I could not resist and build 2,5mm to XLR converter, to be able test 9038S dac with my HD800 till balanced cable for Shure 215 will come
I compared 9038S with Topping DX7s and even after few hours I was not able to 100% distinguish them !
9038S has maybe a bit more clear mids + highs and better defined bass, but the difference is not bigger that approx. 5%. For 6x lower price it is amazing result...
The sound differences between 3 modes are subtle - I like most the normal mode.
Power consumption during play is approx 150mA and 98 when stopped - body of DAC is warm (measured 38°C) after while but then not getting worse.
I have successfully tested playback with my Samsung S9, S7 and Xiaomi A1 - all of them powered the DAC+HD800 without power bank and without interruptions.