EarStudio ES100-24Bit Portable High-Resolution Bluetooth Receiver/USB DAC/Headphone Amp with AAC, aptx, aptx hd, LDAC (3.5mm Unbalanced & 2.5mm Balanced Output)

I don't use this for high fidelity listening; I clip it to the back of my shorts when working around the house and plug in my Etymotic in-ear monitors to block out all the noise I make. This unit is compact, sturdy and powerful enough that I can easily listen to music or podcasts while mowing the lawn or using construction equipment. The batter life is excellent - typically outlasting my phone. The clip has held up well; much better than my last bluetooth receiver. The only problem I've had to date is that the unit sometimes connects to my iPhone when I plug it in to recharge it. I'd buy this again.

Works great so far. More than enough power for efficient earphones and even for my Tin Hifi P1's when used in balanced mode.

First and foremost, i do have have to praise it since the audio sounds phenomenal; it sounds clean and crisp. the app is also great and easy to use. i'm not going to go into detail since there's plenty of content on it already so i'm just going to list my favorite things about it: user eq, dual volume control (bt signal and amp volume), able to choose codec, and able to choose output (jack and dual current or single). the actual device is also pretty nice: the clips is useful, and while it feels "plastick", it is light and small.so, if i really do like it, why the 3 stars? for me, it boils down to annoying parts about it.- having the user eq limited to only 4 is the main one by far and, honestly, this would have been a 5 stars for me. i have no idea why they limit the user eq's to 4 while they have like 20 preloads that i can't even edit, and not to mention i'm also never going to use them either.- no auto power off. for as feature packed as this thing is, not having a user set timer or auto timer that turns off the device when not in use seems like a big oversight.- restarting when plugged in to charge. yeah i get it, it might be plugged in into a pc to be used a dac and it needs to check, but i don't see why it needs to restart when all i want to do is charge it from a power bank.

This is experience culminated from several units and users, so it's probably going to sound saltier than it needs to without intonation of spoken word. So maybe just consider looking for the TLDR at the bottom.. The Nitty Gritty: ♦ Those with SENSITIVE HEARING *BEWARE* ES100 Sometimes makes wincing, painfully loud boot up noises with pops when turning on/off or starting/stopping sound playback, and occasionally even a limb waved near it will cause interference. I've paired these es100s with KOSS Porta Pro®s for myself and my nearly deaf father with tinnitus from chemotherapy, so he can ignore and tolerate that to get the T.V. sound cranked up directly in his ears.• The power/pause-play button often depresses and audibly *clicks*- but does nothing. Rinse repeat 2∞&>.• If used while charging you may have worse audio delay and hear some static whine feedback.• Certain BT devices [Looking at you Win10] use modes that can make the latency upwards o' 300-400ms, and THAT can be noticeably desynched with video/audio.• While plugged in to some chargers/cables it may get stuck in reboot loop and need un/replugging.• At it's worst, it can be so finicky with synch and getting stuck in loops, holding buttons/ plugging in to power isn't enough to reset, and it might just need you to let it die, then recharge, or if you can manage it- firmware flash it to get its device history clear/ factory defaulted.Other than that, it works great, WHEN you have it powered on, synched/connected/EQ set properly, are sitting still, within range of a good transmitter/reciever, AND making sure not to block it with your limbs. [LOL seems worse than it is, but I am thoroughly picky.]TL;DR: FINICKY AF. Makes loud arçe pops and the power button sucks. Rare occasions it has synch/freeze/loop issues. But with all that in mind TBH it's no worse than any other BT devices on the market. Great battery life, versatile as receiver or USB DAC, and can be used as either while charging if you have a sturdy cable connection [small 1000-2000mah battery bank in your pocket will do it]. Decent range W͟H͟E͟N͟ unobstructed, good sound and latency when using the right codecs. The phone app has nice controls and features for BT modes, EQ settings, Sync, Power Off, Etc. Great purchase on sale. Would recommend if you know what you are getting into.

