Introduction
Ive been longing for a good pair of IEM's,came across the RE-2 as one of the most value for money IEM's after checking out head-fi and Faheem's Opinion.
After receiving the RE-2, i was blown away by it's sound quality and soundstaging but I also noticed that the earphones were a bit bass shy for my liking and since I listen to trance\ EDM i needed that extra thump.E5 seemed to have a good synergy with the RE-2 for that extra bass and it's not like other amps which are heavy on the pocket.
Special Thanks to Supra for ordering the E5 for me.
[BREAK=Specifications]
Specifications :
Output Power : 150 mW (16 ohms Loaded) 12 mW (300 ohms Loaded)
Signal to Noise Ratio:= 95 dB (A Weight)
Distortion : < 0.009% (10 mW)
Frequency Response : 10 Hz - 100 kHz
:16 ohms - 300 ohms
Weight :30g
Power Supply : built-in 200mAh rechargerable battery
Dimensions : 44.2mm x 38 mm x 12.6 mm
[BREAK=Packaging & accessories]
Packaging & accessories
I had ordered the Fiio E5 from ebay.I paid total of AU$14.98(price of E5=AU$4.99+AU$9.99 for shipping).I was a bit worried regarding the delivery as it was being sent my normal Airmail post and not EMS ,hence there was no online tracking option.
The E5 was delivered in 3 weeks time and packaging was good enough.The E5 box was packed in a bubble wrap which protected the box and was undervalued to avoid customs.
Packaged contents and accessories :
* 15cm 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio line (L-angledplug)
* 80cm 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio line
*60cm USB-A to mini USB charge line
*Manual which is in both chinese and english.
Keeping in mind the Price paid for this ,I would give a 9.5/10 to the in box accessories
.
[BREAK=Build Quality & Design.]
Build Quality & Design.
The first look at E5 reminds me of my Apple Ipod Shuffle 2nd generation.The design is 99% like an old iPod Shuffle minus the controls on front side.The amp is small ,really very small.Ive attached some pics to give you guys and idea of its size.
The build quality of E5 is very good compared to the E3 .The case is metallic and there's strongly sprung shirt clip on the back which is helpful for clipping the E5 to shirt button while on the move.At one end of the E5 is the 3.5mm headphone in and a USB-in for charging. The other end has the 3.5mm headphone out socket, volume control, on/off button LED status indicator and bass boost switch.
There is one compliant about the E5 control buttons.The on/off button doesnt work like any regular on/off button.One has to press the button atleast for 2 seconds to powerdown the E5 where as the powering it up happens by the touch of the button.I wish Fiio had given a mute button also because when i hooked RE-2 did not know that the volume was at high level and my ears became numb for few seconds :S.
Overall the build quality and design seems to be good and lot better than the E3.
The Size and form factor of the E5 is the best part,its ultra portable and very small. can be easily clipped to the shirt using the shirt clip attached to the amplifier or else one can just keep it in the shirt pocket.
To give you guys an idea of how small it is,Ive included some pics where Ive compared it with a Rs. 5 coin.
USB charger connector and 3.5mm input jack.
Blue Light -Turned on.
Purple Light- Charging and Turned On.
Red Light-Charging.
Would give a 8/10 for build quality & design.
[BREAK=The Sound]
The Sound
Lets check out whether the E5 does really improve the Sound quality.
My setup :
Head Direct RE2 IEM's,
Toshiba Satellite A305 laptop
( Sorry folks i do not have any MP3 player.Planned to get Cowon from the US )
I listen to more of EDM/trance and less of other generes,but for u all out there i have tried and included other genres also.
EDM/Trance Genre : Armin van Buuren,Markus SChulz,DJ Teisto
Hip-Hop: Flo-rida,Akon
Rock/Alternative rock : Rammstein,Linkin park
Pop: Enrique Iglesias,MJ
Bollywood:Rahman Live shows ,A.R Rahman :A World of Music (FLACs)
Warning : Turn down the volume to 30-50 % when using the Amp for the first time and then gradually increase according to your need,Very High or Full Volume can damage the earphones as well as one's ears.
Also keeping a low/mid gain on the amplifier makes the battery last longer.
