ah..... well... yea... it's sorta good if you're lazy, but these are usually marred by noise coming through the usb 5v. Unless you have a very low power system, the noise floor will be high.. Keep that in mind.. This is especially a problem with low resistant head sets / earbuds they are very sensitive to dc noise
I personally recommend any of those ebay diy kits, which are equivalent in performance to $300 equipment on a $100 Budget. 
There is a little bit of noise if you're using USB input with sensitive headphones or IEMs. Though this is solved easily by just using SPDIF coaxial or optical . The main appeal of the E17 is its portability and variety of functions rather than its performance.
I need to up-vote gunner's response -- this unit is all about convenience, versatility, and that SPDIF/DigitalCoax
input jack. Options for that SPDIF-in at lower price points are limited, and those options don't have a built-in battery, LCD display, 24/192, EQ customization, slim profile, etc. etc.
One thing I will note, though, for anybody that misses the Massdrop and happens upon this later, is that if you're lucky you can get these for pretty cheap elsewhere without a group buy. Got mine late last year for $105-shipped from SonicElectronix, which for some reason takes offers on this product both through their site and their eBay listing. I'm sure the acceptance level fluctuates, but worth a look if you want to save a quick $30 or so.
