[Mainrollman]

What are the options for a similar product from Fiio that includes an optical input. I use optical out from MacBook Pro and an old device I have called "squeezebox". Not sure if I am a true audiophile, but I love the sound from my MacBook Pro or Squeezebox run through the old E17 into my Sennheiser Pro 280 headphones. I know people spend a lot more on setups - but I really like he optical out. Sad to see FIIO drop that.

If you like good sound, then your an audiophile. And whatever equipment you use to enjoy the music is all that's important.

 

[vampire666]

Hi there.
when connected to a pc as a DAC does it also stay recharged or it will somehow discharge?


And what cable should I buy to try and make it work with and Android phone (simple Cubot P12). Microusb to microusb OTG cable? Can't find it even on ebay.

 

[FiiO]

Hi there.
when connected to a pc as a DAC does it also stay recharged or it will somehow discharge?


And what cable should I buy to try and make it work with and Android phone (simple Cubot P12). Microusb to microusb OTG cable? Can't find it even on ebay.

Hi, vampire666
 
1. When you connect the E17K to the computer as a DAC, you can switch the USB CHG from the menu in E17K to on/off to control the charging status.
 
2.The E17K was designed chiefly as a USB DAC for computers;  it has not been purposely designed for use with smartphones and we make no claim that it would work.  For USB decoding from smartphones, you may try turning off USB charging on the E17K and then connecting it to your smartphone with a USB OTG cable, but we cannot guarantee that it would work.

 

[vampire666]

Wow, I feel lucky, a reply from FiiO team!
Thanks for the kind answer.
 
About point one: if I would like to keep the E17k always as a DAC for my computer I could set it so that I won't have to recharge it since it will be powered directly from the usb port right?

 

[FiiO]

  Wow, I feel lucky, a reply from FiiO team!
Thanks for the kind answer.
 
About point one: if I would like to keep the E17k always as a DAC for my computer I could set it so that I won't have to recharge it since it will be powered directly from the usb port right?

Hi, vampire666
 
If you turn off the CHG when E17K working as DAC for the PC, the most power is provided by the USB port and a small part of the power is provided by the battery. The USB port won't charge the battery at that time. 

 

[Dyptorden]

Hi, I see that Fiio E17K Alpen 2 has a Frequency Response of 20 to 20,000 Hz. If I buy it for Seinnheiser HD 569 that has a 

10- 28,000 Hz, how exactly will be the frequency gap influence the sound?​

 

Thank you,​

 

[FiiO]

  Hi, I see that Fiio E17K Alpen 2 has a Frequency Response of 20 to 20,000 Hz. If I buy it for Seinnheiser HD 569 that has a 

10- 28,000 Hz, how exactly will be the frequency gap influence the sound?​

 

Thank you,​

Hi, Dyptorden
Theoretically, the frequency response of E17K+ the headphone you indicated will be 20~20,000Hz. It is suggested to go to the store to try by yourself first to make sure whether the sound is you want.

 

[Dyptorden]

Thank you for the quick answer, but still, I have no chance to try them in a store (neither the phones nor the EK) and although the "sound" is very subjective from person to person, I will take into consideration user's reviews.
My question came mainly from my lack of knowledge in this area. So from a technical point of view, I am wondering if the difference of frequency will cut part of the frequency that the phones would normally deliver. 

 

[Brooko]

  Hi, I see that Fiio E17K Alpen 2 has a Frequency Response of 20 to 20,000 Hz. If I buy it for Seinnheiser HD 569 that has a 

10- 28,000 Hz, how exactly will be the frequency gap influence the sound?​

 

Thank you,​

 
Generally accepted human audible range is from 20 Hz to 20 kHz.  FiiO always understates their specs - you can bet that the E17K would be able to produce higher frequencies under a scope - but there really is no point.
 
Depending on average age, human audibility of the frequency range will vary.  i'm close to 50, have tinnitus, and my audible frequency range is from about 22 Hz to around 14-15 kHz.
 
I'm betting that unless you're super human, your audibility will top out under 20 kHz.  So the extra that is discussed in the specs really means nothing as far as audibility goes.  EG - I have the HD800S on my head at the moment.  They have a published frequency range of 4 Hz - 51 kHz.  Even from the E17K + K5, they sound pretty darn good

 

[Dyptorden]

Thank you very much for your answer Brooko

 

[orskar]

Those who have gotten their E17k to work on android smartphones via usb, are there any notable hiccups/quirks you've noticed? (presuming supporting apps installed)
 
 
 
Also, how is the shielding (radio/etc interference) with the E17K? I saw in some reviews that this was an issue with the old E17 but I haven't seen anyone mentioned it in the E17k, so I figure it's not an issue in the updated models. I know my E12 doesn't pick up anything when plugged into my smartphone, for example.

 

[johnnymnemonic]

I have an E17k taking off from uk on its way to me in the next days
Want to hook it up to my samsung note 3 (stock with a slight root)
Never tried another rom but if there is a user here with some prepping advice in the sense of
Apps or even roms to slap on there before the E17k is here, please let me know.
Also, when in and up and running i will post my hardware, method and all up in here.

