USB DAC/amp (dongles)

Pleased to report that the ifipower2 does not improve the dc07pro dongle performance more than using an external power bank. Back to amazon it goes.

 

I think I'm developing a dongle problem.

FiiO KA13, $80 MSRP, $60 on sale

Hot garbage. I don't even care how it sounds when it's playing; it pops on every sample rate change and when it goes into or out of a silent/suspend mode, and that's enough to piss me off permanently. It's especially annoying if I try to use it as a DAC for an external speaker amp or powered monitors. The K11 R2R does the same thing, so this must be a FiiO issue.

Astell&Kern HC2, $250 MSRP, $100 on closeout

The successor to the hilariously-named PEE51, this is about as bare-bones as a dongle can get: fixed cable, 4.4mm output only, no buttons or screen, only a small white LED. There aren't any software-driven features of note either. This dongle uses two CS43198 DACs with some unspecified amplifier; the only specification given is 4Vrms output with no load. On the brighter side, but imaging and detail are good, and it can really shake the Clears on orchestral recordings. It's too bright for headphones like the 109 Pro, where it can come off somewhat shrill and piercing. The presentation is close and wide, definitely more of an on-the-stage feeling than an in-the-audience one.

The tradeoff is in cohesion; at times everything can seem like a jumble of disconnected sounds playing at once. By contrast, the DC07Pro manages a much more cohesive presentation but with a narrower stage that's placed further away. My ideal would be to find something with the imaging of the HC2 and the cohesiveness of the DC07Pro. The Mojo 2 manages this, but in a much different form factor with a battery.

Overall, I don't think I'd recommend either of these. The HC2 is obviously the much better of the two, but even at this heavily discounted price point I'd recommend the M15C instead: it's a much more relaxed presentation, but substantially more enjoyable as a result.

Next up: finding an AKM-based dongle to try, and maybe the Cayin RU7...

 

For anyone interested, I just wrote a massive comparative review of more than a dozen dongles over at Audiophile Style.

I’ll probably be selling and/or giving away a bunch of the dongles soon, but for now I still have them all on hand. So let me know if you have any questions or want me to test or try anything not covered in the review.

 

Did you find any correlation between tonality/signature and the chip used? ESS vs CS? Or have the tech and implementations matured enough to prevent broad generalizations on that?

 

IMHO, there are tendencies, but a large overlapping part of the Venn Diagram where good implementations basically negate those tendencies. The main chips used in dongles are Cirrus and Sabre. Rightly or wrongly, I tend to think the former leans towards “warmth” and round transients at the cost of so-so resolution and possible grain, while the latter leans towards crips transients and good resolution at the risk of thinness and “glare.” Yet, the FiiO KA5 uses Cirrus and has crisp transients, great resolution, and no grain. Meanwhile, the Neutron uses ESS and keeps the crisp transients and good resolution but doesn’t have any glare. So I wouldn’t purchase or avoid a dongle solely based on the chip.

 

THIS, exactly. I feel like a lot of the time the design of these things is more geared towards laptop transportable use than actual pocket use-- it's one of the reasons why I use the BTR7 as an LDAC receiver even though the sound as a wired dongle is much more refined.

Kinda curious about the Kiwi Ears thing too. I'm not in the market for a new thing again any year soon I hope but that price puts it squarely against the Apple dongle (which I think sounds good) and also just a lot of CX31993 designs that are flooding AliExpress et al lately.

When the heck did Violectric get into portable gear? Given prior experiences with their more affordable amps, might not be worth looking into that, but likewise curious now.

