[twelvebears]

Quote:

I just posted a review here http://headfonics.com/2011/10/fiio-e10-review-a-lot-of-boxes-have-been-ticked/

 
Yep. I agree with everything you've said.  It really is a stupidly great little device.
 
Don't tell Fiio but I actually think they may have underpriced it!  Honestly, I'm SOOO impressed with it that although I'm delighted at £60, I'd still have been happy at £100.
 
It also means I can look around for other cool 'phones to add to my K701s without worrying too much if I will be able to drive them OK.

 

[alphaphoenix]

I'm enjoying my E10 as much as anybody here, but I see that some are using it for their HD600/650 and harder to drive AKG cans.  I'm sure most know that they scale very well, so if you're judging any of those cans against the E10, or any other budget device, it's worth going down the path to find equipment that really matches well and makes them sing.  If you think those cans sound great with the E10 - great, and good for you.  However, if you want to do those cans justice, go to a meet or hook up with fellow members who have equipment known to exploit the full potential of those cans. 

 

[donunus]

The E10 is still pretty clean with the HD600s minus the compression of the bass when the amp loses its steam. If you combine the smoothness of the e10 plus the power of the e9 for the hd600s, I'm guessing this kind of quality would cost somewhere at least $400 if you are lucky. I've had some amps in the sub 800 dollar range where the overall tonality of the fiio beats them in. 

 

[FuzzyD]

So it sound like Fiio needs to build an all in one E9-E10 device for about $200! I would be very interested in such a product.

 

[puresilence]

Quote:

So it sound like Fiio needs to build an all in one E9-E10 device for about $200! I would be very interested in such a product.

I'm assuming that would be what the E15 (I think that's the right model number) would be.

 

[donunus]

Quote:

So it sound like Fiio needs to build an all in one E9-E10 device for about $200! I would be very interested in such a product.

It wouldn't be as easy as it looks. i feel that the power of the E9 may be whats corrupting its finesse so to get the two together may require lots of more expensive parts making the price higher than $200 most likely. Well, with Fiio putting out all the high value products recently, I wouldn't be surprised at all though if they could pull it off.

 

[Aaron1006]

Quote:

So it sound like Fiio needs to build an all in one E9-E10 device for about $200! I would be very interested in such a product.

Fits the bill for exactly what I need! haha
 

 

[djevoultion]

Just received the E10 to replace my laptop's onboard sound .. what an improvement. Impressed with this little thing. 

 

[tim3320070]

I as well received this unit recently. I wanted a laptop sound card replacement. I tried the HM-101 which was not much of an improvement beyond greater output and a bit better dynamics over the cheap Dell sound card. This device has plenty of volume (maybe not the kind of juice needed for power hungry headphones though). Definitely a smooth, bass friendly sound. The bass boost is too much for my Klipsch X10 or DT770/600. There is some noise when getting the volume past listenable levels (when paused)- I also hear the faint clicking noise discussed earlier but it's at ear drum puncture levels. I figure this is a poor man's iBasso D10, which has a bit more refinement. This is a compliment because at $75, this is a great value, which is most important to me. At $150 I might be hesitant with praise but at $75, it's a no brainer IMO.

 

[donunus]

I actually prefer the sound of the FiiO E10 to the Ibasso D10 Cobra. The Ibasso has an extra sizzle that I don't like. It is not natural to me. It sounds equalized.

 

[LimeANite]

Got mine today as well.  My first impression was, "Wow, this thing is tiny!"  I know everyone mentions the size, but for some reason, I was still expecting something bigger.  This thing is about the size of a pack of cigarettes though - almost gets lost on my mess of a desk.
 
With a couple hours of testing, I've discovered that the E10 is a very different animal on my two current sets of headphones - VSonic GR-07 and Turtle Beach Earforce Z2 (yes, I know, it's not that great).
 
I initially listened to the E10 through the Z2s, and my first impressions were (surprise, surprise) not very good.  I couldn't detect much a difference between my laptop's headphone out (Realtek HD Audio) and the E10.  If anything, the laptop's headphone out sounded slightly clearer.  The bass boost turned the bass in most tracks into a bloated, muddy mess - needless to say, I wasn't impressed.
 
However, when I plugged in my GR-07s, that all changed.  There still isn't a huge difference, but compared to the laptop audio, the E10 tightens up the sound a bit and clears a little bit of distortion.  The bass boost is actually useable and adds a nice bit of punch to the IEMs when called on.  Unlike ClieOS, I am getting quite a bit of hiss coming in at around volume 3, even at low gain.  This is likely the GR-07s, though I don't have anything else of any quality to compare them with yet.
 
Just for fun, I plugged in my old Sennheiser CX500s that have been collecting dust since I got the GR-07s.  Damn, I'd forgotten how bass-heavy those were.  They're so bassy that I can't stand to use the bass boost, even on bass-light songs.  Compared to my computer audio with these, the instruments are clearer and sharper, though vocals don't change much.
 
So I guess the lesson from this is that not only does a good set of headphones deserve a good source, but a good source also deserves a good set of headphones.  In other words, don't expect this to make your ibuds sound like UM customs.  But then, you all probably knew that already.
 
I'll post some more impressions later - I have HD555s due in tomorrow and FA-011s coming (hopefully) next week, so maybe I'll see a bigger difference with those.

 

[ClieOS]

Actually I don;t hear any hiss using GR07 as well. Maybe my Dell XPS420 is just quieter than most.

 

[LimeANite]

Quote:

Actually I don;t hear any hiss using GR07 as well. Maybe my Dell XPS420 is just quieter than most.

Just noticed something that may be the cause.  The headphone out jack on my E10 is slightly messed up.  When I plug in the VSonics, they don't sit quite flush, with a little gap (less than 1/4 mm) on one side.  I can push them in on that side enough to sit flush, but as soon as I release the plug, it springs back.  The hiss doesn't go away when I hold it in it though.
 
I tried it out with everything else I had available.  The Z2s picked up a very, very, very faint hiss only past 5 on high gain, and the CX500s had the same past 5 on low gain.  Neither one appeared to have issues with the headphone jack, though the strain relief on the GR-07 is much stiffer than either, so pushing it in anywhere gives it a much more positive feel.  Some junky Phillips buds I had lying around  (stiff strain relief) duplicated the GR-07 jack issue.  They were really noisy as well, but I'm positive that's just because they're junk.  The sounds they were making were audible even at zero volume and were nothing like the other ones.  On a side note, I'm never asking my aunt to buy me headphones again...

 

[ardilla]

Anybody heard the E10 with AKG 242HD ??
 
 

   +  

?
 
 
The 242 can get a bit bright, I believe - I am getting the impression that E10 might be on the bright side?

 

[donunus]

The E10 is definitely not on the bright side.