EarMen Sparrow review everyone! It has increasingly been harder and harder to get a hand on a flagship mobile phone that sports an essential feature an audiophile just can’t live without (in a way), the headphone jack. This trend is where the EarMen Sparrow, their high-performance USB DAC/PreAmp and headphone amp, makes its case as a portable solution for the headphone jack dilemma on most mobile devices.
EarMen as a company has their roots originating from the Auris Audio company. Their products are mainly manufactured in Europe with headquarters in Chicago, Illionois. The EarMen Sparrow that we would be using for the review was sent in directly by them in exchange for an honest take on it and no monetary factors are involved. You can check the EarMen Sparrow along with their entire product lineup on their official EarMen website.
EarMen Sparrow Specifications:
Packaging and Build Quality
The EarMen Sparrow comes in a slim vertical black cardboard box with the EarMen branding and the Sparrow’s product snapshot upfront and product specifications on the back.
Inside the box contains the gray foam cutouts for the EarMen Sparrow review unit along with 2 connection cables, an EarMen branded black USB-C to USB-C and USB to USB-C cable. Both are well made and braided. Be careful though when using the supplied USB-C to USB-C cable as it is specified to work only at a specific orientation, the EarMen branded end connected to the USB-C port of the Sparrow.
The EarMen Sparrow review unit enclosure itself features a CNC-milled aluminum paired with a smooth mirror-like finish for the front and back plates. The front features the EarMen branding and logo which also doubles as the LED indicator.
The LED indicator has no option to be turned off or even dimmed at certain situations and this was a bit annoying when I used it with an iPad and doing some late night NetFlix binging or even when using it straight up for a nighttime listening session, surely an area of improvement in this case.
The backplate features the MQA and Hi-Res certifications. The EarMen Sparrow sits on the relatively mid-sized dongles out there with being borderline bulky given that it has no display and the choice to have a detachable connector cable is commended for ease of use. It is easy to store and carry but at the $199 price point, a protective case is always preferred.
Another noteworthy design move on the EarMen Sparrow is the choice of adding a 2.5mm Balanced Out port although 4.4mm is starting to be more prevalent in recent portable Balanced devices.
Notable features
The EarMen Sparrow may possess all the hardware and brand reputation benefit packs some handy and valuable features that makes its $199 price point worth its weight.
MQA Rendering
The removal of the headphone jack is not only the current trend that is sweeping through the smartphone market with regards to its audio capabilities but also the deep reliance on music streaming services and when you’re talking about HiFi, Tidal is at the forefront of the mainstream HiFi music streaming services and are heavily invested in the MQA audio codec technology. EarMen made sure that the Sparrow can be the bridge to make this audio experience on the go.
Do note that the EarMen Sparrow is a full-pledge MQA rendering device and isn’t a full decoder which might be noteworthy for some.
In-line mic support
While there are no detailed facts about supporting in-line mic controls. The EarMen Sparrow did work with earphones that has in-line mic controls such as the mainstream Samsung AKG earphones which might come handy when you’re in a situation where you’re rocking mic’d earphones.
I have used the Meze Audio 99 Classics with its stock mic’d cable and the clarity of video and voice calls are top-notch, it has even doubled as my go-to setup when doing a full-on mobile gaming session every Thursday for Ragnarok’s Eternal Love War on Emperium events as well when playing ranked games in Dota 2. I know this is a $199 USB DAC + Preamp + Headphone Amp but versatility was never a disadvantage when it comes to electronic devices.
4.0 Vrms/600 Ohm (2.5mm Balanced) – 2.0 Vrms/600 Ohm(3.5mm SE) output power
The EarMen Sparrow does more than just bridge the gap left by the removal of the headphone jack on most phones but also does it with authority and certainty. It’s 1.4 to 2.0 Vrms on SE and 2.0 to 4.0 Vrms on Balanced was a delight to use, it was able to power any of the IEMs I have used it with for the duration of the review like the BGVP DM7, LXEar Pluto, BQEYZ Spring 1 and the Moondrop SSP. It was also able to make the ATH-AD900x and the Meze 99 Classics sing specially on the Balance output. I can’t wait for EarMen’s take on the 4.4 Balanced connection.
Plug and Play Use
If you would count the 2 accessories included with the EarMen Sparrow review unit and the device itself then that is also the number of steps you need to make this dongle work. Step 1 plug the connection cable, be it the C to C or the USB to C then Step 2 plug into your source, be it your dedicated music player, smartphone or laptop and finally Step 3, plug in your choice of IEM or headphone on either the 3.5mm or 2.5mm output and you’re good to go. No drivers or setups needed, as a dongle should be. I did expect a seamless setup experience with the $199 and we did get that so here’s a high-five for the EarMen team.
