Monthly Archives: November 2010

Two months ago I wrote about getting the most from your mp3 and iDevices.

Since then, I have been able to improve the listening pleasure to a brand new level thanks to 2 factors. First Fiio have released their first full size headphone amp and second to Audiominor cables.

Fiio E9 Headphone Amp

Available from – www.mp3amplifier.com

Price – £74.95

Pros – Nothing. Unbeatable at price point and way above it.

Cons – Volume marker could do with a white mark

Main Features & Technical Summary

●Two channel power output, suitable for headphones with 3.5 and 6.35mm.
●Main power amplifier use the TI corporation‘s, it with 5uVrms noise,low distortion 0.00014% THD + N;high switching rate, 1300V/uS current-feedback model IC:TPA6120
●With on/off mute function;usingsealed relays for protecting power amplifier output; using ALPS sealed low noise potentiometer
●Internal audio buffer amplification BB OPA2134: FET input, with advantages of low noise:8nVsqrHz; low distortion 0.00008%THD; high switching rate:20V/uSand so on
●E7 special base for USB connection with audio decoding DAC, also can to E7 charging
●With LOW ( 10dB ) /HIGH(18dB) gain choice
●Two audio output: one is the 3.5mm port of E9 (adjustable output); another one is port of RCA output (fixed/ unadjustable output)
●Built-in power converter module, high efficiency, high precision and low noise, to meet great needs of dynamic signal processing
●LED power indicator light
● With function of output priority of headphone plugging-in, the external output RCA will not work after inserting headphone
●Extensible base
*The base on the top of E9 can be changed for using a special base of iPod/iPhone , but you need to buy the base of iPod/iPhone separately
Specification:
●Output power: 1W (16Ω Loaded）；80mW（600Ω Loaded）
●Headphone Impedance Range:16Ω ～600Ω
●SNR: ≥100dB（A weight）[LINE IN]
●Distortion: <0.003%（100mW）[LINE IN]
●Frequency response: 10Hz~100KHz
● LINE OUT: 2V rms
●Predriveout: 0-2V rms
●Power supply mode: DC15V/ 1.5A
●Size: 149mm×96mm×56mm
●Weight:445g

The Fiio E9 comes in a lovely black box, which includes the power lead, unit and usb connection cable. The clever part of the design of the E9 is it allows the cheaper and portable headphone of theirs, the E7 (as reviewed in my previous article) to be docked in to the top of the unit. This allows the E9 to charge it, and when the Fiio E9 is connected by usb to enable the E7 to act as the dedicated DAC (digital to audio convertor) for the E9. In fact, at present I am typing this review on my MacBook with the E9 connected via usb with the E7 docked.  If you recall, the headphones I reviewed in my previous article have all been tested with the E9. I now prefer to use the Sony MDR-XB700 and Denon AH-C751s and these have been used for this review.

So apart from plugging in headphones, you can also use the E9 to act as a pre amp to active speakers or a power amp. From the photo you can see plenty of inputs and output connections. Looking at the E9, it is simplicity in style, but very solid. I love the feature to enable the portable E7 to be docked, charged and act as the DAC. But the crucial question. What is the difference using this to the standard headphone socket on your laptop or phone or mp3 player.

Well, it’s like the difference of driving a Ford Fiesta or a Rolls Royce Phantom. Both get you from A to B but in different style. Except the Fiio E9 costs less than a Ford Fiesta but drives and is built like a Rolls Royce. Yes, it’s that good. In fact, every person I know who has got one of these first words are , OMG. In sound terminology the Fiio E9 is a neutral amp. That is it adds nothing to the sound and takes nothing away. What is does is take your headphones and wake them up, inject them with quad turbo boosts and delivers and drives them with such panache. Every album I have I’m just re-listening to all the tracks. The musicality is dramatic. The punch, bass lines are solid, the attack is huge. With classical music, the Fiio E9 never runs out of headroom it just builds as high as the music requires. In fact the power of the E9 is so great I don’t need to move the volume above 10 o’clock. Talking of the volume control it’s a beautiful knob, but could do with the volume marker being white to identify where the volume is at. Not a major problem just being fussy. Voices, vocals, instruments are so so well defined. The Fiio E9 is a must have item if you listen to music. My CD’s are ripped at 320 bits mp3. With softer and relaxing pieces the sound just oozes out.

