[JimmyD79]

That’s a great idea. Alternatively Earmen could offer a substantial discount for the MK2 to existing Sparrow owners as a gesture of goodwill and may help encourage customers to continue supporting the brand and their products in future.

 

[propolis12]

Dear members,

We would like to inform you that we have been working on the improvement of our best-selling Sparrow model, to which we have added a High-fidelity audio operational amplifier Texas Instruments INA1620 with the main Features:

• High-Quality Thin-Film Resistors
• Integrated EMI Filters
• Ultra-low Noise
• Ultra-low Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise
• Low-Power Shutdown Mode With Reduced Popand-Click Noise
• Short-Circuit Protection

The INA1620 integrates 4 precision-matched thin-film resistor pairs and EMI filtering on-chip with a low distortion, high output current, dual audio operational amplifier. The INA1620 also has a shutdown mode, which is specifically designed to eliminate click-and-pop noise when transitioning into or out of shutdown mode. The INA1620 has a unique internal layout for lowest crosstalk, and freedom from interactions between channels, even when overdriven or overloaded.

Great news, when will it be available ? I was just about to make the purchase but then i saw this post, so I'll wait for new version.

 

[SunnyHF]

That’s a great idea. Alternatively Earmen could offer a substantial discount for the MK2 to existing Sparrow owners as a gesture of goodwill and may help encourage customers to continue supporting the brand and their products in future.

I might be tempted by such an offer, but I don't know if I'd be willing to throw good money after bad money.

I've been thinking of possibly purchasing the Ifi Go Blu to serve the purpose I originally imagined the Sparrow would serve, and probably throw the Sparrow in the bin.

 

[emilsoft]

Dear members,

We would like to inform you that we have been working on the improvement of our best-selling Sparrow model, to which we have added a High-fidelity audio operational amplifier Texas Instruments INA1620 with the main Features:

• High-Quality Thin-Film Resistors
• Integrated EMI Filters
• Ultra-low Noise
• Ultra-low Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise
• Low-Power Shutdown Mode With Reduced Popand-Click Noise
• Short-Circuit Protection

The INA1620 integrates 4 precision-matched thin-film resistor pairs and EMI filtering on-chip with a low distortion, high output current, dual audio operational amplifier. The INA1620 also has a shutdown mode, which is specifically designed to eliminate click-and-pop noise when transitioning into or out of shutdown mode. The INA1620 has a unique internal layout for lowest crosstalk, and freedom from interactions between channels, even when overdriven or overloaded.

It might be a good idea to offer some goodwill gesture, like some kind of a (generous) exchange, for people who've suffered with the terrible EMI and noise problems with the v1 Sparrow in order to win back some consumer confidence..

 

[Johnfg465vd]

It might be a good idea to offer some goodwill gesture, like some kind of a (generous) exchange, for people who've suffered with the terrible EMI and noise problems with the v1 Sparrow in order to win back some consumer confidence..

I doubt they will do that. Personally I've had a disappointing experience so far with their customer care. Granted in my case, the issue is not as straight forward.

The first time I purchased the Sparrow it had EMI issues and I was able return it successfully, I liked it's built and weight so I took a risk and purchased a second time after finding a good deal in the used market. Sadly the same problem continued with second unit too. This time though, I can't return the device but, since the device was still in warranty and since I had it's invoice and other order details, I contacted EarMen for support. They were slow to respond and after ~8 days of back and forth they finally agreed to send a replacement but only to the person who first purchased the device.

I asked them if I contact the seller and request him to claim warranty, will they then send the replacement to my address, I did not get any response and now my Sparrow is as good as paper weight, actually because of how light weight it is, it's not even good for that use.

 

[emilsoft]

I doubt they will do that. Personally I've had a disappointing experience so far with their customer care. Granted in my case, the issue is not as straight forward.

The first time I purchased the Sparrow it had EMI issues and I was able return it successfully, I liked it's built and weight so I took a risk and purchased a second time after finding a good deal in the used market. Sadly the same problem continued with second unit too. This time though, I can't return the device but, since the device was still in warranty and since I had it's invoice and other order details, I contacted EarMen for support. They were slow to respond and after ~8 days of back and forth they finally agreed to send a replacement but only to the person who first purchased the device.

I asked them if I contact the seller and request him to claim warranty, will they then send the replacement to my address, I did not get any response and now my Sparrow is as good as paper weight, actually because of how light weight it is, it's not even good for that use.

