[ClieOS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glitched /img/forum/go_quote.gif With a laptop/Itouch 3g -> TF10 setup, is the sq of the t3 or uDac noticeably better than the E7 for the price?

If you are only getting the uDAC, then you won't be able to use it with your iPhone. If If you are only getting the T3, then you won't have a DAC for your laptop. However, If you get a uDAC for your laptop and a T3 for both laptop and iPhone, you will be spending almost 2.5 times more than an E7 is going to cost you. I think I would be very sorry myself if uDAC and T7 combo doesn't turn out to be noticeable better.

 

[Glitched]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClieOS /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you are only getting the uDAC, then you won't be able to use it with your iPhone. If If you are only getting the T3, then you won't have a DAC for your laptop. However, If you get a uDAC for your laptop and a T3 for both laptop and iPhone, you will be spending almost 2.5 times more than an E7 is going to cost you. I think I would be very sorry myself if uDAC and T7 combo doesn't turn out to be noticeable better.

Ah, so you're saying the t3 is only an amp, and to improve my laptop's sq I'd need a dac? But to improve my itouch sq I'd need either a dac, amp, or both?

I lost you at your last sentence but that's ok because I definitely don't plan on buying two gadgets lol. I'm cash strapped when it comes to this hobby having recently bought the tf10's at 150$.

Since most of my serious listening is done on my laptop I'm looking for something mainly to improve my laptop's sq, thus my mentioning the uDac.

In cases like the E7 where there's that added mobility, that's nice but I'd take better sq over mobility. So if there is a discernible improvement in sq from the E7 to the uDac, I'd go for the latter.

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glitched /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ah, so you're saying the t3 is only an amp, and to improve my laptop's sq I'd need a dac? But to improve my itouch sq I'd need either a dac, amp, or both? I lost you at your last sentence but that's ok because I definitely don't plan on buying two gadgets lol. I'm cash strapped when it comes to this hobby having recently bought the tf10's at 150$. Since most of my serious listening is done on my laptop I'm looking for something mainly to improve my laptop's sq, thus my mentioning the uDac. In cases like the E7 where there's that added mobility, that's nice but I'd take better sq over mobility. So if there is a discernible improvement in sq from the E7 to the uDac, I'd go for the latter.

First, let's talk about your laptop: It already has a headphone-out, but probably not very good sounding. You can connect an amp to the headphone-out but the result won't be good (crap-in-crap-out). To get the best sound, you will need an external DAC (which is basically an external soundcard), likely connected to your laptop via USB such as uDAC or E7. They take the digital signal from your PC from the USB and turns it into analog signal, bypassing your laptop internal sound card all together. You can connect another amp to uDAC as it also support line-out function, but it will work by its own.

Now let's talk about your iPhone: it has both headphone-out and line-out (if you buy a line-out dock / LOD). To get the better sound, you will want to connect your iPhone to an amp by LOD. Since iPhone doesn't have an USB port (nor support USB host function), you don't need an DAC for it. All you need is an amp, which are either T3 or E7 (as it also has a line-in, beside the DAC) in this case.

The point of E7 is it provides the benefit of a portable amp and a DAC in one package, as opposite to uDAC which is only an DAC or T3 which is only an amp. Since E7 is budget oriented, and do both jobs at the price of one, I think you shouldn't expect it to outperform an dedicated device such as uDAC or T3 - but for its asking price, I think it is a great USB DAC amp of its own. However, you should pay for what you will use the most.

 

[rawrster]

the nice thing about this is there aren't too many dac/amp at this price range where you can use it as a dac and a portable amp. The only other one I can think of is the icon mobile and it was mentioned somewhere that the E7 is better.

I think I'll probably go with the uDAC however as I don't plan on getting an amp until I get a lod and dont plan on going amped anytime soon. Thanks for the impressions however Clieos

 

[-su]

Real nice review...
I've been searching for info on this DAC everywhere and finally found a comprehensive one here...
One little question from me...
Is there any battery level indicator on the screen? Or we'll just have to notice the degradation of SQ produced to know it's battery level?

TIA

 

[ClieOS]

Yes, there is a battery indicator on screen. The quoted battery life is 80hrs, which is quite possibly the case. I have been using it to burn-in some of my IEM and I disable the battery charger for a whole night and it didn't even reduce a single bar on the battery indicator.

 

[-su]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClieOS /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have been using it to burn-in some of my IEM and I disable the battery charger for a whole night and it didn't even reduce a single bar on the battery indicator.

Hmm should we take this positively or else?

Btw, a noob's question

- is it ok to charge this dude with a wallcharger?
I used to plug this wallcharger to my Fuze...it should be on a USB output power level +/-5V, not sure for the current rate though

 

[ClieOS]

If it is 5V and less than 1A, I think it should be fine.

 

[-su]

hei thanks a lot for your response

 

[ClieOS]

Small update: After roughly 100 hours of burn-in, I give E7 another listening against T4 and W1 using RE252. I can't say in 100% certainty but it does feel the soundstage is opened up by a tiny bit. Still not quite as good as T4 or W1 but it is better than before as background detail is easier to notice in comparison. The overall presentation seems less grainy and edgy than before. On previous listening, I preferred T4 just a little bit over E7, but now I think the line is really blurring.

 

[lc483]

Thank you very much for the review ClieOS.

At first I was thinking about getting the Nuforce uDAC to take care of my PC's onboard Realtek, but then I decided I probably want a DAC+amp combo to occasionally use with my unamped iPhone 3GS. I noticed you said "there is only one other DAC amp in this price range anyway", were you referring to the Nuforce Mobile? Sorry if I missed it, almost 4am here

. I'm still very curious to hear more about how the E7 compares with the uDAC. From what I've read, the uDAC beats the Nuforce Mobile's DAC, so that probably eliminates the Nuforce Mobile for me, since I primarily need a DAC, the amp will just be a bonus.

Hmmmm....! Well thanks again

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lc483 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I noticed you said "there is only one other DAC amp in this price range anyway", were you referring to the Nuforce Mobile?

Yes I was.

 

[Dannyv]

So what would be the best setup between an iPhone and SM PL-30? I know that the iPhone doesn't have a good amp at all, but its all i have. I really hope that this E7 does Wonders with this setup, haha

EDIT: anything on the release date yet?

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dannyv /img/forum/go_quote.gif So what would be the best setup between an iPhone and SM PL-30? I know that the iPhone doesn't have a good amp at all, but its all i have. I really hope that this E7 does Wonders with this setup, haha

No disrespect for the E7 but I think upgrading your earphones will do much more for you than a new amp.

 

[xuan87]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dannyv /img/forum/go_quote.gif So what would be the best setup between an iPhone and SM PL-30? I know that the iPhone doesn't have a good amp at all, but its all i have. I really hope that this E7 does Wonders with this setup, haha EDIT: anything on the release date yet?

your amp shouldn't cost more than your earphones. like what joker said, putting that 80+ bucks into a pair of new earphones (coughRE0cough cough) may give you a better sound.