Sound quality
The EarMen sparrow sports the new ES9281PRO SABRE DAC which I haven’t tried yet on other devices so EarMen’s take on it would be my first encounter with its sonic characteristics. On paper, the EarMen Sparrow supports 32bit/384kHz formats in PCM, DoP, DSD64, DSD128 and MQA. The ES9281PRO also highlights ESS Technology’s proprietary HyperStream II modulator technology which on paper eliminates timing jitter as much as possible and gives us, once again, on paper, a potentially clean and precise soundstage. I have tested the EarMen Sparrow review unit paired with the Meze Audio 99 Classics (stock and silver-plated upgrade cables) and the Custom Art FIBAE Black (Little Dot 3.5-2.5 adapter) coupled with my Samsung S10 5G (Android 10) smartphone and an a MSI GF62-8RE laptop (Windows 10 Home SL) with Foobar2000 v1.4. Both devices used various test tracks which would be mentioned later.
Single Ended
Having use the EarMen Sparrow for about a month now and around 70% of the time that I used it was on the SE. It immediately showed its true colors from the get-go and colors did it bring to the sound chain. The Sparrow showed a lively and energetic approach with its sound presentation and highlighted the clarity of the overall sound with an emphasis on the midrange.
The low-end results in a slightly thicker sub-bass with a solid mid-bass performance. It still lacks further control and grip, but the feel of each bass drop is resonating enough to have an overall robust bass presentation.
There are no notable changes in the lower midrange performance except for minor boosting which compliments well with the foundation laid by the lower frequencies. The vocals and the upper midrange however are pushed forward and created a detailed and full sound. Openness is especially observable on the female vocals with a pronounced breathy presentation is created for the male vocals.
Treble on the EarMen’s Sparrow SE was rendered in a sweet and clean manner. There is a noticeable bump on the approach but none that reaches the piercing levels. Sibilant sound is also absent. You can easily get a long listening session with the way the high frequency is handled with prominence but still well within the bounds of easiness to the ears.
Balanced Out
While all is well and good on the EarMen Sparrows’ SE but its balanced out just won’t sit idly and let his shine be stolen. The improvement on the Balanced outs’ overall clarity and resolution is distinct. It showed further signs of life and the dynamics just gets a boost of sweetness. It also offered a darker background allowing for the different frequencies to shine through unimpeded.
The low-end performance on the EarMen Sparrow created a nimble and punchy sub-bass delivery while still retaining the solid mid-bass performance which was shown on the SE. DeadMau5s’ Cat Thruster in 24/96 FLAC was rendered impactful and full-bodied on its bass delivery. The improvement on the lower frequencies using the Balanced out shows that the Sparrow has things going its way, and certainly one that would make bassheads notice.
The midrange of the EarMen Sparrow’s balanced out comes with so much more life and energy to it in than its SE and offers a more straightforward approach. Its lower midrange is now more vivid and helps in creating its fuller sounding midrange. Its vocals are now rendered articulate and detailed while still being melodic. The upper midrange is still open and offers more natural and accurate sound.
The soundstage on both the SE and Balanced Out of the EarMen Sparrow leans on being borderline spacious with a much cleaner background on the balanced out.
Note: The EMI noise is real. While it is subtle, the purpose of the EarMen sparrow was to provide top-notch sound and that is an instance we can’t let go. There are solutions at hand which can be addressed by picking up a 3rd party connection cable that has better shielding and keeping the Sparrow far from the source when in use. The immediate response and acknowledgement though of EarMen as a company is nice to see and hopefully such issues won’t happen again.
Conclusion
The current landscape facing an audiophile venturing out for a smartphone is clear that the days of the headphone jack is over and there is no going back to it despite the quest for that high fidelity sound. While wireless is more prevalent than always, EarMen has its own way of interpreting the trend and that is to continue supporting HiFi audio with its line of portable Amps and DACs. The EarMen Sparrow presents itself as a premium device to continue pushing forward wired earphones as the main tool that we use for music. It has a great build quality, not only from the Sparrow unit itself but its accommodating cables too. Its form is easy to use and while there are improvements to be made specially with the ability to be in control of the LED indicator light to be on or off or the subtle EMI noise issue. There is no denying that the EarMen Sparrow packs a lot of punch, clarity, life and power in its sound quality which is the measure by which we live by.
