E1DA 9038D Review (portable DAC & Amp)

[IVX]

dvdblaster, no problem, 9038D will provide 2.75Vrms at a typical10kom input.

 

[Veri]

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

Yes

 

[Jimbob54]

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?

Makes sense ! Still don't know why it should be free.

 

[Benaudio]

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?

I have seen no other dongle that has such a small usable volume range in my setup. So for my particular case (iPhone + Sundara, pretty common I guess) it’s an issue. Having a solution is great, having to pay 10$ for it is not.
Other dongles exist with much more customization (EQ for instance) and that don’t have this issue for me. And their app is free.
i already said 10$ for the app is steep given the limited interface and features, and that all other companion apps are free.
take a look at Qudelix free app for a benchmark.
E1DA still a great product, but no longer the only one and not perfect either.
curious about the new Shanling offering also with both 3.5 and 2.5mm, if it measures well it’s a great contender.

 

[Haider]

I have seen no other dongle that has such a small usable volume range in my setup. So for my particular case (iPhone + Sundara, pretty common I guess) it’s an issue. Having a solution is great, having to pay 10$ for it is not.
Other dongles exist with much more customization (EQ for instance) and that don’t have this issue for me. And their app is free.
i already said 10$ for the app is steep given the limited interface and features, and that all other companion apps are free.
take a look at Qudelix free app for a benchmark.
E1DA still a great product, but no longer the only one and not perfect either.
curious about the new Shanling offering also with both 3.5 and 2.5mm, if it measures well it’s a great contender.

TBH I have seen and had stuff from Arcam rDAC, Marantz PM6006 inbuilt DAC & Meridian Explorer 2 portable DAC (sold on eBay to buy this) and that has never been an option...

 

[alter4]

I understand (I hope) what "standby" switch means, but no ideas how "mute" switch in tweak app works. Could somebody be so kind to explain?

 

[d1m0n]

I understand (I hope) what "standby" switch means, but no ideas how "mute" switch in tweak app works. Could somebody be so kind to explain?

AFAIK "Standby" affects the DAC+OpAmps and "Mute" affects the DAC output only

 

[IVX]

d1m0n, that's right.

 

[amirm]

A quick note on this channel differential:

I was chasing a different problem and grabbed this dongle randomly. I was surprised to see one channel's noise shoot way up at lower levels. This had nothing to do with balanced or unbalanced measurements. But rather, was trigged by using of the "high performance" mode in my APx555. This feature uses dual ADCs, one for the signal itself and the other for the rest of the spectrum. The result is that the analyzer distortion is essentially removed from the equation. Due to historical reasons, I had NOT used this mode for the above graph. But recently went ahead and enabled it due to so many devices doing well in this graph.

This is the snapshot with the High performance mode on:

As you see, one channel in blue has gone crazy, raising the noise level. It causes SINAD to drop by 15 dB or so as a result. And the fact that balanced input is used (under Input Configuration).

See what happens when I turn OFF the high performance mode:

The problem goes away. I sent a bug report to AP but just got a standard message of checking if the hardware is good. The hardware is. I will either have to turn this mode off like I used to have it or watch for it. Have not decided which.

Note that this doesn't impact the dashboard where this mode is always on as the levels are high.

Anyway, the "good channel" is the trustworthy measurement here for E1DA.

 

[IVX]

amirm and the dynamic range in your latest screenshot is near 122db unweighted, hence A-weighted(typically +2-3db) will match with my specs 125db. Good to see you didn't take my comments wrong and use balanced input now, please keep it up. I'm not against of somebody but I'm always on the side of the truth aka proved fact(a science as is).
Regarding AP, it is a kind of legacy issue, they did BW limitation ONLY after preamp and attenuator even in SYS1. Probably at the end of 80th it wasn't a big deal but today any dirty USB or smartphone with LTE On could seriously affect the precision of the test. I would add BW limit in the very first preamp stage to guaranty that my BW is truly limited and any HF noise content will be ignored.

 

[Veri]

Wow, may be a measurement at lower output but nice to see the complete abscence of harmonics..

 

[AudioJester]

Speaking of harmonics, i have been increasing levels with the app. Seems like Iam a closet tube guy and never realised before....

 

[IVX]

AudioJester me too, I noticed that max(-50db) level of the 2nd harmonic makes me happier, than "trivial" THD+N 0.00012%. However, it very much depends on the music you listen to. Jazz, jazz-vocal, classic is fine with tonnes of 2nd harmonic but AC/DC nooo.

 

[Tks]

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?

Wow this is awesome! So underrated, with so many portable devices and their software have jarring volume control (either not linear, or just crazy log curves where volume barely changes, but for the last 30% it jumps 80% of it's output power). Having max and min is such a nice thing.

 

[MC_RME]

The EIDA 9038D arrived today. Got the recommended Meenova Lightning to USB C cable 2 days ago. Plugged it into my iPhone 11, started Neutron, and....

DAMN SHIT!

Why did I have to wait for something like this so many years? Even my wife noticed and yelled from the kitchen 'what are you hearing there? Your smile is already larger than your face is wide!'

Happy camper here...

 

[IVX]

MC_RME, I believe you have some AP analyzer right? So you can adjust the THD at its minimum with the Tweak9038 app at any of your headphones loaded. The app is paid one $10 but you can return the app and refund your money after harmonics adjustment

 

[staticV3]

'Your smile is already larger than your face is wide!'

As is mine reading this
If you ever require any help, then feel free to contact us on our Discord server.

 

[Matias]

AudioJester me too, I noticed that max(-50db) level of the 2nd harmonic makes me happier, than "trivial" THD+N 0.00012%. However, it very much depends on the music you listen to. Jazz, jazz-vocal, classic is fine with tonnes of 2nd harmonic but AC/DC nooo.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/katzs-corner-episode-25-adventures-distortion

 

[IVX]

Matias, why do you think it is needed to read about that easy to try?

 

[Veri]

@IVX you have the meizu dongles too right? Any approximation of how much more power the E1DA needs to draw compared to a meizu dongle? Been wondering about that. Not that power is an issue but I suppose the 9038d will need to draw more than apple/meizu dongle