[Lan647]

If only they keep the 3 level bass boost functionality. 

 

[chrisbrock]

Quote:

If only they keep the 3 level bass boost functionality. 

It would be awsome if the E17 allowed you to use the bass boast!! 
 
Ultimately what I would like to see is 1 integrated box with dac and amp combined, with the digital display on the front, with the bass boast feature, and with fully rollable opamps simular to what iBasso has done with many of the their amps.  I know that combo of features would likely be more expensive but man that would be a killer setup and I bet Fiio could deliver it for an awesome price non the less. 

 

[Riku540]

We have a thread for E17 discussion...
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/536552/fiio-e17-speculations

 

[jeffreyfranz]

Quote:

700 hours on K701. Oh my.Yes. K701 are crazy phones. In fact, my K701 is already 1 year in me. I assume it got near 700 hours too. Sometimes its hard to put K701 on my ears when only amp by a porta amplifier. It is just now that I really like my K701. A fully burn K701 and a fully burn E9 is better. I'm happy about your story jeffrey. But I think we need some more powerful amps in the future. Let's face it!

 

Yes, ideally phones like these would have a high-current, Class A amp like my Pass Aleph 60 mono amps, or a well designed and beefy tube unit that can really drive 50-60-Ohm cans. There already are such things, but they usually cost big $. 

 In my living room I have a hideously expensive system with Quad 989 electrostatics, BAT VK-120 mono tube amps, Vandersteen subwoofers (a stereo pair), the Aesthetix dual-mono tube preamp, etc. It sounds wonderful, but I would rather have the money back. The reason I got interested in headphones is because I am sick of high-end audio, the extravagance and excess. For me, with 'phones I do not want to get back into the sick cycle of ever escalating purchases, FOTM syndrome, nothing-is-ever-good-enough, etc. I think that, with headphones, it is possible to have quite nice sound at moderate expense and without going crazy. 

 Cheers. 
 

 

[VALIENTE]

Quote:

I have a hideously expensive system with Quad 989 electrostatics, BAT VK-120 mono tube amps, Vandersteen subwoofers (a stereo pair), the Aesthetix dual-mono tube preamp, etc. It sounds wonderful, but I would rather have the money back. The reason I got interested in headphones is because I am sick of high-end audio,

Our thank you to Fiio for creating a cheap but nice product. Oh my. You have Quad 989 but you are frustrated. I think you must not. You have one of the best speakers. I understand your experience. It seems that you devote much of yourself conquest the high end instead of enjoying the music. Sometimes it also comes to my mind too. What am I doing to myself, I must enjoy my Fiio E9 plus K701 plus my music-the most important part of the business. With your own story, I better concentrate on cheap but nice products like Fiio plus enjoy the infinite music in my ears than use my brain to imagine and capture the high-end. Jeffrey thank you for your nice simple but enlightening story. You're sick with high-end audio. Oh my.

Cheers to Fiio!

 

 

[JamesFiiO]

"nothing-is-ever-good-enough",  Great conclusion! take more time in music but not device. of course, it is also a pleasure for lots of people who enjoy in hardware。
 
They are happy to try all kind of audio device and enjoy in this. the same as other fans, Car, DC, Mobile Phone, PC, and even Gun！

 

[imackler]

Sorry if this has been mentioned by anyone...
 
From what I've read, I can't see any reason why the E9 wouldn't be great for the ER4S. They sound like they're neutral, won't color the sound and give the added oomph I need. Also they would be great for any future full size headphone use.
 
The only two downsides I see is that it doesn't have a DAC (but I don't need one right now) and its not portable. But really, I'd only be bringing it home from the office on the weekends...
 
Someone help me if I'm wrong, or if there is a better option out there for anywhere near this price range!
 
Also, will this be compatible with the E11 that is coming out?
 
Thanks all!

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Umm the E9 and E11 are both amps. Compatibility? You shouldn't wanna pair up an amp with another amp... unless you're referring to the E17, which is a dac/amp and still a ways off.

 

[imackler]

Quote:

Umm the E9 and E11 are both amps. Compatibility? You shouldn't wanna pair up an amp with another amp... unless you're referring to the E17, which is a dac/amp and still a ways off.

Doh... I guess I forgot the E11 is just an amp, not a DAC.
 
Do you expect the E11 to be as uncolored as the E9? I'd be happy if it were more portable but mostly I want uncolored!

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I'm not sure, but I'm hoping its like a mini-E9 with EQ settings. I, like you, don't wanna color my sound unless its a subtle eq. Something I can directly control.

I think Fiio should really add some treble boost/treble reducer eq settings. The DT990 could use that.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Just noticed with my D7000 that the low and high gain switch definitely sounds a little different at similar volume levels.
 
Low Gain sounds more balanced. The bass is more subdued in low gain, and the highs aren't as sparkly, but everything has a sense of uniformity. Just slightly less exciting than high gain.
 
High Gain sounds more dynamic. The bass is more impactful than low gain, and tighter. The highs seems to have a slight bit more emphasis. If I found a headphone to be edgy, I'd use the low gain option on the E9.
 
The differences are within the range of 5%. It's incredibly subtle, but pay attention and you will notice them.
 
Anyone else care to compare the difference with their headphones?

 

[Hawkinsman07]

I should be receiving my E9 tomorrow pending the University mail system.
 
I am trying to get a review started of all of my gear. Q701, SR60, AKG K172 HD along with my E7 and tomorrow, E9. I think this should make all of em sing, maybe not so much with the '60.

 

 

[Geared4me]

My Pioneer HDJ-2000s definitely sound more dynamic with better highs through the high gain setting. Like you said, it may seem small at first but once you know what you are hearing it is easier to notice.

