EarMen Tradutto

[Hapo]

...anyone have any thoughts on this DAC...???...

Amazon.com: EarMen Tradutto Ultra High-Resolution Fully Balanced DAC with Bluetooth Receiver - 32bit/768kHz PCM, DSD512, DOP, 768kHz DxD, MQA, aptX-HD : Everything Else

Amazon.com: EarMen Tradutto Ultra High-Resolution Fully Balanced DAC with Bluetooth Receiver - 32bit/768kHz PCM, DSD512, DOP, 768kHz DxD, MQA, aptX-HD : Everything Else

www.amazon.com

 

[Killingbeans]

EarMen Tradutto

Dual Power Supply Digital to Analog Converter With MQA & DSD Support

earmen-shop.com

Not a big fan of the aesthetics. Funky choice of balanced output connector, but I guess it makes things more compact.

This part is nonsense to me:

Gold Plated PCB - Not only does it give a good clean low resistance contact, but the perfect flat surface.

Would prefer gold plating on the RCA connectors instead.

Personally I wouldn't pay anything close to $800 for a stand alone DAC, not even if I really loved the aesthetics and the company had an outstanding reputation for quality control and customer service. If it had a really luscious knob for digital volume control and a powerful headphone amp, I'd might be willing to dish out more.

 

[Hapo]

@ RCA connectors...now that you mention it, I would too...

@ the rest...well fuk...ya can't be Topping this...

"EarMen Tradutto is a piece-of-art device with the power to Enhance Sonic Performance of your system"

...I bet it would cost even more if it were state of the art...I wonder if they realize how much that looks like "piece of crap"...

@ Amazon...I wonder how many people will buy the "last one"...LoLoL...

 

[amirm]

...anyone have any thoughts on this DAC...???...

Yes one: "don't ever buy a DAC without measurements."

 

[Hapo]

...will you measure one...???...you want mine...???...this guy likes it...

...can't find much aboot it..it's not like I got much tyme...

...they claim to have managed SQ though careful consideration in regards to power supply and out put stages...no magic...

...that is just where one knowledgable member said the Modi 3+ started to show deficincies...

EarMen Tradutto Review

The EarMen Tradutto is a fully balanced desktop DAC featuring an ES9038Q2M DAC, MQA, and Bluetooth wireless capability. It is priced at $799. Disclaimer: The EarMen Tradutto sent to us is a sample in exchange

headfonics.com

...some of this could explain cost...???...

• We used wima capacitors to obtain the lowest THD, as well as audio electrolytes in combination with MELF low noise resistors and SoundPlus OPA1642 operational amplifiers which proved to be great for getting neutral sound.

​

 

[EJ3]

Yes one: "don't ever buy a DAC without measurements."

According to their blurb about themselves, measurements seem to matter little, they say it in next to the last sentence:

About EarMen​

About Us​

We are an audio company that has been developing Tube Amplifiers for more than a decade and working on perfecting neutral, natural and clean sound that is packaged in a beautiful and quality design. We wanted to turn our experience and love for sound into something that will be available to a larger number of people, and EarMen was born. We realized a long time ago that it's not all about measurements and results from paper, so we don't even compete with others, because perfect sound has no competition, it's a personal experience of something pure that the performers bring us. Our motto is, sound above all.

 

[Hapo]

...yea well nobody likes youse guys...youse tin eared mutherfuks need machines to tell if something sounds good... (grin)

 

[EJ3]

...yea well nobody likes youse guys...youse tin eared mutherfuks need machines to tell if something sounds good... (grin)

I am of the persuasion that it must measure well AND sound good (to me) AND look good (to me). It seems that getting some combination of two of those attributes is easy but getting all three is not.

 

[Hapo]

...indeed...I am not sure my equipment us up to this level anyway...I am listening to Wharfdale Diamond 12.2 speakers...

...I agree with your sentiments above...I am only worried aboot audible distortion though...

...I don't really care if it measures better or worse than some other DAC per se...

 

[rebbiputzmaker]

Yes one: "don't ever buy a DAC without measurements."

They are posted in the Amazon listing.

Item Dimensions LxWxH	5.91 x 5.91 x 1.18 inches
Item Weight	550 Grams

 

[Prana Ferox]

'EarMen' just sounds like another weird internet fetish.

 

[Doodski]

'EarMen' just sounds like another weird internet fetish.

