Cons — Can’t find any.

Executive Summary

Introduction

Jason Wang has been an audiophile since middle school. In university, he invented current mode amplification (CMA). CMA devices are characterized by their crisp and transparent sound. It became his ambition to produce audio products with the best possible sound quality. But nothing can remain the best forever, so we should always keep questioning for better. He made this his lifestyle. Jason combined his two principles to form the company Questyle in 2012. Got it?

Questyle had a huge impact with their first digital analog player QP1R back in 2016. Three of us have purchased one – and it remains our reference to this day. Their flagship dap QPM made it onto our Wall of Excellence as true endgame. And the CMA Twelve DAC/amp also collected very good marks from our team.

The company recently also followed the trend of battery-less dongle DAC/amps. Such dongles are marketed to people who want to play music in high quality on their phones, and who don’t want to have a second device in their pocket.

The current market is flooded with dongles – we covered a few – and it appears to be increasingly difficult for a new release to stick out. The 2021 M12 was Questyle’s first effort in this field. Our two guys in Europe were not…too impressed. That’s probably because of their expectations of the crisp Questyle sound, which the M12 did not deliver. It was unusually warm and soft to their ears.

Spoiler alert, the M15 returns to the strictly neutral sound Questyle made its name with. There are a few more things to say, for example how they did it…let’s start with the physicals.

Specifications

Physicals

In the box are:

• 1 * M15
• 1 * USB-A to USB Type-C cable,
• 1 * Type-C to Type-C cable
• 1 * Instruction manual
• 1 * Warranty card

The body is made of metal with a glass cover on top so that one can see the internals at any time. Sturdy, robust…as good as it gets.

Technology

The Questyle M15 incorporates the ES9281Pro SoC (System on Chip) that comprises an all-in-one DAC and headphone amplifier, which delivers a prefabricated sound so that all such devices sound similar. STOP! This is not the case with the M15.

Questyle engineers have enhanced the output signal by adding two Current Mode Amplification (CMA) SiPs (“System in Package”: each with two independent amplification circuits) to achieve the Questyle sound, which is characterized by ultra low distortion, a very low noise floor and very low output impedance of around 1 ohm. This low-voltage configuration is further meant to minimize power consumption, beneficial for mobile use.

The reason why Questyle did not bypass the SoC’s amp altogether is because that’s virtually impossible. And the reason why they didn’t use a pure DAC chip such as the ES9038 is size – it is simply too big. The ES9281Pro chip also features a USB module. Therefore, size and performance dictated the choice of chip.

The M15 offers both balanced (4.4 mm) and single-ended (3.5 mm) circuits.

Functionality and Operation

What it does

• Works plug and play with Windows, Linux, and OSX computers and Android/iOS devices.
• Plays music though single- ended (3.5 mm) and a more powerful balanced (4.4 mm) circuits.
• Supports almost all music streaming platforms worldwide, including Apple Music, Tidal, QQ Music, among others.
• Fully supports and decodes ALAC, FLAC, MQA, and other lossless formats.
• Features two data status indicators that will illuminate one of the following colors: green (sample rate is 48kHz or less), red (hi-res lossless playback: PCM 88.2kHz~384 kHz, or DSD64~DSD256), magenta (final unfold of an MQA Core stream).

What it does not

• Has no on-board control.
• Needs a lightning adapter to be used with iPhone.

The Questyle M15 does not have an on/off switch. It draws current from the host device and switches itself on, when a headphone of earphone is plugged into one of its two sockets.

Amplification and Power Consumption

The manufacturer’s amplification data are rather cryptic so that I put the Questyle M15 to a practical test. The problem is that balanced cables for full-sized, power hungry cans are hard to come by – to take advantage of the M15’s 4.4 mm balanced circuit, which is much beefier than the single-ended circuit (a generally valid statement).

Running the 300 ohm Sennheiser HD 600 on the (weaker) single-ended output – to my surprise – did not only provide enough power, it also maintained the zing, bite, and clarity experienced with easier to drive earphones.

Then I ordered a balanced cable for the balanced circuit – which worked even better. The M15 has enough power to adequately drive a 300 ohm headphone.

