![]() This isn’t what you expect from an inexpensive ESS-based DAC, as they tend to be peaky up top. The music just flowed and didn’t harden as you turned the volume up. When listening to the Eagle, I noticed its total lack of hardness in the sound. But often, that translates to edginess, something I’m very sensitive to. If I had to sum up the EarMen Eagle’s sound in one word, it would be “smooth.” In this price range, many DAC Amp combos attempt to manufacture detail by boosting the treble and upper midrange. My headphones of choice were the Ultrasone Performance 880 and the Hifiman SUNDARA. On both devices, I played a bunch of Hi-Res tracks from Qobuz ( Free Trial Here). Listening To The EarMen Eagleįor my Sound Test, I hooked the EarMen Eagle up to my HP Envy X360 Laptop and iPhone XR. You have to depend on the source to tell you, which isn’t ideal. There’s nothing to signal which sample rate is being decoded, which is disappointing. The EarMen logo doubles as an LED on the top of the Eagle, with a White light indicating a general connection, a Green light indicating PCM/DXD/DSD decoding, and Red indicating a lack of connection. Speakers Aeon Flow Closed, and it wasn’t quite up to the task, but it did just fine with the Hifiman SUNDARA. However, several models in the top quarter, like the THX Onyx, can provide double the juice.Īs long as your not looking to drive big planar headphones, you should be fine. There’s no MQA, but you can step up to the EarMen Sparrow ($199) if you need that.ĮarMen is quick to point out all the efforts taken to keep noise to a minimum, pointing to the use of “Super LOW ESR tantalum capacitors, high-grade components in the power supply, and 4 layer gold plated PCB technology.”Īt 62mW into 32ohms, this DAC/Amp combo is firmly in the upper half of USB DACs in terms of power. Inside, Eagle is based around a 32-bit SABRE DAC chip capable of decoding PCM up to 32/384, along with DSD64 and 128. It’s also very slim and compact, probably the smallest DAC/Amp I’ve seen with a full-sized USB connector on it. This allows it to be lightweight (0.53oz) while still managing to look elegant. ![]() No driver install is required.Ī post shared by HI-FI Trends Eagle’s design is also straightforward, basically an aluminum frame with glass-like top and bottom panels. The Eagle is plug and play no matter which OS you use, so setup is quick and easy. It costs about $30 bucks and works like a charm. It’s also compatible with iPhone, but you’ll need an Apple Lightning to USB Camera Adapter sold separately. ![]() All you get is the DAC/Amp itself and a heavy-duty USB-A to USB-C adapter, and truth be told, that’s all you should need, especially if you’re using it with an Android phone. The EarMen Eagle is about simplicity at its core, which jumps out at you as soon as you open the box. EarMen provided no input regarding the opinions expressed. It’s the most refined sounding DAC Amp combo around a hundred bucks.ĭisclaimer: The EarMen Eagle was sent to us by the manufacturer in exchange for an honest review. If you like a lot of sparkle up top, it may be a little too smooth for your taste (not for me), and it won’t drive power-hungry planars, but I highly recommend it for efficient headphones like SUNDARA, Grado, and the like.
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