FiiO E10K TC DAC Headphone Amplifier Review
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- Опубликовано: 8 янв 2022
- Review and Teardown of the FiiO E10k USB Digital to analog converter and headphone amplifier. Will it meet the demanding requirements of professional mixing?
FiiO E10K TC Link amzn.to/3na8CWa
FiiO K3 for Balanced Headphones amzn.to/3Ur4W3D
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Love the way you analyze and literally dissect the equipment. A true engineer at work! I would agree that the E10K TC is more than sufficient for most people and most headphones. In the end, the actual music counts much more than the Decibels we measure.
It's really nice to found deep tests like this ones, going deep into subjects & tests. Thanks a lot for your work, helped me to choose the good product.
Thank you. Glad I could help!
Great Analysis !!! A thorough and really deep dive in the performance of that unit.
You are the second person that i have watched on y.t. , that really goes that extra mile with a decent deep dive into the performance and built quality.
That coming from a quality assurance officer at a company that builds modems for HF radios.
Thank you very much. 👌😎
Thank you jacko glad you enjoyed it
Thanks for this review. This looks like a solid quality product worth purchasing.
that was a fairly smooth cut to hide inseting the usb the wrong way almost didnt catch it. nice vid appericated the teardown!
But you always have to put the USB in the wrong way first!
Excellent. I am on the road a lot and this will work out perfectly.
Excellent review, thank you kindly.
Glad it was helpful!
I ordered this DAC today, should have it on Wednesday. It will replace my old X-Fi HD USB sound card. I will be using it with my Philips Fidelio X2 headphones. I cannot wait to test it! 😃
I’ll be using it with the x2 as well. Does it improve them?
@@wallsits9194 There is a difference at higher volumes, but it is not huge, at least to my ears.
I actually noticed a much bigger difference with my other headphones - Koss Porta Pro. It might be because they have much higher impedance (60 ohm), and at high volumes they sounded rather distorted with the old sound card.
The X-Fi was not a bad card, though. There is probably a bigger difference when comparing to on-board audio.
But I really like this DAC. I especially enjoy the analog volume control, because the output volume in Windows can always be at 100, which is relevant when recording.
i will buy it now 😊
More videos please! For analogue sound.
Quality content right here!
Just 1 question, is it necessary to install the Fiio drivers? Are there any issues on windows default? I've heard people prefer WASAPI over others. Thanks!
Im really not sure. I had a specific which was high sample rates with Pro Tools. I do see reference on the Internet to using wasapi with Pro Tools but I have never done so. This article I found refers to just plugging the unit in and using wasapi, but I haven't tried. www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-and-measurements-of-jdslabs-odac-rev-b-compared-to-fiio-e10k.2068/
thank you for the detailed breakdown of the device, do you think it would be worth it to pick the K3 over the E10K TC if the cost increase is substantial compare to my budget? I want to make one best deal between the two and be happy about it.
I would look at the spec sheet first, I think the k3 has a couple extra features like out for balanced headphones. If you don't need those features I am happy E10K TC
Hi I really like your video, actually I am thinking on buy this amp/DAC to use with my HD560S with 120ohm, have this model enough power to get the sound of my headphones to their max capabilities? Or i need to look for other equipment? Thanks for your time
I would expect it would do quite well. I expect it will perform better than most of the other portable usb type convereters due to the higher internal voltage.
Great review. Is it a device you would trust mixing with on the road? I understand it would not be the final mix, that happens back on the studio system, but would you trust it make critical decisions with?
I do exactly that. So yes.
Excellent. Thank you. I am on the road a lot and need exactly this kind of product.
Can you set the volume on the TC programmatically on a Mac? A quick check can be done with the Audio MIDI Setup program where I can set output format (sample rate, bit depth) and channel volume manually on my old FiiO E10K. I tried the new FiiO K3, but there was no way to adjust the output volume programmatically, which is something I need for my software project.
ill try to check later and see.
So this is pretty normal behavior for Mac. I'm not sure how you got the old one to work. But external converters that have a digital sent the mac doesn't see to be able to alter a digital signal, My P.C. can but not the Mac. It will even do this with a HDMI signal. I'm guessing the Mac is sending a volume value to the internal all in one D/A- headphone amp but isn't digitally altering the volume.. Now there is a solution. Rogue Amoeba "Sound source" software. I haven't used it but I have used other software by Rogue Amoeba and was happy. I think there is a free version but not sure. It might control volume for your K3. As far as sample rate bit depth, when I use the Fiio with 3rd party software, the software controls it. The Mac OS doesn't seem to offer those options.