 

[orskar]

I have an E17k taking off from uk on its way to me in the next days

Want to hook it up to my samsung note 3 (stock with a slight root)
Never tried another rom but if there is a user here with some prepping advice in the sense of
Apps or even roms to slap on there before the E17k is here, please let me know.
Also, when in and up and running i will post my hardware, method and all up in here.

from my research in it:
 
It may plug + play fine into most apps as of current android version (6.0 - marshmallow), just need the right cable. Annoyingly, it worked fine on older android versions a few years ago but updates/new phones messed it up. With marshmallow and recent updates it seems like they added a high resolution audio function and added back in whatever was missing for simple plug and play usb DAC detection (or similar stuff like cameras or microphones over usb). Android does this sort of thing a lot, removing something they think is unimportant, annoying a bunch of users then later putting it back in. I remember when they made it so only stock apps could edit/delete files on your own sd card (but internal drive was okay) so basically killed all the mp3 tag editing apps instantly. They later quietly put that editing back in...
 
From past experience, I'd advise looking out for a usb cable that has some solid/strong connectors, I had a lot of bad times with cheap short cables from ebay that stopped working because the connector wasn't very durable. That was a while ago when decent dac cables were scarce though, it looks like proper cable makers have stepped in with some decent stuff now.
 
If it doesn't plug & play then you can either:
 
- Buy the app "USB Audio Player Pro" which seems to work with no issues and will play 24 bit files properly (connects fully to the e17k, bypassing internal dac and such completely) unfortunately have to play everything through that app, which is apparently a bit mediocre with UI and library and all the other nice player features the big normal players have.
 
- Try "Hibymusic" an alternative to USB audio player pro that is free, but I'm not sure if it will properly output 24bit files or output them into 16bit. Reviews on it suggest it is a lot nicer UI and library/playlist/etc features.
 
 
- Try another player. I've always used "Poweramp" for a long time due to preferring the layout and such but the current full release doesn't work with DACs. However, they have an Alpha build (3.0) that has been in development since early this year and should release properly soon. It has hi res support and works with DACs apparently. Only reported issue is that it doesn't completely ignore the internal DAC and communicate fully with the E17k/other external DAC like "USB Audio Player Pro", which just means that it if you play 24 bit files, the device seems to output them as 16 bit (poweramp alpha can do 24bit okay but you have to play through the device's DAC using the analog output). Also doesn't let you play with DAC settings, like controlling volume, from the device, like USB Player Pro does apparently (since it goes straight to the DAC), the devs have said it's a limitation that they aren't going to touch (their focus is on hi res working with the device standard output and internal DAC, external DAC support is just a nice side bonus). Personally, I'm fine with 16 bit and don't need to control settings from the android device, so I'll be sticking with it when I get a portable DAC/amp soon, providing it works properly. Also, Poweramp has a fee but there is a trial version you can try out.

 

[showme99]

  Those who have gotten their E17k to work on android smartphones via usb, are there any notable hiccups/quirks you've noticed? (presuming supporting apps installed)
 
 
 
Also, how is the shielding (radio/etc interference) with the E17K? I saw in some reviews that this was an issue with the old E17 but I haven't seen anyone mentioned it in the E17k, so I figure it's not an issue in the updated models. I know my E12 doesn't pick up anything when plugged into my smartphone, for example.

I've gotten the E17k to work with my HTC One cellphone by using a Micro USB OTG cable.  Just remember to put the E17k into USB input mode, and go into the menus to turn off USB charging (otherwise the E17k will try to charge itself off of your cellphone's battery, rapidly draining it in the process).  Also, the E17k must be powered on before my phone will recognize it.
 
I have occasionally noticed some static/interference while using the E17k with my cellphone.  When this occurs, it is extremely loud and annoying, and it completely overpowers whatever I am listening to.  Thankfully, this problem does not happen very often.  I'm not sure exactly what causes it.  Some folks say that it happens when your phone accesses the cellular network, so putting your phone in "Airplane Mode" should solve the problem.  That's fine if all your music is stored on your phone.  However, if you use streaming services like Tidal or Spotify, your phone's "Airplane Mode" will prevent you from accessing their servers.

 

[orskar]

 
I've gotten the E17k to work with my HTC One cellphone by using a Micro USB OTG cable.  Just remember to put the E17k into USB input mode, and go into the menus to turn off USB charging (otherwise the E17k will try to charge itself off of your cellphone's battery, rapidly draining it in the process).  Also, the E17k must be powered on before my phone will recognize it.
 
I have occasionally noticed some static/interference while using the E17k with my cellphone.  When this occurs, it is extremely loud and annoying, and it completely overpowers whatever I am listening to.  Thankfully, this problem does not happen very often.  I'm not sure exactly what causes it.  Some folks say that it happens when your phone accesses the cellular network, so putting your phone in "Airplane Mode" should solve the problem.  That's fine if all your music is stored on your phone.  However, if you use streaming services like Tidal or Spotify, your phone's "Airplane Mode" will prevent you from accessing their servers.

 
Thanks.
 
I've had it such interference back when I first started using fiio stuff when I was just starting on iems, using e3 and e5 way back when. Later when I got an E7, there was rarely interference from my phone since it was kind of "shielded" it seemed. It's more of an issue these days just because so many apps sync in the background which are generally allowed because data plans are pretty generous now.
 
Aside from turning all signals off/using airplane mode, I know you can normally "fix" it by angling the amp against the phone. The aerial goes in a rectangle around the sides I've heard so having your portable amp aligned straight with it/parallel would pick up interference the most. I remember just having to angle my E7 so it wasn't parallel/in line with the phone and any interference would die down to nearly nothing.
 
kind of a shame that the e17k isn't somehow sturdier shielded but I can live with the interference. I'm going to try and find out if the E18 is more resistant to picking up phone signals, since I would happily pay a little more to forget about interference with amps and phones.