E1DA 9038D Review (portable DAC & Amp)

[Veri]

Hi everyone!
Is this dac overkill for my iem (kz zax: impedance 24 ohm, sensitivity 113 db)?

Honestly it does seem overkill because this is a high-power capable dongle. 113db sensitivity is very sensitive.
Maybe look into buying a Topping L30 or an Atom amp, connect it to laptop analog out or an apple usb-c adapter.

 

[Oukkidoukki]

Does using this in dac mode use much less phone battery? System works longer without outside power? Thinking using 02 jds as an amp..........

 

[staticV3]

Does using this in dac mode use much less phone battery? System works longer without outside power? Thinking using 02 jds as an amp..........

the 9038D itself daws much more current than your headphones, in the vast majority of cases, so using the 9038D as a DAC vs using it as a DAC+Amp won't make a difference as far as battery life is concerned.

 

[sistoz]

Honestly it does seem overkill because this is a high-power capable dongle. 113db sensitivity is very sensitive.
Maybe look into buying a Topping L30 or an Atom DAC, connect it to laptop analog out or an apple usb-c adapter.

Oh, I think this is a more reasonable solution.
Thank you for your advice!

 

[staticV3]

Hi everyone!
Is this dac overkill for my iem (kz zax: impedance 24 ohm, sensitivity 113 db)?
It will be used on a noisy old "gaming" laptop, so I hope to have no hiss problems...
Thank you for help!

Unfortunately, KZ's specs don't seem very trustworthy:


I can start to hear the 9038D's noise floor with the 107dB/mW, 16Ω (measured) Se215.
But the hiss is extemely quiet and only barely audible in a completely silent environment, with no music playing

 

[sistoz]

Unfortunately, KZ's specs don't seem very trustworthy:
View attachment 128117

Mmmh, thank you for the info. First and last purchase from KZ

 

[Oukkidoukki]

Why there is hiss? There is zero hiss in ipad air 2 phones out, zero hiss in o2 jds out.....why this has?

 

[staticV3]

Why there is hiss? There is zero hiss in ipad air 2 phones out, zero hiss in o2 jds out.....why this has?

Every Amp has some amount of hiss. No hiss would mean infinite SNR/DR, which does not exist.

If you can hear it, depends on the sensitivity of your drivers, the Amp's max output power, and its SNR/DR.

The 9038D has a very competent SNR of 125dB.
What makes it problematic is that it's a lot more powerful than most dongles and therefore not that suited to drive IEMs.

 

[Oukkidoukki]

Ok, so little hiss in iem ......but akg k702 or beyer dt770 I can't hear it?

 

[staticV3]

Ok, so little hiss in iem ......but akg k702 or beyer dt770 I can't hear it?

Definitely not.

 

[Oukkidoukki]

Thanks!

 

[AdamG]

Mmmh, thank you for the info. First and last purchase from KZ

Welcome Aboard @sistoz.

 

[Oukkidoukki]

What you guys think....gobuz+android+apple usb c dongle+02 jds........is there something to gain with e1da?

 

[Tks]

Every Amp has some amount of hiss. No hiss would mean infinite SNR/DR, which does not exist.

If you can hear it, depends on the sensitivity of your drivers, the Amp's max output power, and its SNR/DR.

The 9038D has a very competent SNR of 125dB.
What makes it problematic is that it's a lot more powerful than most dongles and therefore not that suited to drive IEMs.

On an LG V50, even with KZ IEM's (ZSN for example) I don't hear hiss at all. And these damn things draw out hiss in almost every device (also don't hear it from an RME DAC)

 

[staticV3]

On an LG V50, even with KZ IEM's (ZSN for example) I don't hear hiss at all. And these damn things draw out hiss in almost every device (also don't hear it from an RME DAC)

I don't see your point. That you can hear hiss doesn't have anything to do with the 9038D being a bad piece of kit, but everything to with you using highly sensitive IEMs with a powerful Amp that has a fixed gain stage.
The DUT has a dynamic range of 125dB (as tested by IVX), which is great, but if you need to reduce volume by 80dB to get comfortable loudness, then obviously it'll be a poor experience.
Use the right tool for the job at hand.

 

[Atanasi]

The DUT has a dynamic range of 125dB (as tested by IVX), which is great, but if you need to reduce volume by 80dB to get comfortable loudness, then obviously it'll be a poor experience.
Use the right tool for the job at hand.

What dongle-type DAC-amp even has a noise floor lower 9038D? According to the specs, BTR5 is about the same, maybe worse.

 

[Tks]

I don't see your point. That you can hear hiss doesn't have anything to do with the 9038D being a bad piece of kit, but everything to with you using highly sensitive IEMs with a powerful Amp that has a fixed gain stage.
The DUT has a dynamic range of 125dB (as tested by IVX), which is great, but if you need to reduce volume by 80dB to get comfortable loudness, then obviously it'll be a poor experience.
Use the right tool for the job at hand.

My point was, the claim that all devices exhibit hiss, is a false statement when audibility is concerned.

As far as using the right tool for the right job or whatever. IEMs seem like a sensible use case for portable products like this. Many coming out are sensitive. Hiss being tied to a gain thats set too far high, then I'm not sure what the point of such high gain would be unless the use case was to have a desktop amp substitute in a portable form factor. Likewise with gain being massive and power output likewise, usable volume range being minimal is quite an undesirable experience as you say yourself.

 

[staticV3]

What dongle-type DAC-amp even has a noise floor lower 9038D? According to the specs, BTR5 is about the same, maybe worse.

I think you're mistaking SNR/DR as a metric for noise, which it plainly isn't.
There are loads of dongle's which have way less power, which, in conjunction with a competent SNR, will naturally result in a noise floor that's quite a lot lower than the 9038D.

 

[staticV3]

My point was, the claim that all devices exhibit hiss, is a false statement when audibility is concerned.

Every device has noise and every device will audibly hiss, if your transducer is sensitive enough.

As far as using the right tool for the right job or whatever. IEMs seem like a sensible use case for portable products like this.

Form factor is no longer a reliable indicator of what kind of transducer is a good match for your Amp.
What is a good indicator is the output power, which is clearly stated on the mfr website and on every reseller.

 

[Atanasi]

There are loads of dongle's which have way less power, which, in conjunction with a competent SNR, will naturally result in a noise floor that's quite a lot lower than the 9038D.

For example considering 50 mV SNR, I don't think there are dongle-type devices measured here that are better than 9038D or 9038S. Or do you know any?