Fiio E9 *The Big Users Guide* ~ The 10 x headphone round-up ~ How does yours stack-up with the E9? <pictures inside>

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

Nice comparisons Gwarmi. I love FiiO. I've got a D3, E9, E6, and E5. The E9 doesn't do the HD800s justice but it pushes Fostex Orthos very well.

 Next up, I should give the E10 a proper sit down audition, more or less with the same treatment as you see in the
 main post ~ figure out what it gels with and what it ends up disliking. Quite the tiny dac/amp!

 

[kiteki]

 
So addicted to audio have the Fiio E10 as well?
 

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

 
So addicted to audio have the Fiio E10 as well?
 

http://www.addictedtoaudio.com.au/Fiio

 

[Draygonn]

 Next up, I should give the E10 a proper sit down audition, more or less with the same treatment as you see in the
 main post ~ figure out what it gels with and what it ends up disliking. Quite the tiny dac/amp!

If I had a laptop I would pickup the E10. Its one of those products I want to find a reason to get.

 

[putente]

Great thread, Gwarmi! You should also try the E10 as USB DAC for that E9! I'm using that setup right now, and it's a step (or more) above the regular E7+E9 I was using previously... 

 
Quote:

 Next up, I should give the E10 a proper sit down audition, more or less with the same treatment as you see in the
 main post ~ figure out what it gels with and what it ends up disliking. Quite the tiny dac/amp!

 

 

[markwilliamsweb]

Quote:

Great thread, Gwarmi! You should also try the E10 as USB DAC for that E9! I'm using that setup right now, and it's a step (or more) above the regular E7+E9 I was using previously... 

 

Really? What do you find better about it?

 

[putente]

Better overall resolution. Also, sometimes I felt the highs on the E7+E9 combo were too sharp for my taste. Since I'm using the E10+E9, I never felt that again, and I also feel it has more bass punch/dynamics and better soundstage...
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by markwilliamsweb /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
 
Really? What do you find better about it?

 

 

[markwilliamsweb]

Hummm interesting. Thanks for that info putente.

 

[borizm]

Agree in 100%.
Read my post about cheap-sounded FiiO E9 here:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/521680/fiio-e9-review/1080#post_7990530 

 

[borizm]

Quote:

Quote from the FiiO Rep: "E15 may support 192k/24bit USB decode and use different amp but not TPA6120A"
 
So that means the amp section will be different than the E9...should be interesting.

FiiO E11 uses AD8397, because it's better than TI Direct Path TPA6120A in E7/E9, so why they should step back to bad sounding TPA line?
 
 

 

[swbf2cheater]

I was looking for something to be comboed with the E10 and HiFiMan HE500.  I am seriously loving the E10, I have no idea why this thing is not so widely appreciated ( just as the E9 should be ) but have never had the chance to pair the two together.  What a great thread, thanks so much for this.

 

[DeathDomokun]

Anyone tried the Thunderpants/Fostex T50RP with E9?

 

[Draygonn]

Anyone tried the Thunderpants/Fostex T50RP with E9?

Yes, mine mixed with the E9 very well.

 

[CantScareMe]

Jack, I stumbled on this review by accident and I have to congratulate you on a terrific review.
 
Seriously- one of the best i've read in some time. No superfluous material, concise and very straight to the useful comparisons to other higher end amps.
 
I was testing the k550 with a few dac/amp combinations and this is one headphone that doesn't seem to change much in performance with different amps. I'm very very happy using this exclusively with the headphone output of the samsung galaxy s i9000 (with a voodoo sound kernel).

 

[bruce108]

Another grateful reader - how nice to read a truly balanced review, that doesn't over-sell a low-budget component but captures what you will and won't get for $120. The tip about gain is very welcome. I'm mucking around with a pair of AKG501s - so much to like in them, but tricky to amp. If pushed they have a tendency to harden so that music with a lot of attack is unlistenable. They do this on the Fiio at high gain, but at low the sound is pretty darn good. You do lose some bass which won't suit a lot of people - the high gain overcomes the low efficiency of 501s and delivers a startling amount of it.
 
I too am waiting for DHL to deliver a pair of 701s, my second go-around with them. This time I'm going to work up the SS ladder until my ears are happy or my wallet gives out.
 
Meanwhile BTW they drive the Beyer DT880/600 ohm quite well - a musical combination. Those Beyers are the most accommodating cans I've heard, but IMO they need tubes to give their best.