Questyle claims that the M15 has an ultra-low power consumption (which, of course, is relative to performance). I did a quick test with the FNIRSI-FNB48 voltmeter. The M15’s single-ended circuit has about twice the power drain of the “frugal” AudioQuest DragonFly Red, and approximately one third more than the DragonFly Cobalt. Both are designed for low power drain, which comes with compromises in performance.

The Questyle M15 has, however, a much smaller current drain than the much less powerful Hidizs S9 Pro. And it works with iPhone that limited power draw to 100 mA, which shuts out similar dongles such as the Astell & Kern PEE51.

I’d say the M15 is very current efficient, but you’d still better have a decent phone battery.

Sound

The Questyle M15 has a sonic signature owners of Questyle equipment love: essentially neutral with great extension at both ends, unparalleled resolution, clarity, transparency, and crisp dynamics – and all that without ever being strident or aggressive, sterile or analytical (Topping comes to mind as the opposite). Almost like a little class-A amp in your pocket. If you have listened to the QP1R dap or the CMA 12 DAC/amp, you will know what I am talking about.

Spatial reconstruction is excellent in both single-ended and balanced circuits. No compromise has been made for the single-ended circuit, the only difference between the two is power. This is in contrast to some other models that sacrifice headroom in their single-ended circuit such as the EarMen Sparrow.

And that’s all you have to know.

Questyle M15 compared

Questyle had released the $150 M12 a year earlier. In contrast, it features only a 3.5 mm single-ended circuit, and, most importantly, it has a different sound: softer and warmer than the M15 or QP1R dap…which did not quite delight Alberto at the time. The M15 also has a gain switch for driving a larger variety of headphones.

Apogee Groove: is much more powerful, way higher current drain, a very high output impedance of 20 ohm, and it does not run with most phones, not at all with iPhones. Its use with hybrid iems is not recommended by the manufacturer. Sonically, the Groove is more coloured and it drives headphones without the need of balanced cables. The Groove offers the best spatial reconstruction of all dongles I have tested but is limited to single dynamic driver earphones and headphones.

With the Sennheiser HD 600, the Groove delivers more dynamics and a deeper stage than the M15. The differences are, however, not substantial. In summary, the Groove excels in it specialized applicability, but the M15 is more universally deployable.

AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt is smaller and thus handier on the go, has USB filtering included and sounds a bit smoother and a tad warmer. It has similar imaging and spatial reconstruction qualities. It is less powerful – at a lower power consumption, and therefore more limited in its application. The evaluation of sonic differences relies on personal taste but are on par in terms of overall quality. Both offer stellar sound.

Practical Aspects

Questyle and similar dap manufacturers offer dongle DAC/amps to cover the phone/table/notebook market. A dap has principally a cleaner data and power source than a phone or a computer, as it is designed for playing music only. Computer and phone feature other clocked internals that introduce contaminations (“noise”) to the sound. So you are always better off with a dap, sonically – any USB DAC/amp (“dongle”) is a compromise.

When it comes to dongles, the user has to pick their poison: low current draw (= low power = battery preservation) vs. high power (= better sound quality = battery hog). Both are mutually exclusive.

You obviously need a powerful dongle to operate full-sized cans. Devices optimized for low current draw such as the AudioQuest DragonFlys will be easy on your phone’s battery however not do a satisfactory job on demanding headphones. Clipping will occur which will first be noticed when the bass is getting muddy.

Battery hogs such as Hidizs S9 Pro will do a better job on such headphones but empty your phone in no time. The Apogee Groove will not run with most phones at all. Powerful AND low battery drain does not exist!

There is a fundamental lack of technical understanding by some testers who run full-sized, insensitive cans on battery-preserving dongles, then rate them lowly. This misuse conveys the wrong information on the quality of such devices and distorts the playing field.

Therefore, if you have an old phone, a DragonFly type dongle may be right for you. If you want to run full-sized headphones from your computer, you may favour the Apogee Groove type. The Questyle M15 strikes a good balance between powerful output and current drain. However, despite its advanced power management, it is not a miracle power saver. In the end, you have to factor your intended usage into your buying decision.

Concluding Remarks

The very versatile Questyle M15 dongle is as good as it gets in its category. It is for listeners with very high standards. I will use this one for future iem testing…and submit it for approval to be attached to our Wall of Excellence.

