[boomy3555]

So Far, I'm not really impressed. I still want an on/off too. I would squeeze it somewhere between my Travagan's Colors and my Total Airhead.
All of my computers have excelent sound cards to I don't need a DAC. I just wanted something Ipod size to Amplify without distortion and all three of these do that, The Travagans was 59.00, The Nuforce was 86.00, and the total airhead was 99.00 (Total Bithead is same as airhead but also has a DAC 150.00)

HeadphoneAddict is really impressed with the Nuforce and I respect his opinion alot.

 

[swanlee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boomy3555 /img/forum/go_quote.gif So Far, I'm not really impressed. I still want an on/off too. I would squeeze it somewhere between my Travagan's Colors and my Total Airhead. All of my computers have excelent sound cards to I don't need a DAC. I just wanted something Ipod size to Amplify without distortion and all three of these do that, The Travagans was 59.00, The Nuforce was 86.00, and the total airhead was 99.00 (Total Bithead is same as airhead but also has a DAC 150.00) HeadphoneAddict is really impressed with the Nuforce and I respect his opinion alot.

Huh? the e5 has an on\off button, or were you talking about a pass through button?

 

[346L3]

He is talking about the Icon Mobile which doesnt have an on/off switch. From what Ive read the only way to turn it off is to unplug your headphones. I do have some questions about this though, do you also have to unplug the source also? Does that make a difference at all to battery life? How about the E5? Do you have to worry about losing battery life when you leave things plugged in even though the switch is off?

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swanlee /img/forum/go_quote.gif Huh? the e5 has an on\off button, or were you talking about a pass through button?

He is commenting about a previous question regarding Nuforce Icon Mobile.

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 346L3 /img/forum/go_quote.gif He is talking about the Icon Mobile which doesnt have an on/off switch. From what Ive read the only way to turn it off is to unplug your headphones. I do have some questions about this though, do you also have to unplug the source also? Does that make a difference at all to battery life? How about the E5? Do you have to worry about losing battery life when you leave things plugged in even though the switch is off?

The on/off switch is built in the headphone-out jack, so the source shouldn't be affected at all. However, since it draws power from USB for recharging, there will be a good chance that it will continue to suck power from the source (assuming it is a PC) if not disconnected (or battery is full). Probably not going to be good for notebook user.

E5 has a smart charger which will stop charging once the batter is full. Since the battery is relative small (190mAh or so), the chance that it will have a big impact on notebook battery is not significant.

 

[mape00]

It would still be interesting to see RMAA data for E5 with various loads (say 32 and 100 Ohms). Or an ABX of the E5 (in flat mode, of course) vs. a more expensive, neutral sounding amp. I'd be happy to do the testing, but I am unfortunately not in possession of a better portable amp. Also I'm currently using Linux and last time I checked RMAA didn't work well under wine.

ClieOS, you've provided us with some nice graphs, would you be interested in hooking up some realistic loads and then measure the E5 again? It's kind of irrelevant if the E5 has super-low THD or perfect frequency response if you measure it without a load. (Similar graphs for the Mini3 are available under 'Specifications'. .... and I doubt the E5 comes anywhere close to these results with a realistic load. But who knows....

)

 

[scytheavatar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClieOS /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you looking for a review that tells you this $25 amp sounds like a $100 amp than I am almost certain that the reviewer is either lying or has no idea of what his is talking about. E5 is fun to have and use, cheap enough not to break the bank, good enough (and maybe a bit more) for its price tag, and small enough that can be carried around without feeling like a dead weight. It is not Pico, iQube, or P-51 and it should never be mistaken as one. What other things do you want that you think will justify the $25 price tag? Do you really think $25 will actually give you a significant effect on the SQ? If it does, I am sure it won't be sold for $25 anymore. If you must, you can imagine E5 as the E3 with more functions, less warm, synergistically more friendly, and slightly better on detail - I think it is as conclusive as it can ever be. Whether it worths your $25 is really up to your own judgment.

