FiiO Headphone Amps Portable DAC USB Type-C coaxial 384kHz/32bit (E10K-TC black)

Pleasantly surprised by this USB DAC/amp combo. I purchased it to drive a pair of Sennheiser HD555 headphones for music on my PC, which don't need a whole lot of amplification at 50 ohms, but come to life given ample power (and sound flat otherwise.) My goal was to get clean sound with minimal to no latency, and while the words "USB sound card of sorts" crossed my mind a few times, I'm glad to find no discernible lag added to sound output from this device. The sound is also very clean and well driven for these particular headphones, with plenty of room to grow. Using a system volume of ~99% and the amp on "low gain" setting, comfortably loud listening is obtained at "4" on the potentiometer (out of 8, 1 o'clock) but your results may vary based on the power needs of your headphones. Even when "maxing it out" (high gain, max volume) there is no noise transmitted through the circuitry, which is nice to (not) hear. This was with no playback, mind you! Works just fine plugging in and using default OS drivers in both Windows 7 x64 and OS X 10.4 El Capitan. No fuss in either case, and recognized as "E10K." Construction looks good, and has a nice solid metal feel to it. Contacts are all gold, and outside of the included flimsy micro USB cable, it exudes quality craftsmanship. Volume knob feels nice and has a suitable resistance to it. Gain and bass boost switches have a nice, solid click to them. Cannot comment on the alternate outputs (coaxial, auxiliary line out) because I have not used them, but do know that these are passthroughs that are not amplified -- only the front-facing headphone port is. Comes packaged with 6 small plastic feet that can be applied to the device wherever you wish. It is also small and light enough to be mounted just about anywhere (e.g. over/under a desk.) No real complaints to speak of; I'm not a fan of the bass boost function, but it's just icing on the cake to me. Be aware that this is not a stand-alone DAC/amp, and essentially acts as an external USB sound card. I've read of it working on rooted Android devices that can deliver enough power via their battery, but this is an edge case, and I otherwise wouldn't recommend it to someone looking to use it outside of a PC. Edited: Sennheiser HD555 are 50 ohm, not 32 ohm. Update 01/09/17: Still using and loving this USB DAC/amp. I've since delved a little deeper into the rabbit hole of headphones and bought a "few" new pairs, all of which are powered quite well by this product. All of the following headphones worked great: AKG K702 and K712/K7XX, Audio-Technica ATH-M40x and ATH-M50x, Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro (80 ohm version,) Fostex T50RP Mk. III, and Sennheiser HD600. The latter two pairs seem to be the "limit" of what this DAC/amp can successfully power. With the Fostex, I need to use high gain with the knob at about 75% for comfortable listening, and 100% for loud-and-slightly-uncomfortable action. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this DAC/amp to anyone, unless I knew they were pairing it with absolute top shelf monsters of headphones that cost (way) more than thrice the price of the E10K.

As a college student, getting into headphones is a pretty expensive endeavor. That being said, from forum threads, I decided that this would be one of the best amps I could get to start out. I am definitely pleased! This is an upgrade from my previous amp, the Syba SD-DAC63093. I was greatly pleased with that, if you're really looking for a budget amp. I currently use this amp to drive my Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 headphones and Audio Technica AUD ATHWS55BK and the majority of music I listen to is EDM. I never need to past 4 on the dial on low gain so it definitely has the power for these headphones. I definitely notice the increase in sound quality from the DAC compared to my previous amp and I haven't had any distortion issues in any of the ranges. The bass has a very composed (or reserved) and tight feel to it without turning on the bass boost. After turning it on, the music sounds a little warmer and colorful without muddling anything so the amount of boost it gives is right in the sweet spot, in my opinion. I read a lot of people saying that it's not a good portable amp but I haven't had any issues with that. I currently have a Galaxy S7 Edge with a pretty old battery (lasts around 4-5 hours with heavy use and a day if I'm lucky with little use). Maybe it's because I don't use the high gain function but I haven't noticed this amp sucking up large amounts of power from my phone when I'm on the go; it's been very efficient for me. If that's deterring anyone from getting this amp, I would encourage you to go for it unless you have the money for the fiio A5 which was designed with portability in mind. The only complaint I have is that the micro USB end of the power cable isn't very secure when plugged into the amp (it doesn't click in like it should) so when I use it with my computer, bumping into the amp can loosen it enough for the music to cut off instantly (cable is still in the port, it just isn't making contact). It's possible that I just got a bad cable with mine so don't buy a replacement until testing it out first! Since that's only an issue when I use it with my computer, I don't see it as a major inconvenience so this still gets 5 stars from me! TL;DR Great sound and build quality for a low end amp. Very efficient so it should work with your phones, considering it works with mine! Only complaint is that the stock cable doesn't have a snug fit in the amp so it can cut off music if you bump into the amp too hard but placement can easily remedy this.

