FiiO E17 Headphone Amplifier and DAC [Overview/First Look + Video]

[dylandylandylan]

Hey guys!

 

I purchased the E17 back in December last year, and it only just arrived to me today, apparently the suppliers need a holiday over the Christmas/New years break

My reasoning behind purchasing this is was because my motherboard - while fine for general audio, no hissing, no pops etc, wouldn't drive my HD558s to the levels that I wanted it to go to, which is normally quite loud in my opinion. I also needed something portable to drive my headphones for my S2, also, to the levels that I wanted it to be.

 

I came across the E17 and after reading lots of reviews I decided to purchase it, it comes in a very sturdy package, with the E17 inside a pouch. When I first got the package, I wobbled it a little bit to see how tight the packaging was, and could feel things moving inside, but on further inspection it was just the various cables that come with it.

 

NOTE; I'm not an audiophile by any means, I just love all music, no matter the genre, I want to listen to it in perfect quality, how it's meant to be listened to

 

 

Upon opening the package I could see a pouch, presumably with the E17 inside it, a plastic bag, containing warranty information, instruction manual, rubber feet for the device, a rubber strap and another level. I lifted this level to find the cabling that comes with the package. The overall build quality of the cables aren't anything special, just feel like normal cables to me. I got a micro-usb->USB cable, an AUX patch cable, and a SPDIF cable. 

 

 

Inside the pouch was the E17 itself, and the first thing I thought when I held it was that it felt heavy, solid and well-built, the finish on the whole device looks immaculate, and just feels like it's quality made. The buttons don't feel feeble or weak, and have a nice feedback to them when pressed, the screen is perfect size for a portable device. A nice addition was the LED behind the power button, it glows - not brightly, but enough for you to know it's on. 

 

 

So, I plugged it in, and waited for it to charge up, the manual said that I should wait 3.5 hours for a complete charge, and that was right. I plugged my HD558s into this device, and opened up some nice tracks ranging from classic rock, like meatloaf, to newer bass heavy EDM songs. The volume levels were exactly what I wanted, I could crank the volume all the way up, without any loss of quality, I kept all the settings at normal and the gain at 0x. I haven't messed around with the EQ settings as of yet, but there is a bass adjustment, treble, and balance adjustments. I didn't notice any sound difference apart from volume levels between my on board audio and this device, which is perfect for me.

 

I feel like I can finally retire my old Technics Stereo amp that is more than twenty years old, and while it's still in immaculate condition, it's taking up too much of my precious space.

 

Thanks for checking out my overview guys, I'll do a follow up and an update when my friend comes over with higher powered headphones, and when I've used it with my smartphone while I'm out and about and I'll comment on battery life and portability

 

[lukeptba]

I purchased the E17 back in December last year, and it only just arrived to me today, apparently the suppliers need a holiday over the Christmas/New years break

My reasoning behind purchasing this is was because my motherboard - while fine for general audio, no hissing, no pops etc, wouldn't drive my HD558s to the levels that I wanted it to go to

I can understand the S2 not pushing the 558s fully, but the motherboard not doing so is odd, unless it's an older board. 

I'm not sure I would buy this for them, but if it works for you it's cool then.

What were the main differences/changes you noticed?

When I amped my 558's all I noticed was a lack of static when there was no other sounds signals coming through.

edit: Good review by the way.

[dylandylandylan]

I can understand the S2 not pushing the 558s fully, but the motherboard not doing so is odd, unless it's an older board. 

I'm not sure I would buy this for them, but if it works for you it's cool then.

What were the main differences/changes you noticed?

When I amped my 558's all I noticed was a lack of static when there was no other sounds signals coming through.

 

I tend to listen to music at a much higher level than anyone else I know really, it's not that much of an older board, it's an Asrock Z77 extreme 4. 

I haven't listened to this device long enough to notice any significant changes, but from my first impressions from switching from a 3.5mm hack -> RCA -> stereo amp with all conversion done on board, to a dedicated solution, just the slight hiss when changing volume on my amp, unsure if placebo, but the sound quality sounds much clearer too. Not clearer than the on board, but definitely clearer than my amp. 

 

The main difference is of course volume levels. I will update down the track, see if I notice a difference in movies, games etc,

[<boss2939>]

Do you think it is worth it I already have an xonar DG which already has an amp

[dylandylandylan]

Do you think it is worth it I already have an xonar DG which already has an amp

 

What headphones do you have?

 

The majority of the time, no. Especially if your solution is working fine, with no hissing or popping. 

[<boss2939>]

What headphones do you have?

The majority of the time, no. Especially if your solution is working fine, with no hissing or popping.

ok thanks and damn you replied in like 2 mins and its 4:55 am

[dylandylandylan]

ok thanks and damn you replied in like 2 mins and its 4:55 am

 

Haha it's 10.53pm here I tend to reply quickly to questions posed directly to me, + the LinusTechTips unofficial chrome add-on is amazing, shows me my notifications even if I'm in another window.

[MPX309]

I nearly bought one of these, but remembered I can't get music onto my phone (mass storage not working) . . . looks good though, thanks for the review

[Hecknologist]

You must like to listen to your music very loud, I use my z77 extreme4 onboard to power my 558s and can get them to almost unbearably loud. 

[dylandylandylan]

You must like to listen to your music very loud, I use my z77 extreme4 onboard to power my 558s and can get them to almost unbearably loud. 

 

It's also things like YouTube videos that don't go loud enough for my personal liking, but yes, I tend to listen to music pretty damned loud.