DAC Chip: ESS Sabre single ES9038Q2M-OPA1622-OPA1602 & AD8397 (SG3)
PCM 32bit – 384khz DSD256, SNR: -125dB, Power: 200mW 40Ω, USB Type-C Female, 3.5mm SE OR 2.5mm BAL (Microphone: NO), 48x22x9mm, 12g, Aluminum Chassis
E1DA #9038SG3/9038D Firmware Pack Version-C

Listening Equipment: Etymotic ER4SR, ER2XR, Shure KSE1500, TIN HiFi P1, Monolith M565C & Beyerdynamic DT990

LISTENING EQUIPMENT USED IMPARTED HUGE INFLUENCE TO SOUND IMPRESSIONS & RATING

💚PROS

Energetic natural airy smooth timbre, faithfully neutral
Matured disciplined dynamics with well controlled vibrancy.
Reference grade coherence with pristine clarity and great transparency
Slightly forward Mids with rich textures and definition, lush Male/Female vocals
Crisp smooth Treble with matured finesse, depth, extension, and textures
Richly textured Mid-Bass with commanding vibe and crisp decays
Deep, richly textured Sub-Bass with realistic decay
Excellent details retrieval, Macro and Micro. Polished nuances
Realistic and crisp guitar, piano, cello, and bass guitar tones
Sweet sounding percussions (chimes, bells) and realistic drums and taps
Wide soundstage with great depth and disciplined layering
Reference grade imaging, razor sharp precision with holographic spatial staging
Reference grade speed and transients handling, handles everything with ease.
Zero floor noises with black background
Free of any coarseness or grainy edges overall
Great synergy with any type of headphones/IEMs
Immensely powerful SE output with commanding drive
Reference grade driving power. Drives Tin HiFi P1 at 50/100
User upgradable Firmware that provides lots of tweaking options

💔CONS

Not as airy as the other top contenders, just mildly so.
Slightly on the bigger side compared to competitors within the same bracket.
No hardware volume adjuster
Rare occasions may exhibit Treble sheen that can be perceived as peaky (on an already very resolving IEMs/Headphones)
FW dependent and not an easy thing for casual users. Chose the wrong FW and it sucks with synergy.
Barely recognizable differences between SE 9038D vs BAL 9038SG3
Very prone to getting static disturbances from phone phone signals

VERDICT

E1DA 9038D. This is one DAC/Amp model which is quite popular among portable audio enthusiast, and for good reasons. I must say E1DA 9038 series is another very refined and matured ES9038Q2M implementation with deft tuning. This is one of the top performer dongles that seriously question the need for full sized DAPs or even some desktop DAC/Amp if your usage does not exceed beyond 250Ω. Fidelity level is reference grade with well-balanced presentation across the board.

E1DA 9038SG3. Sounds identical (both with same FW type). The SG3 offering slightly wider headstage and spacing. Fidelity wise literally the same. Even volume level remained the same.

Note: Both 9038D and 9038SG3 Susumu uses 12MHz_LinPhase_slow_C_noSTBY.hex Firmware as this one sounded the most balanced. Tried the Appodizing_C_noSTBY and it sounded too bright, dry with unrealistic Treble sparkle that is so prone to sibilance (perhaps you can use this if you have an already warm and dark sounding IEMs/Headphones)

E1DA 9038D vs Ovidius B1:
– Ovidius B1 exhibited a hair stronger dynamics vs E1DA 9038.
– Ovidius B1 has mildly crisper and meatier tone to Treble and Bass decays vs E1DA 9038.
– E1DA focuses more on lush decays vs Ovidius B1 crisper approach.
E1DA 9038SG3 vs Hidizs S9 Pro:
Another dongle with excellent ES9038Q2M implementation, E1DA 9038D offers slightly forward Mids. Otherwise they are similarly matured sounding.

While exhibiting great flexibility and tuneability, E1DA 9038 will be best served if you become a techie nerd, and this will not do justice to casual users. On the other hand, S9 Pro can just simply be plugged straight out of the box – no UAPP – no FW tinkering etc., and you just focus on enjoying the music. For this reasons, I find it hard to rate E1DA 9038D any higher than ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

UPDATE: 31 July 2021

I have decided to re-test E1DA 9038SG3 Susumu with #donglemadness Torture Test – driving the brutal FOSTEX T40RP MK3 (91db/50Ω). This time I used my Samsung Galaxy S20 which runs on USB 3.2 (3.0 Power Delivery). I must admit I am quite impressed with driving power of the 9038SG3 under such load. Needing only 65/100 of volume for proper loudness (equal to Ovidius B1), 9038SG3 scaled up significantly with better power feed. Under these conditions, the performance is so very identical to Ovidius B1 SQ wise. The performance of this 9038SG3 is nothing short of mind-blowing with superb dynamic range offering even deeper extensions on both ends (as compared when running on USB 2.0 power). It is a lot smoother and polished too – with full bodied dynamics, clean edged separation lines, spacious soundstage and sharp spatial imaging. It is quite evident that E1DA has placed lots of tuning optimization to make 9038SG3 shine with more power. However worth to note that these power optimization tuning from E1DA may not work with some iPhone models. On my iPhone 8 it was rejected by iOS for excessive power draw attempts from the E1DA unit. Strangely enough it worked perfectly on my iPhone 7. Both iPhones on the latest OS.