FiiO E9 Desktop Headphone Amplifier and Dock for E7 USB DAC

I first purchased this amplifier to go along with my E7 portable Amp/DAC (also by FiiO - it 'docks' into this amp to provide a DAC). I'd just purchased a pair of Sennheiser HD 650s, and they benefit greatly from amplification. The E7/E9 combo works quite well for mid-level headphones like the Sennheiser HD 650, but to really get the most out of this amplifier, you need to pair it with a better DAC. FiiO is coming out with the E11 soon, and although I'm not sure if it pairs with this amp, it would be foolish of FiiO not to build it into the E11.Headphones in the 'Mid-Fi' range frequently REQUIRE amplification to sound their best, and the HD 650 is no different. Unamped out out of my iMac, they sound alright, but the sound is thin, and the bass lacks presence - the mid-range is also recessed. With the E7/E9 combo, the sound fills out a great deal more - but the mids are still recessed. I had thought it was a weakness of the HD 650s or of the amplifier itself ($130 for an amplifier is an AMAZING deal - so I'd expected some trade-offs). In preparation for an upgraded amp and better headphones, I purchased the HRT Music Streamer II+ (also from Amazon). I paired it with the E9 using a relatively cheap RCA to Mini-jack cable.Wow! The HRT MSII+ really corrects any weaknesses in the sound from the E7/E9 combo and shows me that the thin mids were more a weakness of the E7 DAC and not the E9 amplifier itself. There is still some sibilance at the upper ranges, but that could be due to any number of weaknesses in the chain (low bitrate mp3s exhibit it the most, poor production makes it worse - a lot of modern pop-music is mastered very 'bright' or treble-happy in order to overcome the limits of bad stereo products). Keep in mind that the HRT MS II+ is a $350 product - so it should be no surprise it beats the lowly $99 E7.I wholeheartedly recommend this amp! It's a steal, and it can grow with the rest of your chain until you're ready to try tube amps, Solid-State/Tube hybrids, or just flat out need more power (for some demanding dynamic headphones or 'planar magnetic' headphones). For the price, it's a must-buy.

I bought this strictly to power my headphones for my desk top. My sound card was not up to the task. $91 seemed a fair price for the components inside this amplifier in the description. I read a bunch of reviews and the "sound" comments were generally good. I will also state this; this is a decent sounding headphone amp. My problem is they put in a cheap volume/power pot.I have used it rarely in the year I have owned this. I'd say it started getting noisy after 30 times going off and on. That makes me mad as it doesn't fall under Amazon's warranty period.Expected more out of this unit. I wouldn't buy it again and I'm not dealing with the dock incompatibilities that others are..

I'm happy with the E9. (Not anymore. See edit at bottom)My source is my iMac playing lossless and 320mbps AAC files, sent out through USB to the E9 with the E7 docked, acting as the DAC.I initially just wanted a place to put my E7 when I come home from work at night. The E9 is a convenient charging cradle for the E7 and the 1/4 inch jack is a bonus, as my home headphones (Sennheiser HD558's) have a 1/4" jack. But I didn't think my Sennheiser's actually needed more headroom than the E7 by itself already provides.And I can't really tell that the sound from these headphones is improved by addding in the E9... I *think* the bass may be a little punchier but it's subtle. The sound from the combo in general is fantastic.Regardless, the sound is in no way diminished from adding the E9 to the E7 already in use, it may be better, but what is definitely better is the convenience of having a permanent headphone "station" on my desk, one that also charges my E7. And the analog volume knob on the E9 is also very helpful. The construction is solid and reassuing with one caveat...The 3.5 mm socket is as flaky as you've heard. Jiggle the cord a little and the sound gets staticky or cuts out. You should be using the well-made 1/4" anyway, with an adaptor if necessary. Fiio put a resistor on the 3.5 mm socket which raises its impedance to unacceptable levels (30 ohms, I hear), damaging fidelity. Even the 1/4" at 10 ohms is probably too high, though with my 50 ohm Sennheisers I can't tell... they sound great.) So when buying this, just assume you are buying an amp with only one 1/4" jack and treat the 3.5 mm jack as if it doesn't even exist.If you can get past this defect, and you should be able to, given the great price/performance ratio, go for it.EDIT: after owning this for a few weeks, the E7 no longer docks correctly with the E9. The E7 will still charge in the cradle, but the USB can't get a lock unless you jiggle the E7 around in its cradle for awhile. Essentially, the cradle dock is cheap crap, poorly designed. I guess that's what I get for trying to cut corners and be miserly. Now I have to buy a real headphoine amp and although I could send this back and get a replacement piece of crap, it's still going to be crap.I can't recommend this product unless you like to take your chances with poorly made toys.

