Roseselsa RS 9039 anyone?

[capslock]

This one seems to have come out fairly recently. Might be a good alternative for everyday listening rather than measuring to Ivan's 9039S since it has balanced and unbalanced out and apparently a lower power draw:

ROSESELSA RS9039 DAC/Headphone AMP

Features: Portable Flagship-Grade DAC/AMP New-Gen Flagship ES9039Q2M DAC Chipset Ultra-Clear Ouptut With Almost “0” Background Noise Immensively Powerful Output(300mW) Dual Headphone Outputs(3.5mm+4.4mm) CNC-Machined Aluminum Alloy Body Compact and...

www.head-fi.org

ROSESELSA RS9039 / RS 9039 All-New ES9039Q2M DSD256 DAC / Headphone AMP

Buy ROSESELSA RS9039 / RS 9039 All-New ES9039Q2M DSD256 Headphone Amplifier with Free shipping on HiFiGo, you can enjoy a year warranty and the best after-sales service.

hifigo.com

Unfortunately, they do not show actual distortion measurements. Anyone aware of a review that acutally measures distortion rather than just discribing the sound in too many words?

 

[HenryChan12138]

This one seems to have come out fairly recently. Might be a good alternative for everyday listening rather than measuring to Ivan's 9039S since it has balanced and unbalanced out and apparently a lower power draw:

ROSESELSA RS9039 DAC/Headphone AMP

Features: Portable Flagship-Grade DAC/AMP New-Gen Flagship ES9039Q2M DAC Chipset Ultra-Clear Ouptut With Almost “0” Background Noise Immensively Powerful Output(300mW) Dual Headphone Outputs(3.5mm+4.4mm) CNC-Machined Aluminum Alloy Body Compact and...

www.head-fi.org

ROSESELSA RS9039 / RS 9039 All-New ES9039Q2M DSD256 DAC / Headphone AMP

Buy ROSESELSA RS9039 / RS 9039 All-New ES9039Q2M DSD256 Headphone Amplifier with Free shipping on HiFiGo, you can enjoy a year warranty and the best after-sales service.

hifigo.com

Unfortunately, they do not show actual distortion measurements. Anyone aware of a review that acutally measures distortion rather than just discribing the sound in too many words?

It's there, obviously on the detailed page. Maybe you missed it.

 

[zachary80]

Anyone had a chance to listen to this? Does the ESS9039Q2M mean it could be in the same league as other DACs with that chip? Headphone stage is another story...

 

[jkim]

I was interested in this USB dongle. Ordered and tested it with my E1DA setup. But I immediately returned it. It generated a huge amount of distortion. Not sure if the unit I received was defective. But I wouldn't try it again.

There is another dongle that claims to adopt the ES9039Q2M: Celest CD-20 at Amazon or AliExpress.

Tested it and found it perform well although it does not fully exploit the DAC chip's transparency:

THD+N v. output power under 32 Ohm load is measured very well, too:

So, the question is, is it a better buy than the Fosi Audio DS2 (which adopts dual CS43131), simply because it employs the ES9039Q2M?

My answer is no. I am sure its op-amp-based headphone stage does not take advantage of the DAC chip's full potential. The headphone stage must be either Chinese (SGM or Ricore) or ESS (9601K or 9603Q). Simplistic use (no negative feedback) of these op-amps cannot fully exploit the 9039Q2M's performance.

Sure, it seems that its max power is slightly higher than the DS2's but it's not a large difference..

 

[zachary80]

I was interested in this USB dongle. Ordered and tested it with my E1DA setup. But I immediately returned it. It generated a huge amount of distortion. Not sure if the unit I received was defective. But I wouldn't try it again.

There is another dongle that claims to adopt the ES9039Q2M: Celest CD-20 at Amazon or AliExpress.

Tested it and found it perform well although it does not fully exploit the DAC chip's transparency:
View attachment 438491

THD+N v. output power under 32 Ohm load is measured very well, too:
View attachment 438492

So, the question is, is it a better buy than the Fosi Audio DS2 (which adopts dual CS43131), simply because it employs the ES9039Q2M?

