One of the best DAC/AMPs I have used.
Its sound can be described as fast, dynamic and extended. Vocals are right amount of lush and intimate. Bass is proper, not overdone, fast, textured and deep.
Top end is well resolved and natural, this is one of its strengths, how clean and natural the upper registers are.

For the size and price it can make a phone a very capable audiophile device.
Caveat - some Android phones have clicks and pops that disappears after first couple minutes of playback.

This little device really surprised me. I already have Fiio BTR5 and Fiio FH5. I was happy with their quality. When I plugged my FH5 in, the first thing I noticed was the sharpness of the sound. ES9281PRO audio rendering is as close as it could get to the real sound. Some of the tracks I have heard dozens of times and when played on the EarMen, I could hear subtle nuances I never heard before. I played them alternatively between BTR5 and EarMen, but they were there for real. It's like a clear sunny day on EarMen and a cloudy day on BTR5.

EarMen also has a wider soundstage. Each instrument, vocals are clearly separated. The bass is just enough, not too high, not too low. It's not to please the bassheads for sure. The clean sound also has its disadvantage. Feed it with badly encoded or low-quality audio, and it will reveal it in its full glory.

Build quality of EarMen is good including the supplied cables. However few things I didn't like are:

There is no Type-C to Type-C cable. Meaning you won't be able to connect to Android phones out of the box. IMO the company should have provided C to C instead of Type-A to Type-C because nowadays every gadget comes with a Type-C port.

There are no physical controls on the device. Though it's not a wireless device, a volume and play-pause control could have been a nice addition at this price point.

Last but not least, there is no sleeve, case or cover

Overall it's a good device albeit at a higher price point than it actually deserves.

Sounds great with my hiby seeds (using the 2.5mm balanced output) listening to tidal mqa through audirvana on my MacBook Pro. A carry pouch would have been nice. And thank you headphone zone for the fast delivery even during these tough times.

A nice small DAC with modular design. Being AK fan i was skeptical about this DAC. For me the selling point is small modular design, 2.5 mm balance output along with 3.5 mm unbalanced output. I was about to by AK USB DAC but that is having 3.5 mm output along with usb C connection. but this one attached to lightning to USB C or USB C to USB 2.0. Also if anybody is having USB C to C then that also go fine with this DAC. only gripping point - sometime hiss or pop up sound coming when keep it near to mobile phone. It supports both MQA and FLAC. It is good for me as i am having TIDAL and Qobuz connection. Now waiting for Apple lossless. After that try it with my iPhone. Till then enjoying it with my laptop. Soundwise it is good. I am a die hard rock music listener.
Bass-The Sparrow is not neutral, it certainly has a bitty bump in the low regions
Mids-This DAC is very mid-centered and enjoyable. The midrange is bloomed, certainly offering a mid-centric bump and boost in those frequencies, no doubt. So, naturally forward and vocal-centric headphones sounding amazing with this Sparrow. You can really dig out that smoothness factor and draw borders around the vocalist and instrument, it is incredibly detailed in that sense.
Treble- Although it is ESS Sabre DAC, but it is tuned very nicely. The top side of this DAC is butter, pure buttery smooth. this is an exceptionally smooth sounding product overall. So, it might not be the right product for those who have treble happy headphones and want that impressive density factor and sparkle.
I would love if Earmen Sparrow come with small pouch to save the DAC from any scratches.

In the segment of portable amp/dac the earmen sparrow is a powerful contender.

Pros
1. Clean, uncolored sound
2. The output from the 2.5 balanced hits every single competitor out of the park by a huge margin, yes thst includes the audiowuest dragonfly cobalt.
3. Nuetral and clinical sound, not the smoothest though.

Cons
1. Significant cellular signal noise spoil sport when connected to mobile phones. This could be a deal breaker.
2. Power hungry and can drain your phone bstteries very fast especially when using the 2.5 balanced out.

Overall decent value for money not the best.

The EarMen Sparrow is visibly small and extremely portable. The build quality is excellent. For the size, what it can do is amazing - a myriad of file formats, DSD/DxD, and, oh yes MQA even!

Of course, the built-in amplifier will steal juice from your phone or DAP, but it makes listening to hard to drive headphones that much easier. I've used HiFi Man Sundara with this unit with good results. At decent loudness it comes pretty close to my reference-grade TEAC desktop DAC+AMP. That said, what makes this dongle worth considering is the balanced output.

For trained ears, the sound quality leaves you somewhat unsatisfied. Cranking the volume all the way up leads to very audible distortions. For the money there a much better DAC+AMP dongles out there: The venerable THX certified Helm BOLT for instance. But then that's OK, given the size of the package there's only so much you can do.

To conclude, buy if you need a very portable DAC+AMP dongle that does it all and absolutely need the balanced outputs. If balanced outputs are not important, the EarMen Eagle is more cost-effective option. At the time of writing, it is ~6K cheaper. If you have a trained ear and require nothing but the best and don’t want portability give the Sparrow a skip.

Pros - 1. Build quality & Design
2. Driving power
3. Small & compact form factor
4. 2.5 mm Balanced output (improves sound quality 2 times better than normal 3.5mm out put) - Engaging,vivid & colorful mid-range. Juicy mids paired with treble extension. Bass is really quick & snappy but can get really low & hit you with extreme impact.
5.plug & Play
6. Flagship chip & technology
7. Price to performance ratio

Cons - I have received Earmen Sparrow 2 days ago... But there are two problems ...
No 1 - There is no type C to type C cable in the box ( instead of type C to type C, there is type C to apple lightning cable).

No 2 - There is a EMI noise when it is connected with my One plus 7T via Amazon basics type C to type C cable. It is very annoying. But when I use the sparrow with my laptop there is no problem ( Via provided cable in the box from Earmen).This makes Me question whether the stock cable length is the problem, the shielding, Radiation of phone or another factor.
What should I do now? Raghav & team headphone zone Please give me some solution.