[granodemostasa]

if it is equal to the Audiophile USB then it's a joke considering that the Audiophile is upgradable (powersupply and ASIO support), cost the same, has a A/D converter, a headphone amp, RCA outputs and all kinds of digital inputs. My guess is that it's soundquality will lie between the Audiophile USB and the Microdac. anyone tested it out yet?

 

[miziq]

Quote:

Originally Posted by riffer You know we are going to demand you take it apart so we can see inside

I know this would come

)). We'll play doctor o.k.

 

[miziq]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Revliskciuq The fact that it's cheap doesn't neccessarily make it non-audiophile, but better parts generally have higher prices, so more often then not there is a correlation.

As experiment we bricked 100$ Samsung dvd player (Burn Browns) and compared it to some upscale high end players. With dedicated tube buffer it was showing the dust to most of them.

It's very very presumable to take it for granted that it won't sound good if it's cheap.

Let us see

 

[miziq]

It looks like the EB01 uses the Taxes Instrument PCM2702 chip and it has buffer(OP604) as the final analog output.

 

[miziq]

Good news. Just got postal notice. Man that was fast

.

I hope i can pick EB01 today. Looking forward for this little gizmo

.

 

[hyamaiata]

I hope you can get it today. As soon as you get it we want big pics, please.

 

[jude]

I've been using a couple of Silverstone EB01's for a month or two, and it's a surprisingly capable product, and a crazy bargain. Before they arrived, I was worried that being bus-powered would make for questionable performance, but that hasn't been the case. (I've tried the EB01 plugged into a couple of different computers, but use it almost exclusively with a Dell Inspiron 9300 laptop.)

Both EB01's I have here run dead silent, noise being one of my concerns with it being bus-powered (a concern now unfounded). Another concern I had was the sonic performance--would it have enough oomph from its line-outs to make a good show out of the various headphone amps I have? And it does. The Firestone Audio Fubar II (with a Firestone Supplier upgrade power supply, and outfitted with OPA627 opamps) does have the performance edge over the Silverstone EB01, but, at half the price, the EB01 is a very solid bargain. (I'll post more about the Fubar II/Supplier soon.) Like the Firestone Fubar II and PS Audio GCHA, the EB01 uses the PCM2702, which, in all three cases, has proven to be, to my ears, a nice foundation for good USB DACs.

The sound from the EB01 is surprisingly resolving and airy--surprising to me anyway, given that it's bus-powered and so affordable. Plugged into the analog inputs of the PS Audio GCHA, it shows itself as nearly as capable as the GCHA's built-in PCM2702-based USB DAC, proving that it's the GCHA's amp section that constitute's most of that product's magic (and it is easily one of my favorite solid state amps so far). One of my other favorite amps to pair the EB01 with is a Meier Audio CORDA HA2 MkII, allowing the use of the mild tone adjustments of the Meier amp, as well as crossfeed when desired. This pairing is comparable to the PS Audio GCHA in terms of performance as a USB/DAC amp combination, is priced about $150 lower (assuming you have some interconnects to use with the combo already), and a black EB01 sitting on top of a HA2 MkII is quite a gorgeous sight, too (I'll post a photo or two later). My current reference amplifier remains (as it has been for a while now) the Ray Samuels Audio Raptor, and the EB01 paired with the Raptor might seem like a mismatch (a $100 USB DAC with a $1175.00 tube amp), but it's not. For good computer audio, the EB01 makes no fool of itself with any amp.

I've opened up one of the EB01's, and, not being the DIY or audio engineer type, I'm unable to offer you any opinion of its circuit design/execution. It looks neat and tidy and well organized, but I'll post a photo or two later so you can see for yourself (and maybe some of our DIY'ers would be willing to comment on what they'll see).

How a component looks is generally of no concern to me, but it merits mentioning that the Silverstone EB01 looks far more expensive than it is. Since Silverstone is most known for their PC cases, I guess it isn't entirely surprising that they know how to execute a beautiful, affordable chassis.

Sorry I can't say more right now, but I typed this during a short break during a busy work day. I'll say more about the EB01 down the road, as well as my current reference setup for computer audio (the Raptor paired with the Firestone Audio Fubar II/Supplier combination), and my experience with computer audio in general.

