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

Lewzke

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It is digital Hardware volume before the Amp. There's no space in the housing to implement multiple Amp stages
That is ok, considering the 32bit headroom of the Sabre DAC, there is no bit information loss. Only the noise floor is the main question if you are using high amplification amps, but that can be solved with single resistor attenuators, I will avoid volume potentiometers anyway.
 

staticV3

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@IVX or @staticV3,

Would you please mention usual use cases of USB A OTG cable vs. USB C-to-C cable options offered with 9038S G3 on AliExpress? Is the OTG cable needed to connect 9038S G3 to my Windows PC, or a regular USB A to C cable is OK? Is there some special wiring about the USB C-to-C for connecting 9038S G3 to phone or DAP like iBasso DX 160, or a regular well-constructed USB C-to-C male-to-male is OK for this?
The OTG Y-splitter is necessary if you want to use the 9038S with an external power bank to preserve your phone's battery life for example.
OTG was only necessary for the G1. The newer devices have no need for OTG.
For use with a PC I recommend a basic USB A to USB C cable from Anker or Aukey.
As for the C to C, there are two types floating around. One has the OTG certificating and is therefore not reversible. One such cable is the Fiio LT-TC1, which has arrows to mark the direction.
The other type is a cable without OTG, which is therefore reversible. Anker's Powerline cables are of this type. Please note that the 9038S only uses USB 2.0. Other, faster cables will work as well, but here there's no benefit to them.
The C to C cable sold with the 9038S should be of the reversible type.
 
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JustAnandaDourEyedDude

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Thanks very much for the explanation, staticV3. It is very helpful!
 

IVX

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The current G3 Firmware(FW V1.0) configured to work as G2 "Performance mode" for PCM 44.1-192kHz to make a most clean THD harmonics distribution, and as G2 "Normal mode" for PCM384kHz and DSD to provide the best Dynamic Range(123db(A), Performance mode has 1db less) and SNR up to -123db(A). THD compensation utilizes two volume zones, one, if the volume = 0dbfs then the THD compensation optimized for light-load condition(good for high impedance open-back headphones, planars and so on), the second zone -127..-1db optimized for 32ohm load. The Nyquist filter is a linear phase slow roll-off. For legacy 44.1kHz I would like to recommend a sharper filter(see Tweak app) to make exact 0db at 20kHz but the slow one sounds a bit more comfortable to me.
 

uga

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@IVX
How will 9038S behave with low-impedance loads such as Final Audio E4000 (15 Ohm) or E5000 (14 Ohm) ?
 

uga

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To be honest, I didn't try that but Verum 8ohm(!) planar designer reports the 9038S is perfectly paired with that HP.

8 Ohm and planar = power hungry. That sounds convincing :D
 

Abohir

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2.5 mm trrs put on hd600 cable. I prefer OEM cables because the fittings to the headphone fit better.

Or for convenience's sake. Get a headphone cable that ends in 4 pin XLR. Then use an 4pin adapter to 2.5/4.4/3.5/anything.

This what I do.
Screenshot_20200524-103745001.jpg


When is the E1DA Tweak app expected to be ready? Do I get it from Google Play or from the official website.
 
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The 9038D wait won't hopefully be too long. I saw on the E1DA website that the "The preliminary release date is Jun 2020."
 

Jimbob54

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Or for convenience's sake. Get a headphone cable that ends in 4 pin XLR. Then use an 4pin adapter to 2.5/4.4/3.5/anything.

This what I do.
View attachment 65078

When is the E1DA Tweak app expected to be ready? Do I get it from Google Play or from the official website.


If I did things again I would do this- terminate in 4pin and adapt at the amp end. I terminated everything in 4.4mm and regret!
 

Jimbob54

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Just received my G3 today. Not had either of previous versions . Only feedback so far:

It works (into a Pixel 3, UAPP as player) and it powers Tin Hifi (EDIT P1) no problem- as expected.

Bring on the D!
 
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MalinYamato

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To me, this stick is magic. Is this a Dragonfly killer? Perhaps not as a portable phone DAC considering its power draw, but for desktop use it seems to crush DF. Why do I need a big desktop dac/amp for my medium power hungry phones when this magical thing exists? The latest generation is 3. What generation did Amir review? He gave it his strongest recommendation. The following generations mus be ever better, which makes me imagine this as a possible end game. Not!? Or what else is there for me in life?
 

IVX

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In my opinion, cobalt is completely another class of products. Plastic vs anodize aluminum(however, cobalt noticeable bigger so the weight could be comparable), 20 times difference in power, 100 times difference in distortions, 4 times lower PCM Fs(96 vs 384kHz), $300 vs $85. After all these differences the idle current consumption 70 vs 88mA doesn't look impressive, isn't it?
For everyone who itching to buy DF cobalt I honestly recommend taking a look at Meizu HiFi DAC. 5 times smaller aluminum case, 2-3 times less idle current consumption, the same or higher output power, 10-20 times fewer distortions, 3 times less noise = higher dynamic range, 32/384 +DSD, $19 vs $300 price.
 

uga

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For everyone who itching to buy DF cobalt I honestly recommend taking a look at Meizu HiFi DAC. 5 times smaller aluminum case, 2-3 times less idle current consumption, the same or higher output power, 10-20 times fewer distortions, 3 times less noise = higher dynamic range, 32/384 +DSD, $19 vs $300 price.

Totally true. And even better is Meizu HIFI DAC PRO with better amping (still much lower than 9038), at +- $35 depending on deals. I have one, within its limits sound is just great, soundstage and imaging are pro level. Can't drive E5000, barely enough to drive E4000.
 

lxlx

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Hey @IVX if I may ask, would you buy
- 2x balanced cables for my HD600 and HE4XX (9038s G2 I own already)
- wait for 9038d
?
Thanks
 
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