[andrewberge]

So would it be worth it to wait until February to get the newer design?
The only difference should be less chance of defective jack, right?

 

[Matbest]

I have also noticed that the E10 sounds better on the first usb port of my macbook pro  as opposed to the one near the sd card. Any one else found this?

 

[obazavil]

Quote:

So would it be worth it to wait until February to get the newer design?
The only difference should be less chance of defective jack, right?

If you live in USA just exchange it if you get a defective unit. In my opinion the problem is if you live somewhere where the return policy is not that good.

 

[Flagellin]

 
Quote:

To FiiO's defense, it is not about quality control, but the scale of operation.
A typical portable amp maker in the forum, say RSA, Headamp and even iBasso, etc. probably make less than hundred per week (and likely per month). A typical amp maker sells around thousand of amps the whole year. For what I know (as told by their authorized dealer), some of them sell only a few hundred a year. Only the most popular of portable amp maker sell over thousand unit. Because they sell so little in number, they can have the time to take care of every thing. Guess how many amps FiiO typically makes a month? Answer: Over 5K easily, and over 15K in a busy month. Even with just 1% of failure rate passes over QC in the slowest month, there are still around 50 bad amps in the market - and that is half the production number of many other small headphone amp maker out there.
Now if you think about it - if FiiO received 50 complaint in Head-fi per months, everyone will think FiiO has bad QC. Yet if another amp maker who makes only 100 amp per month get only one complaint, everyone think he has really good build quality. The fact is, they are both in the same 1% failure rate. Even with the best of QC, you will still see a lot more defected FiiO than any other amp maker simply because they are the largest portable amp maker in the world right now, and probably produce more headphone amp than all the other headphone amps maker combined.

Solid post, mate. Nicely thought out. 

 

[NoRoadtrippin]

Quote:

Hi. How does the E10 compare to the soundcard on a MacBook Pro? I have an ATH M50 and I'm wondering if the E10 will make a noticeable difference. I've just started my .flac collection and I listen mostly to alternative rock and classical music.
 
Also, is a Shure SE210 is too sensitive for the E10?
 
Peter

Hey I didn't read every post after your above message, but thought I would respond since I can speak to it. I am using a mid 2009 MBP with the E10 and M50 just as you would be. Just opened my E10 from Santa today. At the moment I am working the through the Carter III and it sounds like Lil Wayne is in the room with me. Right off, vocals are much crisper and have more separation. I have everything from Weezy to Alison Krauss to get through to try it out so more to come I am sure. At the moment I am going straight through iTunes but I prefer Audirvana. It will also make a noticeable difference to my ear. I am also new to this and am busily upgrading to .flac or ALAC.
 
ETA: The bass is kicking that ass! Definitely a fan of this little thing.

 

[boxthorn]

Quote:

To FiiO's defense, it is not about quality control, but the scale of operation.
A typical portable amp maker in the forum, say RSA, Headamp and even iBasso, etc. probably make less than hundred per week (and likely per month). A typical amp maker sells around thousand of amps the whole year. For what I know (as told by their authorized dealer), some of them sell only a few hundred a year. Only the most popular of portable amp maker sell over thousand unit. Because they sell so little in number, they can have the time to take care of every thing. Guess how many amps FiiO typically makes a month? Answer: Over 5K easily, and over 15K in a busy month. Even with just 1% of failure rate passes over QC in the slowest month, there are still around 50 bad amps in the market - and that is half the production number of many other small headphone amp maker out there.
Now if you think about it - if FiiO received 50 complaint in Head-fi per months, everyone will think FiiO has bad QC. Yet if another amp maker who makes only 100 amp per month get only one complaint, everyone think he has really good build quality. The fact is, they are both in the same 1% failure rate. Even with the best of QC, you will still see a lot more defected FiiO than any other amp maker simply because they are the largest portable amp maker in the world right now, and probably produce more headphone amp than all the other headphone amps maker combined.

 
I agree with you on that the number of failures are certainly higher because of the amount of amps they produce.
 
However, the fact that Fiio has gone through 2 revisions in just 3 months of time, and the fact that they have now changed the audio jack on the rev. 2 tells me that they are in a rush to sell their amps as soon as it's made available, instead of taking the time to analyze and test their products and coming out with a refined, mature product.
 
And it doesn't seem fair that some have to pay the additional cost of return shipping and wait time to get an RMA.
 
I'm not trying to argue with you, just presenting my viewpoint

 

[ClieOS]

I agree with you on that the number of failures are certainly higher because of the amount of amps they produce.

However, the fact that Fiio has gone through 2 revisions in just 3 months of time, and the fact that they have now changed the audio jack on the rev. 2 tells me that they are in a rush to sell their amps as soon as it's made available, instead of taking the time to analyze and test their products and coming out with a refined, mature product.

And it doesn't seem fair that some have to pay the additional cost of return shipping and wait time to get an RMA.

I'm not trying to argue with you, just presenting my viewpoint

Lets go through the fact first.

