Didn't see any reviews on this yet so I guess I'm 1st.
I compared this with JDS Labs C5, Fiio E12, E6, Objective 2, Magni 2 Uber, and Schiit Fulla.
Nothing brings to mind the phrase "polishing a turd" like the sound of the unit in my opinion. There are loads of sonic tweaks in the Soundblaster Central app that's free from the iOS app store, but ultimately none that I tried were successful in giving the Creative Soundblaster E5 a more *expensive* sound. Ultimately, the Fiio E6 even had a more "expensive* sound than this imo.
I wanted to love this thing, I really did. Bluetooth connectivity is spot on and the EQ in the software suite is sensational. The "Crystalizer" and "Surround" options sound pretty fake and colored, but maybe that's just my opinion.
The base sound signature is a bit recessed in the mids to my ears, giving it an overall kind of dark hollow feel. The gain switch is supposed to enable it to power high impedance headphones, which I generally stay away from, so I wasn't able to test it with some 600ohm cans. It was powerful enough to run Alpha Dogs and HE-500's fine though.
Battery life I would estimate at about 5 hours in the high gain position and more of course if switched to low gain.
I compared this with JDS Labs C5, Fiio E12, E6, Objective 2, Magni 2 Uber, and Schiit Fulla.
Nothing brings to mind the phrase "polishing a turd" like the sound of the unit in my opinion. There are loads of sonic tweaks in the Soundblaster Central app that's free from the iOS app store, but ultimately none that I tried were successful in giving the Creative Soundblaster E5 a more *expensive* sound. Ultimately, the Fiio E6 even had a more "expensive* sound than this imo.
I wanted to love this thing, I really did. Bluetooth connectivity is spot on and the EQ in the software suite is sensational. The "Crystalizer" and "Surround" options sound pretty fake and colored, but maybe that's just my opinion.
The base sound signature is a bit recessed in the mids to my ears, giving it an overall kind of dark hollow feel. The gain switch is supposed to enable it to power high impedance headphones, which I generally stay away from, so I wasn't able to test it with some 600ohm cans. It was powerful enough to run Alpha Dogs and HE-500's fine though.
Battery life I would estimate at about 5 hours in the high gain position and more of course if switched to low gain.
Topline: the e5 is distinguishable from the desktop system but is emotionally satisfying, delivering great value for its intended purposes.
Background
Having recently acquired the Creative SoundBlaster e6 portable dac/amp/eq/effects processor, I wanted to see whether & how much I'd be giving up versus my desktop Schist Asgard 2 coupled to the Schiit Modi optical dac (from an iMac 2008). I jumped on a Massdrop deal on the e5 instead of continuing to save towards the Oppo HA-2. Should I be restless or content with that impulsive buy?
The e5 analog line-in would allow me to compare amp to amp, but that's not my goal. I'm interested in one system versus another.
I used my AKG Quincy Jones 701 over-ear headphones because of all my 'phones they are the hardest to drive (although not truly "hard" at 62 ohms) and also the most neutral - and consequently, I tend to turn up the juice to get the full effect of my tunes. (Whereas my Grado RS-1 and, in a different way, my Sennheiser Momentum On-ear both tend to lend their own distinctive sparkle & rumble even at lower gain.)
The good part of this test is that I could level match, because the optical out to the Modi is fixed, with volume controlled solely by the Asgard 2. So by ear I could level-match to the USB-volume-controlled e5. Admittedly, "by ear" assumes a lot but I did my best, folks.
I kept all the "fancy" Soundblaster EQ/processing software off (but will affirm that it is capable of very subtle adjustments that have helped my NAD Viso HP50 respond in just the way I would like in portable use).
Distinctions
Treble "sparkle" - The e5 offered a bit more snap to percussive stings compared to a smoother presentation from the Schiit system. The opening phrases of Jazz Crusaders/Joe Sample's "Soul Shadows" and the horns in the Telarc recording of Joe Williams "Alright, OK, You Win" suggested this. But the slightly lower tone of the metallic item (a key?) dropped on the floor at the start of The Who's "Music Must Change" with its accompanying mid-treble guitar strum seems livelier on the Schiit system, perhaps due to a more true presentation of the slight echo surrounding the drop's bouncing waveform..
Bass rumble and thump - On Stanley Clarke's growling opening to "I Wanna Tell You 'Bout That" the difference is subtle, but a sense of depth and, for lack of a better term, "authority" definitely went to the Schiit system. Ditto on Ahmad Jamal's "Poinciana" from "Digital Works" where Larry Ball's bass goes crazy low. But the Frederic Fennel hi-rez of Movement 3 of "Suite for Military Band #1 in E-flat" features a bass drum window-rattler with an immediate follow-up low rumble that thumps and murmurs more convincingly on the e5. So I feel I'm hearing very subtle shifts from one system to another in frequency presentation and hang time between the systems.
Vocals, Male - Couldn't tell any difference on Bill...