The E5 certainly improves the lows and mids along with the sound stage to a large extent.I could feel the difference out of box.There were some songs of Markus Schulz and Armin van Buuren which sounded kind of low on bass on the stock RE2 but with the E5 they sound real good.The bass is punchy and not boomy but at higher volumes the bass goes boomy and the sound distorts very badly.High volume can also damage the earphone drivers and your ears.
The above is without turning on the bass boost.Now i did turn on the bass boost and Ohh my God :O !! the bass is more punchy especially with MJ's Dangerous i was going mad cause the bass was getting injected into my head.Where as when i heard the same song with out E5 it was not that punchy and highs were kind of bad.Flat mode and bass mode can be changed on the fly. In flat mode, it sounds airy and neutral with good detail. In bass mode, it sounds warm ,slightly dark with an increase of bass, most noticeable on the lower mid to upper bass region.
The E5 surely is a superb addition to a good portable audio setup.
Sound quality : 9/10
[BREAK=Battery Life.]
Battery Life.
The amplifier charges pretty quickly via USB ,approximately 20-40 minutes for a full charge and it lasted 20 hours with 50% volume (gain)on the E5.If the E5 runs out of charge it may take a while for the LED to turn red.Once completely charged the light goes off.You can use the E5 while it's being charged and in such scenario the light on the E5 turns purple.
The E5 doesn't get detected as USB device/peripheral when connected.
Would give a 8.5/10 for battery life.
[BREAK=Final Thoughts.]
Final Thoughts
Basically E5 is perfect for someone using a good mid-range /premium IEM's with a source which has low output like laptops etc.Don't expect it do wonders with a cheap earphone. I would suggest it to people who have earphones with low bass like the PL-30,RE-2 etc.
It is not a hi-fi amplifier like the Trends tube and the ChuMoys etc. This isn't exactly for some one buying a HD 650 or high-end head-gear. But it does the job perfectly of driving mid range earphones or the one's which are difficult to drive.
Pros
* Small
* Great battery life
* Aluminum housing
* Clip mechanism
* Volume control
* Bass boost feature
* Quite detailed sounding
* Very good sound compared for the price
Cons
* control buttons of Cheap quality
* Mute button missing
Overall the E5 deserves a 8.5/10 from my side.
Ive been longing for a good pair of IEM's,came across the RE-2 as one of the most value for money IEM's after checking out head-fi and Faheem's Opinion.
After receiving the RE-2, i was blown away by it's sound quality and soundstaging but I also noticed that the earphones were a bit bass shy for my liking and since I listen to trance\ EDM i needed that extra thump.E5 seemed to have a good synergy with the RE-2 for that extra bass and it's not like other amps which are heavy on the pocket.
Special Thanks to Supra for ordering the E5 for me.
[BREAK=Specifications]
Specifications :
Output Power : 150 mW (16 ohms Loaded) 12 mW (300 ohms Loaded)
Signal to Noise Ratio:= 95 dB (A Weight)
Distortion : < 0.009% (10 mW)
Frequency Response : 10 Hz - 100 kHz
:16 ohms - 300 ohms
Weight :30g
Power Supply : built-in 200mAh rechargerable battery
Dimensions : 44.2mm x 38 mm x 12.6 mm
[BREAK=Packaging & accessories]
Packaging & accessories
I had ordered the Fiio E5 from ebay.I paid total of AU$14.98(price of E5=AU$4.99+AU$9.99 for shipping).I was a bit worried regarding the delivery as it was being sent my normal Airmail post and not EMS ,hence there was no online tracking option.
The E5 was delivered in 3 weeks time and packaging was good enough.The E5 box was packed in a bubble wrap which protected the box and was undervalued to avoid customs.
Packaged contents and accessories :
* 15cm 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio line (L-angledplug)
* 80cm 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio line
*60cm USB-A to mini USB charge line
*Manual which is in both chinese and english.
Keeping in mind the Price paid for this ,I would give a 9.5/10 to the in box accessories
.[BREAK=Build Quality & Design.]
Build Quality & Design.
The first look at E5 reminds me of my Apple Ipod Shuffle 2nd generation.The design is 99% like an old iPod Shuffle minus the controls on front side.The amp is small ,really very small
.Ive attached some pics to give you guys and idea of its size.The build quality of E5 is very good compared to the E3 .The case is metallic and there's strongly sprung shirt clip on the back which is helpful for clipping the E5 to shirt button while on the move.At one end of the E5 is the 3.5mm headphone in and a USB-in for charging. The other end has the 3.5mm headphone out socket, volume control, on/off button LED status indicator and bass boost switch.