This is my first DAC I've owned. I thought I loved music before, but now I've heard it through one of these. Ever since a young age I've always had a huge obsession with music and now, at age 20, I'm no different. Aged 13, when I first got a Sony Walkman MP3 player for my birthday, I'd always have earphones in which got me in a lot of trouble in school. I never really paid interest into the mainstream music - my interest has always been in underground UK music but I have an appreciation for all types and genres. I've previously invested in good headphones and earphones which have usually been focused on bass which is a huge feature of UK music styles. I generally look for high quality music copies, using a spectrum analyser so make sure it's as good as Windows claims. What I never stopped to think about was how the audio was being processed. I assumed it would all come out of the faithful 3.5mm jacks all the same but I've realised how wrong I was. It started when I chose electronics for my A levels and we covered amplifiers. My teacher told me how different configurations can result in different qualities, noise levels etc. I did my research into this and discovered standalone DACs which people were preaching great things about. I did a little looking around reviews and forums and realised the consensus was that this is a cheap but high quality product and I agree totally. The packaging immediately gave me high hopes as you could tell effort had been made with it. I continued into the box to find a surprisingly weighty product which screamed high quality. It came with a USB cable and rubber feet to prevent slipping. I immediately fired up my laptop and plugged it in. I was happy to find out it was plug-and-play - no software was forced upon me at all. I put my Sony MDR-XB500's in, opened a high quality music piece and was blown away. Wow. I've never heard clarity like it with such rich bass as well. I heard subtleties in the songs that I hadn't heard for the years I'd been listening to them. I couldn't stop listening so I cycled through a whole variety of tracks and continued to be amazed at each one I heard. I then switched to another set of my headphones (I currently own my Sony MDR-XB500s, JVC HAFX1X IEMs, Plantronics GameCom 388 and Turtle Beach x32s for use with my Xbox). I listened to a whole range of music ranging from Ludovico Einaudi's pieces in FLAC down to early dubstep songs - I noticed a huge improvement with every single one while using this product. I've actually resorted to streaming my Xbox through my PC on maximum quality and using the Windows Xbox app for chat, just to hear the vastly improved sound during gaming. Directional sounds seem so much clearer which applies to games and music. I found that bass now wasn't drowning out the other sounds in the song, even with the bass boost enabled. It's completely changed my view on music and I loath the day I have to leave my DAC at my university accommodation when travelling around. If you've only ever heard music from the built in audio of your phone or laptop, or have never listened through high quality equipment, I whole-heartedly recommend this product to you.

Da mein Onboardsound des Computer die unerträglichen Störgeäusche sehr ausgeprägt weitergab, brauchte ich eine USB-Lösung oder eine dedizierte Soundkarte. Ich entschied mich gegen die Soundkarte aufgrund der Ausgangsimpedanz, die bei diesen zu hoch für meine InEar-Kopfhörer ist. Nach langem Suchen entschied ich mich für diesen D/A-Wandler mit integriertem Kopfhörerverstärker und einer Impedanz von etwa 1 Ohm, da dieser egal wo immer gut bewertet wird. Wirklich erstaunlich ist die Größe des Geräts! Es ist wirklich winzig, aber für mich umso besser, da es so gut wie kein Platz am Schreibtisch wegnimmt. Wichtiger ist aber, was es kann: Ich habe ehrlich gesagt keinerlei klangliche Verbesserung erwartet, da der Onboard-Chip sehr aktuell und gut ist. Der FiiO sollte lediglich den Onboardsound ersetzen und die Störgeräusche der Schaltkreise umgehen, welche gerade wenn die Grafikkarte am arbeiten ist unerträglich laut werden. ABER: Der Sound verbesserte sich erheblich, das hätte ich wirklich nicht gedacht. Der Bass wurde definitiv satter und präziser auch ohne Bassboost, welchen ich nur sehr selten verwende, da der Bass dann etwas in die Mitten einschreitet. Falls mehr Bass gewünscht ist, empfehle ich eher ein gutes Equalizer-Programm. Zudem verbesserte sich die Bühne: Ich höre jetzt Dinge, die zuvor entweder nicht wiedergegeben wurden oder durch das Rauschen überdeckt wurden. Beim Olympus kann ich keinerlei Störgeräusche oder Rauschen feststellen ("Blanke" Audio-Aufnahme bei voller Lautstärke mit Grafikkarte unter Last). Der FiiO bietet Einiges an Anschlüssen: Mit dem Koax oder Line out kann man einen anderen Verstärker anschließen und den E10K als DAC nutzen oder das Gerät mit der Soundkarte verbinden (nur zu empfehlen,falls störungsfrei). Er funktioniert aber nicht ohne USB-Verbindung, da er keinen Akku hat (hier kann man zum FiiO Q1 greifen - mehr oder weniger gleiches Gerät nur portabel mit Akku). Die Anschlüsse sitzen alle fest drin und weder das Lautstärkepotentiometer noch irgendein Stecker wackeln. Die Schalter für Gain und Bassboost scheinen zwar nicht ganz so stabil, sie sind es aber bis jetzt (beide werden jedoch nur selten verwendet). Wird es heiß? Nein, in meinem Fall wird der FiiO höchstens lauwarm, es riecht auch nie verbrannt. Verläuft die Lautstärkeregelung linear? Ich habe nicht nachgemessen, aber es ist gefühlt linear, was mir ausreicht. Übliche Mankos? Nein: es riecht nicht nach irgendetwas, hatte keine Kratzer und die Antirutschfüße kleben gut. Mag sein, dass es in dieser Preisklasse Konkurrenten gibt, die in Sachen Klang als besser empfunden werden oder mehr Verstärkerleistung erbringen, aber diese weisen meiner Meinung nach nicht dieselbe Qualität wie der FiiO auf! Ich habe schon oft gelesen, dass dieser viele Jahre ohne jegliche Probleme läuft, wo so manche Produkte innerhalb von 6 Monaten schon nicht mehr richtig funktionieren. Bis jetzt habe ich nichts gefunden, das mich am Gerät stört. Man kann natürlich immer sagen, dass das mitgelieferte USB-Kabel nicht super hochwertig ist, aber es ist gut genug. Ich werde diese Rezension nach 6-12 Monaten mit Langzeiteindrücken aktualisieren. TL;DR / Zusammengefasst: Einwandfreies Gerät, das meinen Klang am Computer um ein gutes Stück verbessert hat. Durch den USB-Anschluss umgeht man den Onboardsound, welcher oft wie bei mir durch Störgeräusche unangenehm ist. Bassboost ist ok, Anschlussmöglichkeiten sowie allgemeine Verarbeitungsqualität in dieser Preisklasse hervorragend! Für knappe 80€ erhält man hier einen wahren "Jack of all trades".

