JDS LABs C5D vs FiiO E17K

[Digital7]

I've been doing several hours of testing between these two; i have both of them. During all the testing I could barely tell them apart.

I even swapped headphones just to be thorough. I'm quite surprised at the E17K, it proved to be highly competent.

I only got the JDS C5D 2 days ago.

Previously i had an average opinion of the FiiO E17K, but then after doing side-by-side A/B tests with the JDS for several hours replaying exactly the same parts of each song with intense listening over and over and over, i was having a very hard time finding any differences.

Obviously no two DAC/Amps can be identical, but i must say that after my tests it seems a lot of modern DACs regardless of brand are so good now that they're all doing a proper job, transferring the zeros and ones in an accurate manner.

At the end of the tests i concluded four main differences in the sound, but those differences were slight.

On the FiiO E17K the bass was slightly more tighter and more linear in a good way, and with accurate texture. The C5D almost seemed a tad hefty but not to the point where it is overblown or anything.

The FiiO E17K soundstaging was slightly wider than the C5D


The FiiO E17K seemed to have slightly more detail overall, and i'm talking very slight here.


The sonic signature of the E17K across the spectrum was bordering on very slightly warmer than the C5D.

That's the four differences. In summary i have to say that the FiiO E17K is fantastic value for money. If i was given a choice and could only have one, i simply couldn't pick, it's too close.

I had to come in here and share these findings because i never thought it possible to compare a FiiO E17K to a JDS LABs C5D.

 

[Artist2]

I've been using my C5D for the past several days with my Etymotic HF5 and iPad2 through its 30pin port, playing HD radio and 24 bit 96 khz tracks, and the sound is superb (compared to without a DAC). Inbetween tracks, there is no hiss sound, and the quiet hiss sound is only noticeable when volume maxed out without a track playing. It's very compact and clean looking.

 

[GridIroN]

So with the new E17K release, does it EOL the E18?

 

[Digital7]

So with the new E17K release, does it EOL the E18?

 



What does EOL mean?????????????????????????????????????????? Sheesh! All these acronyms, we're not mind-readers man, don't be lazy, the whole world doesn't know every sms fast talk for acronyms!! Type out the full words and explain yourself please. Thankyou!

 

[Dany1]

I remember the last time in the E17k thread ..you were saying that the dac part of it is not good.....What's your current opinion on the dac part ? cuz i've been following the E17k thread and you don't really stick to what you say.Sometimes you say one thing that E17k is bad then the next moment you tell that it's very good.So which one is it overall now ?

 

[Digital7]

I remember the last time in the E17k thread ..you were saying that the dac part of it is not good.....What's your current opinion on the dac part ? cuz i've been following the E17k thread and you don't really stick to what you say.Sometimes you say one thing that E17k is bad then the next moment you tell that it's very good.So which one is it overall now ?

 



If you would take a proper look at my opening post to this thread, i said this... "Previously i had an average opinion of the FiiO E17K, but then after doing side-by-side A/B tests with the JDS for several hours replaying exactly the same parts of each song with intense listening over and over and over, i was having a very hard time finding any differences."

But to answer you question directly, the E17K DAC is proving to be very competent and high-quality. Previously i had no other DAC to compare it with, so i was single-minded about it, but now, a lot of people know how neutral and good the JDS is, so i am forced to tame my former criticisms and accept the facts of what i am hearing when comparing to the JDS, they are almost identical.

 

[Dany1]

Well that's pretty good news to me then 

  

 

[GridIroN]

So with the new E17K release, does it EOL the E18?

 



What does EOL mean?????????????????????????????????????????? Sheesh! All these acronyms, we're not mind-readers man, don't be lazy, the whole world doesn't know every sms fast talk for acronyms!! Type out the full words and explain yourself please. Thankyou!

EOL is a pretty widely known accronym in most industries for "end of life", ie " obsolete"...

 

[mpc8240]

Much needed info for my purchase decision. Thx!

 

[mpc8240]

What headphones are you using?
C5D got low output impedance of 0.62 ohms, as compared to E17k's 1.1 ohms. Thus one advantage of C5D is able to drive more headphones, at the expense of already shorter battery life of course.

 

[Digital7]

Well that's pretty good news to me then 

  




Sorry, i got it wrong; i did many more tests and the E17K sounds like spew. Warm, narrow, no air, and just quite dark. The C5D blows it away.

 

[mpc8240]

Well that's pretty good news to me then 

  




Sorry, i got it wrong; i did many more tests and the E17K sounds like spew. Warm, narrow, no air, and just quite dark. The C5D blows it away.

Kidding or serious? Now I am confused.

 

[Digital7]

Kidding or serious? Now I am confused.

I prefer the C5D. It's pure clarity and totally natural with more than adequate soundstage. The FiiO has some ways to go. On it's own the FiiO sounds nice, but then directly back to the C5D and the difference is apparent. 
The FiiO has a definite warm sonic signature, and it lacks 'air' in the top-end (possibly due to this warmth), and the treble is shrouded somewhat. It does lack a bit of overall detail too in comparison to the C5D.

 

[Toshiro 17]

So... the C5D is better than the E17K?
or the other way around??

 

[ayaflo]

Wow @Digital7 ! This is one of the most confusing threads I have come across. I just got myself an E17k and your impressions don't really shed much light in comparison to C5D