 
Quote:

Just noticed with my D7000 that the low and high gain switch definitely sounds a little different at similar volume levels.
 
Low Gain sounds more balanced. The bass is more subdued in low gain, and the highs aren't as sparkly, but everything has a sense of uniformity. Just slightly less exciting than high gain.
 
High Gain sounds more dynamic. The bass is more impactful than low gain, and tighter. The highs seems to have a slight bit more emphasis. If I found a headphone to be edgy, I'd use the low gain option on the E9.
 
The differences are within the range of 5%. It's incredibly subtle, but pay attention and you will notice them.
 
Anyone else care to compare the difference with their headphones?

 

 

[jeffreyfranz]

Friends:
Well, here I am at one week of listening to my new Fiio E9. It does an outstanding job of driving both my AKG K701 and Sennheiser HD 280. This is on the low gain setting, which I have listened to exclusively so far. The sound is clear and clean, with good dynamics. I would not call it lush or euphonic--it's definitely solid state. The K701 is my favorite of my limited number of cans. It is by far the most open and pristine vs. the somewhat muffled HD 280. On the other hand, the HD 280 has a smooth, soft and relaxing presentation, very easygoing. But overall, the sound is a bit slow for my taste. The K701 is a more high-end kind of sound, with good airiness when the recording contains it. The bass, ah, here it is: The K701 is, to my ear, slightly lacking from approximately 120 Hz on down. I would also like a touch more warmth and fullness in the midrange and lower mids. But otherwise, very nice combo here.
 
At the end of only one week of listening with my well broken-in phones, I think the E9 is a tremendous bargain. Would I rather have tubes? Sure. But at this price, I am quite pleased. More will be revealed? 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

This is from milosz's AMP A/B COMPARISON THREAD.  Thought you guys might really like to see it.
Quote:

Fourteenth A / B comparison:  Beta 22 & Fii0 E9  :: USING THE AUDIO-GD NFB-10ES AS THE SOURCE (instead of the earlier Cambridge DAC Magic)
 
THIS IS NOT A SCIENTIFIC TEST.
 
The Audio-Gd NFB-10ES uses a newer-generation, more sophisticated DAC, and it uses all discrete analog stages instead of IC op amps like the DAC Magic.  In addition, the Audio-Gd NFB-10ES uses "boutique" capacitors whilst the DAC Magic uses garden-variety electrolytics in it's signal path.  On top of this, the power supply for the Audio-Gd NFB-10ES is much larger, much more sophisticated and more tightly regulated / lower impedance than the "wall wart" that powers the DAC Magic.  PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT A COMPARISON OF THE TWO DACs.  That will come later, in another thread.
 
LCD-2: I heard a slight difference in bass, with the Beta 22 delivering more texture. Both amps had good bass extension.  Midrange was identical as far as I could hear. I could hear a minor difference in treble, but I am hard pressed to characterize it because the difference was so small.
 
HD800:  These headphones, with their treble emphasis, pointed up the high frequency differences of these two amps more clearly.  The FiiO had a more romantic sounding top end, while the Beta 22 was clinical.  The Beta had greater transparency and you could "hear through" to the original recording more- for good or ill.  On some recordings a more honest presentation helped me hear flaws in the recording.  On such recordings, any harshness present in the original material was clearly audible through the Beta 22 to the HD800s.  If the original recording was fine and sweet, then it sounded that way on the HD800's through the Beta. The FiiO had that small amount of romantic lushness.  Bass texture was also better with the beta 22 on the HD800s but this was not as noticeable as with the LCD-2's; HD800s just don't have the bass performance of the planar 'phones, and so the richer texture from the Beta doesn't stand out as much as with the LCD-2's.
 
I can't comment on the sound of the DAC Magic vs. the NFB-10ES, as I did not compare them directly; that will come later, in another thread.  I will say that with the DAC Magic I heard minor differences in the bass and treble between these two amps.  And now with the NFB-10ES I again heard minor differences between the amps.  Using a better DAC did not point out glaring differences between these amps.  I would be prepared to say that I MIGHT have heard a little more difference in the amps using th NFB-10ES as a source, but that it is really hard to say if that's real or something based on preconceptions.

 

 
Quote:

 


milosz
 

 
 
Again, milosz has proven to me what I have been saying all this time, minor differences in neutral amps, as long as the power supplied to the headphones is adequate. It's just common sense, sense that this thread has brought out to the light. $130 holding up against an amp cost 10x+ Lol. Watch the haters come out of the woodwork.
 
Though I'm gonna be the getting the Lyr soon, I knew the E9 was a beast of an amp.

 
Watch, next thing someone is gonna say: "You need a $2000 DAC to REALLY bring out the Beta22's potential!". As if the same thing couldn't be said if the E9. Lol. Hopefully this will put haters to rest, though we all know people wanna justify all that hard earned money going to such high priced equipment.
 
I have been saying it time and time again, people pay for an amp's own signature and how it synergizes with their headphones. When you take out coloration away from the equation (by neutral amps), then suddenly the differences just don't warrant such a huge price gap.
 
This is why I'll be getting the Lyr and trying to pair it up with the most neutral tubes I can afford, that way it feeds enough power with any headphone I can throw at it without really altering the sound of my headphones. I don't expect much of an improvement if any on my D7000, but will HOPE it does outclass the E9 with my soon to come HE-4 after I get the Lyr sometime soon.
 
I'm not a soundstage or 'spatial depth' nut. I just wanna hear the music. Even if the soundstage was as tight as most Grados, I wouldn't deem it inferior. I want crisp, clear quality first, everything else comes after.