[bcasey25raptor]

hello everyone. my dear fellow head-fiers i am in need of assistance. i ordered a fiio e7 about 8 days ago and it should arrive tomorrow but there is a few things i want to clarify.
 
number 1
the fiio e7 is both a dac/external sound card and an amp. i bought it mainly for the dac but will the dac provide a big difference over say my ipod touch 2g 2009 edition mc model?
also what change will it offer towards my on board sound card other then erasing static i never notice anyways? i bought the fiio e7 because you guys said it was a worthwhile investment. now i am started to regret making the purchase. is it really that much of a difference? will it clear up the harshness from (supposedly) my ipod and soundcard that i have noticed on my shure srh840 headphones? i have heard many of you say the shure srh840 sound very smooth on the proper source but i just don't see how a little brick with audio input can make a difference. any help or answers would be appreciated.
 
number 2
the fiio e7 has a wolfson dac. wouldn't that mean it would sound like the 5.5 g ipod video? i haven't heard the ipod video but i have heard the ipod nano 1 and 2 g as well as the 2g shuffle. i just don't see how it will improve it over the ipod i have now and my conexant sound card. am i right to assume any of this?
 
keep in mind this is my first venture out of on board audio and into the dac world. i have a laptop so i couldn't just buy a sound card.
 
like i said though it will arrive tomorrow but i am curious as to what people say now. i will get back to you all on improvements when i get it.
 
thanks all and have a nice day.
 
 

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

the fiio e7 has a wolfson dac. wouldn't that mean it would sound like the 5.5 g ipod video?
 
 

I sincerely doubt it. Its about more than the silicon, even if Wolfson only made a single DAC chip.
 

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

I sincerely doubt it. Its about more than the silicon, even if Wolfson only made a single DAC chip.
 

will it be enough to fix the harshness or is that my cans? everyone tells me they are smooth which leads me to think it's my source.
 

 

[estreeter]

I've never heard your cans, but the impressions I have read of the E7 indicate a slight warmth from the DAC - you might get the result you are looking for. Unfortunately, there are no absolutes in audio : for many, its cheaper to just buy new cans.

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

I've never heard your cans, but the impressions I have read of the E7 indicate a slight warmth from the DAC - you might get the result you are looking for. Unfortunately, there are no absolutes in audio : for many, its cheaper to just buy new cans.

well i did get the alessandro ms1 as well but those won't come for a while do to the postal strike.
 
i just hope the difference in audio quality was worth the $113 i paid for the fiio e7.

 

[bcasey25raptor]

update: i received my fiio e7 today and first thing i noticed is it sounds much better. i will let you all know anything i notice after a while.

 

[bcasey25raptor]

ok every one false alarm. i regret this purchase. my on board sound sounds just as good if not better. seriously i am disappointed.

 

[07eclipsegt]

Interesting. I found there was a slight difference for me when using Shure SRH-840 or SE535s with my Macbook pro or using a LOD with iPod Classic vs the normal headphone jack on either. I am finding that if this is the difference with a $100 amp then I am hoping that a Arrow 4g would be even more improvement.

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

Interesting. I found there was a slight difference for me when using Shure SRH-840 or SE535s with my Macbook pro or using a LOD with iPod Classic vs the normal headphone jack on either. I am finding that if this is the difference with a $100 amp then I am hoping that a Arrow 4g would be even more improvement.

i have a toshiba satellite laptop with conexant onboard audio. it must be pretty amazing onboard then if it sounds better then my fiio e7.