Review of TRN Black Pearl: Portable USB DAC & Headphone Amp with 10-band PEQ

[jkim]

what is trn black pearl output impedance on 3.5 and 4.4 ?

Output impedance was measured very low. Just updated the review.

if all my source music is 48khz/16 bit, will it make an audible difference if i set my usb dac on windows10 to 384khz/16 bit instead of 48khz/16 bit ? is 8x upsampling audible in practice ( in theory yes with lowered jitter i guess but with an untrained listener such as 99% of us) ?

See here.

 

[amanieux]

Output impedance was measured very low. Just updated the review.


See here.

You wrote .22 ohms, for 3.5 0.12 ohms for 4.4, are you sure it is not the other way around because usually balanced is double the impedance of SE

 

[jkim]

You wrote .22 ohms, for 3.5 0.12 ohms for 4.4, are you sure it is not the other way around because usually balanced is double the impedance of SE

I know what you mean. I was wondering, too. On the Black Pearl, the voltage drop ratio (i.e., Vratio = Vload / Vopen) is definitely higer for the balanced output than for the unbalanced. Are you aware of any output impedance measurements for a similar CS43131-based device (not with op-amps)?

 

[julian_hughes]

... too.

.​

Your review mentions 10 band parametric EQ but when I look a the product or at descriptions its app, it is described a 8 band.

 

[jkim]

Your review mentions 10 band parametric EQ but when I look a the product or at descriptions its app, it is described a 8 band.

That was when the product was released. The current firmware supports 10 bands. See here.

 

[pangcukaipang]

It's weird. Last week, I finally able to listen to the Dune soundtrack normally, but today the distortion happened again. Haven't changed anything. Setting on my Windows 11 is 32 bit/384 kHz and on my Walkplay is Class AB, High gain, NOS.

Do you have a step by step workaround?

I just remembered last week I tried EQ-ing with Walkplay app which add negative preamp and also reducing the lower frequencies, and I don't hear the crackling noise. Which is why when I deleted the custom EQ earlier this week, I can hear the crackling noise again.

So today I tried to add only negative preamp (but via Equalizer APO this time) without any EQ, and sure enough I don't hear the crackling noise again. Same result when I restore the preamp to 0 and manually lower the Black Pearl's volume. It's very clear sounding at low volume.

 

[amanieux]

I know what you mean. I was wondering, too. On the Black Pearl, the voltage drop ratio (i.e., Vratio = Vload / Vopen) is definitely higer for the balanced output than for the unbalanced. Are you aware of any output impedance measurements for a similar CS43131-based device (not with op-amps)?

Ibasso macaron jr : Output Impedance: <0.2Ω (Balanced), <0.1Ω (Single-ended) this one also measures. Better than black pearl but costs $50 and does not have peq

 

[jkim]

Ibasso macaron jr : Output Impedance: <0.2Ω (Balanced), <0.1Ω (Single-ended) this one also measures. Better than black pearl but costs $50 and does not have peq

Where did you get this info? Published specs or 3rd party measured?

 

[amanieux]

Where did you get this info? Published specs or 3rd party measured?

iBasso Macaron CS43131*2 Flagship DAC ear amplifier adapter

The iBasso Jr. Macaron is a compact, high-performance DAC designed to deliver high-quality audio across various platforms, including Win, Mac, Android, and iOS devices. It offers professional-grade sound with its flagship dual Cirrus Logic CS43131 DAC chips, advanced circuitry, and a sleek...

thehificat.com

 

[jkim]

Ibasso macaron jr : Output Impedance: <0.2Ω (Balanced), <0.1Ω (Single-ended) this one also measures. Better than black pearl but costs $50 and does not have peq

We do not know its actual specs until a 3rd party measures it.

iBasso Macaron CS43131*2 Flagship DAC ear amplifier adapter

The iBasso Jr. Macaron is a compact, high-performance DAC designed to deliver high-quality audio across various platforms, including Win, Mac, Android, and iOS devices. It offers professional-grade sound with its flagship dual Cirrus Logic CS43131 DAC chips, advanced circuitry, and a sleek...

thehificat.com

That's manufacturer specs. Output impedance measurements could be made by different methods. My results were obtained by a quick method measuring a single-tone voltage drop across loads.

