nice sounding too. the only gripe i have with them is the volume steps jumps too far and lacks precision
Radsone EarStudio ES100
- Thread starter m4rkw
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nice sounding too. the only gripe i have with them is the volume steps jumps too far and lacks precision
DanWiggins
Member of the Trade: periodic audio
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I'm always mystified about variable output impedance options; any impedance between the amplifier and the transducer is a bad thing, as it introduces not just signal loss, but frequency response aberrations, and increased THD.
That's a myth. There is only one universal golden rule for headphone amp's output impedance: 1 OHM or less.
redrol
Headphoneus Supremus
Oh Gah. Just ordered the es100. Maybe I'll send it back... I wonder what the switch does technically?
Hmm is this thing new or why i never heard about
between the two, i like the ES100 more. most of my friends who had both of thrm also ended up selling that and keeping the ES100
redrol
Headphoneus Supremus
Lol ok noted. Will post a review vs LGs quad Sabre dac
Lurk650
Headphoneus Supremus
Depends whether or not Dec 2017 is old or not. That's when the first units were delivered from IGG campaign
BobJS
Headphoneus Supremus
You made the right choice. Best $100 I ever spent. I haven't heard the AT unit, but the power specs listed on their web site are at 10% THD ? The real test is in the listening, but could that be a real number??
That A-T unit is aluminum, sounds like a design made for bad BT reception. The few reviews I could find seem to back that up, and they also mentioned it was underpowered. For me, the balanced out of the ES100 is a big feature that pretty much no other unit has (at least so far).
It's a little bit strange that es100 doesn't have the real competitor till this day with balanced out. I think big daps will have also big competition if there is such wireless devices. An bigger brands should more invest in this type of audio gear. Dont know why dont see any alternatives.
mhoopes
100+ Head-Fier
Relax.
I can tell you that my ES100 is fine with low-impedance BA (low noise floor) and high-impedance dynamic (balanced output voltage can drive 300 Ohms) drivers.As for switchable impedance levels for dynamic vs. BA...that sounds more like a "because we can" than a "because you need". Usually, you want the highest damping factor you can get (8:1 or better). 1 Ohm isn't a hard-and-fast threshold; the tonal influence of the output impedance depends on the relative impedance of the load (level and/or flatness). You don't need <1 Ohm to drive a 300 Ohm HD 650. That said, the ES100's Zout is < 1 Ohm.
I've heard that the Campfire Andromeda's tonal balance benefits a bit from higher output impedance (such as found from a cellphone headphone jack), but that's an outlier that can be compensated for by judicious use of EQ.
Speaking of EQ: that's a party trick the ES100 possesses that the A-T can't approach. That will make WAY more of a difference than any of these other proprietary tweaks.
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Oh there are already Bluetooth DAC/amp with balanced out, but they are just not under most people's radar: i.e. TempoTec Blue and A&K XB10. TempoTec (a Chinese brand) Blue was released after ES100 - a bit rough on the edge and never quite make it out of China if I might add. The XB10 on the other hand has been in the market since Q4 2016, some 9 months even before Radsone started its Kickstarter campaign for ES100.
Are they better in anyway
Thanks for sharing, it seems that these options wasn't real alternative to es100 after all as it haven't reach big popularity. Tempotec i know as these has few products as dacs. Didn't knew they had such balanced dac. Well something new to me.
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