whr r u located

well,just wanna share.im using klipsch custom 3 and pairing with E1 doesnt give any changes .as far as my ear can listen,there is only little,very little improvement.while pairing with e3 is like taking my iem another level higher.maybe this is due to compatibility. maybe my klipsch doesn't sync well with E1 but do great with E3.now itchy to try E5

right behind you

huh was askg whr do u stay or work ... so can ask u 2 try out d E1 @ d respective dealers b4 u decide

Thanks for info... How about E1 pair with some other IEMs?

well,i tried with my audio technica A900 headphone,also not much difference.while E3 just make the bass more boomy.

to be honest,i start to think that E1 is somewhat............... useless.maybe its just me.maybe its just my audio gadget.coz E3 seems like more "functional".

and i dislike how it change my ipod navigation.where all the control are gone.and i only can next/back/increase volume/decrease volume by using the control on E1.while even my ipod touch's volume button also inactive after using E1

Don't bother, Fiio E5 only improves little of C3 bass and detail. I think you should consider getting the Go-Vibe Derringer instead. It's a much better headphone amp to me IMO.

What E3 does is adding a lot of bass and warm to the music, but also take away quite a bit of treble and detail. It fair well on analytical headphone cause it makes it more musical, especially if you are not an analytical listener. If you are, E3 isn't going to be of any help. If you already have bass heavy headphone that are not very analytical, E3 will do more harm than help.

E5 is better in the sense that you get to choose whether you want the bass boost on or not, and of course it also has a much better internal than E3 so it is an overall improvement at such a small price. The down side is of course it is a warm amp even when the bass boost is off. The ideal situation of amping is 'wire with gain' - that is, you want more power and control with as little coloration as possible from the amp. I often find people thinking coloration of portable amp as an improvement. Personally, I would think it is more of a preference rather than an improvement, like people preferring EQ to add more spice to the music but it doesn't actually add more quality to the music nor adding any more power or control.

E1 is what I consider to be the better of the three. It does what an amp is suppose to do, add more power and control without adding much of its own character. That is what people refer as being 'transparent' - it is there to do its job but has minimum impact to the sound signature. I would think if you can't feel any change from adding E1 to an iPod, it is either 1) your headphone doesn't benefit much from the extra power and control, 2) your headphone isn't good enough to reveal the difference, 3) you are unable to detect the change even it is there, 4) you don't think the change is that significant, or 5) combination of any of the first 4 factors.

You should know that, amping is not some magic trick that can turn water to wine. More than often it is a refine of sound rather than an significant improvement. The very real fact is, a $1000 portable might only be 3% to 5% better than a $500 amp. In the audio world, price usually doesn't linear to performance increment. The benefit of an amp is often not in-plain-sight unless you have the time to discover it. It is often easier for those who has the experience to notice the difference which can very well be nothing to another person, as it takes time to train the ears to pick up micro detail. Even for an experienced person, what constitutes as 'significant' is still very much a personal judgment. At the end, it can be that you don't need an amp at all, or perhaps what you want is a much better amp. It is an process of trial and error to find what suits your taste and the synergy of your rig.

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Added on February 24, 2010, 6:45 pmbring ur own source & ask 4 a demo fr Willie @ MacStudio / LowYat Plaza or Justin @ MacStudio / Bangsar Shopping Centre or any sales staff @ MyBytes / Tropicana City Mall

This post has been edited by E1 - AKG: Feb 24 2010, 06:53 PM

but i stay in johor

then u'll need 2 based ur decision on ClieOS' review above ... hes a respected sifu here in LYN as well as HeadFi

@amon_meiz
imo E5 makes some phones sound worst, better try first.

Other than RE0... what phones E1 synergise with?

i see....not sure if it pair with PL50 on ipod or not

sq is subjective 2 ur ears ... go & try it out wif ur hdphones @ d above retailers & decide 4 urself

the bold line: i cant agree more.and thanks for ur explanation.it helps a lot.

Of course the volume controls on ipod cannot be used with E1, it's because E1 takes the line-out signal from ipod instead of headphone out. Main reason for using E1 is to get cleaner signals from line-out and/or driving harder to drive headphones/earphones which will sound sucky if plugged directly to the headphone out.

well,its quite troublesome as the button on e1 cant be lock,and they pretty sensitive,so its easy to accidentally pressed it.

Hope Fiio see this... then a reason for a upgrade version II.

hi all pro...may i know that is ultimate ears metrofi 220 work well with fiio e5??..anyone in here try be4??..tq

bring ur own familiar source + ur ue metrofi 220 & ask 4 a demo fr Willie @ MacStudio / LowYat Plaza or Justin @ MacStudio / Bangsar Shopping Centre or any sales staff @ MyBytes / Tropicana City Mall