Is E5 worth it

[mrbrad]

I am thinking of getting a fiio e5 to drive my RE0s from an iPod and give them a bit more bass. Will they do this or am I wasting my money?
 
Thanks. Brad.

 

[mark2410]

they will do that

 

[ExpatinJapan]

They will do that. I bought an E5 filo and was quite impressed at the boost it gave my ipod, I also bought an LOD too.
 
A week or two later I bought  an ibasso T3 and find it to be be much better at a slightly higher cost.

 

[Max F]

It really helped with my RE0s.  I wish it was more like a 5 db increase, but a 3 db is good and does no harm to the upper frequencies as far as i can tell.  It's a cute little device to boot!

 

[clem24]

I have both the E3 and E5. Personally I prefer the E3. The power button on my E5 broke after only about 5 months are barely using it. I find with the E3, it provides just the perfect bass "boost" (just slightly accentuates the bottom end). The E5 has a toggle that does it. Turn it on and it's too much. Off and it's not very "satisfying". The E3 is a perfect pairing for the iPod's crappy output.. Has auto on-off, lighter, better form factor IMHO, and an easily replaceable battery. And it's much cheaper to boot. Neither are perfect.

 

[Mad Max]

My E5 is over a year old and I've never had problems with it.  The bass boost is fine, and turning the boost off is fine too.  E3 is a bit noisier.
 
Heck, I even rolled opamps in the E5, LOL!

 

[mrbrad]

Thanks for the well thought out responses.I am now teetering toward the T3 becausr of whatClem24 said. When I use the Bass boos, I don't want it to degrade the sound.

 

[mark2410]

there is also the E7

 

[Max F]

clem24 never said if he used the E5 for the RE0.  The RE0s need a pretty good bass boost IMO.  Also, its well know, even indicated by the manufacturer, that the E3 is noisier.  Anyway, both are cheap as chips!

 

[kmhaynes]

For me and my RE0, the E5 bass boost is OK -- it does cut the highs just a bit, which is not what I want with the RE0.  With my Zune30, I use the "Acoustic" EQ setting (sort of V shaped) + E5 center position which is a full gain boost, bass & treble.  Now that my Fuze v2 is Rockboxed, I can fine-tune the EQ to make the RE0 sound more fun and engaging.

 

[clem24]

Quote:

there is also the E7

 
Interesting, never heard of the E7, but it looks like for the price of admission, there are FAR better alternatives, and the DAC would be pointless on an iPod.
 
Personally, I didn't really notice much noise coming from my E3 or E5. And no, I have not used the RE0. My E3 and E5 powers (or more, powered) a set of Koss Portapros. Maybe that's why the noise didn't bother me much. They *will* be powering some SRH840s soon, as soon as my new E3 arrives from DX (gave away the old Portapros + E3 combo to my bro-in-law and he loves them hehe). As reference, I've got a LD DAC1 feeding an LD MKIVSE powering Denon D5000s, K702s, and SR325i. With that in mind, the E3 did not bother me at all re. noise.
 
Of course remember with the E3 and E5, you GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. Don't expect it them to power every headphone out there, and don't expect blow-you-away sound. They're great as a portable and cheap solution to the hideous iPod headphone jack, and that's about it. As someone mentioned, they are so stinkin' cheap that if you're going to order them from DX, just order both. You can't go wrong.

 

[zero7525]

I gave my fiio e5 to a friend, because I feel that the sound quality change does not justify me having to charge it and carry it around. I feel that the bass boost on the fiio e5 just muddies up the sound on the RE0 because it cuts off the higher frequencies, what the RE0 is best at. I just up the lower frequencies on my equalizer, which does it much better than the E5. I also think that the sound is cleaner without the E5. If you want a true sound quality upgrade with an amp, go with something like the Ibasso T3, since it is in the same size class and it also has a longer battery life. You can also go for a cmoy or the PA2V2 for a lower price than the T3. Overall, the Fiio E5 is just a cheap toy to try out before you upgrade to the big boys.
 

 

[Mad Max]

 
Quote:

Interesting, never heard of the E7, but it looks like for the price of admission, there are FAR better alternatives, and the DAC would be pointless on an iPod.
 
Personally, I didn't really notice much noise coming from my E3 or E5. And no, I have not used the RE0. My E3 and E5 powers (or more, powered) a set of Koss Portapros. Maybe that's why the noise didn't bother me much. They *will* be powering some SRH840s soon, as soon as my new E3 arrives from DX (gave away the old Portapros + E3 combo to my bro-in-law and he loves them hehe). As reference, I've got a LD DAC1 feeding an LD MKIVSE powering Denon D5000s, K702s, and SR325i. With that in mind, the E3 did not bother me at all re. noise.
 
Of course remember with the E3 and E5, you GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. Don't expect it them to power every headphone out there, and don't expect blow-you-away sound. They're great as a portable and cheap solution to the hideous iPod headphone jack, and that's about it. As someone mentioned, they are so stinkin' cheap that if you're going to order them from DX, just order both. You can't go wrong.

I think it's okay to skip out on the E3. 

 
 
E5 is slightly cleaner and more detailed with a more natural-sounding soundstage if you replace the OPA2338 with ADA4841-2.
It is a nice toy to mess with. 

 

[Max F]

Its funny how now cmoys and other portable amps are now "big boys". 
 
You can argue that all portable amps and even the portable DAPs are just toys. 
 
Unless you walk around with full sized headphones on your head than a $18 toy vs a $150 toy is probably not going to make alot of difference.

 

[Mad Max]

Oh yeah, totally, my audio gear are my favorite toys!