• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Schiit Fulla E DAC & Amp Review

Rate this DAC & HP Amp

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 29 16.6%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 91 52.0%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 49 28.0%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 6 3.4%

  • Total voters
    175

peniku8

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Dec 9, 2020
Messages
362
Likes
717
Yeah. It seems as though Topping has evolved the marketing strategy of selling several boxes rather than all-in-ones. Want a DAC? Buy one. Want to listen on headphones, then buy an amp. Want to use speakers, buy another amp box. Stack them neatly on your desk and connect them together with a bunch of annoying cables and wires... and wall warts.
Want an all-in-one? We have some, but they seem to have a bad reputation.
I'll turn it around:
"I just want a super simple DAC for my speakers, why do I need to pay for an integrated headphone amp which I don't need?"
Well now we have two arguments which both don't make sense, because there are products for either customer, which is great.
I don't know which "all-in-one" Topping products supposedly have a bad reputation, but I'm pretty happy with my EX5.
My only grief with it would be the lack of digital outs (SPDIF or AES) but my speakers sound just fine on XLR too ;-)
 

sarumbear

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 15, 2020
Messages
7,604
Likes
7,314
Location
UK
One thing Schiit touts with the Fulla is its microphone input. I wonder how it performs compared to a regular microphone input on a PC.
@amirm as it is part of the audio functionality do you mind testing the microphone chain as well? This is an audio interface. Testing only the part of DAC without the ADC is not giving the full picture.

Thank you for the test.
 

Kremmen

Member
Joined
May 18, 2021
Messages
33
Likes
71
Location
UK
My concern is that if I were to use this Schiit device to drive high impedance headphones the ensuing clipping that Amir spoke of could give rise to an unpleasant condition I call 'dire ear'.
 

bboris77

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
444
Likes
931
This is a review and detailed measurements of the Schiit Fulla E DAC, Headphone Amplifier and microphone input. A member kindly drop shipped one to me and costs US $109.
View attachment 249873
I think the packaging and color are absolutely adorable! And I really like the feel of a volume control on top. Connectivity is rather rich despite the tiny package:

View attachment 249874

You have Toslink in addition to USB-C input. No power supply is provided but you need one to use Toslink by itself (or use your computer's USB connection). A microphone input is provided to go with the gaming angle:
View attachment 249875

During the testing I ran into a problem with the clock sync would get lost at times. I could not figure out what was going on. I contacted Schiit and they sent me another one with the same problem. You can see its manifestation here:
View attachment 249876

Source tone was 1 kHz so we should see a flat line but instead, there was this pattern to clock jumping lower at very precise times. I managed to figure out that whatever sample rate the unit is powered on in, works fine. But if you change it, you get this instability. So if you started with 44.1 kHz and only played that sample rate, all was well. But if you switched to 48 kHz, which some of my tests use, you get the above instability. Power cycling the unit would get it working at 48 kHz but now, switching to 44.1 kHz would cause the problem. I reported this to Schiit and they have confirmed it is a firmware bug. They have a unit with updated fix coming to me to confirm. Company says they have not had any customer complaints about this which is believable as likely people just play 44.1 kHz content.

As an aside, I like Schiit's sense of humor as evidenced in the name the product exposes to USB class:
View attachment 249888

Schiit Fulla E Measurements
Let's start with our dashboard:

View attachment 249881
This is decent enough performance for the class, clearing 16 bit hurdle. But as regular readers know, competition is stiff in this price range with many higher performance products (but with different features/pricing):
View attachment 249882
View attachment 249883

Here is the performance at other output levels:
View attachment 249890

Maximum of 2 volts is going to hurt power rating at high impedance later.

Noise performance is good at 2 volts out and above average at 50 millivolts:
View attachment 249884

View attachment 249885

Linearity is very good:
View attachment 249886

Jitter is not:
View attachment 249887

Fortunately not likely to be an audible concern.

IMD is again decent for class:
View attachment 249889

The standard default DAC reconstruction filter is provided:



View attachment 249891
Which again results in decent wideband distortion+noise test:
View attachment 249892

You buy this device to use with headphones so let's see power at 300 ohm:
View attachment 249893

As I predicted, we don't get much of it before the output clips. We are talking dongle class performance here, not desktop. Fortunately current delivery is good resulting in good bit of power at 32 ohms:
View attachment 249894

I have not had a chance to listen to it. When I do, I will update the review.

Conclusions
Schiit nails the look and functionality of this little box. It is so good that I think they should consider making a higher performance, slightly larger one. As is, general performance is good sans the low output voltage which limits usage of high impedance headphones to efficient ones. The sample rate bug is unfortunate and keeps me from recommending it.

-----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
Amir, is this clock sync bug audible?
 

MadMaxx

Active Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2022
Messages
135
Likes
240
Location
Islamorada, FL Keys
I've got an earlier version of the Fulla (I think it's the 3). It's a cool little device that works great with a pair of iLoud Micro Monitors for my iPad Pro's audio.

PXL_20221214_204038310.jpg
 

lashto

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 8, 2019
Messages
1,045
Likes
535
@amirm as it is part of the audio functionality do you mind testing the microphone chain as well? This is an audio interface. Testing only the part of DAC without the ADC is not giving the full picture.
Manufacturer measurements for Fulla and Hel. Pretty similar to amir's and I'd say the bigger brother is worth $90 extra. Actually, can't see a reason to buy the small one unless you are on a super tight budget.

