This is a review and detailed Measurements of Melokin DA9.1 ES9038PRO DAC and Headphone Amp. I purchased this for a discount after contacting the manufacturer to get such. I have gotten quite a few requests for measuring it due to it sporting the high-end ES9038Pro DAC chip.
Unboxing is pleasant with the unit being double boxed and inside, covert with nice plastic bag. Once removed, you are greeted with above average machining and construction:
You can see the Topping D50 on top of it which I used as a reference for measurements which uses the lower end ES9038Q2M version of the same DAC chip from ESS. The topping retails for $249 but is frequently on sale for $199. The retail price of Melokin DA9.1 is $360 (plus $80 for USB input) but it includes a headphone amplifier which the D50 does not have.
Purchasing was a pain as I had to pay in advance to the manufacture using paypal and then wait 2-3 weeks (?) for delivery. Definitely not in the same class of Amazon Prime.
The unit has UAC2 compliant drivers and it automatically installed itself in Windows 10 Creators edition. Since my Audio Precision APx555 analyzer only supports ASIO, I used ASIO4ALL wrapper to communicate in "bit exact" mode to both DACs for measurements. Both units have other digital inputs which I did not test.
Measurements
As usual, let's look at dashboard view of Melokin DA9.1:
We see that the output at 2.5 volt RMS is above average (typically 2 volts). Other figures look good. But there is a catch: I could only get these clean results if I set the headphone volume control to zero. I initially tested with it at max volume and was greeted with these horrible results:
As you see, we lost more than 50 dB of performance while the output volume did not change at all! Somehow the headphone amplifier is loading down the line out of the DAC. Puzzling and definitely a design mistake.
Next I ran everyone's favorite, linearity test:
Not good. Not only do we lose linearity early, but each channel does its own thing! One deviates positively while the other, negatively. We can see this in scope view of -110 dB signal (post filtering):
It is easy to see that the output is much lower than the other.
Next I ran SMPTE Intermodulation distortion test:
So once again we seen differing performance in each channel (in red). More so, we see clipping starting at -15 dB.
The topping D50 while not perfect with that "hump" in mid-levels, does very well and keeps its channel distortions the same.
To be honest, at this point I lost interest in further testing given how much more gear I have to test. I think the message is fairly clear. But let me know if you want something else tested in it.
Summary
The Melokin DA9.1 ES9038PRO came with a lot of promise and kind discount from the manufacturer. Good out of box experience and build quality put me in good mood. The goodwill got lost though when seeing measurements that demonstrate anomalies which should have been caught and fixed prior to manufacturing.
Lesson here: don't go by part specs. Insist on seeing measurements.
If you are still interested in buying this unit, mine is available for purchase. Send me message.
------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
If you like this review, please consider donating funds for these types of hardware purchases using Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/audiosciencereview), or upgrading your membership here though Paypal (https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...eview-and-measurements.2164/page-3#post-59054).
Unboxing is pleasant with the unit being double boxed and inside, covert with nice plastic bag. Once removed, you are greeted with above average machining and construction:
You can see the Topping D50 on top of it which I used as a reference for measurements which uses the lower end ES9038Q2M version of the same DAC chip from ESS. The topping retails for $249 but is frequently on sale for $199. The retail price of Melokin DA9.1 is $360 (plus $80 for USB input) but it includes a headphone amplifier which the D50 does not have.
Purchasing was a pain as I had to pay in advance to the manufacture using paypal and then wait 2-3 weeks (?) for delivery. Definitely not in the same class of Amazon Prime.
The unit has UAC2 compliant drivers and it automatically installed itself in Windows 10 Creators edition. Since my Audio Precision APx555 analyzer only supports ASIO, I used ASIO4ALL wrapper to communicate in "bit exact" mode to both DACs for measurements. Both units have other digital inputs which I did not test.
Measurements
As usual, let's look at dashboard view of Melokin DA9.1:
We see that the output at 2.5 volt RMS is above average (typically 2 volts). Other figures look good. But there is a catch: I could only get these clean results if I set the headphone volume control to zero. I initially tested with it at max volume and was greeted with these horrible results:
As you see, we lost more than 50 dB of performance while the output volume did not change at all! Somehow the headphone amplifier is loading down the line out of the DAC. Puzzling and definitely a design mistake.
Next I ran everyone's favorite, linearity test:
Not good. Not only do we lose linearity early, but each channel does its own thing! One deviates positively while the other, negatively. We can see this in scope view of -110 dB signal (post filtering):
It is easy to see that the output is much lower than the other.
Next I ran SMPTE Intermodulation distortion test:
So once again we seen differing performance in each channel (in red). More so, we see clipping starting at -15 dB.
The topping D50 while not perfect with that "hump" in mid-levels, does very well and keeps its channel distortions the same.
To be honest, at this point I lost interest in further testing given how much more gear I have to test. I think the message is fairly clear. But let me know if you want something else tested in it.
Summary
The Melokin DA9.1 ES9038PRO came with a lot of promise and kind discount from the manufacturer. Good out of box experience and build quality put me in good mood. The goodwill got lost though when seeing measurements that demonstrate anomalies which should have been caught and fixed prior to manufacturing.
Lesson here: don't go by part specs. Insist on seeing measurements.
If you are still interested in buying this unit, mine is available for purchase. Send me message.
------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
If you like this review, please consider donating funds for these types of hardware purchases using Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/audiosciencereview), or upgrading your membership here though Paypal (https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...eview-and-measurements.2164/page-3#post-59054).
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