In case you haven't realize almost all portable amps have the same design and the E5's sound is worth way more than its price. They can sell it at $25 because it's well designed and stuff from China is cheap. I'll challenge you to name me a $100 amp that can sound as good as the E5. Yeah, maybe the Pico, iQube or P-51 sounds better but what's their price?

 

[iareConfusE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClieOS /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here lie two problems. First, there will almost always be a SQ gap b/w amp and no amp, and judging the size of that gap is fundamentally an subjective call (not to mention you still have to consider whether that person has the right headphone and source to benefit from the amp). A person who don't have any experience with amp might think the gap is big but a person who own multiple top-end amp might think the gap is miniscule. The only thing that can be certain is their opinions are all valid for themselves. Second, you are right that some of us sometime try to justify our expensive hobby. However, it is hard to believe that so many head-fi'ers need to justify a $25 purchase when they have already spent hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars on other gears. At least I don't think $25 is a strong reason for self-justification. Do you know whether that guy on the shop have heard the E5 or not? If he did, how do you know he isn't talking as a person who own multiple top-end amp and think the gap is miniscule (while you might think oppositely like the other person)?

That makes sense. I would assume that if the guy was working at a high quality audio shop he probably owns some expensive equipment himself so he probably perceived the relatively small increase in SQ with the E5 to be completely insignificant. Well, I guess I'll try it out myself anyways, after all it is only $25. Hopefully I'll be able to tell a difference since I've never owned an amp before.

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mape00 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It would still be interesting to see RMAA data for E5 with various loads (say 32 and 100 Ohms)....

I will try that later but I am not sure I have the proper resistors in house. The last DIY project I did is more than one years ago. I'll have to look for them first.

[EDIT] Just realize I still have the UE 100 ohms airplane adapter to use, ha.

 

[ClieOS]

Here you go: 100 means 100 ohms load. All the other loaded measurements are either compatible without the load, or better (by a little). On the other hand, my Travagan's Colors is overwhelmed by the load.

 

[Mikerman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boomy3555 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Most people who would buy just a 25.00 Fioo and nothing else are probably using a small inexpensive source such as a shuffle. If you start out with such a small entry level source yiou probaly won't hear much difference between a 25.00 Fiio and a larger amp such as a Pico, or Nuforce Icon mobile, Simply because of the limitaions of you source. Not to mention, it is not likely, the same person would have any better cans or IEM's than say Koss porta-pro or Senn CX500's or Skull candy. In My Opinion they are simply have a good quality to cost ratio. but don't expect them to perfom beyond that.

I think you underestimate many users/music lovers, who are trying to get the best sound possible from a DAP but staying below the $100+ portable amp. level and keeping portability.

 

[AZ Greg]

Quick question guys. I'm primarily using my E5 out of the line-out jack on the back of my PC. What volume should I keep my sound card/master volume at (it goes from 0-100)? Should I max that and then amp from there? Or should I set the sound card volume to something else and then amp from there? I guess I'm just not sure if having the master volume of the sound card all the way up is good or not.

Thanks!

 

[kloan]

I suggest around 80% on the PC then adjust the amp accordingly.

 

[mape00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClieOS /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here you go: 100 means 100 ohms load. All the other loaded measurements are either compatible without the load, or better (by a little). On the other hand, my Travagan's Colors is overwhelmed by the load.

Thanks! Good work there! The results look pretty good! (Although the graphs would be easier to read if you just subtracted the response of your sound card....pleasepleasedoitinthefuture

) I thought the load would have a much bigger impact. And you say THD, IMD etc. were as good with the load on the E5, if not better? I would have thought that there would be a non-negligible amount of degradatoin with a load. So that's pretty amazing. Maybe it's your Sigmatel soundcard that sets the bar too low? I'd love to see the full results, especially THD, IMD and noise, compared to the 3MOVE100.

 

[Baines93]

Thanks Boomy!

Sorry I went so OT guys.

Matt