 

[IVX]

jkim, so CS43131/43198 with DRE Off is a low-end DACs with DR worse than 120db(A)(118-119 I guess), am I right?

 

[jkim]

jkim, so CS43131/43198 with DRE Off is a low-end DACs with DR worse than 120db(A)(118-119 I guess), am I right?

As for portable DAC/HP amp devices, DR numbers referenced to their maximum output levels are not much meaningful (nor useful for comparison purpose)---people rarely use the devices as pure DACs connected to external HP amps. That is why I mainly discussed their SNRs @ 50 mV when comparing their noise performance. Below are some data that can help put CS431xx's noise performance w/ DRE disabled in perspective:

Device​	SNR @ 50 mVRMS​
E1DA 9039S​	89.9 dB​
Qudelix 5K (w/ ES9218P) (3.5mm out)​	87.6 dB​
E1DA 9038D6K​	86.0 to 87.0 dB?​
Neutron HiFi DAC V1​	86.3 dB​
RME ADI-2 DAC FS (Low Power)​	86.0 dB​
E1DA 9038D​	85.0 to 86 dB?​
TRN Black Pearl w/ DRE off (3.5mm out)​	85.2 dB​

Note. All were measured in the same setup except for the 9038D and 9038D6K whose values were estimated based on measurements made by Archimago, ASR, and E1DA published specs, AND ballpark translation b/w A-weighted and unweighted RMS noise levels (assuming not much THD components), and the fact that their max output is 2.75 Vrms.

Sure, the Black Pearl w/ DRE off is located at the bottom. But that does NOT mean it is "low-end" among all the other respectable devices Its noise performance still looks (and sounds) quite decent to me. In your view it may be different. Since there's no formal guidelines for judging "low-end" vs. "high-end" (or "low-fi", "mid-fi", or "hi-fi"), it's each reader's judgment call...

 

[IVX]

I guess, CS43198 is DRE+HP_amp modded CS43198 from 2000th, which had DR AES17 120db(A). DR AES17 means A-weighted THD+N at -60dbfs.

 

[IVX]

The FFT also looks the same(50k hump) for CS4398(1999) and CS43131/43198. The pic is from diyaudio.com CS4398 old thread.

 

[sabih]

is low distortion more important or low noise in an audio equipment?

 

[sergiomiranda]

Hello. Has anyone contacted TRN about the issue with DRE and if they could release a firmware that allows to disable it, like Fiio did for the KA15?

 

[MaxwellsEq]

is low distortion more important or low noise in an audio equipment?

Low noise is usually more important than low distortion, all other things being equal. Humans are more able to detect noise than distortion. To be clear though, both should be minimised.

 

[jkim]

is low distortion more important or low noise in an audio equipment?

@MaxwellsEq said it well, which is generally a proper view. But it is sometimes case-specific. That is, how low is low? In the case of cs431xx-based devices, we don't want to swap adequately low noise (DRE off) for distortion (DRE on) that is audible from transducers.

 

[shoujo rin]

They released a new firmware for the Black Pearl today! Wonder if it had fixed the problem or not.

 

[jkim]

Hello. Has anyone contacted TRN about the issue with DRE and if they could release a firmware that allows to disable it, like Fiio did for the KA15?

They released a new firmware for the Black Pearl today! Wonder if it had fixed the problem or not.

The updated firmware released by TTGK/Walk Play for the TRN Black Pearl is actually their response to my request I made a couple of weeks ago. Their prompt reaction is truly commendable. I will post my measurements of the Black Pearl with this new firmware, most likely early next week as I am travelling now.