FiiO E11 Portable Headphone Amplifier - E11

So this is my first portable amp that I have purchased. Prior to this I have used my receiver headphone out, outs from too many mixing consoles to name and my portable champ my iphone. Needless to say that the iphone is the worst out of all that I have used, sounds like booty to honest.First Impression (looks):The amp is tiny. It fits with room to spare in the palm of my hand. The amp has a matte finish from which fingerprints will be attracted to in disgusting ways. The two click buttons that are on there (EQ aka bass and Hi/Lo settings) feel a little cheap. I was actually afraid that I was going to scratch the plastic finish as I have to use my nails to switch anything because of their size. The buttons are tiny and it is hard to tell when you are in the first EQ setting or on the way there. EQ zero and two are easy as they are at their respectable extremes.The volume button is smooth once past the "click" of on. It's made of metal which gives a nice tight smooth grippy feel when turning the volume. This thing weighs 2.3 ounces and I gotta tell you that I thought it shipped without the battery. It is that light. I had to open it to make sure that the battery was actually in there.Sound:Turned the amp on with nothing plugged in and all I heard was the fact that I was plugged into an amp. Being around much more powerful amps it is nice to know that the operating noise that I get from a $6000 QSC amp is the same that I get from a $59 headphone amp. Immediately, I began listening to uncompressed music as the "Garbage In Garbage Out" rule applies more than ever when amps are involved. Ask the off key singers.I used my custom molded UE 5's from Ultimate ears. I will be purchasing the Hifiman HE-500's as this amp is more than capable of pushing them. My UE's have an impedance of 21 ohms which my iPhone can play with not much success. The first thing I noticed is the sound stage. It is much wider than using no amplification. The center feels very focused.Low End (bass) - The amp on EQ setting zero plays music as it was mixed which is typically what you need on a well mixed album such as Bob Marley's orignal mix of Could you be loved. On EQ setting one is where the punch of the low end comes in. Forty hertz from Linkin Parks Numb come through clear enough to rattle my ear drums. It is enough to fill out your needs without blowing you out of the water. The EQ two setting should not be used. The low end seems to remain the same while the low mids (150 - 300) get a boost. The only thing that I found this setting to sound good with is one reggae song. It does not sound bad but does muddy up the sound.Mid - This is where this amp impressed me. Mids that are implemented well are silk on one's skin, like apple filling to your pie if you get my drift. The way this amp pushes the mid levels is truly amazing. I had to keep checking to make sure that this small amp was what was reproducing the sound. I can't say enough about the way that the mids make me feel. GREAT!!High - This is generally where everyone wins or loses in my book. Consider the high end the pie crust to my apple pie. Too much of it, and it takes away from all of the hard work that the low (crust) and the mids (filling) have done. Too little and it gives you a taste yet leaves you wanting for more. I am on the side of not enough on this amp. If it had just an 'nth more I would probably never take this amp off from my headphones. The high end is there not sharp, not dull but could be brighter.Hi/Lo (Outside casing) - Important to note that there are two Hi/Lo gain settings. One on the outside which in my opinion widens the sound stage slightly larger and boosts the mids yet keeps the high end sharp without cutting into your brain. At the same time it would be nice to have a touch more highs to make the sound better rounded. The bass sounds untouched. That being said switching from Lo to Hi does not kill you with POWER!!!! It gently raises the levels without hurting your ears by introducing sharp highs or ear splitting high mids. Good to have but not necessarily that important when on the lo setting (internally).Hi/Lo (Inside Casing) - Also important to note that on the Hi level on the inside that your battery life is cut from ten hours to somewhere around four. All listening prior to this was done using the lo setting. On the high setting the amp sounds so much bigger but not in an obnoxious way. Music of all kinds sound much more full bodied and in your face. The bass boost on EQ 1 is where its at. You have no need to go above this simply because of how growly the low end sounds. Depending on how well the mix you have is kick drums punch you in the face and the mids and highs soothe you.My negatives to take away: Could use more high end, and ACTUAL level two for bass that could punch out your teeth rather than a mid booster. Wish they didn't use plastic that attracted fingerprints. Bigger buttons on the side for the EQ and gain settings.Overall, my opinion on this amp is that it is absolutely AMAZING for the price. Great first amp that has WAY more power than I will ever use (until I get my HE-500's).

