E1DA 9038D Review (portable DAC & Amp)

[Viennacalling]

There is a list of compatible cables using an iphone
Cannot find it anymore
Does somebody have a link to the list - thank you

 

[TK750]

There is a list of compatible cables using an iphone
Cannot find it anymore
Does somebody have a link to the list - thank you

E1DA 9038D Review (portable DAC & Amp)

I think it is worth to buy this instead of an apple dongle? If yes: Do you know if it works with a Fiio Ltg cable and the Iphone? I read that not all of the cables are working.

audiosciencereview.com

 

[kuulart]

Has anyone experienced a bitcrusher-like sound on a very low-level audio signal?
I am outputting sounds at -70dB and the HP amp is at full level and it sounds like there is bit-reduction happening. I have the 9038d6k and also this happened with my balanced headphone version 9038.

 

[Dolor]

There is a list of compatible cables using an iphone
Cannot find it anymore
Does somebody have a link to the list - thank you

iPhone cables for the 9038S&D

docs.google.com

;0)

 

[IVX]

Has anyone experienced a bitcrusher-like sound on a very low-level audio signal?
I am outputting sounds at -70dB and the HP amp is at full level and it sounds like there is bit-reduction happening. I have the 9038d6k and also this happened with my balanced headphone version 9038.

is there any reason to set the volume to -70dbfs? 70db is about 11bits ratio i.e. a lot. ESS9038/9039 volume uses 32bits, hence even here you are losing bits down to 21bits but of course, the biggest contributor is DAC's noise. If 9038D6K S/N is -126db(A) 70db of degradation will give you -56db(A) that's typical for R2R recorders or LP turntables.

 

[SilverSurfer178]

Has anyone experienced zero difference in sound with e1da 9038SG3 and other equipment?
Sure, I don't have any specific extremely high requirements or hope, but for some reason I do hear almost zero difference in comparison with the ASUS Xonar SE sound card.
Headphones: Verum Audio 2. According to some reviews, this headphones are comparable with Audeze LCD-2.
DAC firmware: E1DA_9038SG3_25MHz_LinPhase_slow_C_noSTBY.hex
Mode: looks like a performance mode, but i'm not totally sure. LED blinks two times per second, but only when signal is coming in.

I tried different players in Windows, different settings - 48 - 192 khz sampling frequency, 16 - 32 bit.
I tried different firmwares - no new result.
Sure, I tried various kinds of music genres, movies and even games.
Some things sounds different with just a little bit more clarity, but it's barely noticable.
Thank you!

 

[CedarX]

Has anyone experienced zero difference in sound with e1da 9038SG3 and other equipment?

Were you expecting differences?
I don’t know the Xonar SE, but 9038SG3 is certainly good enough to be “audibly transparent”.
With the fidelity levels achieved with current electronics—even a modest dongle—you’re much more likely to experience zero difference than the opposite.

 

[SilverSurfer178]

Any difference Better separation between instruments, better control of the base, anything.
Ok, if this dongle can be described as "audibly transparent", then can i hope to hear something better with expensive DAC-amplifier combo? Or that is also a waste of time?

 

[CedarX]

Any difference Better separation between instruments, better control of the base, anything.
Ok, if this dongle can be described as "audibly transparent", then can i hope to hear something better with expensive DAC-amplifier combo? Or that is also a waste of time?

IMHO, you’ll get more features, the satisfaction of owning a nicer DAC-amp combo—all perfectly fine!
…but I doubt it’ll sound objectively better.

 

[testp]

little difficult question, but for using 9038k6d as phone dongle, avg. db (~76-86db) + eq (max +6db) with hd490 pro (avg. Ω 120-134),

solderdude headphone measurments:
Power rating: 0.3W
Max. Voltage: 6V (17Vpp)
Max. current: 50mA
Max. S.P.L. 125dB
Impedance: 120Ω (measured)
Efficiency: 100dB @ 1mW
Sensitivity: 109dB @ 1V


how much is the power draw on a smartphone with this dongle (lets say avg. samsung), like can i listen to 3 hours?

 

[staticV3]

little difficult question, but for using 9038k6d as phone dongle, avg. db (~76-86db) + eq (max +6db) with hd490 pro ,

how much is the power draw on a smartphone (lets say avg. samsung), like can i listen to 3 hours?

The HD490 doesn't draw meaningful current during playback, so you're left with the D6K's baseline current draw, which is ~110mA or 0.55W.

Printed on your phone's battery is its rated capacity in Wh (look up teardowns).

Use the rated battery capacity, your usual battery life without dongle, and the D6K's power consumption of 0.55W and you can easily calculate the approximate run time.

 

[testp]

..specs says 3100mAh means 3100mA total i guess, so yeah looks good,

if my normal useage of (3100) is 3-4 days, that would not drain it that much for extra 3 hours (110mA x 3h), thx!