But when not using the Fiio E9 via the usb input, you may wish to use it with a standard 3.5mm connector. In which case the E7 is only being charged. One point to remember is the bass boosts mode of the E7 cannot be used when docked. And with the 3.5mm input method, the next upgrade is the interconnect cable.

Audiominor Cables – Ipod Line Out Dock Silver / Copper Mix

Price – $55 approx

Pro – Huge improvement to sound.

Cons – Nothing

Available – http://stores.ebay.com/AudioMinor

Audiominor is based in Turkey, as is run by a very well known and respected audio enthusiast, Bogac Tekman who has been making bespoke cables for years.

The cable I am reviewing is a Line Out Dock for iPods, iPhone and iPads. The cable is made from two 22 awg %99.999 pure copper and two 24 awg solid silver cable. To complete the audiophile cable a Switchcraft 3.5mm gold plated plug is used.

So what is the difference using this cable. Massive. You will hear the warmth of the copper and the musical and precision details of silver. With all these components, the leap in sound quality is wonderful. Before I bought this, I had a lengthy discussion with Bogac and he recommended this mix of copper and silver. In fact he wanted to know what I thought after I got it. All my headphones just took on a new level of sound quality, presence and warmth. The music is warmer but not over the top,  but the silver added greater sound staging. Instruments suddenly appeared, the clarity and detail just superb. I started to hear things in the music not previously heard.

The build quality of the cable is excellent. Hand-made too. Also custom lengths and different types of cables are available.

In summary the Fiio E9 is a revelation and at an affordable price point. Thanks to mp3amplifier for sending this.

The Audiominor LOD is another revelation.

And I’m now busy listening to my music collection! Do not disturb.

Review by Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

There are many Bluetooth car kits on the market today and choosing the right one is becoming harder and harder. Now that people have realised that Bluetooth headsets make them look ridiculous they are reverting to car kits when driving and holding phones to their ear when walking.

Most Bluetooth car kits that are priced below £30 are really not worth buying because they offer poor battery life, poor clarity and crucially not enough volume to hear people when driving. The more expensive ones tend to solves the above issues, but they often cost circa £100 which is a hefty price to pay for such a device. The NoiseHush N650 is priced at $59.95 which seems like a reasonable price, but does it offer a performance greater than the price? When you consider that it includes solar charging you have to worry about the quality of output.

As it happens I didn’t have to worry about the quality at all, but the weather was a bigger problem. Over the past week I have not witnessed one glimpse of that big yellow thing in the sky and it has rained almost every single day so my opportunities to test the solar power feature have been minimal. I will put that particular feature aside for a moment and concentrate on the setup process; it really was as easy as you could hope for- hold the power button and then wait for your smartphone to recognise it. Input the pairing code and away you go. That was the first task done.

Next I dialled my voicemail and waiting for the NoiseHush to kick into action, and boy did it kick in. I have never heard anything so loud in my life! For some reason my unit was set to maximum volume out of the box which was handy because it demonstrated just how loud it could be. I won’t be worrying about hearing a conversation in the car anymore, but will worry about other cars a mile ahead overhearing what I am saying. Seriously, it is mightily impressive how loud this kit can go and even at half volume it is more than capable of providing a clear sound that will work in any driving situation. I can say for certain that it is the best car kit I have heard to date in terms of voice quality and that alone is the most important factor for me.

The design of the NoiseHush is actually quite good. I initially thought it looked a bit cheap, but closer inspection revealed some good quality materials and a sweet display which swivels out depending on how you place it in your car. You can lie it flat and swivel out the display or you can use the sucker attachment to place it on a windscreen or suitable dashboard area. The display is used to show Caller IDs and you can import your contact book to the unit as well which is handy. On the kit is a call answer key, volume buttons, on/off button and a phone book transfer button. There is also a miniUSB charging port (for the UK where the sun doesn’t shine anymore) and everything has been put together to create a unit that is neither overly fashionable or ugly. In short, it is perfect for a car.

The most heavily market feature is the solar charging, but the fact I have not been able to test this is largely irrelevant to me. The NoiseHush is well built, offers superb sound quality and after a standard charge mine has worked for the past 5 days with no further charging needed. It is very well priced for what it is and will be a permanent fixture in my car from now on. Highly recommended.

Available from WirelessGround for $59.95.