"I believe that the Triscend E5 is a bga package"

I think this is an option for the very largest E5 only (and the A7); generally, they come in (T)QFP.

Admitedly, (T)QFP isn't the easiest thing to solder by hand - but it can be done, and has been discussed here before (in connection with the Cygnal parts, I think).

Unfortunately, hand-solderable parts in general seem to be becoming increasingly rare. :-(

[nostalgia]
My first adventure in electronics construction was with the Ladybird "How to make a transistor radio" book: it was built on a piece of 1" thick plank, and the connections were made by trapping wires under No6 screws+cups. It used OC71 transistors - which had 1.5" leads!
[/nostalgia]