E1DA 9038D Review (portable DAC & Amp)

[TK750]

Quick question; has anyone used this with a Nintendo Switch? If it works it could be great for gaming on the go.

I have one on order that should arrive hopefully at the end of this week/start of next. I also have a switch and would be happy to test it for you if nobody else does beforehand.

 

[GGroch]

My 9038D arrived a few days ago and I am very pleased with the sound and flexible options. It works well driving headphones from my Pixel, and is perfect feeding my El Amp on Windows.

I have a driver issue on two Windows 10/64 installs done today. Using the newest 03/30/21 driver. Both were installed as directed and work well, but the device managers show an unrecognized "iAP Interface" device that disappears when the 9038D is not installed and returns when it is. A Google shows a similar issue with a HiDiz USB Dac.

Any ideas? Newest Windows Updates all installed.

 

[staticV3]

My 9038D arrived a few days ago and I am very pleased with the sound and flexible options. It works well driving headphones from my Pixel, and is perfect feeding my El Amp on Windows.

I have a driver issue on two Windows 10/64 installs done today. Using the newest 03/30/21 driver. Both were installed as directed and work well, but the device managers show an unrecognized "iAP Interface" device that disappears when the 9038D is not installed and returns when it is. A Google shows a similar issue with a HiDiz USB Dac.

Any ideas? Newest Windows Updates all installed.

The unrecognized iAP interface is what everyone with the driver sees and it's nothing to be concerned about.

 

[Haze]

I have one on order that should arrive hopefully at the end of this week/start of next. I also have a switch and would be happy to test it for you if nobody else does beforehand.

Cheers!

 

[Archangel]

Someone actually checked the power draw on both this and the hidiz s9: the hidiz costs far more battery life, I believe roughly double, correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[alter4]

Might be useful for someone, just bought this 6 in 1 device. Work perfectly. Allow both my devices to charge and use 9038D same time.

 

[Atanasi]

Might be I am wrong but AFAIK USB DAC transition protocol doesn't use error correction.

USB has CRC for error checking, but handling corrupted frames is up to the DAC.

 

[digititus]

Might be useful for someone, just bought this 6 in 1 device. Work perfectly. Allow both my devices to charge and use 9038D same time.

Android devices?

 

[staticV3]

Android devices?

Yes, but only with an Android phone that supports USB power delivery charging, a USB hub with USB Power Delivery passthrough, and a Power Delivery USB charger.

 

[digititus]

Yes, but only with an Android phone that supports USB power delivery charging, a USB hub with USB Power Delivery passthrough, and a Power Delivery USB charger.

That's what I thought. Most Android devices do not support this

 

[alter4]

Most Android devices do not support this

I checked my LG G7, My samsung tab S7 and my wife's Huawei P20. All they work good, going to check galaxy S8 and mi9 lite soon.

 

[Rottmannash]

@staticV3 is there a way to change filters when using the dongle on Windows 10?

 

[staticV3]

@staticV3 is there a way to change filters when using the dongle on Windows 10?

Yes. On Windows you can change filters with the firmware update tool.
Download links for the driver, update tool, and the firmware files are on the E1DA website:
https://e1dashz.wixsite.com/index/9038d

Here's a video showing how to flash a new firmware to the DAC:

If there's a specific filter that's missing from the ones that you can download via the website, then you can request a custom firmware on our discord.

That being said, unfortunately the Comtrue USB Bridge doesn't validate a new firmware before executing it. That means that if the USB connection is interrupted while a new firmware is being written to the 9038D, then that will brick the device. In that case, you'd have to send it back to IVX to get a replacement.

I personally have used the update tool about 50 times without any issues, but a customer bricking their DAC has already happened a few times (<10 afaik).

Naturally, IVX would want everyone to use the App instead, since it does not carry that risk, but it being exclusive to Android and the filter control being part of the Pro featureset, which costs $10, obviously complicates things.

 

[Veri]

Got my E1DA 9038d delivered through hifigo's customs and duties pre-paid shipping option. Took a little while but no extra costs indeed, nice

So far so good. It sounds quite nice. Surprised how LOUD it goes though, this is like the A30 Pro of dongles haha. Very powerful single ended output. I need to put my system volume at at least -12dB for my Audeze Sine planar closed-back headphones. That's some ridiculous headroom left!

 

[TK750]

Cheers!

