Sound Blaster E5 USB DAC with BT (aptX)

[Cheesebaron]

Not sure if it has been posted yet, but Creative has just announced their Sound Blaster E5 USB DAC, which looks pretty nice for people who use their mobile devices to listen to music.

 

Source: http://www.techpowerup.com/204717/creative-unveils-the-sound-blaster-e5-usb-dac-and-headphone-amplifier.html

 

So from what I can see it is the only contender for the MyST PortraDAC, which also has bluetooth connectivity (I think this was the only one before Creative announced theirs). I've tried the PortraDAC and it is pretty cool to be able to just put the amp in your pocket and not worry about cables connecting to your phone. The E5 is also supposed to support headphones which have Bluetooth aptX connectivity, so you can connect the E5 to a PC, or any other source and run around with wireless headphones in your house. Pretty cool.

 

Looking forward to give it a listen, seems like a really practical device and if it also sounds good, then that is a big plus.

[ShearMe]

So wait, it's basically a DAP to plug your headphones into, but connects to your phone via bluetooth?

 

That's actually kinda awesome.... if the output impedance is low.

[Cheesebaron]

It would work with both BT -> Phone and BT -> Headphone which uses BT + aptX. The MyST I have tried only works with BT -> Phone or music source. Not to headphones. It is indeed pretty cool, especially if you use some kind of external DAC with your phone, which usually gets connected through an OTG USB cable, then you have to manage that cable etc. With a DAC thingie with BT which connects to the phone, just as I mentioned in the OP, then you can use your phone without having to worry about that OTG cable, and just have the AMP hidden in a pocket or something.