Per il momento credo di aver trovato una combinazione di software-dac-cuffie che mi soddisfa molto. Lo sto provando con Audirvana plus per Mac (che si integra alla perfezione in iTunes) e delle cuffie Grado SR125. Queste in ogni caso sono solo le mie prime impressioni. Premetto che per il momento non ho trovato difetti se non la scarsa qualità del "bass boost" presente sulla parte anteriore accanto alla manopola per il volume. Portando il selettore su "on" la qualità del suono peggiora in modo abbastanza evidente. Il prezzo è davvero il suo punto forte. Vale ogni centesimo di quello che costa. Su Mac le possibilità di regolazione sono tante e sono tutte efficaci. Con Audirvana Plus si può addirittura usare l'interfaccia di iTunes escludendogli però la possibilità di mettere mano sul file in riproduzione, inviandolo direttamente al DAC pulito, senza elaborazioni intermedie. La qualità costruttiva è ottima per essere una "cinesata" e anzi è ottima in senso assoluto. Bella e comoda la ghiera per il volume. La qualità del suono è ottima, sono molto contento. Tuttavia per ora posso dire poco, aggiornerò più avanti la mia opinione con qualche considerazione in più. Per ora mi limiterò ad esprimermi esclusivamente circa l'ascolto in cuffia. Innanzitutto ogni frequenza viene riprodotta bene, nessuna prevale e nessuna distorce ad alto volume, nemmeno al massimo. Il suono è molto pulito e in particolare ho apprezzato molto la pulizia alle basse frequenze, la cosa che più mi ha colpito rispetto alla scheda integrata del mio mac. Rispetto a quest'ultima in ogni caso il miglioramento è evidente. L'ho provato anche con un ampli Marantz 1060, ma è ancora troppo presto per ogni considerazione. Insomma indipendentemente dalle analisi più approfondite che farò con il tempo, questo è sicuramente un prodotto BEST-BUY. Consigliatissimo.

Si bien tenía buenas referencias del ampli, algunos comentarios del producto me hicieron dudar a la hora de comprarlo pero en cuanto lo encendí mis dudas se disiparon; es sensacional para su precio. Antes de nada hay que tener en cuenta que es en unos auriculares de cierto nivel donde vais a aprovechar todo el potencial del aparato, no espereis que unos auriculares de botón se conviertan en unos orejeros de mil euros gracias al ampli. En mi caso tengo unos Fidelio x2 que hacen una pareja perfecta con el Fiio; el sonido es nítido, claro y con presencia en toda la gama. COn estos auriculares no es necesario subir los graves y/o la ganancia, y el volumen es más que suficiente (al máximo te puede dejar sordo). Lo he comprado para el PC pues no acababa de convencerme la tarjeta de sonido (Sound Blaster, antigua todo hay que decirlo) y el cambio ha sido brutal. Ahora escucho Spotify o flacs con una mejora más que evidente. Lo he conectado con el móvil con un cable OTG USB y funciona perfectamente, pero no sé cuánto tiempo tardaría en drenar la batería del teléfono, pues según especificaciones necesita 500mA. De todas formas, mi móvil es muy bueno en audio y la mejora que aporta el Fiio (que la hay) es mas sutil que con el PC, sobre todo en agudos. En definitiva, para ser un DAC/Ampli de gama de entrada, en mi opinión, su relación calidad precio es soberbia.

I use this with my PC headphones and as i like a bit of headbanging music nice and loud which adds a loud annoying hum , buying different headphones didnt fix it ....... THIS UNIT DID and it removes the HUM completely i Love it.