Hey, just to let you know I received the 9038D yesterday and tried it with the switch in handheld mode but unfortunately was not able to get any audio through the dongle. The led on the dongle illuminated for a split second as it was plugged it but I imagine this is just due to it receiving power and not signifying any sort of communication etc. I haven't tried it in the dock with a usb a to c cable for example, I wouldn't expect this to work but I'm happy to give it a try if you would like me to?

 

[staticV3]

Hey, just to let you know I received the 9038D yesterday and tried it with the switch in handheld mode but unfortunately was not able to get any audio through the dongle. The led on the dongle illuminated for a split second as it was plugged it but I imagine this is just due to it receiving power and not signifying any sort of communication etc. I haven't tried it in the dock with a usb a to c cable for example, I wouldn't expect this to work but I'm happy to give it a try if you would like me to?

From what I can gather, the Switch only works with UAC1 enabled DACs.
The 9038SG3 and D are strictly UAC2 devices, so it was expected that they would not work.
While it may be possible to put the S and D into UAC1 mode through firmware, IVX hasn't gotten around to looking into it.
That being said, the UAC2 specification was released almost 15 years ago, so Nintendo had plenty enough time to implement support for it.

 

[Rottmannash]

Yes. On Windows you can change filters with the firmware update tool.
Download links for the driver, update tool, and the firmware files are on the E1DA website:
https://e1dashz.wixsite.com/index/9038d

Here's a video showing how to flash a new firmware to the DAC:

If there's a specific filter that's missing from the ones that you can download via the website, then you can request a custom firmware on our discord.

That being said, unfortunately the Comtrue USB Bridge doesn't validate a new firmware before executing it. That means that if the USB connection is interrupted while a new firmware is being written to the 9038D, then that will brick the device. In that case, you'd have to send it back to IVX to get a replacement.

I personally have used the update tool about 50 times without any issues, but a customer bricking their DAC has already happened a few times (<10 afaik).

Naturally, IVX would want everyone to use the App instead, since it does not carry that risk, but it being exclusive to Android and the filter control being part of the Pro featureset, which costs $10, obviously complicates things.

Thanks. So if I download this firmware how do I change the filter? Do I have to go through this process again to change it? Can I also change the output? I have the paid Android app and have finally sort of figured all of it out but on Windows it's stumped me. I went through this process on one of my PC's but don't know what that accomplished.

 

[staticV3]

Thanks. So if I download this firmware how do I change the filter? Do I have to go through this process again to change it? Can I also change the output? I have the paid Android app and have finally sort of figured all of it out but on Windows it's stumped me. I went through this process on one of my PC's but don't know what that accomplished.

The firmware called "Tweak_9038D_C.hex" is a universal firmware that enables communication to the Android App.
Every other firmware has specific, fixed Filter, MCLK, THD, and standby parameters embedded into it. These will not work with the Android App.
If there's a specific set of parameters that you'd like to have as a fixed firmware, then you can request that from IVX on the E1DA discord server.
Oh and please know that every parameter you change in the App is instantly saved to non volatile storage on the 9038D and stays active no matter what USB host you use.

 

[TK750]

From what I can gather, the Switch only works with UAC1 enabled DACs.
The 9038SG3 and D are strictly UAC2 devices, so it was expected that they would not work.
While it may be possible to put the S and D into UAC1 mode through firmware, IVX hasn't gotten around to looking into it.
That being said, the UAC2 specification was released almost 15 years ago, so Nintendo had plenty enough time to implement support for it.

That's interesting, thanks for explaining. Yes it does baffle me sometimes that companies don't support 'newer' standards that are themselves pretty ancient. Personally it's not something I'm particularly bothered about but I'm sure @Haze will be glad to know =].

The firmware called "Tweak_9038D_C.hex" is a universal firmware that enables communication to the Android App.
Every other firmware has specific, fixed Filter, MCLK, THD, and standby parameters embedded into it. These will not work with the Android App.
If there's a specific set of parameters that you'd like to have as a fixed firmware, then you can request that from IVX on the E1DA discord server.
Oh and please know that every parameter you change in the App is instantly saved to non volatile storage on the 9038D and stays active no matter what USB host you use.

As someone that doesn't own an android device I've been trying to use the app via an android vm however with the new firmware installed I get a usb device not supported error, do you know if anyone has had any success using the app via a vm? Many thanks

 

[Atanasi]

That's what I thought. Most Android devices do not support this

For me, support for USB PD, in particular hubs with charging, is a decisive requirement. USB PD is actually in Google's guidelines as a strong recommendation: STRONGLY RECOMMENDED to support Power Delivery for data and power role swapping when they support Type-C USB and USB host mode.
I wonder why so many manufacturers disregard this.