zaero69
100+ Head-Fier
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- Nov 4, 2006
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Any idea when will we have more info on the unbalanced one?
Any idea when will we have more info on the unbalanced one?
I am a new owner of the 9038s and the PoweDAC.
Lots of great things are written about these so I won’t repeat those. But nothing is perfect and each of these products have something that might disqualify them for some people, and I want to make sure these issues are clearly stated (yes written about elsewhere but since this thread is 30 pages, and almost all of them filled with tributes, sprinkling in every now and then reminders that nothing is perfect is probably a public service )
For those considering the 9038s as a portable DAC / Amp to run off their cell phones, this is a great solution... but... if you are someone that highly bothered by interference noise, and you want to use the 9038s with your cell phone, don’t get this. Seems that cellular signals (but at least for me not WiFi) are picked up as pops, crackling, etc. I am fine as I don’t hear it when playing music at reasonable levels, but I know for some they will consider this a disqualification - pages and pages of complaints about interference is written about on some DAP threads about interference with particular DAPs, so I know this really bothers some people.
For those considering the PowerDAC as a desktop / transportable solution, it is great! But, one major flaw. The PowerDAC will revert to full power when it boots up. You have to go into the Bluetooth app (it is controlled via a Bluetooth but does not play via Bluetooth) and lower the volume. You will be blasted by VERY LOUD sound if you forget. Like I have. Multiple times.
I was really hoping to upgrade my phone, and use my current phone as a dedicated DAP with the 9038s as the DAC/Amp attached by Velcro to the phone. Limiting the use to not enable streaming will definitely be a bummer.the part about the interference is very true. It's been bothering me lately. I actually found it explained in the discord group -
"-Ivan decided to filter only 2 out of 4 outputs for a lower output impedance. That's why the other 2 outputs can still pick up EMI. -it's not the distance between the 9038S and your phone that matters, it's the distance between your phone and the cable.
e.g. having the 9038s far away from your phone will still result in EMI noises when your cable is wrapped around the phone"
So the only way to prevent noise reliably is to keep your 9038S as far away from your phone as possible, which defeats the purpose of having an easy mobile setup. Or, you can put it in airplane mode, which means you may as well have a DAP at that point.
So apparently 9038D has addressed this design issue by shielding all of the outputs. So I am curious to see what the battery drain is like on the 9038D. If it's not too terrible I will likely scoop one up as I'm finding the EMI in the 9038S to be the most annoying issue after a few weeks of use.
I only know I have this problem with my LG v30.Is this with all phones? Im using my Samsung S9 and I havent had emi issues
Oh, and you will need to buy a balanced cable.
Thanks @Krassi, I'll sure check them out. Let me order the stuff and I'll report back here when it arrives@AudiophileTigger you will not be disappointed also because there are some nice presets for blon03 from the E1DA discord people that makes them even nicer.
pdv2 or 9038 is the best upgrade you can do.