It's right up there with earwig!

 

[EJ3]

...indeed...I am not sure my equipment us up to this level anyway...I am listening to Wharfdale Diamond 12.2 speakers...

...I agree with your sentiments above...I am only worried aboot audible distortion though...

...I don't really care if it measures better or worse than some other DAC per se...

I know many have better hearing than me. So I don't worry that one measures better than another too much. But I do know that I can perceive some things that bother me. If it measures well, that is less likely to happen. So, if something doesn't measure well, I KNOW that it won't sound good to me. But if it does measure well, that means that it will likely sound great to me BUT it MIGHT not.

 

[Hapo]

...according to their published specs it is in the ballpark if not state of art in that regard...not chasing the numbers does not nessesarily mean building crap...

...if it sounds like Schitt I will send it back to Amazon and tell everyone...even if it does not sound bad I already have Schitt...

...I offered to have amirm test it for us...what more can I do...???...just wait for some one else to do it...???...

...FWIW it looks like I did get the last one there...I most likely would not have jumped on it if it were not through Amazon...

 

[Hapo]

They are posted in the Amazon listing.

Item Dimensions LxWxH	5.91 x 5.91 x 1.18 inches
Item Weight	550 Grams

...so not much bigger than Modi...maybe its a trap...

 

[amirm]

...according to their published specs it is in the ballpark if not state of art in that regard...not chasing the numbers does not nessesarily mean building crap...

Those "specs" are usually chip specifications, not the implementation. At $800, it better be world class or there is no reason to buy something this expensive. If you are not picky, then I suggest buying the myriad of high performance DACs I have tested that cost $100 to $150. You need to have a specific reason to chase an $800 DAC.

 

[Hapo]

...when you put it like that I might as well just stick to the Modi and forget aboot everything else...it's not like I am dissatified with it...I plan to keep that...

...do you want to test the Tradutto...???...I would just want it back before the Amazon return window closed...

...you don't have to listen to it...I'll do that... (grin)

...if I can't hear any difference I would be glad to admit this to everyone just keep the $$$ but I would still be glad to have you test it....

...if it makes it so I like what I hear better I don't care how much it cost if I have the $$$...or how it measures, eh...

...I would still like to know the actual numbers either way...

...FWIW I am liking my "new" Niles SI 2150 more than I do my Dayton APA 150...your review sold that amp...got me started here...

...I liked the APA 150 just fine and your review of it did not make me hate it but I did condsider there may be something better to drive those ELAC Uni-Fi 2.0's I got rid of...I plan to keep both amps...

...your horrifying review is not why I got rid of the ELACs...I still liked those too but they hurt my ears...I replaced them with Wharfdale Diamond 12.2 and very much like them but feel thay may be limiting...I should probably spend the $800 on upgrading the speakers but need somthing easy on the ears...I could spend like $1500...don't want to though...then no $$$ for fancy hi fi DAC...(grin)

 

[mhardy6647]

...this guy likes it...

Welcome to the 21st Century: the Age of Influencers.
or, as scholars might put it*, the Anthropoinfluenceogenic Age.



_________________
* Scholarhip's gone down the toidy in the last 30 or 40 years, too!

'EarMen' just sounds like another weird internet fetish.

Just the IoT evolution of Walkmen*

___________________
* OK, technically Walkmans. Or Walkpersons, or even Walkbeings, as one prefers.
Far be it from me to be speciest!

 

[Hapo]

While it won’t be as textured as some R2R DACs, the EarMen Tradutto takes the detailed presentation of the ES9038Q2M and injects some excellent layering and dynamics through a careful design of both the power supply and the analog output stage.

...so this is just bullshit...???...does anyone here use R2R DAC...???...

...I almost bought a Pegasus Musician...have been condsidering Ares II...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0891X8BM8/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=highstrungaud-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B0891X8BM8&linkId=100f6c3c2af63e43fdd98d535fd10951

 

[Killingbeans]

There's always some fashionable audio tech that people believe cuts through the Gordian Knot sitting between them and audio Nirvana.

R2R seems to be all the rage these days. The image of discrete resistors gives people all kinds of association to nostalgia and the precived infallibility of everything "analogue". Their imaginations run wild.

Not that there's anything wrong with R2R. A good DAC is a good DAC. Doesn't matter what tech it's based on.

But forget about "texture" and all that other nonsense.