JDS Labs Element IV DAC & HP Amp with EQ Review

[amirm]

You can save an unlimited (I believe) number of profiles, so yes you can switch between headphones as you please

He/I are asking for selection to be in the device, not in the computer. 2 to 3 should be enough.

 

[unpluggged]

Neumann don't advertise the fact

They actually do:

RME has also published their remote control MIDI and OSC protocols, both for ADI-2 line and for TotalMix FX.

Spotify offers PEQ-ish controls (which clearly I am not using :-D):

This is not PEQ at all.

 

[johny_2000]

Would you prefer to see Core released as an opensource project?

This may be better for some skeptical clients about web applications. Publish the project as open source with compilation instructions.

 

[pablolie]

This is not PEQ at all.

I said "PEQ-ish"... that said I wonder how you can be so definitive. It probably covers what 80% of PEQ settings ultimately do. I clearly have no use for it, personally.

 

[gvl]

It probably covers what 80% of PEQ settings ultimately do

Not even close.

 

[unpluggged]

I said "PEQ-ish"...

It's GEQ, not "PEQ-ish" (whatever on earth it could mean).

that said I wonder how you can be so definitive.

It's part of my character and a bit of professional deformation

It probably covers what 80% of PEQ settings ultimately do

Not even remotely. Treat it as nothing more than a fancy tone control.

Allright, it's off the topic anyway

 

[somebodyelse]

They actually do:

That's changed for the better - that bit wasn't there last time I looked. I guess it's a reaction to pyssc and khtool.

 

[TurtlePaul]

I said "PEQ-ish"... that said I wonder how you can be so definitive. It probably covers what 80% of PEQ settings ultimately do. I clearly have no use for it, personally.

You clearly don’t know what we are doing with parametric EQ if you think a six band graphic EQ can do the same thing. A room mode, a room boundary cancelation or a driver resonance cannot be corrected with what Spotify offers. PEQ is a fine tip pen and GEQ is a broad paint brush.

 

[pablolie]

You clearly don’t know what we are doing with parametric EQ if you think a six band graphic EQ can do the same thing. A room mode, a room boundary cancelation or a driver resonance cannot be corrected with what Spotify offers. PEQ is a fine tip pen and GEQ is a broad paint brush.

I repeat I said PEQ-ish for the cheap rows, and clearly haven't found any use for it myself.
what your "we" are doing with PEQ is zero concern of mine. I set my room up with Dirac so buzz off. kudos for trying to claim an imaginary following as a "we"...

 

[Billy Budapest]

I repeat I said PEQ-ish for the cheap rows, and clearly haven't found any use for it myself.
what your "we" are doing with PEQ is zero concern of mine. I set my room up with Dirac so buzz off.

Difference between PEQ and Graphic EQ in a nutshell:

PEQ vs Graphic EQ

 

[pablolie]

Difference between PEQ and Graphic EQ in a nutshell:

oh awesome a vendor pitch. so not a way to to convince anyone. there's a venn diagram there but I won't bother.

 

[adc]

He/I are asking for selection to be in the device, not in the computer. 2 to 3 should be enough.

What he said. I have two or three sets of cans that I like to swap around.

 

[adc]

It's part of my character and a bit of professional deformation

Heh ... I resemble that.

 

[unpluggged]

what your "we" are doing with PEQ is zero concern of mine.

I won't bother.

Yet you do bother to keep arguing. Why?

 

[pablolie]

a a a1

Yet you do bother to keep arguing. Why?

Quoting out of context won't trigger me remotely, nice try. Bait someone else.

Didn't argue to begin with.

 

[tccalvin]

Surely there must be a way to implement a menu directly on the interface to edit the PEQ parameters, even if it can’t be done in real time or ends up being a bit clunky.

Requiring an internet connection and ongoing developer support to access a feature that’s already built into the device is a major drawback. It gives off strong “planned obsolescence” vibes, even if that wasn’t the intention.

 

[xaxxon]

This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of the JDS Labs Element IV (4) stereo DAC and headphone amplifier with support for parametric equalization. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $499.
View attachment 411274
The Element IV implements their large and joyful horizontal volume control. It also has a small OLED display that shows inputs, sample rate, volume, etc. It auto shuts off after you make adjustments.

