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Radsone Earstudio ES100 Bluetooth DAC & Amp Review

mikehoopes

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I went on a 6-mile trail run this morning with an ES100 and FiiO FA7 in tow, using only my Apple Watch as a source. Brilliant. The FA7 needs EQ to combat mid-bass bleed, and wireless is a real benefit when running.

The USB Audio 1.0 limitation of the Qualcomm CSR8675 SoC is a factor that won’t be affecting future midrange portable products.
 
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artismo

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@amirm a good piece of hardware that I enjoyed. I used it in the most convenient way possible, Bluetooth and iPhone. I would expect performance to degrade from “good” and “recommended” in such a scenario of use. There are talks of the AAC codec (Apple’s implementation) being limited in resolution. That’s being said, is there meaningful way to test Bluetooth performance since I suspect many would also be in the same boat?
Any future plans to test the iFi Audio xDSD or xCAN?
 
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amirm

amirm

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That’s being said, is there meaningful way to test Bluetooth performance since I suspect many would also be in the same boat?
There is although we will be suffering from compression artifacts of the lossy codecs used in Bluetooth.
 

Hiilari

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Greetings from Finland, and thanks for the review! I have been very happy with mine, the biggest plusses being LDAC codec, the app, and the fact that this device (and other similar products) turn headphones into headsets. Using the balanced output I can easily drive my HE-400i. I got a short custom cable for it too, just long enough to shirt collar. The perceived ease of sound and bass drive might be partially due to the lower output impedance compared to my previous similar unit. The only disappointment is that the crossfeed seems not to work with LDAC, only with the aptX codecs.

IMG_20191019_102422.jpg
 
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Greetings from Finland, and thanks for the review! I have been very happy with mine, the biggest plusses being LDAC codec, the app, and the fact that this device (and other similar products) turn headphones into headsets. Using the balanced output I can easily drive my HE-400i. I got a short custom cable for it too, just long enough to shirt collar. The perceived ease of sound and bass drive might be partially due to the lower output impedance compared to my previous similar unit. The only disappointment is that the crossfeed seems not to work with LDAC, only with the aptX codecs.

View attachment 37298
something similar ;)
 

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JustPoo

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I don't suppose anyone has experience running Tin P1's from the ES100 do they? They take some pushing to really come alive and I like an EQ bump at the low end too, so I'm concerned the ES100 is just going to run out of oomph, balanced or not.

I love the feature set of the ES100 but I quietly suspect that I might need something with more kick to go mobile with these IEM's. Any owners of the ES100 giddily gallivanting around outside with their P1's? :)
 

Berwhale

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I don't suppose anyone has experience running Tin P1's from the ES100 do they? They take some pushing to really come alive and I like an EQ bump at the low end too, so I'm concerned the ES100 is just going to run out of oomph, balanced or not.

I love the feature set of the ES100 but I quietly suspect that I might need something with more kick to go mobile with these IEM's. Any owners of the ES100 giddily gallivanting around outside with their P1's? :)

I don't think you will have a problem. I have no issues using my MEEAudio Pinnacle P1's with a balanced cable with my ES100. The Pinnacle P1's have the same sensitivity as the Tin P1's (96dB), but a much higher impedance (50 Ohms vs 20 Ohms).

The Radsone App has volume calculator that give the following number for my Pinnale P1's...

Analogue Volume @ -28.0dB = 0.072 Vrms = 0.102 mWatts = 86.082 dB SPL

If I change the impedance to 20 Ohms to get the numbers for the Tin P1's I get...

Analogue Volume @ -28.0dB = 0.072 Vrms = 0.256 mWatts = 90.082 dB SPL

So the Tin P1's would be a fair bit louder (i'd have to increase the volume by 4.0dB to get the same SPL with my Pinnacle P1s as the Tin P1's @ -28.0dB).
 

JustPoo

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Thanks, Berwhale, if indeed that is your real name. I downloaded the app a few weeks ago and popped the numbers in (great app), but I didn't quite trust them because even though on paper it should be plenty, I was still getting over the shock of having to crank my amps so high to make them open up, they're wee beasties. They seem to demand you go past the point where you normally would, volume wise.