You should keep pestering them! The issue i find is many suppliers don't want to deal with transferrable warranties.
Their EMI issue is certainly not isolated, it's a major design/manufacture oversight for this model, making it unfit for purpose in many instances (it's major target is mobile devices as sources) - if this were raised with consumer rights protection etc it could be a problem

 

[Johnfg465vd]

Hmm, will try again and update here if this problem is resolved.

 

[emilsoft]

Don't expect that getting another unit will have resolved the EMI issues - its a design defect.. I only put up with it because the sound quality is class leading, but for a v2 I'd better get some goodwill gesture or I'm out

 

[propolis12]

Do we know when will v2 be released ? I asked this question already in this thread but with no response.

 

[Dobrescu George]

It looks like I ended up doing some heavy editing to my original reviews on the Sparrow, because it seems that my unit was not working up to the task, and after @Miroslav EarMen pointed out that in my review, it doesn't feel like we're talking about their product, the company offered to replace my unit, and I feel like this is a whole new thing.

Seems that somehow I may have gotten some moisture inside the unit during my photo shoot, since most of the photo work was taken in the morning, and inside a local park, and this affected the unit to the point of the right channel actually dying a while after I posted my review. I contacted Mr. Miroslav, who has been extremely helpful, and I really appreciate the help of the company, especially as they were most understandably angry with me, since my review did not reflect the full qualities of the product that well. In fact, I'm happy to report that the company was willing and did in fact replace the unit for me, to help me figure out what was going on.

There was error on my side, and I apologize for it, the positive news is that the Sparrow is better than I originally described it. The whole event happened during the most serious part of the Corona lockdown in Romania, and at that point the whole worldwide anxiety about everything was quite devastating on my mood too.

You'll probably notice that nowadays I post up to one review per day, except the weekends, while back then I could barely work on an article per week, so now things are going well.

Thank you for reading, and sorry for the mishap. I hope my article continues being useful to everyone! Photos now appear on the head-fi review as well, for some reason they did not transfer well back when I first posted the review here, but I figured out the process and how to transfer them properly.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/earmen-sparrow.24560/reviews#review-25375

https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/2021/02/fly-with-me-earmen-sparrow-ultraportable-dac-amp.html

 

[Crimson2634]

Hi. It's kinda the first time I post in a forum but I really want to ask for some help. How do you use your Earmen Sparrow on PC? I use roon and when I want to use my iems from the balanced output it's just too loud going from 1 to 2 on the volume. I searched for firmware or drivers on internet but I can't find anything. Thanks in advance and have a great day to everyone on the forum!

 

[forestitalia]

Hi. It's kinda the first time I post in a forum but I really want to ask for some help. How do you use your Earmen Sparrow on PC? I use roon and when I want to use my iems from the balanced output it's just too loud going from 1 to 2 on the volume. I searched for firmware or drivers on internet but I can't find anything. Thanks in advance and have a great day to everyone on the forum!

You have to lower the volume in Windows sound app settings, Sparrow is quite loud, especially balanced, I brought the app volume almost zero, and still is almost too loud with earbuds!

 

[propolis12]

Can sparrow be used only as a DAC connected to desktop amplifier ?

 

[milkdudd]

Can sparrow be used only as a DAC connected to desktop amplifier ?

I would say yes as long as your amplifier has a volume control, otherwise known as an integrated amplifier. It would need to have compatible analog inputs to match whatever cable you use. I use mine with a balanced cable connected to a portable Romi BX-2 Plus amp. I keep my Android volume on max and adjust the volume on my amp. If you have a power amp that doesn't have a volume control I suppose you could adjust the volume on your phone if that's what you're using, but I don't think I would recommend it. It would be very easy to start a track with your volume maxed out if you don't have a visible volume adjuster on the amp possibly causing damage to your speakers, headphones or ears

 

[propolis12]

I would say yes as long as your amplifier has a volume control, otherwise known as an integrated amplifier. It would need to have compatible analog inputs to match whatever cable you use. I use mine with a balanced cable connected to a portable Romi BX-2 Plus amp. I keep my Android volume on max and adjust the volume on my amp. If you have a power amp that doesn't have a volume control I suppose you could adjust the volume on your phone if that's what you're using, but I don't think I would recommend it. It would be very easy to start a track with your volume maxed out if you don't have a visible volume adjuster on the amp possibly causing damage to your speakers, headphones or ears

Thanks, I have smsl sp200 on the way so I hope it will be fine.