[HesterDW]

Quote:

This thread was all I needed to decide to get the E7. I abandoned my M50 for my Pro700MK2, which doesn't run as well from an iPod as well as M50's do, IMO. My soundcard is also complete crap, so this should be fun~

Would be great to see how those sound, although its too bad you cant compare them to the M50 with E7.
 
 

 

[dachness]

 
How much of an improvement did the E7 provide for the iPhone compared to the headphone out? I am assuming you are using a LOD? I have an iPhone4 and am considering getting an amp to drive my M50(DAC would not be used in this case, which seems to provide the most improvement).
 
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I have the M50 with the E7/E9 combo through Foobar and I have to say it sounds fantastic. Just very clear full sound.
The M50 by itself on an iphone I found a bit bright. With the E7 on the iphone I found it a tad too warm for my liking but the E7 with the E9 through by PC just sounds so much better.
 
I think it's a great system that I often just close my eyes and enjoy the music on.
 
 

 

 

[sinphase]

i have the m50's right now, i'm interested in buying the e7, is the e9 a must have with the e7?

 

[firev1]

I have a iphone which is my portable, otherwise its my pc with a usb DAC from creative. I got the e11 recently which mind you is cheaper then the e7. Also using a pair of m50's. Line out to the e11 is a great improvement over the i**** i have on the high gain setting especially. It brings out the detail in the music(dunno how to describe since I'm not really audiophile) and has better soundstage then what the iphone can give. 
 
If you want to buy the e7, it is best to pair with the e9 as the e7 is a usb DAC AND amp which means that the amp section is not so good with the m50s'. Not too sure but i have heard people say that though e9 is good, the e7 cockblocks it's sound potential somewhat. I would consider waiting for Fiio's new models which would be coming out soon.

 

[dachness]

Quote:

I have a iphone which is my portable, otherwise its my pc with a usb DAC from creative. I got the e11 recently which mind you is cheaper then the e7. Also using a pair of m50's. Line out to the e11 is a great improvement over the i**** i have on the high gain setting especially. It brings out the detail in the music(dunno how to describe since I'm not really audiophile) and has better soundstage then what the iphone can give. 
 
If you want to buy the e7, it is best to pair with the e9 as the e7 is a usb DAC AND amp which means that the amp section is not so good with the m50s'. Not too sure but i have heard people say that though e9 is good, the e7 cockblocks it's sound potential somewhat. I would consider waiting for Fiio's new models which would be coming out soon.

Which iphone do you have? Also which LOD are you using? For mobile use, do you find the improvement significant enough to deal with carrying the amp?
 
I also wonder how an E6 would drive an M50 as it is suppose to be an improvement over the E7 amp.
 
 

 

[firev1]

I'm using an Iphone 3 with the fiio L9 LOD. Yes the improvement is significant enough for me to carry it along with me, it definitely gives a better soundstage than whatever the iphone's inbuilt amp can give.
 
Today I auditioned a pair of Feels Pro 900 along with the E6 in Jaben's today and promptly surrendered my wallet to the cashier. Safe to say, I find the E11 to surpass the E6 by quite a margin in terms of clarity, details heard in the E11 is somewhat lost or subdued in the E6. That being said for its price, it drives the m50s pretty well, just not as well as what an e11 would, I love the high gain setting on the e11 to bits. The E6 bass boost option is not to my taste as it muddies the sound however the EQ2(blue light) and EQ3(red+blue) are excellent options. 
 
As for the question on portability, Audio Technica gave me a cool slingbag with a headphone carrying strap so it was never an issue, typing stuff is a pain though.
 
.

 

[theNABILcompany]

I thought when plugging in an iDevice with LOD to the E7 it bypasses both the DAC and Amplifier segment of the device and acts strictly as a source and the conversion and amplification is then handled by the E7, no?

 

[SanjiWatsuki]

No, you're bypassing purely the amplifier. The LOD still runs it through the DAC of the iPod.
 
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I thought when plugging in an iDevice with LOD to the E7 it bypasses both the DAC and Amplifier segment of the device and acts strictly as a source and the conversion and amplification is then handled by the E7, no?

 
 

 

[DarkAudit]

Quote:

No, you're bypassing purely the amplifier. The LOD still runs it through the DAC of the iPod.
 


 
 

So what you're saying is if my source device is an iPod or iPhone, I'm not getting any benefit from the DAC of the E7?
 

 

[SanjiWatsuki]

Quote:

So what you're saying is if my source device is an iPod or iPhone, I'm not getting any benefit from the DAC of the E7?
 

Not from the DAC aspect. You're certainly getting the amp part, though. This is why the Fiio iPod LOD terminates to a 3.5mm analog audio cable. It's already been converted to analog by the iPod and can then be plugged into any amp.
 
Edit: The good news is that the iPod and iPhones traditionally use a Wolfson DAC, very similar to the Wolfson DAC in the E7. They normally pack a very capable DAC.

 

[DarkAudit]

Quote:

Not from the DAC aspect. You're certainly getting the amp part, though. This is why the Fiio iPod LOD terminates to a 3.5mm analog audio cable. It's already been converted to analog by the iPod and can then be plugged into any amp.
 
Edit: The good news is that the iPod and iPhones traditionally use a Wolfson DAC, very similar to the Wolfson DAC in the E7. They normally pack a very capable DAC.

So if I wanted to one-stop-shop so to speak while the budget only allows for one new amp, the E7 would be okay for both iPhone and computer? Is the E7 enough of an upgrade from the E6 just from the amp side?

 

[SanjiWatsuki]

The E7 actually is a very, very minor upgrade from the amp side. The amp equipment is actually the exact same between the E6 and E7 (you can verify this by either looking up the parts, or alternatively just looking at how much power Fiio says they can put out -- it's exactly the same). The only thing is that the E7 has a bigger container and its a little more resistant to things like interference from the electrical circuit, but it's very minor.
 
The E7 really has one big use and that is to be a USB DAC. It's, in my opinion, too bulky to be a good portable suggestion and also a bit expensive for being a budget USB DAC. With the two together it's a decent value, but I wouldn't call the amp portion enough of an upgrade from the E6.
 
If your budget only allowed for one new amp, though, in that sense it would be okay for both iPhone and computer.  If it were me personally, I'd pick up a budget DAC with good measurements like a Creative X-Fi Go or a Behringer UCA202 and package it with a Fiio E6, because the E6 will be much more portable and have the same amping power. 
 
Quote:

So if I wanted to one-stop-shop so to speak while the budget only allows for one new amp, the E7 would be okay for both iPhone and computer? Is the E7 enough of an upgrade from the E6 just from the amp side?

 

 

[theNABILcompany]

Quote:

No, you're bypassing purely the amplifier. The LOD still runs it through the DAC of the iPod.
 


 
 

Well I'll be a monkey's uncle. Thanks for the clarification friend. I do know my current cans sound a lot better with the amplified sound from the E7 as opposed to straight from the iPod but I still cant decide on the portable I should get. Deciding between the M50s this thread is about vs the Sony MDR-ZX700s, which would sound better on the go with the E7 folks? For portability, the shorter straight cable from the ZX700s is winning right now and as far as folding it wont be a huge issue I'd probably just wear them around my neck or put them in a backpack folded/not folded wont matter as long as they are durable enough. What say you friends??
 

 

[omerbu1]

how is the ATH-M50 with Cowon C2 and an Fiio E11?

 

[Coq de Combat]

Quote:

how is the ATH-M50 with Cowon C2 and an Fiio E11?

I have J3 and a Fiio E11, and the M50 worked really well with them. The M50 worked quite well with the J3 only, but it did improve with the E11.