[Roller]

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Just ordered the E9K, will be here tomorrow.
 
This has been a long and confusing road, more so than any other hobby I've dabbled in. But I think it's all coming together, and will be worth it in the end. And this is all still "entry level" stuff lol. I'm hoping after I get this E9K maybe I can just sit back and enjoy what I have for a bit lol.

 
The important part is for you to get your intended setup, report back on your findings and enjoy listening to your new setup rather than coming here, which inevitably leads to you being struck by "upgraditis"

 

[c00lkatz]

Quote:

 
The important part is for you to get your intended setup, report back on your findings and enjoy listening to your new setup rather than coming here, which inevitably leads to you being struck by "upgraditis"

Lol very true. I've been bitten by "the upgrade bug" more than once and in more than one hobby. Though, I must say I am leaps and bounds further than when I first started here. I'm like a kid on Christmas again lol. I can't wait to get the E9K set up with the E17 and DT990's and be able to A/B that with my onboard and RX900's. I may have spent about 9 times what I intended (that's how it usually goes with me anyway), but being able to demo one extreme to the other will make it all worth it. Just gotta weed through all the reviews, personal opinions, conflicting information, separate fact from fiction, and find the right gear for you, just like any other hobby.
 
I'll report back with my impressions hopefully tomorrow.

 

[c00lkatz]

Amp gets things louder and it does seem to fill out better. Either way I like the docking capability and the other inputs were nifty, especially for comparing my onboard laptop audio and LG G2x headphone out to the E17 via the AUX toggle switch. The phone and E17 sounded similar, but the onboard was a bit worse. It wasn't huge, but definitely noticeable (narrower soundstage, looser bass, etc).
 
The amp itself gets the job done, and looks nice sitting on my desk. I did go back and test out the DT770 Pro 80 again at Guitar Center. The bass was most definitely more prominent and punchier than the DT990. But the DT990's soundstage and separation was far superior, and the DT990 was just an overall better sound in general. But man those DT770's could hit with some bass EQ'd in on that E17. I was able to get the DT990's close enough that I don't think it warranted the extra money, though. I am happy with them overall now that I've had a chance to A/B them with the DT770's.
 
Final setup: Fiio E17, Fiio E09K, and DT990 Pro 250. With this setup tested against my modded RX900 and onboard audio, the difference is awesome.
 
Some final pics (sorry for the pic quality...I'm no photographer and this was on my phone):
 

 

 

 

[Schonen]

EMU is my choice. Their driver works fine in Win8 64bit too.
 
http://www.creative.com/emu/products/usbinterfaces/