[Impression] Creative Sound Blaster E3 - Right Stuff for the Smart Age

Over the recent months, Creative Labs has been bursting out some pretty nice portable gears aiming from the basic casual user all the way up to serious audiophiles. Most importantly, they are pricing them in a way that almost makes all other major brands look greedy. Usually that’s the strategy reserved for new start-ups or lesser known companies, but I have no complaint. If anyway, I am glad to see Creative getting, well, creative again. Two of the major factors for any tech companies to success are innovation and addition of extra value to the user – that’s what Creative is doing now, finally coming out of the shadow of other big tech brands and remaking a name of their own in era of the smart devices.

[Impression] FiiO X1 - A New Beginning

FiiO has been quite successful with their X series of high resolution digital audio player. So much so that perhaps even they themselves didn’t anticipate that the company will have to shift its focus away from their portable amp business in order to keep up with the DAP demand. But with Apple fading grip on the pure DAP market, a new niche of higher end DAP is born from music lovers seeking a better device to replace their aging iPod. Well, maybe ‘new’ isn’t the right word here - the higher end DAP niche has been around since Hifiman HM801’s invention late last decade, but now it is in a new era of growth and competition. The significant of X1 is not in its technology or sound quality, but rather being the first 24bit / 192kHz capable DAP that is priced just under US$100. Does the affordability mean HD music isn’t just an expensive audiophiles’ thing anymore but rather going mainstream? It is probably too early to say with just one DAP, but it certain is one of the sign that the music world is moving toward that direction – and FiiO is on the forefront trying to catch a piece of the action with their new X1.

New Wood

JVC is releasing a new woody called HA-FX1100 as the upgrade model over their current woody flagship, the FX850. They looks pretty much identical on the outside as well as the overall construction, except perhaps the use of a darker wood on FX1100's wooden casing and 6N OFC cable (as oppose to SPOFC on FX850). One thing that will be noticeable is the price - compared to the FX850 with its street price around US$300 or so, the new FX1100 is priced around US$500. That's quite a price jump. Not sure what kind of magic JVC is putting into the new model, but it will have to be really good.