[Makenshi]

I've been pairing my E5 with the ES7 and CAL! that came in around the same time and didn't notice much of a difference in terms of SQ. Earlier today just used my E5 with my old CX500 after getting over the new headphones, and I must say, wow, they are great for canal phones! I'm not sure if it's placebo due to me having seen the E5 RMAA graph, but the bass sounds slightly rolled off and a bit muddier. Everything else though sounds better. There's more separation among instruments and clarity, and the biggest difference is that the soundstage opened up. This is especially noticeable during some piano tracks I listened to for some reason.

Granted, it's not miles better (I can definitely A/B though, at least by volume-matching and switching source), but thrown in with the volume control and the bass mode EQ, I think the E5 is worth every penny of the $11 I spent on it.

 

[samspotting]

I used the e5 with my dt 770 250 ohms and they made a world of a difference. can't wait till my compass comes so i can test it out with a real amp.


the e5's do nothing for my re2's from my sony nwz a818 though, i can't hear any difference.

 

[dhp1161]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samspotting /img/forum/go_quote.gif I used the e5 with my dt 770 250 ohms and they made a world of a difference. can't wait till my compass comes so i can test it out with a real amp. the e5's do nothing for my re2's from my sony nwz a818 though, i can't hear any difference.

sorry but what is the compass?

also i am highly considering to purchase the RE2's, do you know the PA2V2 amp?
it is around 60$ and is the only amp im hearing good things about under 70$
if you do know anything or own it, will it increase SQ with RE2's?

if anyone else can help ty

 

[zestinger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ferraro25 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just got the E5, and I really like it. I had paragraphs written about its "light, clear sound" but then I realized I had been on two airplanes today, so I cleared my ears by covering my nose and trying to force air through it, and the lack of body to the sound disappeared. It sounds great and "correct" with the HD650, bass boost off. There really is no reason to get a more expensive amp than this unless you like paying extra $$$ for eq'ing, superfluous wiring and parts, and fancy boxes. I prefer the E5 to what I remember about my WooAudio6 ($600 tube amp, which I still own but is in its box right now; to summarize, it isn't worth the money unless you want to pay $600 for a neat-looking amp), which tended to overdo the thickness of sound at the cost of clarity with my HD650. The HD650 sounds "well-driven" out of the E5 - clear but with body, musical, awesome soundstaging, tons of detail, great separation, and perfectly balanced bass-mid-treble (unlike the WooAudio6). Just high quality all around. Buy this amp if you are skeptical about audiophile nonsense and be happy that you have amped your headphones properly. Heck, buy it if you aren't, and try not to let your judgment be clouded by your hundreds (or thousands) of $$$, overpriced amp that is probably not much better than the E5, if at all (unless you just like the coloration of the sound your expensive amp produces), sitting nearby. This, along with my WooAudio6, has proven to me that I was correct in the last 3 & 1/2-plus years to avoid amps and focus on headphones. My advice: buy the FiiO E5, forget about amping until your E5's battery no longer works, then buy another E5 or similar, cheap (<$50) amp. All along the way, spend money on headphones, which is where you'll get real, substantial changes in sound and sound quality. Or go electrostatic. Or both.

I'm glad to hear this about the E5. I ordered 2 - one for myself, and one for my brother who has an HD595. I own a K271. I've tried out two different moderately priced amps: total bithead and icon mobile, and I have to say that although there was both a marginal reduction in noise and a marginal increase in SQ, I had a hard time justifying the cost of the amp (the bithead was actually more than my 'phones). I'm hoping that the E5 will give the juice my AKGs thrive on at an extraordinarily reasonable price.

Has anyone had direct experience with either of these two phones (K271 and HD595) and the E5? I know they are both relatively low-end cans, but they make my ears happy and my wallet happier.

 

[silverskull]

i am using a shure se310 and i just got my E5 recently.unfortunately, when i plug it into my phone and equip my shures on,to my disappointment, i hear baddd hissings and slight improvements to my earphones.can anyone please enlighten me?=(( i got it off a guy from ebay from a hongkong dealer for 15 AUD.will changing the mini-mini cable improve the performance of my E5?and besides that the volume control on my E5 doesnt seem to work...=(((

 

[stasher1]

Try raising the volume on your player to 75-85% and controlling the volume from the E5 and see if that reduces the hissing.

 

[dhp1161]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stasher1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Try raising the volume on your player to 75-85% and controlling the volume from the E5 and see if that reduces the hissing.

he said his volume doesnt work

 

[silverskull]

still hear some hissings though. =( just wondering if other amps like ibasso etc will have such problems?

 

[silverskull]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhp1161 /img/forum/go_quote.gif he said his volume doesnt work

my apologies,it works just that i had to press them so many times to hear significant rise in volume thats why i thought it wasnt working.hhaha cheers

 

[dfkt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by silverskull /img/forum/go_quote.gif still hear some hissings though. =( just wondering if other amps like ibasso etc will have such problems?

The E5 is actually one of the better behaved Chinese amps, as far as hissing with low impedance/high sensitivity goes. Seems the Chinese don't care much about those (for me very important) aspects. My iBasso T4 and Minibox-E+ hiss a lot more with the same phones than the E5. The only portable amp I have that is totally black (at reasonable volumes) is the Corda Headsix.

 

[ClieOS]

There are approximated 20 steps of volume on E5. If you can keep it in the lower 10 steps, then there shouldn't be too much hissing from the amp. If you still hear hissing in the first few steps of volume, then most likely it is from the your phone and not the amp.

 

[silverskull]

oh d'oh,dfkt im like you,i cant stand those hissings when no songs are played.just cant stand them.and i even thought of getting a D2 boaXD darn.guess i shouldnt then...besides the E5 dun do much to my 310's.i somehow prefer ampless than amped with the E5's with my earphones.i will try to lower down to the first few steps like u said clieos.cheers.get back to you when i have tried it.probably be getting a UEtf10 or SE530 nex month.any recommendations whether shud i get a D2 as well?

 

[Kpalsm]

The output jack of my E5 has either become loose or is grounding itself in certain positions. My Vibe's plug "wiggles" ever so slightly in the jack, and if it moves in one direction it sounds like listening to speakers that have been placed underwater, is the only way I can think of describing it. Maybe others know what I'm talking about?

Has anyone else experienced this with their E5? Since I noticed last night that the E5 muddies up the sound a bit between my Vibes and E250, I'll probably just listen sans-amp until I can afford a T4 in about a month, unless I can find the motivation to try and fix my E5.

 

[dfkt]

"Underwater sound" usually means phase cancellations due to the left and right channels being shorted together.

 

[Kpalsm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dfkt /img/forum/go_quote.gif "Underwater sound" usually means phase cancellations due to the left and right channels being shorted together.

Sounds about right. Been a while since I've experienced it with real speakers, since my hi-fi system is back in Ontario with my parents

. Can I open up the E5 and superglue the jack or something? Any experience with this? I seem to remember there being a thread somewhere (here or ABI) about the E200 having headphone jack problems, and how to fix them. Can't find it on ABI now, maybe it was here, but I was going to read that to get some possible insight into my problem.

On a side note, had my E250 since it came out and no problems whatsoever with it.