By Everett Zarnick
* Schiit did send us a Fulla model to review.
The Schiit Fulla E DAC/AMP has made a name for itself as the king of the budget-friendly DAC/AMP hardware. When Schiit sent us our very own review copy, we knew we had become well acquainted with the Fulla, both for accurate review purposes and for our own enjoyment.
Before beginning, some notes for those unversed in audio hardware technicalities: The Fulla E is a DAC/AMP. This means that it’s a digital analogue converter (DAC) and an amplifier (AMP) all in one. The DAC portion of this hardware takes a digital audio data and converts it into analogue data, which is then output through whatever peripherals you may have on hand, such as speakers or a headset.
The reasons one would want a DAC/AMP are fairly straightforward: external DACs, that is to say, DACs that aren’t the ones included with motherboards, are often much, much higher performers in terms of audio quality. If you’ve ever gotten a new pair of headphones that seemed sub-par compared to their reviews on the internet, its likely due to your using of a sub-standard DAC, and not because of the headphones themselves. Likewise, a high-performing DAC that seems underwhelming is likely being used in tandem with a poor headset!
The reasons one would want an AMP are also very simple: Without an AMP, you cannot amplify the data that’s being processed by the DAC. AKA, you can’t hear anything! This makes DAC/AMPs particularly convenient, since you get both functionalities in one piece of hardware, and in the Fulla E case, at a cheaper price, to boot.
Without further ado, here’s the review.