Unfortunately they do not provide the missing measurements either: ADC, mic, volume control.
 

Cars-N-Cans

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
May 19, 2022
Messages
819
Likes
1,009
Location
Dirty Jerzey
Just my subjective observation: Those here sporting 300-ohm headphones are pretty solidly in the high-end music camp. They probably aren't in the market for a gaming/conferencing device. And getting high voltage out of a USB-powered device can be a complication that adds circuitry.
I'm just glad to read that the audio quality is good enough for casual music playback.
The could offer a balanced version that’s in the same form factor that would allow it to swing to the rail in both directions. Alternately they could generate a local negative supply for the SE applications. Granted this would not be the typical minimalist design flavors we get from Schiit, but it would provide something more compact if you wanted to take a set of dynamics to use on vacation. I mean obviously people won’t be taking their $10k headphones, but at least it would have a more valid usage case. As it is the relatively low drive ability puts it in dongle territory but in a larger metal box thats not as convenient to use.
 

GWolfman

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 3, 2020
Messages
624
Likes
1,041
Almost voted poor due to the bug, but kept it as is since it's already fixed.

I hope these are able to be firmware-upgraded by the users. Is that the case?
 

PeteL

Major Contributor
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
3,303
Likes
3,838
I presume (?) the mic input provides power for the mic,
I think you should not presume that. There is no indication of this. What type of mic are you willing to use? I assume what they had in mind are permanently charged electrets from standard gaming or work from home headset, or very efficient dynamics, not full fledged phantom powered condenser mics.
 
Last edited:

Jim Shaw

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 16, 2021
Messages
616
Likes
1,159
Location
North central USA
I think you should not presume that. There is no indication of this. What type of mic are you willing to use? I assume what they had in mind are permanently charged electrets from standard gaming or work from home headset, or very efficient dynamics, not full fledged phantom powered condenser mics.
Yeah, I get that. I'm thinking of the typical laptop/phone mics that we use, like lavs, headset mics, and other auxiliary mics. They take a little, low-voltage power to operate, like 3vdc. That's what I was asking. I don't expect it to power a U87 at 48vdc
 

pseudoid

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 23, 2021
Messages
5,125
Likes
3,439
Location
33.58 -117.88
Thank you for the review, AmirM,
Isn't this DAC's performance on the north side of Doctor Shiit claiming "The operation was successful; but the patient died!"?
 

Joe Smith

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Jan 4, 2019
Messages
984
Likes
1,028
Frankly, the current Modi/Magni Schiit stack is just the way to go for value proposition...I have the original Fulla (v1) and still use it occasionally when I have to go to the office, but it has a nigh noise level and the pot is kinda scratchy...

I think the current Fulla units are OK but nothing to write home about...the size and form factor is decent, but the performance could be a lot better...
 

pseudoid

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 23, 2021
Messages
5,125
Likes
3,439
Location
33.58 -117.88
I am inclined to think that the original motivation of AmirM, by creating this great AudioScienceReview website, was for the greater-good of the music/audio oriented consumers.
As such, publicly revealing problematic hardware releases in the consumer audio market not only makes wiser consumers (us) but also holds consumer audio manufacturers to a standardized AND quality set of deliverables to the consumers.
202212_SchiitFulla.png

My simple question [which kept me up last night ;)] becomes:
"What is Schiit company willing to do to correct such a WRONG they have committed against their customers, which in trust of the namebrand, purchased what they thought was a uniformly "quality" hardware?"
If this manufacturer IS NOT willing to make a conscientious effort to replace every single one of Schiit Fulla purchases; then, ASR and its members should boycott any future testing/purchasing of the brand's audio products.
It would be forthright for Schiit to post an ASR apology for the public good... and face-saving.
 

Jim Shaw

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 16, 2021
Messages
616
Likes
1,159
Location
North central USA
My simple question [which kept me up last night ;)] becomes:
"What is Schiit company willing to do to correct such a WRONG they have committed against their customers, which in trust of the namebrand, purchased what they thought was a uniformly "quality" hardware?"
If this manufacturer IS NOT willing to make a conscientious effort to replace every single one of Schiit Fulla purchases; then, ASR and its members should boycott any future testing/purchasing of the brand's audio products.
It would be forthright for Schiit to post an ASR apology for the public good... and face-saving.
Read their warranty. Don't try to make your own fantastic rules after the contract is fulfilled according to the contract.
You'll sleep better...
 

bboris77

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
444
Likes
931
Read their warranty. Don't try to make your own fantastic rules after the contract is fulfilled according to the contract.
You'll sleep better...
Some kind of partial recall would be warranted in my opinion if the clock sync issue identified by @amirm in his original review is audible. If it is, and the firmware on these units is not user-upgradeable, Schiit should issue a statement and offer to upgrade the firmware on all the affected units in the field.

If it is a glitch with no audible impact, then we are in a grey area.
 

pseudoid

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 23, 2021
Messages
5,125
Likes
3,439
Location
33.58 -117.88
Read their warranty. Don't try to make your own fantastic rules after the contract is fulfilled according to the contract.
You'll sleep better...
Well spoken for a lawyer or a Schiit fanboy.
To a regular consumer and/or a consumerist; you might as well have used the standard excuse for shoddy hardware of "but... but.. the dog ate my homework!"
 
Top Bottom