There is one compliant about the E5 control buttons.The on/off button doesnt work like any regular on/off button.One has to press the button atleast for 2 seconds to powerdown the E5 where as the powering it up happens by the touch of the button.I wish Fiio had given a mute button also because when i hooked RE-2 did not know that the volume was at high level and my ears became numb for few seconds :S.
Overall the build quality and design seems to be good and lot better than the E3.
The Size and form factor of the E5 is the best part,its ultra portable and very small. can be easily clipped to the shirt using the shirt clip attached to the amplifier or else one can just keep it in the shirt pocket.
To give you guys an idea of how small it is,Ive included some pics where Ive compared it with a Rs. 5 coin.
USB charger connector and 3.5mm input jack.
Blue Light -Turned on.
Purple Light- Charging and Turned On.
Red Light-Charging.
Would give a 8/10 for build quality & design.
[BREAK=The Sound]
The Sound
Lets check out whether the E5 does really improve the Sound quality.
My setup :
Head Direct RE2 IEM's,
Toshiba Satellite A305 laptop
( Sorry folks i do not have any MP3 player.Planned to get Cowon from the US )
I listen to more of EDM/trance and less of other generes,but for u all out there i have tried and included other genres also.
EDM/Trance Genre : Armin van Buuren,Markus SChulz,DJ Teisto
Hip-Hop: Flo-rida,Akon
Rock/Alternative rock : Rammstein,Linkin park
Pop: Enrique Iglesias,MJ
Bollywood:Rahman Live shows ,A.R Rahman :A World of Music (FLACs)
Warning : Turn down the volume to 30-50 % when using the Amp for the first time and then gradually increase according to your need,Very High or Full Volume can damage the earphones as well as one's ears.
Also keeping a low/mid gain on the amplifier makes the battery last longer.
The E5 certainly improves the lows and mids along with the sound stage to a large extent.I could feel the difference out of box.There were some songs of Markus Schulz and Armin van Buuren which sounded kind of low on bass on the stock RE2 but with the E5 they sound real good.The bass is punchy and not boomy but at higher volumes the bass goes boomy and the sound distorts very badly.High volume can also damage the earphone drivers and your ears.
The above is without turning on the bass boost.Now i did turn on the bass boost and Ohh my God :O !! the bass is more punchy especially with MJ's Dangerous i was going mad cause the bass was getting injected into my head.Where as when i heard the same song with out E5 it was not that punchy and highs were kind of bad.Flat mode and bass mode can be changed on the fly. In flat mode, it sounds airy and neutral with good detail. In bass mode, it sounds warm ,slightly dark with an increase of bass, most noticeable on the lower mid to upper bass region.
The E5 surely is a superb addition to a good portable audio setup.
Sound quality : 9/10
[BREAK=Battery Life.]
Battery Life.
The amplifier charges pretty quickly via USB ,approximately 20-40 minutes for a full charge and it lasted 20 hours with 50% volume (gain)on the E5.If the E5 runs out of charge it may take a while for the LED to turn red.Once completely charged the light goes off.You can use the E5 while it's being charged and in such scenario the light on the E5 turns purple.
The E5 doesn't get detected as USB device/peripheral when connected.
Would give a 8.5/10 for battery life.
[BREAK=Final Thoughts.]
Final Thoughts
Basically E5 is perfect for someone using a good mid-range /premium IEM's with a source which has low output like laptops etc.Don't expect it do wonders with a cheap earphone. I would suggest it to people who have earphones with low bass like the PL-30,RE-2 etc.
It is not a hi-fi amplifier like the Trends tube and the ChuMoys etc. This isn't exactly for some one buying a HD 650 or high-end head-gear. But it does the job perfectly of driving mid range earphones or the one's which are difficult to drive.
Pros
* Small
* Great battery life
* Aluminum housing
* Clip mechanism
* Volume control
* Bass boost feature
* Quite detailed sounding
* Very good sound compared for the price
Cons
* control buttons of Cheap quality
* Mute button missing
Overall the E5 deserves a 8.5/10 from my side.
