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Review and Measurements of E1DA 9038S BAL Portable DAC & Amp

gustavjung

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Thank you! It's a pitty but it seems it won't work with my hd598se. Will continue my hard search of DAC in order to replace UCA222. Just thought I've found it.
 

Peter Pan

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Thank you! It's a pitty but it seems it won't work with my hd598se. Will continue my hard search of DAC in order to replace UCA222. Just thought I've found it.

You can buy a balanced cable for them quite cheap on eBay or Aliexpress (probably on Amazon as well) and your problem is solved.
 

Veri

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If your headphones don't have separate connection for L and R forget it.
But his headphones do are wired for it, all he needs to do is buy a balanced cable.
 
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gustavjung

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Hm, I am not sure, HD598SE has only one 2.5 input on the left ear cup. Will I be able to connect it to the DAC with 2.5 male 2.5 male cable?
 

badboygolf16v

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Hm, I am not sure, HD598SE has only one 2.5 input on the left ear cup. Will I be able to connect it to the DAC with 2.5 male 2.5 male cable?
I'll spell it out again. If your headphone does not have separate L and R connectors you CANNOT use the 9038S.

There should be no need of further discussion or questions. It is that simple.
 

Peter Pan

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I'll spell it out again. If your headphone does not have separate L and R connectors you CANNOT use the 9038S.

There should be no need of further discussion or questions. It is that simple.

I'm sure you think you know what you're talking about but your wrong on this matter. I've got the Hd598se and HD558 running with balanced cable and single side entry on the headphones.

The same is true for the AKG Sextett's....
 

Veri

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Ok, ok. I just read the thread on reddit where a guy says that hd598 is actually balanced headphones and uses 2.5 Trrs cable to connect it to balanced input of a DAC https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/bas7lv


That's what I already said above as well, linking to a suitable cable :rolleyes:

But his headphones do are wired for it, all he needs to do is buy a balanced cable.
 

badboygolf16v

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I'm sure you think you know what you're talking about but your wrong on this matter. I've got the Hd598se and HD558 running with balanced cable and single side entry on the headphones.

The same is true for the AKG Sextett's....
By definition a balanced headphone cable has separate L and R connectors. But I appreciate there could be some confusion.
 

Veri

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By definition a balanced headphone cable has separate L and R connectors.

What? No, if the headphone wiring is wired for balanced you can do that just fine with a 2.5mm or mini-xlr connection, many headphones are wired like this, even! The only requirement is having a compatible wiring between the balanced plug and the headphone internally, as with the sennheiser here.
There is no need for separate L and R "by definition", that's just false.
 

gustavjung

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What? No, if the headphone wiring is wired for balanced you can do that just fine with a 2.5mm or mini-xlr connection, many headphones are wired like this, even! The only requirement is having a compatible wiring between the balanced plug and the headphone internally, as with the sennheiser here.
There is no need for separate L and R "by definition", that's just false.
Thank you so much!
So I will just need 2.5 male -> 2.5 (male or female) cable? Right? 3.5 female -> 2.5 male adapter won't work for this. Right?
Sorry, just want to be sure before purchasing cables.
 

Veri

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Thank you so much!
So I will just need 2.5 male -> 2.5 (male or female) cable? Right? 3.5 female -> 2.5 male adapter won't work for this. Right?
Sorry, just want to be sure before purchasing cables.
Yes, you need a balanced cable for use with your headphone, and definitely NOT an adapter! Beware of adapters if you do not know for sure what you're doing. The amazon link above is an example for your specific headphone so that's the one I'd recommend.
 

avant-guvnor

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I understand that the E1DA DACs are primarily for headphone use. Does E1DA produce a DAC that can be connected to a Surround Processor/Preamplifier?
 
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