[40760]

@sfrsfr Not meaning to harp but I am indeed extremely interested in hearing your thoughts and experience regarding noise and low impedance high sensitivity earbuds with your E1DA PowerDac v2. Any insight would be most appreciated. Cheers.

I too was looking at the E1DA after that few previous mentions...

I'm looking for a small footprint DAC that can drive my higher impedance (320ohms) earbuds for desktop use.

 

[sfrsfr]

@sfrsfr Not meaning to harp but I am indeed extremely interested in hearing your thoughts and experience regarding noise and low impedance high sensitivity earbuds with your E1DA PowerDac v2. Any insight would be most appreciated. Cheers.

I'm sorry but I can't answer this as the lowest impedance gear that I own and can connect to the PowerDAC is Tri I3, which is a 15Ω iem. No issue with noise in this case, it makes a great combo.
The PowerDAC's output impedance is 1.5Ω, so it should be fine with anything that has impedance >12Ω.
I am a fan of E1DA engineering and the PowerDAC is surely their best value.

Anyway, are there any interesting low impedance high sensitivity buds to consider?
It seems to me that the sweet spot for good sounding earbud drivers is around 150Ω...
But I'm newbie to earbuds, so looking for more surprises!

 

[PapyKahan]

I too was looking at the E1DA after that few previous mentions...

I'm looking for a small footprint DAC that can drive my higher impedance (320ohms) earbuds for desktop use.

I use a Luxury and Precision W2 for the same use case.

I also own a PowerDAC V2. It's volume control trough a Bluetooth app is a no go for me.

 

[FranQL]

I too was looking at the E1DA after that few previous mentions...

I'm looking for a small footprint DAC that can drive my higher impedance (320ohms) earbuds for desktop use.

Soon E1DA Cosmos dac will be released for desktop.



Dual ES9038Q2M

OPA1622 with +/-7.5V i.e. 3.5Vrms at >50ohm

 

[baskingshark]

I'm sorry but I can't answer this as the lowest impedance gear that I own and can connect to the PowerDAC is Tri I3, which is a 15Ω iem. No issue with noise in this case, it makes a great combo.
The PowerDAC's output impedance is 1.5Ω, so it should be fine with anything that has impedance >12Ω.
I am a fan of E1DA engineering and the PowerDAC is surely their best value.

Anyway, are there any interesting low impedance high sensitivity buds to consider?
It seems to me that the sweet spot for good sounding earbud drivers is around 150Ω...
But I'm newbie to earbuds, so looking for more surprises!

Thanks for the info. Read lots of good things about the PowerDAC, hope to try it one day!

TRI I3 is not really a good gauge for hiss though, cause it has a planar inside and planars are generally harder to drive than conventional drivers. Indeed, TRI I3 is one of the harder to drive IEMs actually, and some lower end amps can't do the sound justice. But I think E1DA gear and PowerDAC should have no issues.

I think a high sensitivity plays a big role in hiss, more so than a low impedance, so that's the main specification we should be looking at when it comes to noise floor and hissing.


You can try a cheap RY4S 300 ohm set, it does need amping, but it is quite a nice U shaped set, not the best technicalities but quite good for the price of $13 - 15 USD.

 

[sfrsfr]

Thanks for the info. Read lots of good things about the PowerDAC, hope to try it one day!

TRI I3 is not really a good gauge for hiss though, cause it has a planar inside and planars are generally harder to drive than conventional drivers. Indeed, TRI I3 is one of the harder to drive IEMs actually, and some lower end amps can't do the sound justice. But I think E1DA gear and PowerDAC should have no issues.

I think a high sensitivity plays a big role in hiss, more so than a low impedance, so that's the main specification we should be looking at when it comes to noise floor and hissing.


You can try a cheap RY4S 300 ohm set, it does need amping, but it is quite a nice U shaped set, not the best technicalities but quite good for the price of $13 - 15 USD.

