Stack them up!
PROS: Neutral and musical sound, integrates well into a multimedia desktop space, stable Bluetooth, excellent build quality, small footprint, standardized design for all devices in this line.
CONS: Dated USB type B digital connection (instead of USB-C), CH-Amp not supplied with 3-pin power cord.
Disclaimer.
I would like to thank EarMen for providing me with their CH-Amp and Tradutto DAC in exchange for my honest opinion. No incentive was given for a favorable review.
CH-Amp features (full specs in manual here (pdf))
- External low-noise linear power supply
- Composite amplifier topology
- Output power up to 3.8W
- Fully balanced architecture
- Gain control
- Ultra-low THD and SNR
- Aluminum chassis
- Remote controller
- LxHxW: 150x30x150mm/5,9″x1,18″x5,9″
- Weight: 550gr/1,21lbs
- PSU Dimension: LxHxW 150x60x150 mm/5,9″x2,36″x5,9″
- PSU Weight: 1590 gr/3,52 lbs
- Price: US$999
Tradutto DAC features (full specs in manual here (pdf))
- The ES9038Q2M DAC allows outstanding sound performance and easily handles digital audio files up to 32bit/768kHz or DSD512. Furthermore, the whole circuit is optimized to draw less current and improve power filtering, resulting in low interferences from Wi-Fi, cellular, and Bluetooth signals.
- MQA Supported: OFS (MQB/MQA Core, decoded file), MQA (MQA filethat is hardware decoded in our device and then rendered), MQA Studio (the same as MQA, just with the consent of an author or production company)
- Digital optical, digital coaxial and USB inputs – connect CD players, phones, tablets, games consoles, laptops or other digital audio sources – just play it!
- Gold Plated PCB – Not only does it give a good clean low resistance contact, but the perfect flat surface.
- Built in Qualcomm HD Bluetooth 5.1 (AAC/SBC/aptX/aptx LL/aptx HD) – Bluetooth QCC5124 is designed to meet demand for robust, high quality, wireless Bluetooth listening experiences in small devices with low power consumption for longer audio playback. Qualcomm® aptX™ audio, aptX HD, and Qualcomm aptX Adaptive audio technologies are designed to deliver consistent, high quality audio streaming over Bluetooth.
- XMOS 16-Core chip (XU216) – has enabled us with its excellent performance a hardware decoding MQA, as well as other necessary functions for listening to music (delivers double the clock speed (2000MIPS) and four times the memory (512KB).
- Tradutto is fully balanced, which means that the balanced outputs from the DAC go to the output intact, only amplified
Price: US$499
Links:
Available for Sale from Authorized distributors like Bloom Audio.
Preamble.
Some readers might know that, on and off over the past few years, I have been dipping my toes into desktop gear. It is an interest that developed in tandem with changes to my life in general.
When I first started in this hobby, I was primarily a portable gear user because I used it for commuting on the London Tube and during work to create a calm bubble to help me focus. My desk was often situated in an open office space (fortunately I was spared the embarrassment of ‘hot desking’) and as someone who’s concentration is easily broken, I really needed that bubble to function properly. Fast forward a few years and I now mostly work from home and have my own office space combined with “pain cave” (gym) in my attic. My desk is actually a large dinner table and so I have plenty of space available. Granted, it is usually covered in books and paperwork, but I always have a space reserved for various types of gear. Perfect for a desktop amp and DAC.
I had great plans for building up a kickass desktop setup. I had it planned out in detail, tube amp and all. …and then we got our little puppy. This cute little fluffball turned into an extremely spoiled giant and my budget was literally chewed up by him (and I still love him to bits). Luckily my reviewing gave me the opportunity to explore some desktop gear nonetheless and I soon found that a proper desktop amp and DAC can scale significantly beyond even TOTL portable gear. I absolutely adored the high-quality neutral sound of the Violectric V380 and it gave me a new perspective on what neutral could sound like. So, when I recently reviewed the EarMen Angel, I immediately noticed that what it did was give a sense of that sound in a small, portable device that you could take anywhere.
This is what I think might have driven EarMen in the first place. As the sister company to Auris Audio, it produces products that bring you as close as possible to desktop sound that you can put in your pocket. That also made it surprising when EarMen launched its line of desktop devices and I was not quite sure what drove that decision. After having used the CH-Amp and Tradutto DAC for several months, I suspect it has to do with producing devices that integrate readily into the modern multimedia desk space. I certainly found them to do that well, both in physical size (they have a small footprint) and in terms of connections. As such, this review is actually more of a long-term review and reflects general day-to-day use, which I hope will give a clear impression of the CH-Amp and Tradutto DAC.
Design.
The CH-Amp and Tradutto DAC have been launched as part of a line of desktop devices that all follow the same design. Alongside them, EarMen also offers the Staccato network streamer that fits seamlessly into the same stack. Interestingly, I noticed that Auris Audio now offers the Phonio and Phonio Light phono stage that look like those too have the same design and would fit in the stack. I can understand why because this design is simple, it has a small footprint, it is very solid and the stack looks really nice. It is nothing overstated in terms of design, it is just a clean and modern look. I absolutely love the wood designs that Auris Audio uses, I’m a sucker for wood, but this is a great alternative for a modern desk space. Indeed, I think it fits far better in a modern, minimalistic space.
