Fiio E11 Portable Headphone Amplifier

Phenomenal quality for money with denon AV receiver and d1100 headphones.
audible improvement over internal amp of sony x1000 with Triple.Fi (using LOD).
Lets put it that way, it will be very difficult to go unamped again.

EDIT: had to return as the line in socket has lost one channel after only 1 week.
Might try another one, but so far disappointed with such a basic flaw...

I am an audiophile who loves my music. So much so that I like to listen on the go. My home setup is reference quality and so I appreciate great sound. I used this amp connected to my ipod classic where files were encoded in Apple Lossless. I used Shure SE535 in ear headphones plugged into the Filo. (I still had their F7 model which I found to be unreliable with short battery life). The sound quality was greatly improved with a number of variable settings (Filters and Gain) available. Usine the Filo dock connector as opposed to the Headphone socket wrought the first major improvement. The amp itself then gives greater depth and tonality to all recordings. So much so that I found it hard to believe how cheap this piece of kit actually was. I have heard the Fostex HP-P1 which costs circa £450 and utilizes its own internal DAC. This is a great piece of kit which I plan to buy. However, the Filo did not fall far short of this superior sound quality. Again, when putting its price into perspective, it represents astonishing value for money. The volume control is indented and increases interstitially. The build quality is very good although Filo could have included a case or cover (as they do with their other and even cheaper units). I also have to ascertain where to locate those spare batteries. However, this is a good buy.

I'll start like many others have - I'm not an audiophile. However having invested in some decent bits of kit over the last couple of years I think I've started on the journey.

About 6 months ago I upgraded my Etymotic ER6i IEMs for Etymotic HF5 IEMs, as I was looking for something with improved clarity that wouldn't break the bank, and couldn't afford the ER-4P. I'm pretty happy with them, and I'm about halfway through transferring my CDs to lossless to get the full benefit. I use them with a 6th generation 160gb iPod Classic.

When I originally upgraded the earphones, I got a Fiio E5 just to test out what difference it would make to the sound. I'm sad to say it didn't as it was a faulty item, and wouldn't charge up so I returned it. The refund was swift, and that was that.

A few weeks back I saw that Fiio had released the E11, and although my previous experience initially led me to hold off, my intrigue got the better of me, and I took the plunge. I'm glad to say that I've not regretted it one bit. You'll struggle to find a decent portable amp at this price. I wasn't interested in a DAC or anything for home listening, as I have other equipment for this.

Firstly, it looks very nice indeed. Quite understated, but everyone at work has been pretty intrigued and asked what it does. Build quality is solid, and I've had no problems after about a month of owning it. The only downside I could find was that it cannot be used while it is being charged, however if you're using it out and about, a bit of forethought gets around the issue. I also bought a Fiio L3 line out cable to use, but may switch this for an iBasso cable.

A very neat feature is that it uses a mobile phone battery. The one that it comes with is good for about 15 hours (about half of the time of my Classic). The beauty of it being a mobile phone battery is that it can be easily replaced. I found another one Ecell - 1500mAh HIGH CAPACITY BATTERY FOR NOKIA 3220 3230 5070, and having only received it today can't comment one how well it performs long term, but so far so good. It should in theory nearly double the listening time.

Now for how it sounds. Overall, I'm very impressed. One criticism the Ety HF5s (in fact most of the range) get fairly frequently is that the bass or bottom end can be lacking. I've never had this problem as I've managed to get a good seal with the standard tips. I do prefer a flat response IEM as they reproduce the music as it was intended, and they've performed brilliantly with a range of bit rates (128 to lossless).

When I first plugged in the amp, I was amazed in so far as it seemed to improve the separation on pretty much all of my music. I mostly listen to electronic music like Techno and Post Punk, but not exclusively. I have have tested a fair bit of Metal, Indie and Alternative. On guitar tracks, the mids achieve amazing clarity and reach, and overall the soundstage seems to be a little more expansive than before. Bass was lifted slightly, particularly in the sub-mid range, but not at the expense of accuracy, which is there in spades. The top end of the Ety's has been improved in that there is less roll off.

I only had a minor criticism at first, as the amp sounded ever so slightly cold. After a good while burning it in though, the sound has warmed up a fair bit. It's not coloured the music so that it gives everything a false character, just added a lot more depth and clarity across the whole range.

Another neat feature is the EQ. I've listened to a lot of live DJ sets recently that are only available at 128, and I find that it helps to lift or fill out the sound a little bit.

Overall, I couldn't be happier with this piece of kit, and I'm glad I took the risk. I think for something of comparable quality from Amazon, you'd be looking at the Graham Slee Voyager, which is currently £179. I can't stretch to that yet I'm afraid. Think the next step will be some ACS custom ear tips to complete the setup.

In summary, a very, very good portable amp at an astoundingly cheap price.