I took my sweetest time on this, but here I finally am with my first article about E1DA dongles. This one is about the two models called 9038SG3 and 9038D. A subsequent article will cover PowerDAC V2.1. 9038SG3 is E1DA’s latest iteration of the 9038S model, which over time went through 3 generations – this…
Category: DAC-AMP
Apogee Groove Anniversary Edition
A few of you may know that Apogee released an “Anniversary Edition” of their Groove DAC-AMP dongle in conjunction with the company’s 30th year in business, back in 2015. Originally priced at a substancially higher level compared to the regular version – which still retails for $249,00 – such Anniversary model is now discontinued. Externally…
iFi GO Blu
GO Blu is iFi’s entry-level DAC-AMP, primarly focused on Bluetooth connectivity, high miniaturisation and straightforward operation. It retails for just below 200€ and I got a temporary loan unit for review purposes which I analysed for quite an extended time. Here’s my report. At-a-glance Card PROs CONs Outstanding DAC reconstruction quality Unimpressive Single Ended output…
An LMS infrastructure (update)
A bit more than a year ago I published a piece describing features and benefits of my home LMS (Logitech Media Server) infrastructure. Over time my setup has evolved a bit and this is an update to the original article. Logitech Media Server is a piece of software and it well described here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logitech_Media_Server The…
iFi hip-dac2 (and hip-dac)
iFi Audio recently sent me an hip-dac2 for review and I’ve been auditioning it for a while with great pleasure. The new version of iFi’s recently discontinued hip-dac, amongst the few low cost mobile dac-amps featured of Audioreviews’ Wall of Excellence, is marketed at a very similar price (€ 189,00) compared to its precedessor. At…
iFi Micro iDSD Signature
Micro iDSD Signature is the latest evolution of the iDSD series. Its predecessor Micro iDSD Black Label is widely regarded as a great device which contributed to building out on the expectaction regarding its evolution. I did take my sweet time on this one as I’m particularly sensible to the topic. If one thing I…
Apogee Groove – Changing the Budget Game for Good (since 2015)
A thorough review of the Apogee Groove, a stunningly performant DAC and headphone amplifier. An entry-level step into the professional audio tier.