Hello everybody,
As promised here's the comparison between
Meizu HiFi DAC, iBasso DC01, Ztella and
E1DA 9038S Gen 2 by A/B method. Used Meiigoo 5000mAh battery smartphone with Type C output as a transport and TFZ T2 IEMs. Listened to the song called "Stone Cold Hearted" by Bloodline in flac 44.1/16. Used software player Hiby with the settings bypassing Android.
So, here we go ...
Meizu HiFi DAC
Bought for $33.55 including the delivery to Canada.
On-board the DAC:
Chip: Cirrus Logic CS43131
PCM decoding capability: 32bit / 384kHz
DSD: DSD64／DSD128
SNR: > 120dB
DNR: > 120dB
THD+N: ＜0.0003%
Output load: 16Ω ~ 600Ω
Output Power: 30mW dual channel @32Ω; 6.7mW dual channel @600Ω
Sound volume - set on 15 divisions out of 16. The voice is slightly ahead the music. The sound stage is medium as far as the width and the depth are concerned. The frequencies are more or less even. No sibilants whatsoever. Listening with full size high impedance headphones is problematic due to a relatively low driving power.
iBasso DC01
Paid $54 straight to iBasso, delivery included.
On-board the DAC:
DAC chipset: AK4493.
THD+N: <0.001%(32ohm load, 1.2Vrms)
Output voltage: 1.9V(32ohm load)
Output power: 113mW@32ohm.
Frequency response: 20Hz-40kHz±5dB.
PCM: up to 32bit/384kHz.
DSD: Native DSD up to 256x.
The volume is set on 11 to reach a comfortable volume level for me.
Lows are much more prominent compared to Meizu DAC. The highs are similar. No sibilants. The sound stage is deeper and wider. The instrument separation is a little bit better than with Meizu DAC. In general the sound is harsher. In Meizu DAC it is milder/softer. But on the other hand the DC01 sound is much clearer and more crystal . The lows are faster and more controlled. They massage your eardrums bombarding it considerably. Rain on parade (so to say) is that when you disconnect the DAC from the transport with IEMs still on you will be hit by the sound. Beware of it.
Ztella
Purchased for $65.44 at Kickstarter. If anybody is interested I will share the promo to get 30% discount. Just send me PM.
On-board the DAC:
The latest generation of SABRE from ESS Technology which is 9281 СPRO
384kHz with a 32-bit depth and DSD 1-bit encoding up to 5.6Mhz
PCM up to 384kHz
DSD up to 5.6MHz
MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) Renderer
Ztella Standard version (PCM-384K + DSD-5.6M)
SNR @ 120dB
THD+N @ 0.0006%
1V for < 150 ohms, 2V for >= 150 ohms
Comfortable listening on volume level 11. The sound stage is wider than that of iBasso DC01. The voice is more "at the front" as compared with DC01. The amount of lows is more but they are less controlled. Ztella has a parity in highs with DC01 as far as their amount is concerned. The instrument separation is similar. It works perfectly with UAPP and TIDAL. You can talk on your phone without changing earphones/microphone. You can see what frequencies are played by the color lights from the DAC -SD (up to 48 kHz-blue light is on), HD (more than 48 kHz-red) or MQA (magenta).
E1DA 9038S Gen 2
Bought for $72.54 at aliexpress including the delivery.
There are four play modes but I have not made them out yet.
On-board the DAC:
My favorite Sabre, which is also installed at Vivo xPlay 6 music phone - ES9038Q2M/AD8397
340mW@32Ohm@1kHz@THD=1%
>550mW@16Ohm@1kHz@THD=1% measured at +.5dbFS level, typical PC USB2 port powered
SNR -122db(A)
THD .0002%@-3dbfs@32ohm
Comfortable listening on volume level 4 (out of 16 available, if you still remember this). Listening on a higher level makes me out of comfort zone. The lows are similar to that of Ztella's but more controlled. The highs are more prominent. Human voices (males and females) sound the most natural out of all DACs mentioned above. In general the sound is more crystal clear than in Ztella. The overhang (if you understand what I mean) is the longest and the most natural out of all DACs mentioned here. Of course it's the best DAC which can be used with high impedance headphones. The only frustration is that you will have a hit on your ears if/when you turn the player off with the IEM's on. So remember to take off your IEMs before turning your gear off.
Now for a desert about draining the "juice" out of a smartphone battery.
None of the above mentioned DACS are equipped with its own power supply.
That's the amount of power they "eat out" from the 5000mAh battery of a smartpjone in Airplane mode in percents.
Meizu- 3%/h
iBasso- DC01- 5%/h
Ztella- 3%/h
9038S- 5%/h
My conclusion is as follows. The best ratio of sound quality/buck is Ztella. Definitely there can be different opinions as the sound quality is a highly subjective matter.
The final touch. All mentioned above is IMO.
If you have questions don't hesitate and PM me.
