E1DA 9038D Review (portable DAC & Amp)

[capslock]

I don't have my dongle (yet), but from what I have read in this thread, the settings are saved to the dongle.

 

[IVX]

yeah, all settings are memorized, also, you can export that as a preset, and your friend will import etc.

 

[AudioJester]

Thanks, thats awesome! Might order another one for work.
To think I have previously spent thousands on dac / amp combos which have not had anywhere near as good performance.

 

[IVX]

AudioJester, very soon, I hope, you'll get a chance to adjust the THD of 9038D loaded to your particular headphones, with my Cosmos ADC. Of course, if you geek enough

 

[Jimbob54]

Can I ask about the android app and "programming" the dongle. If I change settings in the app and then connect the dongle to a windows pc - are the settings still changed? Or do the changes only hold when connected to an Android device running the app?

I was told the settings "stuck" with the device on different source machines. Think you would have to do a factory reset to change without the app. I can confirm they remain between Android devices but I've not moved to a PC.

 

[Haider]

On my iPhone 7 Plus I find the volume control is not granular enough when using the E1DA 9038D. It is either too loud or too quiet. Is there a way I can limit the output to a certain volume and then the iPhone will use that volume range and provide more granular steps across that smaller (volume) range...

 

[Haider]

yeah, all settings are memorized, also, you can export that as a preset, and your friend will import etc.

Ivan I found your website, it's a cool story. Good Luck to you and Tyoma.

 

[staticV3]

On my iPhone 7 Plus I find the volume control is not granular enough when using the E1DA 9038D. It is either too loud or too quiet. Is there a way I can limit the output to a certain volume and then the iPhone will use that volume range and provide more granular steps across that smaller (volume) range...

Yes, you can configure the upper and lower volume limit of the hardware volume range using Tweak9038 on an Android device.
Upper limit is included in the free version, lower limit is part of the $10 premium version.

 

[Benaudio]

On my iPhone 7 Plus I find the volume control is not granular enough when using the E1DA 9038D. It is either too loud or too quiet. Is there a way I can limit the output to a certain volume and then the iPhone will use that volume range and provide more granular steps across that smaller (volume) range...

Sorry for the slight tangent but it’s also an issue on the 9038S on iPhone and Mac with my Sundara. 3 clicks from max it’s too quiet, one clic more it is much too loud.
i wish the volume curve were more progressive on iOS and Mac near max.
don’t know if it’s something you could change with a future update of the tweak app?

 

[staticV3]

Sorry for the slight tangent but it’s also an issue on the 9038S on iPhone and Mac with my Sundara. 3 clicks from max it’s too quiet, one clic more it is much too loud.
i wish the volume curve were more progressive on iOS and Mac near max.
don’t know if it’s something you could change with a future update of the tweak app?

You can already configure your volume range so that all 16 steps are within your loudness preference and not for example 1-12 -> too quiet, 13-15 -> usable, 16 -> too loud.
But yes, I agree. It would be cool if you could define the internal volume curve.
I've already suggested that feature to the dev, but haven't gotten any news yet regarding that.

 

[AudioJester]

Whats the difference between 9038D and 9038SG3?

 

[capslock]

Whats the difference between 9038D and 9038SG3?

D is regular 3-Pole TRS 3.5 mm single ended out, S is 4-pole TRRS 2.5 mm balanced (I think we should be saying BTL) out, meaning you can't tie the VL- and VR- outputs together.

 

[Veri]

Whats the difference between 9038D and 9038SG3?

Single ended 3.5mm vs balanced 2.5mm.

 

[Benaudio]

You can already configure your volume range so that all 16 steps are within your loudness preference and not for example 1-12 -> too quiet, 13-15 -> usable, 16 -> too loud.
But yes, I agree. It would be cool if you could define the internal volume curve.
I've already suggested that feature to the dev, but haven't gotten any news yet regarding that.

Just so I get it 100%, to do that I would have pay the premium app to set lowest volume right?

 

[staticV3]

Just so I get it 100%, to do that I would have pay the premium app to set lowest volume right?

Setting a maximum volume limit is part of the free version, setting a minimum volume limit is part of the $10 pro version.

 

[Benaudio]

Thanks for the answer
feels like a basic function like this should be free, not half free

 

[staticV3]

Thanks for the answer
feels like a basic function like this should be free, not half free

Since when is the ability to configure the hardware volume range that is accessible via UAC2 commands (remember: that's not the same as plain hardware volume control via UAC2) a basic feature of dongles?
Do you know of another dongle with that level of customizability?

 

[Jimbob54]

Thanks for the answer
feels like a basic function like this should be free, not half free

Why are you even bothered by setting a minimum volume level? Does any other portable audio device let you set a min volume level? Max is surely the important one?

 

[IVX]

Jimbob54, the max limit often needs folk with sensitive IEMs to avoid crazy-loud shock. The min limit you can like to use to make the volume slider response more "linear" if that looks too much "unlinear". For example, Win10 + Comtrue driver makes the Volume slider work from 60% to 100%(0 to 40% just silence) at my HE400i, so I can set the min limit at -50db and get slider work wider, 10% to 100% is much better than 60-100, right?

 

[dvdblaster]

Can the E1DA 9038D be used as a dedicated DAC for a headphone amp, like the Topping L30? Also, I’d like to know whether the DAC would input close to 2.7V into the amp in this setup, or less. Thank you in advance for the responses