[IceTea]

Just got the e10k at a really good price, and am pairing it with a fiio e12 as the amplifier with AKG K612s, but personally i'm not hearing that much of a difference from my laptop. Why is that so?

 

[arcwindz]

Just got the e10k at a really good price, and am pairing it with a fiio e12 as the amplifier with AKG K612s, but personally i'm not hearing that much of a difference from my laptop. Why is that so?

It might be that your laptop sound card is good enough, but try to listen with that setup for several days or a week and get back to your laptop.

 

[wigglepuff]

try listening to less noisy type of music, and with more instrumentals. then get back to your laptop.

 

[bigpook]

  Just got the e10k at a really good price, and am pairing it with a fiio e12 as the amplifier with AKG K612s, but personally i'm not hearing that much of a difference from my laptop. Why is that so?

Similar experience. My pc motherboard is using a VIA VT2020 for audio. I picked up a pair of grado sr80e a month or so ago and was quite happy with the sound coming off of my motherboard. I will spare you the gory details but I ended up with a Fiio e10k. The selling point was that it was a DAC and an amp. I was thinking I will bypass the motherboard codec altogether. 
At first, I really couldn't hear a difference. For some reason I was expecting the difference in sound quality to be noticeable. It simply was not.
 
I then picked up a bravo ocean tube amp and used the line out of the Fiio e10k to drive it. That made a difference. The tube made the sound warmer and not as harsh, the grado's were kind of killing it on the treble. 
I kept the Fiio e10k and use it now to drive my M-audio av40's. Do I really need it? not really.
 
Like another poster said, you may have good audio coming out of your laptop. What codec does it have? What OS are you running? What laptop is it?

 

[wigglepuff]

if you have a high end up to date laptop then there is really no reason to get the e10k. it will only benefit those with really old systems and those suffering from emi and static noise.

 

[twister6]

  if you have a high end up to date laptop then there is really no reason to get the e10k. it will only benefit those with really old systems and those suffering from emi and static noise.

 
I'm a strong believer of taking audio interface out of the laptop/tablet/smartphone - process analog part of it external to any electronics that wasn't designed for audio application.  Static, emi, high noise floor, etc. - it's all poor filtering of the power supplies, poor layouts/isolation of the components, noise coupling through the ground, and so on.  Even new laptops try to enhance the sound for listening experience.  E10k is just amazing; I personally prefer it over E18 and A200p.  It's not a jack of all trades, but definitely a master one!

 

[IceTea]

Using Asus A45V, it says with Asus Sonicmaster (audio) Technology.

Tbh i was expecting a significant difference, esp with the fiio e12 as the amp

 

[jeg18]

I bought this basically to use with my Athm50's on my imac. I am amazed how much better my itunes library sounds with this inexpensive little device. I like moderate full not very heavy bass and was am concerned if my settings can blow this DAC or overload it.
I keep the bass on, the dial at 6, gain on h. I do raise and lower volume generally on the computer keyboard.
Should I worry about boosting volume beyond 6 to avoid distortion and better to use keyboard? Does it make a difference as to sound quality if I use keyboard or amp? I notice really better detail and atmosphere since I started with the10k last week and a happy buyer considering that the imac sounded OK with the headphones but considerably better now and more enjoyable.
Bear in mind I use the ATHm50's...as a matter of fact, I have 2 pairs but am concerned with my settings optimized with these headphones. Any suggestions for me?

My 2nd question is what devices are generally used with Coaxial out and I am assuming the Line Out is there if I want to hook this into my receiver and Oppo?
Thanks for your patience being new to these devices.

 

[arcwindz]

Using Asus A45V, it says with Asus Sonicmaster (audio) Technology.

Tbh i was expecting a significant difference, esp with the fiio e12 as the amp

Btw, what's your headphone or playback devices?

 

[IceTea]

Just itunes or videos into the fiio e10k with fiio e12, into AKG K612 headphones

 

[Pensel]

Any idea if it may work with smartphones/tablet? That is, the unit is powered by the phone/tablet.

 

[twister6]

  Any idea if it may work with smartphones/tablet? That is, the unit is powered by the phone/tablet.

 
Not enough juice from phone/tablet jack, need to power it up externally using a splitter and external power supply.  Too much hassle, might as well get E18.

 

[JAMEZTHEBOI]

This weekend I received my Fiio E10k and the improvement from onboard laptop audio was pure bliss. The soundstage opened up ever so slightly. It also added certain airiness to the sound which I could hear from vocals and cymbals. They seemed to ring off or decay into the distance. The bass tightened up immensely. I can safely say that this tiny DAC/Amp is wayyy more neutral than my onboard audio. The treble is extremely defined now. I know there are DACs and Amps that are better than these at higher prices but the change I witnessed from this little metal box is mind blowing. I am never going back to onboard unless it can beat this little gem. The amp is also powerful to the point of ear damaging on high gain with Creative Aurvana Live! 2 rated at 32 ohms  

 

[Cromani]

Received my E10k today, and it's great!

I couldn't notice any channel imbalance issue on low volume.
For my super sensitive 32 Ohm headphones, I need to adjust volume to something between 0 and 1 (on a scale from 0 and 8) to get a normal listening volume. Even so I could not hear any imbalance. Great work, Fiio!

 

[Gagarin]

for those who have both e17 and e10k- which do you prefer?
 
I want to know whether to replace my 2 year old E17 which has a dying LCD lol.