Cet ampli qui est compatible E7/E17, et que j'ai commencé par tester avec un Sennheiser HD598 (qui n'est pas un casque adapté pour cet ampli et qui donne une réponse différente selon la prise jack sur laquelle on branche le casque) avant de le brancher définitivement sur un Sennheiser HD650.L'explication est assez étonnante et j'ai fini par trouver la réponse en lisant le test publié dans nwavguy.blogspot. Ce test qui analyse les caractéristiques techniques de cet appareil montre une impédance de sortie de 10 Ohms si on utilise la prise jack 1/4" et 43 Ohms si on utilise la prise jack 3,5mm. Et comme l'impédance du casque, comme de l'ampli, varie avec la fréquence, le rendu varie selon la prise jack utilisée, ce qui explique pourquoi le casque Sennheiser HD598 (dont l'impédance moyenne est de 50 Ohms) n'est pas adapté pour cet ampli, surtout si on le branche sur la petite prise jack.D'ailleurs, le fabricant l'a bien compris et a supprimé la petite prise jack dans la version suivante E9K.Une fois que vous avez compris qu'il faut oublier la petite prise jack et qu'il faut choisir un casque à haute impédance (supérieure à 150 Ohms), vous êtes dans le cas d'une utilisation normale de cet ampli dont le taux de distorsion est très très bas (autour de 0,005%).Avec le  Sennheiser HD650 casque ouvert hifi  et un  E17 (ALPEN) USB DAC Ampli casque [192k/24bit (SPDIF) ], ce type d'ampli est capable de sortir un niveau de signal montant jusqu'à 20V (crète/crète selon le test cité), sans distorsion. C'est à dire qu'il sera capable de sortir les pointes de puissance que le E17 n'est pas capable de faire seul. D'autre part, il supprime le problème d'autonomie de batterie du E17 à qui il sert d'alimentation tout en utilisant le DAC.Ceux qui voudront en savoir plus iront lire ce test (en anglais) du E9 agrémenté de nombreux résultats de mesure. Sennheiser HD650 casque ouvert hifiE17 (ALPEN) USB DAC Ampli casque [192k/24bit (SPDIF)

Ich hab's leider erst kapiert als ich ihn angeschlossen habe: die USB Buchse in der Rückseite wird lediglich zum Dock connector durchgeschleift.Das heisst, ohne das Zusatzgerät E7 kann man nur die Klinkenbuchse (analog in) verwenden.Schade schade, ansonsten gefällt mir das E9 (für den Preis) echt gut. Ordentliche Materialien und ein Drehregler der sich richtig gut anfühlt (die Buchsen sind teilweise etwas schief montiert, aber für den Preis noch ok).Genug power für meine etwas schwierigen Kopfhörer; Klang gefällt; das Einschaltknacken ist bei mir sehr dezent.Mit E7 (insgesamt 170) würde er machen was er soll, das ist mir aber zu frickelig. Vielleicht baut Fiio ja mal ein integriertes, sauberes Kistchen mit USB in und externer Stromzufuhr (die USB-powered Lösungen sind allesamt ziemlich schwach auf der Brust).

I ordered this product to go with the E7 which I already owned alongside my Grado SR125i phones. This really is a remarkable product for the money, which significantly enhanced the E7, and is a must I think for people who are running half decent headphones that can at times have a bright top end. The E7 is detailed and neutral, but the E9 adds what I can only describe as a robustness and fullness to the sound which further brings out the detail and adds separation to the music. I'm now hearing subtle aspects of the music which were previously hidden. It also feels as if there is a significant amount of power in reserve and I have now doubt that it will power difficult to drive phones with ease. The music as a result becomes tighter with attacks in the music being quicker . I think that this product would be of value at twice the price. I'm no audiophile but have owned some quite expensive kit in the past and this E9/E7 combo is as good in my opinion. Its a bit like wine - you hit the law of diminishing returns and will end up have to spending a fair bit more money to get marginal results. This is dependant on how good your source and phones are, obviously. Overall the unit is very well made with nice brushed aluminium panels and feels appropriately weighty for its size. The negatives are few for this price point. The volume knob is a bit too large, but does look nice. There is no RCA input to hook up a CD player directly but you could use a 3.5mm adapter here. The only other point I would make is that using a line out from an MP3 player to the E9 makes a big difference compared to using a 3.5mm to 3.5m connection from the headphone socket on the mp3 player to the E9. Fiio do them for sony and apple. Thats about it. I would be the first to admit if the E9 did not add anything substantial to the E7, and to tell people to save their cash. However, I genuinely feel it does.

Venden producto UK con adaptador de corriente de UK en vez del Español. NO se puede usar el aparato si no se tiene conversor de clavijas. No se informa de esto en ningún punto del producto.

L'ho acquistato insieme al DAC FiiO E7, abbinato a delle Sennheiser HD 598.Con una cifra tutto sommato modesta credo sia difficile ottenere risultati migliori.Tanta potenza e dettaglio