This review is based off the following parameters: Upgrading from Senn HD205's to AKG K242's, and AFTER having tried out the FiiO E5.The E5 to me felt underpowered, and slightly useless. Driving my iPod through a Line Out (The F9 cable) through a third generation ipod nano into the E5 provided mediocre results at best. While the sound was a little warmer, all I could do to change anything was raise and lower the volume of the amp. I was not impressed at all, and decided that if I was going to pay 2x.xx for an amp, I'd might as well jump up an extra forty and make it worthwhile. (Doesn't make sense, does it??)The E11 is slightly ignored by its brother, the E7, which is slightly more versatile. However, I'm primarily using my headphones on my iPod, so I don't need the onboard DAC. If you don't need it either, I'd suggest trying out the E11.The E11 is light, but not so light as to make you question the build quality, which is very solid looking. The black finish gets fingerprints on it easily, and takes some buffing to get rid of, but I could live with that.In the box you will find the unit, cables (power, audio, etc), and a rubber band to strap the unit onto whatever mp3 player you own. (I didn't realize this, so I had ordered a pack separately, which I use instead as I found the included band too loose) Positioning of the bands can be tricky, depending on what style of mp3 player you own. Play around a bit, but you'll probably never be completely satisfied.There is a volume knob that I absolutely love, it's a knurled twist dial that's numbered. This also serves as the power; turn until it clicks, and the unit powers on. Turn in the opposite manner until it clicks again, and it's off. In this way there are no accidental turn-ons, and the aluminum housing, while slightly getting in the way of you adjusting the volume through all the cables entering the ports, will prevent you from accidentally turning the volume super high and rupturing your head.Now the amp comes with the ability to add bass, and change to high or low impedance. I maxed out the settings, tossed on some 350kbs flac's and was immediately blown away by the immediate improvement of clarity over the E5's. The bass booster added more 'umph' into the music without overpowering the higher notes, and each individual element of the song I could discern clearly, singularly.So yes, if you are considering a FiiO amp, I'd grab the E11. If you will be using it with your computer, check out the E7. But by all means, forget the E5, or any of the ones that look like squares.EDIT 1/12/13: [Musings] Still using this amp. It works beautifully. I am currently using them to drive my Etymotics MC5's, however I am planning on upgrading my IEM's to either the Rockit R50, Shure SE215-K, or Etymotic HF5. (While I love my AKG K242's, they're just not possible to travel with.) Battery life still is relatively strong, charges a little slow. Users who plan on doing extensive traveling may benefit from picking up an additional battery, as they are relatively small. Low battery indicator is basically when the music cuts out, and the unit starts 'pulsing' noise at you, as well as the blue LED power indicator flashing in sync with the noise pulse.I have since lost the included band and don't care- the unit has not gotten any scratches on it, and still performs admirably.Eventually I do plan on leaving the entry-level platform of portable amps, but for now I will still say that the E11 is absolutely THE perfect entry-level amp for anyone who harbors a love for music, and serves as a wonderful gift for anyone who is looking to enhance their music tastes. And from what I have seen, the price has done nothing but continue to lower, making it an even better deal.EDIT 2 4/22/14: Time for another update! I now use Bowers & Wilkins P5 headphones (no more AKG's), and am surprised how well this amp drives the P5. Currently I use Schiit Magni/Modi for my desktop amp needs, but when I'm traveling, the FiiO comes out of the drawer and into my bag. Battery life has not decreased noticeably since purchase (I have had this unit for two years now?) nor has the performance decreased. I no longer use my iPods now, so my mp3 player is my phone (HTC One X using PowerAmp Unlocked). From the phone, the audio is good, rather neutral and clear. The FiiO adds a good level of saturation to the noise, adding move volume and bass (oh my god the bass!) to songs. If you like your music with more umph, I still give this product a thumbs up.

My hope was that this amplifier would provide significant audio boost for my headphones. While this amp seems to work well the amplification level was lower than I expected. I have to turn the volume almost to the highest level to get any boost in the output. At the mid-range, the audio is barely discernible.There are few portable amplifiers to choose from at a reasonable price. So I intend to keep this one, though I will still be looking for a better portable amp down the road.***Update***After using this amplifier, I was somewhat unhappy with its performance. With a full charge, I was only able to get about 1 hour of use before the amp lost power. Considering that it takes several hours to charge and won't operate while charging, I am very dissatisfied with its performance. The lack of robust volume boost, the short operating period of the built-in battery, the length of the charge cycle and the inability to use it during recharging means that this device is almost useless to me while on a trip. For a short use, it is adequate but I was wanting to use this on an extended trip.I will continue to look for an amp that will meet my needs.I don't recommend this amp.