exaSound e32

[rossb]

I thought I would give one more update on the e32, now that it has had another month of use. In the meantime, I have also had the opportunity to compare it with two other - much more expensive - DACs, the Ayre QX5 Twenty and the Chord DAVE. The Ayre I borrowed from a helpful dealer for a week, and the Chord DAVE I ended up buying after hearing it in a dealer's system.

 

In the thread I linked to in my first post above, the e32 was found to sound very similar to the Ayre QX5 Twenty, although the QX5 surpassed it when used with more revealing components.

 

However, I found that the e32 was at a similar level to the QX5, with differences in presentation down to personal preference. I should add that this was using the Fidelizer Nikola power supply with the e32, which elevates its performance noticeably.

 

The Ayre should in theory be better than the e32 - as I understand it, Ayre use the higher end 9038 chip instead of the 9028 in the e32, Ayre use proprietary filters and turn off most of the features of the ESS chip, Ayre have their own high quality internal linear PSU, and use a discrete output stage, instead of the opamp output stage of the e32.

 

In practice, this results in a sound which is bigger and airier than the e32, very quiet, very detailed, and also a little fuller and smoother. I suspect that this is a kind of "voicing" by Ayre to ameliorate a little of the edginess for which Sabre chips are known.

 

However, the Ayre was also a little less colorful; the e32 had slightly greater tonal saturation. While a bit leaner and less full sounding than the Ayre, the e32 was a little more focussed and perhaps just a notch faster. The Ayre was smoother, but possibly just a shade too smooth, while the e32 did not seem to gloss over any edges in the recording.

 

I borrowed the QX5 intending to buy it, if it provided a noticeable improvement on the e32. But I found that, like much in audio, it was a question of trade offs and preferences. While the Ayre was better in some ways, from a purely sound quality perspective, on balance I preferred the e32. I can understand that others might have a different preference.

 

But I did end up buying the Chord DAVE. I had all three on my rack for a week, with each one under a separate zone in Roon, so I could switch back and forth between them. As good as both the QX5 and e32 were, the Chord DAVE is on a different level to both. DAVE has a naturalness and a deeply satisfying sense of musicality that I have previously only got from vinyl. Both the e32 and QX5 came close, but could not quite match what the DAVE was doing. But DAVE is 5 times the price of the e32, and when you add the Blu2 transport (which I did, and which elevated it further), it is 10 times the cost of the e32, so you would expect it to be significantly better. But if I had not heard the DAVE I would now be happily living with the e32.

[johndoe21ro]

Any other happy owners?

[johndoe21ro]

Does any exaSound e32 DAC have Mini XLR? Custom made maybe? There's a seller on Audiogon that claims its e32 has Mini-XLR connectors.

[Kal Rubinson]

2 hours ago, johndoe21ro said:

Does any exaSound e32 DAC have Mini XLR? Custom made maybe? There's a seller on Audiogon that claims its e32 has Mini-XLR connectors.

No.  The e32 DACs have full-size XLRs.

[johndoe21ro]

8 hours ago, Kal Rubinson said:

No.  The e32 DACs have full-size XLRs.

*His e32... 

Thanks! I thought so...