E11 or another E17?

I have an E11, a Cmoy that I built myself, heard the E10 and E17 as well as some insignificant other AMPS/DACS.

Inner amp-quality wise, E17 is just superior to the E11. In every ways, it just is. Small and big differences in every area.

Price wise, if you have the money, sure get a DAC/AMP however E11 is still a very nice portable AMP for what you pay so in the end its up to you. Id personally get an E11 because you alrady have the E17. If your willing to pay $150+ for a portable amp, there are many other options out there.

Didn't want to make a new thread. As a purely desktop dac/amp, would you say the E17 (at $140 CAD) vs the E10 ($80 CAD) is worth the extra 60 bucks?

That's a tough question. The E10 IS a desktop DAC/AMP while the E17 is meant for more portable uses, yet it's still better.

If you have a massive sum of money available, get the E17. If spending the extra cash on the E17 will hold back other purchases you were planning on making or something like that, get the E10.

Me? I'd get the E10

Yea, that's what made the decision difficult. The e10 is a desktop unit, as you said, and its cheaper and from reviews I've read only slightly worse as a unit. But that still means the e17 is better, and the portability might be a plus. I'd really love to hear them in person to compare, because I'm not sure the portability would be worth it, but the better quality might be haha.

I know what you mean. You want the best, even if it costs a stupid amount more. I just checked the Fiio E10's price and was shocked to see it now selling for under $70. I remember it selling for $100 last time I checked. Even with me wanting the nest as well, the E17 still isn't the best and for what it's worth, I'd just get the E10.

The E10 is a desktop amp/dac and I think for how much it costs it does what it does amazingly well. The amp isn't all that great alone, the dac isn't all that great alone, together its just a combo you can't beat.

If your really looking forward to shedding $140 on the E17, you might just try and spend a good amount more on a good desktop combo featuring a separate amp and a separate dac, maybe even go the DIY route. Lurk Headfi a little bit more, I had times where I completely changed my decision in hours before buying on purchases that I did days of research on. I learned there's always something better out there, you might spend time looking for it and be glad you did, or just say screw it and still enjoy whatever it is you got, still knowing you made a good choice.
I'm getting a little off topic here but the point is don't be restricted to Fiio.
I remember for weeks I had the E7 on my to-buy list, then one day I heard of the iBasso D-Zero and was blown away and got it the day after.

For your desktop needs, just save the cash and get the E10. If you really want to go further do what I suggested above.

Good luck and I'd be happy to assist you further.

Main issue with the e10 is it's amp isn't all that great at all so if you have high impedance headphones you will want the E17. If your headphones can be driven easily the e10 will probably be the better bang for the buck.

Unless you need the DAC in that combo, the most optimal amp for desktop usage in that price range is not a Fiio product at all. It would be the O2 at 150 from JDS labs. Less if you can build it yourself.