Pros: Very well made, well designed, small, light, portable, easy to use, goes loud.
Cons: Sound quality
I've been using one of these in the office for a while now with various headphones and IEMs. It's kinda difficult to assess something like this because it costs under $100 and comparing it to other equipment I own, some of which is several times the price, seems unfair.
First of all the build. It seems very well made for the price. Nice solid metal chassis. A good smooth volume knob and the jacks all seem secure. It's also very light and very small, which I like. Perfect for carrying around with a netbook or something.
But the sound. This is the big negative. Going from the E7 to E10 as a DAC/amp combo I immediately noticed the E10 was less muddy sounding, with less emphasis on the bass and more prominent, smoother treble. It seems to be trying to achieve a more hi-end, balanced sound. This should be a good thing, but unfortunately it just lacks the detail. What you end up with is something that betrays its own lack of refinement, there is a kind of fuzziness where the details should be. Using the line out and a different portable amp (a JDS labs cmoybb) improves things a fair bit, but ultimately the DAC is just as much of a problem. Like I said, it's hard to assess this because it is only $100, but even compared to a $30-$40 soundcard like the Xonar DS, the E10 comes second best. I suppose if portability is the priority, then it is worth it. But for a desktop computer, soundcards are going to offer far better bang for buck.
Using it with pricier headphones (like the T70, RS-1 for example) seems to me like a bit of a waste when I've come from hearing them on better gear (for example an STX). I really notice where the detail and punch is missing. I'd probably say to someone who has invested more than ~$250 in a pair of headphones not to bother using the E10 with them. It's certainly enough of a bottleneck to warrant a better source.
Also, the amp was certainly loud, but not quite up to powering more demanding headphones. For example, it drove all my IEMs with considerable ease as well as my AD900s. But even reasonably efficient headphones like my 80ohm DT250 and T70 feel flat and lack dynamism. Now it could just be the lack of sound resolution making them seem like that, but I don't think so because it is not something I noticed with the more efficient gear. The JDS labs cmoy just walks all over the the E10 in this respect, especially if you pump the power up north of 15v.
Having said that, I don't mind the E10. It's certainly well made and would serve someone well as a durable and portable little device that improves on onboard or laptop sound. In my office, for example, I don't have the luxury of installing a soundcard so I'm happily using it until I get something better. It's also fantastically easy to use, IMO much improved in this respect over the fiddly buttons on the E7.
If you can use an internal soundcard though, there's really no competition: For my money, Asus and Auzentech's offerings are by far the best bang-for buck audio gear in the sub $100 category.
If this was just about SQ alone or it was an internal soundcard competing with other internal soundcards, it'd get 2 stars tops. Seen as it is so portable and well made, I feel 3.5 is about right.
First of all the build. It seems very well made for the price. Nice solid metal chassis. A good smooth volume knob and the jacks all seem secure. It's also very light and very small, which I like. Perfect for carrying around with a netbook or something.
But the sound. This is the big negative. Going from the E7 to E10 as a DAC/amp combo I immediately noticed the E10 was less muddy sounding, with less emphasis on the bass and more prominent, smoother treble. It seems to be trying to achieve a more hi-end, balanced sound. This should be a good thing, but unfortunately it just lacks the detail. What you end up with is something that betrays its own lack of refinement, there is a kind of fuzziness where the details should be. Using the line out and a different portable amp (a JDS labs cmoybb) improves things a fair bit, but ultimately the DAC is just as much of a problem. Like I said, it's hard to assess this because it is only $100, but even compared to a $30-$40 soundcard like the Xonar DS, the E10 comes second best. I suppose if portability is the priority, then it is worth it. But for a desktop computer, soundcards are going to offer far better bang for buck.
Using it with pricier headphones (like the T70, RS-1 for example) seems to me like a bit of a waste when I've come from hearing them on better gear (for example an STX). I really notice where the detail and punch is missing. I'd probably say to someone who has invested more than ~$250 in a pair of headphones not to bother using the E10 with them. It's certainly enough of a bottleneck to warrant a better source.
Also, the amp was certainly loud, but not quite up to powering more demanding headphones. For example, it drove all my IEMs with considerable ease as well as my AD900s. But even reasonably efficient headphones like my 80ohm DT250 and T70 feel flat and lack dynamism. Now it could just be the lack of sound resolution making them seem like that, but I don't think so because it is not something I noticed with the more efficient gear. The JDS labs cmoy just walks all over the the E10 in this respect, especially if you pump the power up north of 15v.
Having said that, I don't mind the E10. It's certainly well made and would serve someone well as a durable and portable little device that improves on onboard or laptop sound. In my office, for example, I don't have the luxury of installing a soundcard so I'm happily using it until I get something better. It's also fantastically easy to use, IMO much improved in this respect over the fiddly buttons on the E7.
If you can use an internal soundcard though, there's really no competition: For my money, Asus and Auzentech's offerings are by far the best bang-for buck audio gear in the sub $100 category.
If this was just about SQ alone or it was an internal soundcard competing with other internal soundcards, it'd get 2 stars tops. Seen as it is so portable and well made, I feel 3.5 is about right.
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