Review and Measurements of E1DA 9038S BAL Portable DAC & Amp

[ayane]

The E1DA 9038SG3 is incredibly good for the money. I know that the L&P W2/W2-131 and Meizu HiFi outperform it in terms of noise floor, but the 9038SG3 deserves praise in still having close to 2 µVrms noise floor with the same USB power supply-derived 5 V rails in a much smaller form factor. The others aren't that much ahead with 1.2 µVrms noise floor, which is only 4 dB or so.

More importantly, the 9038SG3 has a huge leg up on all other dongles in one regard, and this chart tells the full story why: the 9038S clips softly and is able to push much more power into 16 ohms before THD becomes too much, which is extremely relevant to people using current-hungry planars like DCAs.

Props to @IVX for such amazing performance in a tiny form factor. I'm considering buying one to use with my Framework laptop, when they're back in stock on Linsoul.

 

[IVX]

ayane, huh, you forgot to mention that 9038SG3 has the unique feature to optimize THD performance at the particular load. For example, at 16om THD could be improved for a few times when the L&P W2/W2 even at 32ohm will show you 10x worse distortions than without load

 

[ayane]

ayane, huh, you forgot to mention that 9038SG3 has the unique feature to optimize THD performance at the particular load. For example, at 16om THD could be improved for a few times when the L&P W2/W2 even at 32ohm will show you 10x worse distortions than without load

Would you mind sharing a graph similar to this one showing how THD+N tracks output voltage with THD optimization turned on? for maybe 16 ohms?

How much of a difference would it make at, say, 2.5 V (400 mW into 16 ohms, where THD+N in the graph is at 1%) with it on vs with it off? What are the trade-offs besides slower PLL?

 

[IVX]

Slower PLL usually provides the best jitter but may have losses of the sync and you can get muting during music plays.
I'll show you THD vs Level sweep 9038SG3 16ohm loaded with the different THD optimization settings, by the way, you can implement it as a volume depended and 3 zones of the hardware volume slider will switch three THD compensation values(see attached pic#2). 2.5Vrms corresponds to -2.4db on the horizontal scale, obviously the "Red" has the lowest THD in that level.

 

[m8o]

There is no other dongle dac that can push any where near the same power let alone as cleanly into the 14 ohms of the Audeze Euclid, as this. I should have bought this dongle like I was thinking I should when I bought the accessories to the Cosmos from the aliexpress store. My mistake. ... going to have to buy it now and just wait for delivery again (as shipping to the US takes a while, as would be expected), tho i may have found someone selling one in the US.

 

[ayane]

@IVX What are your thoughts on hacking/repurposing the E1DA 9038S to be used as an expansion card for the Framwork Laptop? As an owner of the latter, I have to say that this laptop is amazing, but I've been spoiled with my super-capable desktop headphone setup. I need way more power than what it's got built-in can deliver, so the 9038S fit the bill. But I was thinking why use it as a dongle when it can just as well be integrated into the laptop as an expansion card, fitting more snugly and securely?

I recently ordered the 9038SG3 and I'm thinking of thinking of taking it apart, soldering in a male USB-C port instead of a female port, and enclosing it into a 3D-printed case that matches the dimensions of the Framework's expansion card size (although it will protrude a bit).

 

[staticV3]

A Framework DAC+Amp expansion card designed by E1DA would be awesome!

 

[IVX]

Expansion Card is PCIe based..​

 

[staticV3]

@IVX AFAIK the USB ports on the Framework Laptop are standard USB 3.2 ports just recessed into the housing, so you could in theory just plug any Type-C accessory into them.

Edit:
Here's a look at the Expansion card PCBA with a Phison PS2251-17 USB Storage Controller:

 

[ayane]

Expansion Card is PCIe based..​

Framework modules are USB-based.

USB ports on the Framework Laptop are standard USB 3.2 ports just recessed into the housing, so you could in theory just plug any Type-C accessory into them.

Correct! They actually support USB4, not just 3.2, so you can even plug in Thunderbolt devices into them.
Edit: The ports themselves re guaranteed to be able to deliver 5 V, 1.5 A over USB-PD, but may be able to provide as much as 3 A.

 

[IVX]

Yes, I understand now that Framework Laptop is a very new and so far exotic laptop, however, I think the 10gramms DAC is small enough to use with a normal USB port. In that case, all laptops may use that, not only Framework Laptop.

 

[mikeburns]

I have a simple question about the Powerdac v2 that I wonder if someone might be able to answer for me. I currently use it for balanced headphones and it works great. But I have an even coming up where I need to play music from my laptop into a mixer. I wanted to output music from my laptop into the powerdac (v2) to utilise its superior sound over my onboard computer dac. Could I purchase a 2.5mm male to standard RCA Male to connect my laptop --> powerdac --> mixer? Or does this pose a problem due to the balanced connection?

 

[staticV3]

It's not possible.

 

[Veri]

Could I purchase a 2.5mm male to standard RCA Male to connect my laptop --> powerdac --> mixer? Or does this pose a problem due to the balanced connection?

As the warnings in the manual show, you can't do that (could kill the device).

 

[mikeburns]

Thanks very much for the replies. Will look for another option for this specific case.

 

[vonkenregen]

Anyone tried the 9038D with Hifiman Sunada? Is the power sufficient? Also, I can't seem to find the 9038D on AliExpress anymore

 

[staticV3]

The 9038D is out of production due to the silicon shortage.
An improved G2 is already prepared and ready for production, as soon as the silicon prices calm down a bit and @IVX catches a break from fleshing out the Cosmos product line.

 

[vonkenregen]

The 9038D is out of production due to the silicon shortage.
An improved G2 is already prepared and ready for production, as soon as the silicon prices calm down a bit and @IVX catches a break from fleshing out the Cosmos product line.

Thanks, I will wait a bit then Was the G1 powerful enough to work well with the Sunada?

 

[Rottmannash]

The 9038D is out of production due to the silicon shortage.
An improved G2 is already prepared and ready for production, as soon as the silicon prices calm down a bit and @IVX catches a break from fleshing out the Cosmos product line.

Is the new G2 a balanced output device?

 

[IVX]

D means unbalanced.