@@biasedaudio thanks a lot for your detailed response. Not sure if I asked the question in the right way though. To take this off the RUclips comments, can you send an email to the address listed in my own channel?
I would be curious to know it how performs with a 600 ohm load. I would suspect that the Frequency response would suffer.
If I get a minute I will test and see. Though high Impedance headphones are less efficient and require a higher voltage. Lower impedance headphones are more efficient but a low impedance puts a larger demand ( more current) on an amplifier which is why I tested the amp with a 32 ohm dummy load. I would be surprised if the amp performed worse at 600 ohms than it did at 32 ohms. The real question is does it put out enough voltage to make the high impedance user happy. I intentionally didn't answer this question in the video because I don't blast headphones loud and the amp was plenty loud for me. My headphones distorted long before the amp did.
Hello, great review. I have just got the Hifiman HE400SE. I am getting the E10K Olympus 2 in clearance for about 57$ (I'm in India). Will they be able to power the HE400SE to decently loud levels? Or do I get something like KA13 for better power.
I don't know those headphones personally,so I can't really comment, and I don't know how loud you listen and what type of music, so I can't really say. But the unit I have seems to have plenty of power.
@@biasedaudio Thanks for responding!
@@afraza5946 Based on calculation, He400se's 91db/mW sensitivity and impedance of 32 Ohm, E10K can drive it with no problem even at 110 dB. Just make sure you put it on High gain with the gain switch on a E10K.
@@dukeyin1111 Understood, thanks!
Very techincal and acccurate review. But I like it.
Glad you enjoyed it
Can you compare it to any other headphone DACs you have used in the past ?
Since you use pro tools as your player ...since I dont have PT what other player can I use to input digital signals into the DAC ?
Jon it will act as the "Sound Card" for your computer so it should work with any software.
Hey bro i am in deep confusion. I have a Sennheiser hd599 and dont know what dac amp to buy with what power output?
I would only be wise to comment if I was familar with those headphones ( I'm not) and knew your usage. Classical? very loud Hip Hop?. I feed good about this DAC, and I expect it is hard to beat for the cost. but I would suggest going on headphone forums and ask users of those phones. Good luck.
fyi: FiiO is often spelled Fee O
can one connect it to an iPad with only a 3.5 mm headphone input/output ?, no usb c contact.
about 5 years old..thanks for an evtl answer...
This will not accept a headphone input only usb.
@@biasedaudio tanx
I once had an ifi-amp, which had an 3.5 mm input and an 3.5/6.5 mm output.
nowadays, they do not produce these things anymore....only stupid usb-c, so no iPad-compatible...
but thanks anyway.
where did you download the driver been searching for hours can't find it
If you google fiio e10k TC driver you will find. I found it right away.
Can this be used in a true portable way without a PC? Can it be used with an MP3 player alone?
I don't know but I doubt it. I think the k3 model will work with a cell phone but not sure.
@@biasedaudio I was looking to connect to my motorcycle Bluetooth intercom/music device which will incorporate my phone. I hope what I got works because I dropped a decent amount on the in helmet jbl speakers and I want a noticable change. I've had headphone amps but this will be my first DAC and I'm pretty excited. I went with the Fosi Audio DS1 DSD512. 🤞
FiiO E10K or Fosi audio q4?
Neven. Honestly I can't answer because I have not tried the Fosi audio q4. I am happy with theFiiO though.
can these power my dt 990 250 ohms?
Vortix I do not have a pair of 250 Ohm headphones so I cannot state from personal first hand experience. I have the 80 ohm DT 770, and the 32 Ohm KEF M500. So I cannot accurately answer your question. I would expect that this amp would have plenty of headroom based on the design. If you try them please report back. Remember if you purchase on Amazon I believe you could return them if you are not happy.
if I remember correctly (reading the documentation), it should be able to power up to 300 ohms? headphones using the L H gain on the back, using the H (high) impedance/gain in your case. But dont take my word for it, as I don't remember exactly what the documentation said :)
EDIT: Sorry my mistake, they recommend max 150ohms on their website 😅 16~150 Ω is the drive ability, they say.
More info here fiio.com/e10k_parameters
can this be used with phones?
I only use it with headphones
hey hey!
can i connect my edifier mr4?
I would think so. In a couple cases where I needed 192 khz audio I have connected it to my powered speakers with a 1/8" mini jack to Rca adapter cable.
can i connect my mobile phone?
I think power may be an issue, they have a model q3 which I think can do that. Check the specs for the Q3
@@biasedaudio okay thanks 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 i will check that.