 

[devwild]

Excellent news Jude, while everyone else is waiting you've already done the homework

Sounds like I may need to order myself one of these for my work setup...

 

[hyamaiata]

Excellent mini review, jude, very informative, precise and non-selfish. However, I have some questions for you or maybe other person can answer them.

1. Have you ever used the EB01 with a HR Micro Amp DM?
2. Have you ever compared the EB01 to the HR Micro DAC?
3. Have you ever heard a HR Micro Stack DM?
4. If you have said yes to the questions above, which of the 2 DACs is a better value to use with the Micro Amp for stationary use?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Patu]

This looks very interesting. I wonder how it would perform against ESI Juli@. Hope it will soon be available in Finland also.

 

[MikoLayer]

wow, maybe some modding could turn into another bargain basement powerhouse

 

[jude]

Thanks for the nice comment--I didn't intend my post to be construed as much of a review, but only as a few comments about the product from someone who's used it for a while.

I only heard the Micro stack very briefly, in a noisy environment, so I'm not in a position to answer some of your questions--questions one through four in particular.

However, on a barely related note, it was a HeadRoom Home (with the Desktop Power Supply, Max Modules and Max DAC options) that first got me interested in the idea of having at least one computer audio rig. Tyll Hertsens (HeadRoom's head honcho) stopped by my office on his way out to New York. He had his full line of products with him, but, in the interest of time, only set up a couple of products in my office for Jack and me to listen to, the above rig being one of them. We hooked it up to Jack's Dell Dimension 9100 via USB, and played CDs on his CD-ROM drive through Windows Media. I was absolutely shocked. I couldn't believe the quality of sound coming from that computer rig, and decided then and there I'd have to entertain the idea of a computer rig after all (which I wouldn't have guessed, before that, that I'd have tried anytime soon).

Yes, that particular HeadRoom rig was closer to $2000.00, and so far more expensive than the Micro stack. Its performance, however, transcended any other computer rig I've yet heard (and I'll admit to not being the most experienced in this realm). The Home/Max/Max DAC sounded like an excellent source component plugged into an outstanding amp, even being fed by a USB connection and Windows Media Player. And HeadRoom's latest version of their crossfeed is second-to-none as far as crossfeeds go, and transparent enough to make me want to go back to crossfeed. I don't know how close the Micro Stack gets to the standards set by the Home/Max/Max DAC, so I'll let someone else who has be more helpful to you.

Sorry for not being of greater assistance to you. I guess I thought it worth mentioning--since you brought HeadRoom up--that it was HeadRoom who got me interested in setting up at least one computer audio rig in the first place.

As for the EB01's value: It's a remarkable value given its very low price and solid performance. I think this product is going to be wildly popular, and, as some have already mentioned, might be a good base platform for DIY modifications/upgrades. So far I'm happy with the EB01 just as it is.


Quote:

Originally Posted by hyamaiata Excellent review, jude, very informative, precise and non-selfish. However, I have some questions for you or maybe other person can answer them. 1. Have you ever used the EB01 with a HR Micro Amp DM? 2. Have you ever compared the EB01 to the HR Micro DAC? 3. Have you ever heard a HR Micro Stack DM? 4. If you have said yes to the questions above, which of the 2 DACs is a better value to use with the Micro Amp for stationary use? Thanks in advance.

 

[manhattanproj]

will the silverstone be able to drive a set of low impedance headphones...til i get an amp?

one more question for those who tried or own it: how does it turn on since it's usb powered?

 

[mrarroyo]

I ordered mine last night!

For specs see: http://www.silverstonetek.com/products-eb01.htm

For a pic:

 

[jude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by manhattanproj will the silverstone be able to drive a set of low impedance headphones...til i get an amp? one more question for those who tried or own it: how does it turn on since it's usb powered?

As for your first question, I haven't tried it with its adapter cable directly to headphones. I'll try that a later time.

As for the second question: Once it's plugged in via USB, the "power" LED glows to show power in. When audio is present, the "play" LED glows, too.

I'll post a few photos (outside and inside) shortly. (NOTE: The photos I took were done without flash and without a tripod, so they're certainly not going to be the height of definition and sharpness.)