A while back I had the chance to check out the E1 from Sound Blaster. This was a small portable headphone amp that also doubled as a portable USB sound card. You could hook it up to our phone or portable gaming devices to increase the audio quality or if you wanted you could plug into your laptop or PC. Well Sound Blaster has been busy, after the introduction of the E1 they went on to introduce a Bluetooth version (the E3) and also the E5. What’s the E5? Well the E5 takes the same idea but rather than a sound card you get a full DAC (Digital Audio Converter). You get the same features of the E1 and the E3 but they really stepped things up even more on the audio quality side of things. Of course we can’t take their word for it, let’s dig in and see what the E5 is all about.

Product Name: Sound Blaster E5

Review Sample Provided by: Sound Blaster

Written by: Wes

Pictures by: Wes

 

Specifications

Output

Stereo

Audio Processor

SB-Axx1

Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR)

120dB (DAC)

Max. Playback Quality

Stereo Direct playback/recording sampling rates:

24-bit / 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4 and 192kHz

DSP playback/recording sampling rates:

24-bit / 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96 kHz

Mic recording:

24-bit / 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96 kHz

Optical In:

24-bit / 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96kHz

USB Audio Streaming from Mobile Devices

iOS Playback/recording:

24-bit / 44.1, 48 kHz

Android Playback:

16-bit / 44.1 kHz

Max. Recording Quality

24-bit / 96kHz

Max. Headphone Output

High Gain - 120-600Ω (Gain: up to 15 dB)

Low Gain - 32-120Ω (Gain: up to 5 dB)

Battery Life

Up to 8 hours

Connectivity Options (Main)

microUSB

Line / Mic / Optical In: 1 x 3.5mm jack

Headphone Out : 2 x 3.5mm jacks

Line / Optical Out : 1 x 3.5mm jack

USB Host Streaming: 1 x Type-A USB Port

Bluetooth

Bluetooth 4.1

Bluetooth Multipoint

Two Devices

Bluetooth Profiles

A2DP (Wireless stereo Bluetooth)

AVRCP (Bluetooth remote control)

HFP (Handsfree Profile)

Max Channel Output

Stereo

Audio Technologies

SBX Pro Studio, CrystalVoice

System Requirements

Windows

Intel® Core™2 Duo or AMD® equivalent processor (2.8 GHz or faster recommended)

Intel, AMD or 100% compatible motherboard

Microsoft® Windows® 8.1/8.0 32/64-bit, Windows 7 32/64-bit, Windows Vista® 32/64-bit SP1 or higher

1GB RAM

>600 MB of free hard disk space

Available USB 2.0/3.0 port (High Speed recommended with driver)

Macintosh

Macintosh running Mac® OS X® 10.6.8 or higher

1GB RAM

>600 MB of free hard disk space

Available USB 2.0/3.0 port (High Speed recommended with software)

iOS

iPhones/iPads running iOS 6.0 or higher for Bluetooth^

iPhones/iPads running iOS 6.0 or higher for USB Host Audio streaming via Lightning port

^ Devices must support Bluetooth 4.1 (Low Energy) or higher

Android

Phones/Tablets running Android 2.3 or higher for Bluetooth

Phones/Tablets running Android 4.1 or higher for USB Host Streaming

Package Contents

Sound Blaster E5

Quick Start Leaflet

Warranty Leaflet

microUSB Cable

Desk Stand

2x Elastic Band

Mini TOSLINK cable

Warranty

1-year limited hardware warranty

 

 

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garfi3ld's Avatar
garfi3ld replied the topic: #36205 28 Jan 2015 19:52
Hey everyone, today I take a look at a portable Digital Audio Converter from Sound Blaster called the E5.

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