EarMen L-Amp Review

In this article we look at the EarMen L-AMP tube DAC/AMP. This tube driven dongle is selling for $399 USD.

Disclaimer: The EarMen L-Amp was sent to us free of charge by EarMen directly in exchange for this review. EarMen is in no way related to Headfonia.

EarMen

If EarMen doesn’t ring a bell yet, then the Serbian “Auris Audio” just might. In fact, if you’ve been following Headfonia you will know that we’re quite the Auris fans here. Their amps have won multiple of our awards, and models like the Euterpe, HA2-SF and Nirvana get praised all over the world.

A while ago Auris Audio decided to enter the portable market and to do so they came up with new brand name: EarMen. EarMen is registered in the US but all of their products are built and assembled in Europe to ensure the highest standards in production quality.

EarMen is all about delivering the best possible value for money and their product line-up consists/consisted out of multiple models:

The EarMen Line-up

1. The Donald DAC – A USB-DAC only with an RCA output to hook up to your dedicated amplifier
2. The TR-Amp – A portable DAC/AMP solution
3. The Eagle – A single ended USB DAC/AMP dongle and DragonFly Cobalt competitor.
4. The Sparrow – A single ended and balanced USB DAC/AMP dongle.
5. The Tradutto – An ultra-high resolution fully balanced compact DAC with advanced BT streaming capability.
6. The Colibri – A dongle sized transportable DAC/AMP with volume control, lots of power and double outputs
7. The Angel, a fully balanced portable DAC/AMP
8. The CH-Amp – A mini sized fully balanced amplifier from the Tradutto range
9. The Staccato, a streamer from the Tradutto range
10. The ST-Amp, a compact desktop DAC/AMP with pre-out

We with this L-Amp review have covered all of EarMen’s models. Let’s take a closer look at their newest Tube dongle.

EarMen L-Amp

The last year or so, miniature tubes have become very popular for portable applications such as DAPs, DAC/AMPS and AMPs. We have reviewed multiple of them but they weren’t always as good.

I know for a fact that EarMen has been working on their L-Amp for a very long time already, but they wanted to do it right instead of getting it out asap.

While the L-Amp isn’t the smallest in size, it does deliver a more true tube sound and an overall higher sound quality, so I am very happy they decided to go for quality. More on that later in this article.

L-Amp: Merging the Past and Future for Unmatched Audio Perfection

The unit we received is the Limited Edition, named “Miki’s Signature” and EarMen was so nice to send us sample number 1. Fitting. For those of you who still haven’t figured out what it is we’re reviewing, the L-Amp is a portable, fully balanced tube-driven headphone DAC/Amp (and pre amp) in a dongle style. It – according to EarMen – has enough power to drive almost any modern headphone (1W at 8Ω output). We’ll find out more about that later in this article.

The vacuum tubes inside the EarMen L-Amp are USA built, New Old Stock JAN (Military grade) 6418 Raytheon tubes. They are widely available, very affordable and deliver great sound, even if it is all about the implementation. Unique in this design is the Innovative Suspension System designed by EarMen where 4 silicone O-ring mounts drastically reduce vibration, minimizing mechanical feedback to ensure clarity and consistency in every note. If you compare it to the Woo Mini in example, you will immediately notice how well this system works when moving around or when on the go. It’s almost dead silent.

The L-Amps integrated DAC is one of the ESS SABRE DAC’s (32-bit, 384kHz PCM, DSD DoP128). EarMen does not specify which DAC exactly is used, but I suppose it is the regular EarMen ESS chip they used in their other design before. The power stage of the L-Amp is built using Burr-Brown® INA1620 operational amplifiers, renowned for their ultra-low THD+N, exceptional performance, and SoundPlus™ technology.

The L-Amp has a few interesting features such as the IEM mode, which allows you to use low impedance IEMs. I have to say the performance of the L-Amp is better with headphones, but we’ll dive into that later. The L-Amp also has a B+ (Bass Superior DSP) mode which lets you increase the lower frequencies. The nice thing here is that it doesn’t only boost the low-end, you also keep the same great quality (Precision/layering). Finally, we have a split power circuit, which allows you to power the unit by either power over USB, or via a dedicated power supply. That way you never deplete your source’s power, and you get great audio quality.

On the inside of the L-Amp you find a fully balanced circuit and connection wise the EarMen L-Amp offers both a 3.5mm single ended as well as the 4,4mm balanced output.

The EarMen L-Amp’s dedicated website can be found here. You can buy the L-Amp directly from EarMen or via their dealer network.

Sound Theory

In this section we find out how the brands describe their unit’s sound and performance.

For the EarMen L-Amp we find the following:

The L-Amp brings the power and quality of a desktop DAC/amp to the palm of your hand. Experience the warmth and richness of vintage tube sound without compromising modern-day precision. The L-Amp delivers a warm, rich, and natural sound signature for an unparalleled listening experience.

Price, Packaging & Accessories

The EarMen L-Amp comes in a simple but nice box as you can see in the pictures. On the inside you will find the L-Amp, a soft pouch to carry the unit around in, and a longer USB-C to USB-C cable. I also found a short 10cm cable in my box, but I am not sure it’s part of the regular package.

That’s all you get for the $399 or €399 price tag actually. I would love to have seen a nice (leather) case in the package, but ok. It is what it is.

Design, Build Quality, lay-out

As we’re used to from Miki and his team, the build quality of the L-Amp is nothing but perfect. The finish is luxurious and the whole unit has a very high-end feel to it. All of the buttons and connectors look and feel sturdy and I don’t see these breaking any time soon.

The L-Amp is built with top components and gold-plated PCBs and headphone connectors minimize signal degradation and ensure a pure, sound transmission. As said the L-Amp features EarMen’s new Innovative Suspension System consisting of 4 silicone O-ring mounts. These drastically reduce vibration, minimizing mechanical feedback to ensure clarity and consistency in every note. You can confidently tap the unit while music is playing and you won’t hear a single thing. With many of the other portable units using miniature tubes this is a serious issue, but EarMen has managed to eliminate any noise issues (except for with some IEMs. See later) You can see the system working here:

On the outside we have a very shiny case with a nice little window showing the double 6418 tubes. Of course these tubes don’t have any tube glow, and the orange you see here is from the PCB. There is 1 orange LED to show the unit is turned on and the second LED lights up when the B+ mode is activated.

On the top of the unit we have both of the headphone outputs. The bottom hosts both the USB-C data and power connection. On the left side we have a small play/pause button as well as the B+ control. On the right side we find the volume dial (2 buttons) as well as the IEM output selector.

Remember I earlier complained about the lack of case? Well, EarMen on the back of the units has installed two large rubber feet. These make sure the unit stays firmly in place on your desk, but they also prevent your unit from getting scratched. So EarMen did think of the safety.

In this limited Edition version we on the back also find EarMen’s logo, the First Media Sample mention, the real serial number and the CEO’s signature.

All good so far!

The review continues on the Second Page. Click here or use the jumps below.