The first (current) reversion has nothing to do with build quality. The only thing that has been changed is the silkscreen laser printing for the bass boost switch. The reason to change it is because some user think it is confusing to use words like "ON / BASS" for on and off of bass boost. So the decision is to change it to "ON - BASS - OFF" to make it clear of which way is on and which way is off. So why does FiiO chose to use "ON / BASS" in the first place? Because they are not native English speaker, so they are trying to make it as simple as it can be (which turned out to be the wrong way). It is a silly language error, not a build quality issue.

The next (2nd) reversion will have two changes: One is the mini jack in the front, and another is the use of new gold plated RCA jack. The mini jack issue is the problem of jack being not compatible to not-up-to-spec mini plug. Though we all call it 3.5mm jack, the fact is it often varies from 3.45mm to 3.55mm. Coupled with the fact that the mini jack itself is metal and not quite as flexible as plastic jack, some headphone plug doesn't fully contact with the pins which result in static or signal lost. For the few thousand units they have sold so far, some do report back with bad jack issue. But if you read this whole thread, you will know the number of report are relative small compared to the units they have sold. This is the only build quality issue we have here. As for why they used the metal jack - it is because they have use it before and it turns out to be fine on other amps. But regardless, they are will to change it to another jack to eliminate the issue once and for all.

The change of RCA jack on the other hand is, again, not a build quality issue. They are doing a simple upgrade of RCA jack on most of their production line up, including E10, D3, D5, and E9 (and the later three has been in market for a few months now without any RCA failure). The old RCA jack works just fine - the upgrade is simply to make the amp and DAC look shinier and has nothing to do with whether these amp / DAC are mature product or not.

 

[JamesFiiO]

Thanks for the content from ClieOS, he had explained what I want to tell you all, and hope that everyone can understand that we will keep improving the quality of our products, and I can understand that everyone 
 
wants a perfect products. and of course, we will recall all our products if there are any mass problem. for anyone who feel the headphone socket have any quality problem ( not includes the problem that it can not
 
compatible with some earphone with mic),  as I know, you can send back and get refund for free ( on Amazon ).
 
  

 

[Splungeworthy]

Feiao,
So what is the warranty for the E10?  Bought mine off of Amazon 2 months ago but the headphone jack problem only started recently.  I assume I now have to return it to Fiio.  That being the case, do you guys fix the one I'm returning, send me one of the new revisions, or send me a refurbished older model?

 

[ClieOS]

Feiao,
So what is the warranty for the E10?  Bought mine off of Amazon 2 months ago but the headphone jack problem only started recently.  I assume I now have to return it to Fiio.  That being the case, do you guys fix the one I'm returning, send me one of the new revisions, or send me a refurbished older model?

Warranty is one year and you should contact the Amazon seller first.

 

[chicolom]

I thought someone here asked me to compare the E10 with the HRT Music Streamer II....not sure, but here is my comparison:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/587526/three-dac-comparison-fiio-e10-hrt-music-streamer-ii-m-stage-usb

 

[AZ Greg]

I've been planning to grab one of these in the next couple weeks, but came across YouTube impression videos mentioning the jack issues. Now I see in this thread they are planning a revision for February? Is this confirmed? Should I hold off a few extra weeks?

 

[TiEx]

 
 
 

Originally Posted by feiao /img/forum/go_quote.gif  
 
There are 3 versions of E10, 
 
1, The original with old silk screen, had been sold out in 2 months ago .
 
2, The 2st with new silk screen and the gold-plated RCA coaxial output. current version
 
3, The 3st with new  headphone socket , will be shipped to our agent from Feb, 2012.

 
This is original information from FiiO

 

[Mbeeching]

Loving my Fiio E10, bought mine in November (new silk screen) and it fits my needs perfectly.
I only purchased an E7 in September but it was slightly lacking and not suitable to drive my Sennheiser 590's ([size=8pt]120Ω[/size]).
 
If I could make one change to the design, I would prefer the volume wheel to physically click into an off position.
Also, the volume wheel has already started to grind slightly. Any suggestions?
 
Aside from that, great sound. Better than the headphone out on my receiver and far more convenient : )

 

[boxthorn]

Try with different headphones, different files, and try on different amps such as your iphone or your computer.
If you are sure it has imbalance problems you should return for RMA.
I've had channel imbalance problems with mine, so I returned it and got a new one.

 
Quote:

Hi guys, I ordered my E10 about a week ago, received it today, and my computer audio sounds much better, maybe even a little bit better than on my iphone 4, plus the amplifications gives it a little boost! But it seems I feel and detect more bass coming from the right side of my sony XB500s...anyone ever notice this? Have had no real problems with the HP socket even though its a little loose, moving it or rolling it dosent make any sounds.
 
Also, I clashed a little with my chair in the afternoon and the high/low gain switch fell off!!! I think theres still a mini-switch there though, but yeah, it fell off on a little impact.
 
Btw it's reaaaaaaaaallly tiny so cute.
 
I like the product, really needed it, but just wondering if other people notice the bass rumble/sound a little bit more on the right...thanks!