In that case JCALLY EP09 with sensitivity of 139 (dB) are the highest sensitivity buds I have. No noise issue here either, though they distort as hell when trying the PowerDAC PEQ.

Still my best combo with the PowerDAC is SFR PT2021 365ohm, which take equalization really well so that makes them quite versatile.

Btw. I have the RY4S 300ohm and enjoying it!

 

[WoodyLuvr]

I use a Luxury and Precision W2 for the same use case.

I also own a PowerDAC V2. It's volume control trough a Bluetooth app is a no go for me.

FYI the new PowerDAC V2.1 offers UAC2 HW volume enabled by the CT7601 USB Bridge so it can be adjusted via Windows

 

[WoodyLuvr]

In that case JCALLY EP09 with sensitivity of 139 (dB) are the highest sensitivity buds I have. No noise issue here either, though they distort as hell when trying the PowerDAC PEQ.

Thank you, that was exactly what I was looking for... now I am seriously considering the E1DA PowerDAC v2.1 again. Just need to figure out the solution for this wonky 2dB volume increments on my keyboard scroll wheel. Just successfully solved this with an Autohotkey (.ahk) script, now I got me 1 dB increments on my volume wheel baby !

Strangely the listed sensitivity rating is all over the map... ranging from 128dB to 139dB. I did find what appears to be an official spec sheet from JCALLY which lists a sensitivity @ 128dB but it doesn't list if that measurement is dB/mW or dB/V.

Not surprising that the JCALLY EP09 isn't playing well with PEQ and power... the driver is most likely being pushed well beyond it's rated specs! See the tables below. If indeed 128 dB/mW one (1) measly volt is pushing those little drivers to over 142dB SPL! And if 128 dB/V it is still at an ear shattering 128dBSPL! With such high driver sensitivity I wouldn't be surprised if the max input power rating was something like 50-60mW with a recommended rated power of only 15-20mW!

if dB/mW (left table) ******** if dB/V (right table)

 

[40760]

And... it's out! The SLQ Zen and RAP 5 bundle. Zen lovers might be interested in this.

 

[WoodyLuvr]

Soon E1DA Cosmos dac will be released for desktop.



Dual ES9038Q2M

OPA1622 with +/-7.5V i.e. 3.5Vrms at >50ohm

Also on my consideration list but "the wait" may kill me ! And I am not getting any younger!

 

[furyossa]

Yes, besides heavy metal Willy is/was into binaural recordings perhaps explaining why it crept into his house tuning .

Hmmm ... yup... I definitely need to try these

 

[jrazmar]

Anyone here knows where to buy Seahf earbuds? Are they still making new earbuds? I was looking through my old hand bag that I used to bring to office before and was so surprised to find some old earbud stuff including a Seahf LD-3.0, Cygnus, EMX500 and Vido. I did a quick listen to each to check if they are still working and all are fine. However, of all these, I was not expecting to love the sound coming from the Seahf. It's not fancy-looking but the sound is so natural, airy and balanced. I already forgot that it sounded this good and no matter what genre I toss it, it can play beautifully. I am hooked and it is now my daily driver giving my Turandot a nice vacation.

 

[SiggyFraud]

The VE Monk Slim Metal is available for pre-order via Veclan store for USD 19,80, if anyone's interested.
https://www.veclan.com/phone/eac_phone_sel_one?eng_ApplianceVo.eac_id=58

 

[iFi audio]

. Just imagine a combo X6 and iFi Diablo (the match from hell)

Haven't heard it, so let me ask what's so special about it ?

 

[jogawag]

Monk slim metal Venture Electronics

The VE Monk Slim Metal is available for pre-order via Veclan store for USD 19,80, if anyone's interested.
https://www.veclan.com/phone/eac_phone_sel_one?eng_ApplianceVo.eac_id=58

That url didn't work, so here's an alternative.
https://www.veclan.com/engappliance...2KmDVb_GPCNfX7JKOaFvlSki2_ZCxPX4yVMlrtQMmWUjr 0NhZcUCw