1150's side. Even that +5dB bass boost was just not enough - e10k and e17k have same PCM5102 DAC, but I hope whole implementation is better with e17k (plus +10dB bass boost sounds great - even e07k has +12dB)
 
Thank you for any advice.
 
---
EDIT: my mistake, I'm looking on the pictures of the e17k and it has no dock connector...still, do anyone knows sound quality differences between e17 adn e17k - I guess e17 has "only" WM8740 (as well as the e10 had), but head-to-head comparison would be so appreciated

 

[CFGamescape]

   
 
 
The desktop setup I use at work and at my PC with the E09K/E17 DAC/Amp.

 
 

 
Could you give a parts list for this setup? I'm thinking of doing something similar at work since I have a new setup at home. Thanks in advance!
 
EDIT: Looks like I can use a USB Male Type-A to Male Type-B for my iPhone 6 using a Lightning to USB adapter from Apple, but I'm wondering if I need to also get a powered USB hub.