However, if that's what the numbers say, who am I to argue?. I'm not exactly sure how much power I'm stuffing into them at home. Edit, I just checked and it shows -13db on high power, give or take depending on the track, out of the RME's phone socket, the IEM output doesn't push them properly. What that is in milliwatts I don't know. Actually I do, it's too many, but it sounds damned good. I looked up your Pinacle P1's and they seem like they have the kind of signature I enjoy, I might have to give them a trial. Anyhow, thanks for your help, I'm reassured that the wee box of tricks Radsone have made will do the job now, it'll be nice to finally take these mobile!.
 
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JustPoo

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That's wonderfully obscure but I'm kicking myself for not getting it, I love a bit of Fry and Laurie (and A Bit of Fry and Laurie, aha). I was only listening to Mystery yesterday.


Laurie's Let Them Talk is a go to album for me, he's almost sickeningly talented. Fry's not exactly a slouch either.

Paul eh? Well what a very silly name. Which is of course why I choose to go by Poo instead. Actually it was less of a choice and more the fact that my mother called me Pauly Pauly Poo Poo as a kid. So since childhood til now, in my forties, my family/friends, even some coworkers, delight in calling me Poo. Yes, Poo sticks :oops:
 

Berwhale

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I looked up your Pinacle P1's and they seem like they have the kind of signature I enjoy, I might have to give them a trial.

I love my P1's, but only with Comply foam tips to calm them down. I would not advise getting them if you want to avoid the hassle and cost of using foam tips. Impact of foam tips of FR is illustrated below...

uncompensated_20170706100156.jpg
 
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JustPoo

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Wow, that's a significant impact, taking that (16db?!) treble peak down like that. I saw a graph for them but I think it must have been smoothed/flattened out, or just plain wrong, it looked more like the "after" curve. I'm treble sensitive so foamies would be a must, although I use them almost exclusively anyway. Thanks for the graph, consider me forewarned! :)
 

tential

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I don't suppose anyone has experience running Tin P1's from the ES100 do they? They take some pushing to really come alive and I like an EQ bump at the low end too, so I'm concerned the ES100 is just going to run out of oomph, balanced or not.

I love the feature set of the ES100 but I quietly suspect that I might need something with more kick to go mobile with these IEM's. Any owners of the ES100 giddily gallivanting around outside with their P1's? :)
It's bad. Personally, I don't think it's enough at all. I had to up the volume to almost max, where as with other iems, it's barely on(using balanced).

I'd wait for a bigger amp to be tested like the q5s or use that dongle that's very good. I feel like I'd want at least 4x more power than what this outputs for the tin hifi p1. I really was hoping this would be enough, but it's not to me.

Not sure why someone compared to the pinnacle p1, completely different iem. That's not a planar magnetic driver. Also I wouldn't trust the tin hifi p1 measurements. If we go off that, I should be at max volume very quick. Instead I'm 3 clicks from max volume to listen to the tin hifi p1, with bass boost enabled. I'd want more headroom than that.
 

JustPoo

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It sounds like the ES100 is just about scraping by with the P1's, plus I'm not sure if you listen at the same volume I do. Berwhale's comparison was based on the numbers of two difficult to drive IEM's and on the face of it should be pretty valid. I mean I plugged the numbers in myself and they do suggest the unit has enough oomph, even if I was sceptical after living with these things for a while. It's not an apples to apples comparison but it was helpful and appreciated. The Tin P1's just happen to be a black hole when it comes to energy, they're a wonder of the universe. I genuinely don't understand why these things suck so much power before they do their best work.

You have confirmed my suspicion though, it's why I've held off buying an ES100 for so long. I'm not sure Tin's numbers are correct either, or at the very least they're not representative of reality. I said in a previous post that I was running the P1's at -13db on "extreme power" from the RME. I was using them earlier and was actually at -5db, which is just insane for an IEM (maybe RME need an "insane power" setting!). It was loud but not uncomfortable, I don't think I run any of my full sized headphones at that power and it would kill most IEM's. Considering the RME can put out 1.5w per channel I'm not really sure where to turn for proper portable amplification. Maybe the Q5S as you say, although I was hoping for a smaller option - I'm not sure which dongle you mean. I'm definitely relectant to buy one of those multiwatt monsters as they're pushing the definition of portable!.
 
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