My answer is no. I am sure its op-amp-based headphone stage does not take advantage of the DAC chip's full potential. The headphone stage must be based on either Chinese (SGM or Ricore) or ESS (9601K or 9603Q). Simplistic use (no negative feedback) of these op-amps cannot fully exploit the 9039Q2M's performance.

Sure, it seems that its max power is slightly higher than the DS2's but it's not a large difference..

Very helpful, that Celest CD20 was not on my radar. Any idea how it competes versus the Fiio KA11? I had misplaced mine and decided it would be worth having another powerful dongle around (I also have JA11 for PEQ but at a fraction of the power, which is normally fine until it isn't).

edit: current sale prices and single ended details, for reference-
Jcally JM12 $6, 27.5mw
Fiio/Jade Audio JA11 $12, 30mw
Fiio KA11 $25, 245mw
Kinera Celest CD-20 $49, 250mw
RoseTechnica/RoseSelsa RS9039 $61, 240mw

 

[jkim]

You mean a USB dongle to be used with your laptop? I wouldn't use a USB dongle with no internal battery with a smartphone as it sucks the phone's battery.

If in need of one immediately, I would buy the Fosi DS2.

Otherwise, I will be testing the Jcally JM20-Max (very similar to Fiio KA11 in terms of core parts) and Kuang Pai Player 3. The latter claims to produce 430 mW.

I think I will post my review in a few weeks if things go smoothly.

 

[zachary80]

You mean a USB dongle to be used with your laptop? I wouldn't use a USB dongle with no internal battery with a smartphone as it sucks the phone's battery.

If in need of one immediately, I would buy the Fosi DS2.

Otherwise, I will be testing the Jcally JM20-Max (very similar to Fiio KA11 in terms of core parts) and Kuang Pai Player 3. The latter claims to produce 430 mW.

I think I will post my review in a few weeks if things go smoothly.

Just looking for all around flexibility. I have a Hiby M300 DAP that I use most of the time, which ouputs around 100mw, and with which I don't have to worry about its battery but it also means a similar power dongle would be somewhat redundant. My laptop is usb-c too

 

[jkim]

Just looking for all around flexibility. I have a Hiby M300 DAP that I use most of the time, which ouputs around 100mw, and with which I don't have to worry about its battery but it also means a similar power dongle would be somewhat redundant. My laptop is usb-c too

With a small, dongle-type device, you won't get noticeable improvement in output levels UNLESS you connect headphones with a balanced connector. Perhaps an exception would be Fiio's new KA17 in its desktop mode.

The mighty Topping G5 is in a completely different league in terms of performance. But can we call it a portable device?

 

[zachary80]

With a small, dongle-type device, you won't get noticeable improvement in output levels UNLESS you connect headphones with a balanced connector. Perhaps an exception would be Fiio's new KA17 in its desktop mode.

The mighty Topping G5 is in a completely different league in terms of performance. But can we call it a portable device?

It looks quite nice, I have the Topping NX4DSD but its only downside is that it is micro USB, with 2 needed for full power and data, so I rarely use it. Once we go past 100 there is the Q5k, which is right in between size wise. I was really looking for a cheaper 30-60 option that can just live in my bag and work with IEMs or headphones. I think the CD-20 is the closest fit, although if Fiio could get the PEQ from the ja11 with the power of the ka11 that would be a killer dongle.

 

[AtticReclus3]

I have one.. and can say it sounds lovely.. but my experience is somewhat different from everyone else, I run this baby usb-c from pc then 3.5mm into the back of an IFI signature ICAN, or into the back of an JDS labs atom amp 2, Rupert Neve RNHP which all have 3.5 inputs, love it. I would never run dongles standalone its always a disappointment w/ iems or headphones imo, simple due to relying on the dongle to do the amplification solo. YMMV and this is my experience alone.