–CH-Amp–
The most notable feature of the CH-Amp is the PSU-3 external, linear power supply that fits neatly under the amp itself. The build quality here is excellent with an aluminum chassis milled from a single block. It makes it quite heavy (1,590g for the PSU-3 and 550g for the CH-Amp), which is not a problem for a desktop device. It simply inspires confidence in the build quality.
For the controls EarMen have opted for simple buttons, rather than a lot of switches, in order to keep the design clean. On the front, the power supply simply has an on/off switch and output indicator lights. The CH-Amp has (from left to right) a 6.35mm SE headphone out, 4.4mm balanced headphone out, an OLED display, a select button, gain button and the on/off volume knob. There is also sensor for the remote. The remote is a small, USB-chargeable one that is again built from a solid piece of aluminum.
At the back, the PSU-3 has the power supply output for the CH-Amp, three power supply connectors for the other devices EarMen offers (such as the Tradutto), an input voltage selector for international use and the power supply inlet. Although the CH-Amp comes with the necessary cables for connecting the other devices, it did not come with a 3-pin power cable. While these might have been ubiquitous some years ago, I am sure they are no longer available in every house. I had to buy one because I have not had such a cable since I switched from a desktop computer to a laptop many years ago. Of course, this does give you the opportunity to buy a higher end version compared to a standard one, should you wish to do so.
The CH-Amp itself has the power supply input at the back, a 4.4mm balanced pre output, an RCA single ended pre output, two single ended RCA inputs and a 4.4mm balanced input.
–Tradutto DAC–
The Tradutto is built exactly the same as the CH-Amp (without the PSU-3) and as such feels just as solid and weighs the same (550g). The design also follows the clean design of the CH-Amp with only buttons for the controls rather than lots of switches.
At the front you will find the on/off button with above it the remote receiver (the remote is the same as the one with the CH-Amp), Bluetooth receiver button, OLED display and two select buttons.
At the back there is the power supply input, which can come from the PSU-3 or (contrary to the CH-Amp) can come from the included power adapter. Next to that you will find the Bluetooth antenna connector, USB digital input (type B, rather than type C), TOSLINK input, COAX input, RCA single ended output and 4.4mm balanced output.
Under the Hood.
–CH-Amp–
The CH-Amp has a fully balanced architecture, an external linear power supply and composite amplifier technology. I’m no tech geek, so I will leave that for others to analyze. Power output is decent and has a wide range, which is convenient if you tend to use it with IEMs as well as headphones. Single ended, low gain offers 260mW and high gain 1.5W, while balanced goes up to 1W for low gain and 3.8W at high gain. This should ensure that you can use the CH-Amp to drive almost everything from sensitive IEMs to high impedance headphones. Of course, for IEMs that does mean that noise levels need to be very low in order to be useful.
The noise level of the CH-Amp is very low and only becomes noticeable with extremely sensitive IEMs. Even with the most sensitive IEMs I have, the Empire Ears Wraith, which have an impedance of only 4 Ohms and a sensitivity of 117 dB/mW (141 dB/V), the noise is barely noticeable from balance on both low and high gain. That is excellent performance, as the Wraith are something of a stress test for sources. They need a lot of power to engage their estat drivers and perform their best, while the sensitivity means they pick up noise quite readily. While testing, I really had to look for it and in day-to-day use it probably would not be noticeable for most people. It depends on the type of music you prefer to listen to. With classical music, for instance, I did find that the noise became a little distracting during low volume sections with delicate playing. Whereas with pop music or rock or pretty much anything else, it was not an issue at all. And that is still with the Wraith. With the Empire Ears Phantom and Vision Ears VE7, which are also prone to picking up hiss, the noise was effectively inaudible even on high gain from the balanced headphone out. This makes the CH-Amp highly versatile for a wide range of IEMs, earbuds and of course headphones.
–Tradutto DAC–
The Tradutto is a fully balanced DAC built around the ES9038Q2M. It supports audio files up to 32bit/768kHz or DSD512 and MQA and can connect to pretty much any source device such as a laptop, phone, tablet, gaming console, etc. Again, I am not really a tech geek and so I look at it from a day-to-day use perspective. In this the Tradutto has performed super smoothly. I had no issues connecting various devices and it is that ease of use that led me to suspect what I mentioned in the preamble, that I think the idea behind this line is to produce devices that easily integrate into a modern multimedia desk space. The main issues I have here is that the digital USB input is not type-C, which has become a standard especially here in Europe. The alternative is of course to forgo the cable entirely and opt for the Bluetooth connection.
In recent times I have started using Bluetooth more often in an effort to cut the number of cables I have running across my desk. I am by no means an aficionado, but have experienced widely varying performance across a number of devices. Price does not seem to be a factor here, as I found flawless performance on devices such as the diminutive Shanling M0 and the Ifi xDSD Gryphon, whereas the TOTL Lotoo PAW Gold Touch -a device I refer to as “my precious”, just so you know how much I love it- has been a pain in the proverbial. The Tradutto happily performs with the best of them and has been a joy to use via Bluetooth. It paired easily with my MacBook Pro to stream Tidal and ran perfectly stable.
Twister6 Reviews 