It implements one of my favorite features in headphone amplifiers: auto gain setting. Below 0.0 dB, it runs in low gain mode. Turn up the volume beyond that and it will switch to high gain. The switching is not transparent but not glitchy either. Adjustment of the volume control likewise is accompanied with faint ticks. Again, not annoying.

As with their other designs, it is powered by an AC transformer:
View attachment 411275
It does NOT work with usb-c alone (I tried). On off and RCA/Headphone switches are in the back as you see. A little less convenient to use than front controls. Note that only optical Toslink is provided which it calls S/PDIF. That is technically correct but I kept cycling through the input selection looking for Toslink. Speaking of that, pressing the volume control selects inputs.

The main differentiator here beyond the volume control is implementation of Parametric EQ. For people who don't have access to the same in software/player, this is a critical feature. It did not have time to test it. Company did and reassuringly showed that it has no impact on performance.

JDS Element IV DAC Measurements
I set the volume to max and measured RCA output. With my Analyzer in "floating" input, there was fair amount of USB induced noise. Through grounding the analyzer, I got 90% of that out. I had this issue before with other JDS products so company sent its USB isolator which it calls Synapse. Inserting that in the USB path eliminated all noise resulting in same measurements as company has published:
View attachment 411277
Distortion is vanishingly small at -130 dB, with SINAD then being noise dominated. Performance is good enough to land in our "very competent" ranking of all DACs tested:

View attachment 411278

Here is the same zoomed:
View attachment 411279

Noise performance is excellent, but shy of state of the art:
View attachment 411280
This shows up in IMD test:
View attachment 411281

Linearity is excellent as well:
View attachment 411282

Multitone is state of the art:
View attachment 411283

As is 50 Hz into 600 ohm load:
View attachment 411285

There is some random noise/jitter though:
View attachment 411284

Filter response is the typical we expect with excellent attenuation above 24 kHz:
View attachment 411286
View attachment 411287

Wideband response is excellent and again, just shy of state of the art:
View attachment 411288

JDS Element 4 Headphone Amplifier Measurements
I made a pair of measurements: one with volume at 0 dB and hence low gain, and another at max volume and hence, high gain:
View attachment 411289View attachment 411290

That is a ton of power, especially into 33 ohm. Distortion is extremely low and no clipping at either impedance. So if you are hearing distortion, it is in the headphone, and not the amplifier.

You do get clipping as you push the amp even more, below 32 ohm:View attachment 411291

There is still plenty of power available. As noted, output impedance is essentially zero so no concern there.

Volume control is implemented actively so channel balance stays perfect at all settings:
View attachment 411292

Finally, noise performance at 50 mv is very good:
View attachment 411293
Ranking well above average:
View attachment 411294

JDS Element IV Listening Tests:
My Sennheiser HD650 is out on loan so I tested with the Dan Clark E3 which is low impedance and rather insensitive. The Element IV drove it harder than I had ever heard. I did not even dare to use the last few dBs of the volume control as the impressive bass was starting to resonate things in my ear canal that should never resonate! The fidelity was incredible with track after track. You should have no trouble driving just about any headphone with Element IV with superb sound quality.

Conclusions
JDS delivers "A-" performance when it comes to DAC's objective performance. But then goes to A+ on the headphone amp which is incredibly powerful. It gives you delightful control in the form of that large rotary volume control. And of course, equalization. The entire package is incredibly appealing and quite unique.

I am happy to recommend the JDS Labs Element IV (4) DAC and headphone amplifier.

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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

> For people who don't have access to the same in software/player, this is a critical feature. It did not have time to test it

@amirm, that was the only part of the product that was interesting to me, can you go back and test it, please?

Thanks.

 

[Blake Klondike]

I was recently surfing desktop motherboards and found that USB-C is still not available in multiples of connectors at the motherboard IO plate. I understand multiple USB-C devices may operate from one connector. Are we to use a USB-C hub for multiple devices? What is the method here?

what does that mean, that it will not work with usb-c alone? i want to just plug my android phone into it. it sounds like that might not work?

 

[staticV3]

what does that mean, that it will not work with usb-c alone? i want to just plug my android phone into it. it sounds like that might not work?

The Element needs 17V AC from the included transformer to function.

It cannot be powered off USB alone.

 

[enricoclaudio]

Thanks @amirm for another great review. This unit is a testament that good performing DACs at an affordable price can be designed and built In the USA by an American company with warranty and service in the US.