 

Now that I've had a week or so with the dc07pro, here's some quick impressions comparing iBasso DCE with dc07pro both fed by cb19 and JDS Synapse, driving CFA Fathoms:

• dc07pro presents a bit less bass overall, but it also lacks attack and macro dynamics, overall
• from the midrange on up, dc07pro is very, very similar tonally to DCE
• conversely, DCE compared to dc07pro can be perceived to have a slightly upward sloping bass response, maybe 3-4dB boost at 30Hz or so but not creeping into the lower mids causing bloat
• it's a bit trite to say it this way (and weird-ish to conflate amp/dac sound and headphone/driver sound) but: dc07pro is a stock HD600 take on things, DCE is a ZMF Auteur Classic take on things (kinda super-HD650)
• dc07pro noticeably improves when being fed by the Synapse, however, when using DCE the CB19+battery provides more improvement than Synapse
• DCE is more vivid, has more drive, more pizzazz without sounding HiFi™
• dc07pro is more relaxed while being maybe a touch more cohesive, and sounds a little more expressive in the midrange/upper midrange (this could be due to some slight masking by the DCE's greater sub bass)
• ultimately, preference for either (through Fathoms) kinda boils down to what kind of music you prefer
• For me, personally, I'll take the more enthusiastic presentation of DCE when paired with Fathoms, but I can see how folks may easily prefer the more tonally neutral (though I'd argue that slightly rolled off in the bass and slightly more in the sub bass isn't actually neutral) presentation of the dc07pro
• Maybe think of it like this: dc07pro is like a spectacular bookshelf speaker that represents great value for money and plays in a league at least a step or two above its' price while DCE is like a 15" driver monkey-coffin speaker that manages to image and resolve better than its' design (wide baffle, lots of potential for diffraction, wide distance between driver centers, potential for phase issues) should allow it

I know some folks have also heard both DCE and dc07pro so I'd love to hear other impressions cause I'm probably full of shit and competing impressions makes for better content!

 

@yotacowboy did you use the 3rd filter ( it’s Ll/f) with high gain on the balanced output? I think that’s where the dc07pro shines for me. You really get the spherical sound staging and you pick up all the little details with a lot of air.

my gripe with the dce is that it’s not neutral but not in a good way. The bass is a bit loose and overblown, the mids a bit recessed, and highs feel very dry. I can see why people call the dx320 sterile in a way because while the sound is big, it sounds a bit dry and bleached. It has a lot to do with some sort of air missing in the highs, though sometimes the dryness has a slight brittleness to the sound. Also because each sound is presented bombastically with this dryness and less air, it tends to get congested. While initially impressive, the prat of the dac seems to be slower, sluggish and compressed because it’s just big all the time. Sound gets stodgy(feels compressed dynamically somehow because everything is so loud) and it gets a bit sterile feeling after about a minute of listening.

The dc07pro has smaller elements overall, but it is more precise and pinpoint with a lot of air letting you hear the space around elements and layering more clearly and better. I find it has better technicalities because of the tonality. If not in the settings above, I feel it can sound a bit polite on the fathoms. The blackground is much cleaner on the dc07pro than the dce.


a track that really illustrates this difference is EDIT: Fusion on the Oppenheimer soundtrack. Every con legno hit from the cello bow with more air is clearer and more detailed and separated. The harp placement for the three notes afterwards showcase better spatial data as well as dynamics while staying completely layered, and separate. The subsequent layering entrance in the violins and basses also stay very clear while retaining all details, dynamics. At the end of the track there is a shuffling sound along with clap. The timbre and layering of it is lost on the dc elite unless you are actively looking for it.

Again for the strengths of the dc07pro, you hear something like acoustic installation from Tokyo ghoul soundtrack from tk, you can test if all the details, dynamics, imaging is clearly layered without congestion.

I liked the dc07pro more than the dce and don’t feel the dce shows any improvement to merit over twice the cost. On the flip side, The dc07pro really needs all the help from the cb19 and synapse to achieve it, which I reckon, most people won’t consider for portable dongle use.

 

iBasso DC07

Equipment Used:
iPhone 13 mini
Nair, CFA Jupiter
Mini C

Pros:

Neutral sound
No hiss with sensitive IEMs
Precise volume knob
Tight bass

Cons:

Tiny soundstage
Sterile sound

Conclusion:

The sterility, e.g., with CFA Jupiter, is only in comparison with other portable DAC/amps in its price class. It’s not bothersome, except with the Mini C.

The soundstage is a whole fifteen inches from side to side, and less in the other directions. That’s the dealbreaker for me. I’m using the Go Bar instead, despite its hiss with IEMs.

