Fiio Q1 vs Fiio K1 vs Fiio E10K

[gamerstarwars]

I'm looking into buying a DAC for use with a Sennheiser hd8 and have noticed that the Fiio Q1, Fiio K1 and Fiio E10K have good ratings on Amazon but I can't tell what the difference is. Which is better? Why?

[SSL]

Oh lord...why Fiio, why.

 

The Q1 is a mobile amp, the K1 is a dongle DAC and amp, and the E10K is a desktop DAC amp.

 

Get the Q1 if you'll spend significant time with a phone on the go, get the K1 if you'll spend significant time with a laptop on the go, get the E10K if you're spending all your time at a desktop machine.

 

The most significant difference between the K1 and E10K is the physical volume knob on the latter, which is  nice to have.

[gamerstarwars]

1 minute ago, SSL said:

Oh lord...why Fiio, why.

 

The Q1 is a mobile amp, the K1 is a dongle DAC and amp, and the E10K is a desktop DAC amp.

 

Get the Q1 if you'll spend significant time with a phone on the go, get the K1 if you'll spend significant time with a laptop on the go, get the E10K if you're spending all your time at a desktop machine.

 

The most significant difference between the K1 and E10K is the physical volume knob on the latter, which is  nice to have.

I will be spending my time with a laptop on the go. But you seem to not like Fiio very much, is there another brand/model of DAC and amp you recommend?

[Guest Kloaked]

In my opinion the K1 isn't even worth having for what it does.

 

The Q1 is a portable, battery powered amp/dac. The E10k is USB powered, so it's meant to be used at your desk. Pick one of those -- The E10k is out of stock on Amazon US from what I'm seeing.

 

Another opinion of mine, if you're wanting a dac/amp combo and not wanting to spend a whole lot, the Schiit Fulla does the job as well. (Mostly) all-American made goodness -- that is unless you need something more powerful?

[gamerstarwars]

6 minutes ago, Kloaked said:

In my opinion the K1 isn't even worth having for what it does.

 

The Q1 is a portable, battery powered amp/dac. The E10k is USB powered, so it's meant to be used at your desk. Pick one of those -- The E10k is out of stock on Amazon US from what I'm seeing.

 

Another opinion of mine, if you're wanting a dac/amp combo and not wanting to spend a whole lot, the Schiit Fulla does the job as well. (Mostly) all-American made goodness -- that is unless you need something more powerful?

I don't think I need something more powerful than the E10K (it is on stock on Amazon actually, http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LP3AMC2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_4&smid=A364KLI3BZY8MZ), the impedance on the hd8 isn't that high. But out of curiosity, if I had a headphone with an impedance like the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Premium 600 ohm headphones (http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0024NK34O?colid=17LKLXCDRMXMN&coliid=I2CX04D7BRLDC3&psc=1&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pd_S_ttl), what DAC and amp would be recommended?

[Guest Kloaked]

1 minute ago, gamerstarwars said:

I don't think I need something more powerful than the E10K (it is on stock on Amazon actually, http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LP3AMC2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_4&smid=A364KLI3BZY8MZ), the impedance on the hd8 isn't that high. But out of curiosity, if I had a headphone with an impedance like the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Premium 600 ohm headphones (http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0024NK34O?colid=17LKLXCDRMXMN&coliid=I2CX04D7BRLDC3&psc=1&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pd_S_ttl), what DAC and amp would be recommended?

I wouldn't pay that for the amp/dac, personally. Whenever I bought my E10 it was around $70 new from Amazon. I say out of stock because usually Amazon themselves has a better price -- that one is coming from a different vendor.

 

Just my $0.02

 

I don't think the E10k will drive those headphones properly, but I'm not experienced with those kind of headphones so I can't say for sure.