When In Manila, portable amplifier maker FiiO has invaded the market with their cheap yet well performing portable headphone amplifiers. Recently, they have brought out the FiiO E02i Rocky which is supposed to take over the mobile phone crowd with its built-in 3.5mm cable and microphone capabilities. Let’s see how it rounds up.
Build/Packaging: Packaging is a little difficult to tackle since I have noticed some FiiO E02i Rocky to have cardboard box packagings. The one I received had the smaller plastic box. I assume that the cardboard box packaging would be the newer packaging revision.
On the build quality of the FiiO E02i Rocky, it is obviously much better built compared to the FiiO E6. Housing is made of both plastic and metal instead of the full-plastic body that I disliked on the FiiO E6.
Sound Quality: To be honest, I expected the FiiO E02i Rocky to perform badly due to the size, price and purpose that it was made for. It easily is a no-no for hardcore audiophiles, but for beginners and those who just want an additional “touch” to their music while keeping microphone capabilities, the FiiO E02i Rocky is definitely a winner for its price-to-performance ratio. The FiiO E02i adds definite warmth and bass impact to the sound quality. It doesn’t give out much power so audiophile headphones should be kept away from matching the FiiO E02i. It lacks a lot of capabilities with its sibling, the FiiO E6, but it does have a different purpose. Meant to be used through the 3.
5mm earphone jack and has microphone capabilities, wherein the FiiO E6 preferably should be used with a line-out cable and has no microphone capabilities.
Overall, it falls on the purpose of usage. If I wanted to still be able to have hands-free calling capabilities, then I’m grabbing the FiiO E02i for sure for the price-to-performance ratio. FiiO has always been known for being bang-for-the-buck with their amplifiers, and this one doesn’t disappoint. Although for those seeking for a more “audiophile” grade experience, I’d advice to stay away.
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FiiO E02i Rocky portable headphone amplifier: Amplifier specially made for your mobile phone