 

Interesting. “Tiny soundstage” is a complaint I would have thrown at the Go Bar. One thing I’ll point out is that the DC07 gets a lot better when used with the CB19 and especially when combined with a USB isolator (JDS Labs Synapse). Of course that kills the portability, so it may not be for everyone.

If you haven’t yet, try one of the Questyle dongles. I really like the M15C.

 

I got a Fosi DC02 to keep from having to change out cables on my IEMS at work. I'm pretty impressed with it actually. I have my eye on the iBasso DC07Pro now that I've heard what these CS43131 chips can do. Has anyone had ears on both units?

Work Chain: M1 Pro MacBook Pro/iPhone 13 => DC02 => Grado PS500x || Senn HD660S2 || Senn IE600
Home Chain: M1 Pro macBook Pro/iPhone 13 => Gungnir MB OG w/Unison => Ragnarok 2 => Same Headphones

Gungnir/Rag 2 is easily better, but the Fosi reminds me of a Matis Shrimp. A badass in a small package!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/imsDgvctVlI

 

Anyone come across a good dongle that has mic support for a headset? I'm not seeing anything from iBasso, Shanling, or Questyle. Do I have to live with the Apple dongle?

Or am I missing something obvious -- how do you all switch between music and calls when using your phone?

 

Most wireless ones e.g. the GO blu usually have a mic, albeit one of terrible quality. I usually just wear my dongle clipped to my shirt collar or stuffed into a jacket pocket so I can hold it up to my mouth during a call like how my parents talk into their phones either way

 

To be clear, are you looking for CTIA TRRS support for a headphone with a microphone? There aren’t a lot of dongles that support that outside of the gaming-focused ones. Check the Sound Blaster-branded dongles for some options.

You could do worse.

Generally I don’t. If I’m on the phone I’m not usually wearing “good” headphones. Sometimes I’ll use the MDR-1AM2s on the Mac for work meetings, but I’m using the built in DAC/ADC for that.

 

Oh, and I suppose there’s always the option of using a Fulla as a big dongle as well. I also found a couple more dongle options: the HIDIZS SD2 and S3 Pro, and the HiBy FC3.

The Questyle M18i supports this with Bluetooth too.

 

I recently picked up a Fulla from the 'deals' section to do that very thing, but even with it connected to a power brick/phone with the iBasso three way connector, it doesn't work very well. The sound is very thin/weak and distorted. Seems like it needs more current than the brick can muster.

 

Thanks for these. If I find others I'll report back.

Can I just say, though, that it is 2025. IEMs are better. Dongles sound better. I spend more time on work calls than ever. How am I having to dig through spec sheets to find something with the functionality of $9 Apple product released 9 years ago? How this not a solved problem?

With warm regards,
Grumpy Old Man

 

The answer of course is that now even the dedicated audio companies expect you to use bluetooth -- iFi, Quedelix, Fiio, now Questyle. But my god, I feel like I spend half my life charging things and the other half on 2-step verification and changing passwords.

Cheers,*checks notes*,
Still Grumpy Old Man

 

Simple answer? Low cost all-in-one dongle ICs have an integrated ADC for this, but as you start climbing the audiophile cost ladder you get into separate solutions where the ADC would have to be another part on the board. Since both cost and size are at a premium, it gets dropped since (rightly or wrongly) there isn’t a lot of perceived demand.

 

Dongle vs Actual Mic

Had a bit of fun, no DSP whatsoever on the actual mic sample but given I recorded using the native Samsung app for the BTR7's thing it's crunchy as hell. Yeah I would much rather use my phone's built in microphone because it's that much clearer sounding, though having a makeshift lavalier mic on my shirt collar is a lot more ergonomically sound than holding my phone up to my mouth like some sort of pleb (kidding). The chip in the BTR7 seems to be pretty decent so I'm guessing the reason it sounds like ass is just the physical transducer picking up sound.

I'm with Climber on being annoyed at having to charge everything nowadays, but that's why I have a 60Ah (not a typo) powerbank in tow all the time when I'm out of the house. That might explain my worsening scoliosis, in hindsight.