[Colosseum]

I'm using a brand new FiiO E10K with my Sennheiser HD555 headphones. When I listen to music through the E10K it sounds really dark and veiled compared to when I listen to music straight from the audio jack. I'm not sure if this is just me being inexperienced with what headphones sound like through amps (I had a FiiO E6 a few years ago and didn't notice any change when I used it). The bass boost is off and changing the gain from high to low doesn't change anything. It almost sounds like everything above ~500 Hz is cut really heavily. Is this a normal response to using a decent amp for the first time or does this sound abnormal? Thanks

 

[NA Blur]

The HD555 should sound anything but dark. Check and make sure the connectors are fully seated. Did you change anything else when you swapped to the E10k?
 
Are you using the DAC section as it could be a setting on your PC?

 

[seanwee]

is the bass boost on or off?
 
if its on top then its on, if its at the bottom position its off.

 

[Colosseum]

I did not change anything else, other than adding in a male to male 3.5mm cable to connect the line out on the E10K to my desktop. I doubt that would be what's causing the issue, but I will still try using a different male to male 3.5mm cable next time I'm at my desktop. My HD555's sound balanced and even bright when I plug them straight in to the headphone jack, but incredibly dark and veiled when I put the E10K in the middle. The bass gets to the point where it sounds muddy if the song is bass heavy at all. The bass boost is definitely off. The bass becomes completely dominating and overwhelming when I turn the bass boost on. I pushed all connectors in as hard as I reasonably could.
 
What do you mean by using the DAC section? I intend to use the E10K as both a DAC and an amp -- I don't have another DAC except the one that is built in to my motherboard.
 
Could this be indicative of a defective unit? Seems like a weird way for a defect to manifest itself. I could make a recording of my computer's speakers with and without the amp if it would help. Thank you very much for the help by the way!

 

[PinkyPowers]

other than adding in a male to male 3.5mm cable to connect the line out on the E10K to my desktop.

What?!

The E10K is a USB DAC. You have to connect the DAC to the PC with a USB cable. Not 3.5mm audio cable. The PC then outputs digital data to the FiiO, and the FiiO converts that to analogue/sound. You then plug your headphones into the headphone jack on the front of the DAC.

The outputs on the back of the E10K are meant for another receiver/amp/preamp, not you PC.

The chain should look like this:
PC>FiiO E10K>Senn HD555

 

[seanwee]

What?!

The E10K is a USB DAC. You have to connect the DAC to the PC with a USB cable. Not 3.5mm audio cable. The PC then outputs digital data to the FiiO, and the FiiO converts that to analogue/sound. You then plug your headphones into the headphone jack on the front of the DAC.

The outputs on the back of the E10K are meant for another receiver/amp/preamp, not you PC.

lol............

 

[Colosseum]

Ok I will unplug the 3.5mm from the back. Thanks

 

[samu]

 
Quote:
 

  Ok I will unplug the 3.5mm from the back. Thanks
 

Quote:

What?!

The E10K is a USB DAC. You have to connect the DAC to the PC with a USB cable. Not 3.5mm audio cable. The PC then outputs digital data to the FiiO, and the FiiO converts that to analogue/sound. You then plug your headphnes into the headphone jack on the front of the DAC.

The outputs on the back of the E10K are meant for another receiver/amp/preamp, not you PC.

The chain should look like this:
PC>FiiO E10K>Senn HD555

 
LoL, I just notice that. So you actually put the auxiliary through that Line-Out on the back and run your HD555 from the front, is it?
I have no idea that it actually work (transferring that analog signal to the headphone).
 
Don't mind that buddy. Everyone does that kinds of mistake once in awhile, hahaha.

 

[PinkyPowers]

Yeah. I can't imagine how he got sound at all with that setup.

 

[alynx]

The question is how does it sound now that  he got the setup right?

 

[ElectroEstatico]

This may be very obvious, but since you mention no effect on the gain switch, maybe you have the headphones plugged in the "line out" instead of the headphone jack?
 
other than that, a config problem with your pc or a defective unit is all I can think of.