I've had one of these on demo in the UK for a few weeks now and have decided to buy one.
Previously, I'd been using a Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital DAC with an Allo USBridge streamer, both with quiet power supplies. The main problem with these is not the sound which is very good in the steady state, but with MQA material from my Tidal master account. On certain album tracks, there is a stuttering when the track starts. It sounds a bit like having the stylus dropped on to a LP. Example: Supertramps' Crime of the century, track 2 particularly. After a while, MQA becomes annoying. Non-MQA tracks do not exhibit the problem so I guess it's something to do with buffering the two-stage unraveling of MQA material. I'd also found the USBridge incapable of working via a power line network link to my router although OK with a wifi dongle. So that's why I wanted to move on and it gave me a basis for assessing the e.One Stream.
I use the e.One Stream with the Android app 'Mconnect' which seems to be almost identical to the Apple Seek app. (I don't have an apple device to compare with but the screen photos look very similar).
A few comments:
1. Via analogue outputs, I'd rate it as better than the above gear I'm moving on from but then it should be as it's 2-3 times the price. There is no track-start stuttering with MQA tracks.
2. The coax digital output seems to be unable unable to go higher than 96k even from a 192k MQA original. I think there may be some rate conversion going on but the sound is good using the S2D with the e.One Stream.
3. I'm a little disappointed that the analogue & digital outputs cannot be used simultaneously but I gather there are technical problems with doing this. It's not a serious issue for me.
4. I can't get it to work with wifi but it worked straight away over my power line network link.
5. It boots up much quicker than my Allo USBridge.
6. It gives the impression of being fully developed without the problems of the USBridge/S2D.
7. Is it one box as opposed to the four I needed for the old kit!
8. It feels like a quality item.
9. The 'Mconnect' app or e.One Stream sometimes lose their mutual connection and I have to restart the app to get over it. Whilst this is annoying, it is probably a networking issue rather than either the app or e.One Stream as it also happened with the old kit.
There aren't many of these one-box MQA streaming DACs around and certainly not at this price. No doubt more will come over the next few years. For now, I'd say it's pretty damn good and should be grabbed ASAP.
The UK magazine Hi-Fi News is due to publish a review of the e.One Stream in the 2019 April issue.
Hope this helps. (
@left channel).