This is my second ES100, because I wanted one in my car also. The first one I bought 2 years ago is still going strong. I have it paired with a set of Audio Technica E40's, using a 2.5mm balanced cable. It's downright astonishing what that combo is capable of. I know I shouldn't listen to it so loud but man! It's hard to resist when the sound is crystal clear. 🤘

The small size has powerful functions.It makes the music more layered and prominent.One drawback is that the battery level display is not accurate.Ten to twelve hours in normal mode should be no problem.

Sound is very close to my desktop musical fidelity amp. Really surprised. Just hope it will last.

I have found nothing wrong with the unit. I performs excellently and has great sound. However, it comes with a small USB charging cable with a proprietary connection for the unit. I purchased for use on my motorcycle. I wished to locate it on a charger next to the bike. I purchased a USB3 charging cable that would reach to where I parked the bike, but found that it was not indeed USB3, but a proprietary connector.I have a long history of checks and balances that requires me to have multiple backups. Losing the charging cable is one. However, try though I may to find an extra charging cable or adapter, it has been for naught. I did find a replacement at the manufacturer for $40.00, two thirds the cost of the entire unit. Therefore, I would not recommend buying, unless they make a replacement cable available.

I have been using this for over a year now and it's been great. There are a few issues, I had was having to replace the pin in the clip as it came loose. Sometimes my phone doesn't play nicely but restarting my phone's connection sorts it out. There are slight lag issues connecting to my laptop or TV, but my main use is listening via the phone.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this Bluetooth receiver/DAC when I ordered it but the word on the Internet was that I woudn't be disappointed. Man, that's an understatement. This thing makes .flac files and anything else you listen to on your phone (iPhone 8 here) sound as close to a cable as I think we're ever going to get. It would probably be easier to list what it doesn't do than all the things it does but here we go...It's a Bluetooth receiver with support for all the current codecs and Bluetooth V5.0 You'll never connect your phone to your headphones again unless you're one of those more money than brains headphone amp types.Want options? How about a Balanced 2.5mm jack on one side and an Unbalanced 3.5mm on the other? You got it.Like to tweak setting you don't know anything about? Roger that. The EarStudio app lets you set any parameter you can think of and some you might not know about. Output voltage, Output Level Estimation with three different parameters. User configurable EQ with four presets that you can save yourself and, this is really cool, the EQ settings apply to any audio source run through the ES100, not just music. In fact any setting once saved is stored on the ES100 itself so you don't need the app running in the background to get the benefit of how you configure your unit. Set and forget!Wait, that's not all.... Need a hard wired DAC for your PC or Mac? Got you covered there with up to 48KHz/24-bit resolution on Mac OS. I've had issues getting it to work at all on Windows 10 but I'm blaming Windows because it's Windows.Don't like being cut off while wearing headphones? Use the Ambience feature to mix in the real world with your music. It works pretty well. Not as good as The Dash Pro from Bragi but good enough. This is my only complaint about the ES100 and that's that I'd like the Ambience feature to stay on when the music is paused so I don't have to take my buds out, but I'm sure Radisone will add it in a future firmware update. They're pretty good at listening to and implementing customer feature requests.Need a Bluetooth receiver for the car that powers on and off with the ignition? Done. Four different charging behaviours let you customize what happens when you plug in the Micro USB connector. Ya, it isn't USB-C but that's hardly a deal breaker.I've probably missed something as this little thing does so much and so well that it's hard to remember all the features.Oh ya, it drives almost any headphone. Full sized, old school cans? You bet. I doubt it'll handle Electrostatics but if you're playing in that patch you aren't reading this review.Finally, it feels a little cheap when you first take it out of the box as it's all plastic, but after using it for a few weeks that's a good thing because it's incredibly light and once clipped to your shirt or pocket it disappears. I'm awaiting a custom made 2.5mm balanced short cable so that I can clip it to my collar without having to tuck a few feet of cable inside my shirt.Ok, last thing.... Call quality is superb. The mic is excellent and callers can't believe it's a Bluetooth connection.Best $130 I've ever spent on an audio accessory. Ever.