[genclaymore]

Quote:

Hmm, another poster had a similar issue.  Do you get hiss when turning the volume knob only and or when there is no music playing?  If it's the latter then you might have a defective unit.  My E9 produces a slight staticy noise only when turning the volume knob, other than that it's quite silent.

 
Mine started to do this as well But  when nothing is playing. Some times it do not do it at all. then out the blue it starts back up.I'd open it up if i knew what screw driver to use, since I been wanting to change its op-amps.

 

[firgoe]

I have udac2 .. can i use it for E9 instead of E7?  Have anyone tried it before?

 

[Riku540]

Yes many have done that...
 
It's just that the E7 and E9 are paired more often due to their obvious synergry. You will need a 3.5mm adapter. Unless you need an exponential increase in power such as for 600 ohm Beyers, you probably won't hear too much of a difference honestly.

 

[genclaymore]

My issues with that noise went away when I changed the cables I was using with shield  RCA to 3.5 ones that I bought from monoprice. After I did that I dont hear it at all now.

 

[vanplan]

Do I need them both to give me the full effect with a Sennheiser 598 and akg 601?

I don't understand the difference between the E7 and E9. The e9 is an amp but the E7 is a way to equalize more bass etc. and also works as an external soundcard, but you can't turn it's volume up like an amp obviously, right?

 

 

[Riku540]

The E7 is a DAC and an amp, but a very weak amp at that. The E9 utilizes the E7's DAC which will offer superior sound from your computer unless you have a really nice soundcard, but has far more power to offer.
 
Sennheiser and AKG headphones are known to be hard to drive; the E7 alone will not have enough power to push them to their full potential. Imagine your headphones are like nice sports cars, but you're filling them up with regular gas. In order for your sports cars to perform their best, they need that premium quality fuel. The E9 is like premium fuel, with rocket boosters to boot.

 

[villageidiot]

Hi all ! First post on the forums so be nice to me
 
 
 
 
My question is in regards to the E9 amp - I basically have a sound blaster x fi pcie card (which I'm quite fond of) and I do like how it performs in games and music, generally. Anyway, since my sound card uses a spdif output/input can I buy a seperate digital optical coaxial to analog rca converter and connect it to the E9 ? Will this be in anyway detrimental to any of my equipment?
 
So basically, it will go like this:
 
Sound card -------------------------------------> converter --------------------------------> fiio e9 ------------------------------> ATH - A500
 
I will consider the e7/e9 combo if the method I mentioned above is not ideal, let alone possible.
 
Oh, final question - will I gain much benefits with the ath a500 if I bought the fiio e9?
 
Thanks for your time.

 

[Riku540]

Quote:

Hi all ! First post on the forums so be nice to me
 
 
 
 
My question is in regards to the E9 amp - I basically have a sound blaster x fi pcie card (which I'm quite fond of) and I do like how it performs in games and music, generally. Anyway, since my sound card uses a spdif output/input can I buy a seperate digital optical coaxial to analog rca converter and connect it to the E9 ? Will this be in anyway detrimental to any of my equipment?
 
So basically, it will go like this:
 
Sound card -------------------------------------> converter --------------------------------> fiio e9 ------------------------------> ATH - A500
 
I will consider the e7/e9 combo if the method I mentioned above is ideal, let alone possible.
 
Oh, final question - will I gain much benefits with the ath a500 if I bought the fiio e9?
 
Thanks for your time.

The E7 will override your sound card in which if you intend your sound card to be the source it will be a lost cause.
 
FiiO already makes a S/PDIF converter:
FiiO D3 Digital to Analog Audio Converter - 192kHz/24bit Optical and Coaxial DAC
 
The E9 only accepts 3.5mm input if not using the E7, so you will need an RCA to 3.5mm adapter as well.
 
Quite honestly, Audio-Technica's are extremely easy to drive, especially the A500. You will not see a night and day difference and truthfully the improvement will be very small. However should you upgrade to more powerful headphones in the future, the E9 can push even the most power hungry flagship dynamic headphones available.

 

[villageidiot]

Lets just imagine that the e9 had a spdif input where I just directly plug the sound card to the amp; would I be getting the same audio results as if I was using the sound card ----> converter ------> amp method? Would I experience any nuances?
 
And should I seriously look at getting the e7? How would it compare to the x fi I currently have? I'm pretty content with my sound card and will only ditch it if the e7 is marginally better.
 
Thanks for the quick response btw !

 

[Riku540]

Quote:

Lets just imagine that the e9 had a spdif input where I just directly plug the sound card to the amp; would I be getting the same audio results as if I was using the sound card ----> converter ------> amp method? Would I experience any nuances?
 
And should I seriously look at getting the e7? How would it compare to the x fi I currently have? I'm pretty content with my sound card and will only ditch it if the e7 is marginally better.
 
Thanks for the quick response btw !

The difference between a true direct S/PDIF connection and the adapters is so small that it is debatable weather or not the difference is even audible. If anything, it's nothing more than a less-than-ideal solution; in other words "not as pretty" as having a direct S/PDIF connection.
 
The E7 is an entry level DAC intended for those who have stock onboard sound. You will likely not notice a difference between the E7 and your X-Fi. Tech spec wise, your X-Fi is actually better than the E7 as the E7 only supports up to 16bit/48kHz audio, where as your X-Fi supports 24bit, and I'm guessing either 96kHz or 192kHz audio. Even though majority of music is only in 16bit/44kHz format, the greater potential is there and is likely to be taken advantage of by your games.
 
Just like the difference between direct S/PDIF vs. the adapter connection I explained above, the only thing you would noticeably gain from investing in the E7 is a "prettier" setup.

 

[gavinfabl]

I have been using my Fiio E7/E9 for sometime now. However, I just got a MF V-DAC & V-PSU and I am now using these instead of the E7. Difference is night and day with my FA-003 cans. The V equipment is astonishing good and work very well with the E9.

 

[Devlin]

I almost just bought a ASUS Xonar Essence STX for my desktop (cancelled the order with Amazon) until I remembered I have an E7, so I've ordered an E9 instead, I mainly use my HD595's with my PC and I already know the E7 improves the sound GREATLY from that of the onboard on my Asus P67 PRO Mobo.

Anyways, good choice cancelling the soundcard?

Is it worth getting some AKG 701/2's at some point or are the HD595's on a similar level?


I'll give this combo a whirl with my SM3 v2's as well.

 

[Optimus Praim]

Quote:

I almost just bought a ASUS Xonar Essence STX for my desktop (cancelled the order with Amazon) until I remembered I have an E7, so I've ordered an E9 instead, I mainly use my HD595's with my PC and I already know the E7 improves the sound GREATLY from that of the onboard on my Asus P67 PRO Mobo.

Anyways, good choice cancelling the soundcard?

Is it worth getting some AKG 701/2's at some point or are the HD595's on a similar level?


I'll give this combo a whirl with my SM3 v2's as well.

E7 is not a match for Essence..
You just can't compare them..
Essence is an audiophile proffesional soundcard and E7 is just an o.k entry level DAC..
Bad choice there...
 

 

[Devlin]

I already have an E7 as I said above.
 
Odd because a review of the Essence on here said it barely increased the quality beyond that of the onboard chip someone was using so I avoided it.

 

[Optimus Praim]

Quote:

I already have an E7 as I said above.
 
Odd because a review of the Essence on here said it barely increased the quality beyond that of the onboard chip someone was using so I avoided it.

That guy was drunk...