Until next time…keep on listening!

Contact us!

Disclaimer

I received the unit from Questyle Engineering for my analysis. I thank them for that as well as for responsive in answering my questions. You can purchase the M15 at the Questyle Shop.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

The post Questyle M15 Review – Stellar By Starlight appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Cons — No pre-amp function/headphone jack; 4.4 balanced output is currently still a rare standard.

Executive Summary

The EarMen Tradutto is a natural, quasi-neutral sounding DAC that distinguishes itself from the competition through its minimalistic, artsy design and streamlined functionality. It works with headphone amps and stereo systems alike. A DAC for the demanding purist.

Introduction

Traduttore is Italian for “translator”. Tradutto is obviously a play on this as a digital analog converter translates zeros and ones into sound. And that’s what this $799 unit does: it is a DAC without a (headphone) amp. Its job is to create a quality audio signal that is then amplified by another device.

Across the Adriatic sea from Italy is Serbia, home of EarMen’s production facilities. From here you get “Made in Europe”. The company itself is registered in Chicago, IL. It was established in 2019 as a spinoff of Serbian premium manufacturer Auris Audio.

So far, EarMen have focused on few products of high quality. Their TR-amp is a great $250 portable, battery-operated DAC/amp that does justice to even to 300 ohm cans such as the Sennheiser HD 600. Their $200 Sparrow dongle features two circuits, of which the balanced produces the largest soundstage of my test population. Both devices are currently on our very own Wall of Excellence.

The Tradutto is EarMen’s first true “desktop size” device, although its use is not limited to workspaces and personal stereo, but it can also be deployed with a full size stereo system.

Specifications

Unfold for Full Specifications

Inputs	BlueTooth QCC5124	Bluetooth 5.1 ( AAC, SBC, aptX, aptX HD, aptX LL )
	USB
	TOSLINK	S/PDIF optical
	Coax	S/PDIF
Outputs	RCA (SE output)	output impedance = 300 Ω
	Balanced 4.4mm	output impedance = 600 Ω
Audio Formats	PCM	up to 768kHz
	DSD	DoP64, DoP128, DoP256, native DSD512
	DXD	up to 768kHz
	MQA	OFS (MQB/MQA Core), MQA,  MQA Studio
	Bluetooth	44.1kHz – 192kHz/16bit – 24bit
Single-end output
	USB input	S/PDIF input/BT
Output Level	2Vrms 0dBFS	2Vrms 0dBFS
THD+N	0.0003%	0.0003%
SNR	>116dB	>116dB
	A-Weighted	A-Weighted
Freq. Response	±0.014dB	±0.006dB
Fully Balanced Output
	USB input	S/PDIF input/BT
Output Level	4Vrms 0dBFS	4Vrms 0dBFS
THD+N	0.0003%	0.0003%
SNR	>120B	>122dB
	A-Weighted	A-Weighted
Freq. Response	±0.03dB	±0.003dB
Dimension LxHxW	150x30x150 mm	5,9″x1,18″x5,9″
Weight	550 gr	1,21lbs

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Technology/Architecture

The Tradutto hosts the XMOS 16-core receiver chip and the ES9038Q2M DAC chip. The XMOS 16-core  (XU216) is one of the standards in premium DACs for processing the data received by the USB/S/coaxial inputs. It handles MQA decoding in the Tradutto, for example.

Similarly, the ES9038Q2M is a proven DAC chip that processes digital audio files up to 32bit/768kHz or DSD512.  You can find this chip across the board, from the $2150 Burson Conductor 3 (contains two of them), through the $300 DragonFly Cobalt and $200 Khadas T2 Pro, to the $80 Shanling UA2. EarMen’s own $250 TR-Amp also features this chip.

The (Un)Importance of the DAC chip: None of these “ES9038Q2M” devices sound alike (I have not auditioned the Burson). Against the echo chamber of “experts”, a DAC chip alone does not create a characteristic sound but is mainly responsible for the handling of audio formats. As Paul McGowan of PS Audio told me “The way a DAC sounds has everything to do with its output stage and little to do with its DAC chip”. Because of this general misconception, and to protect themselves from misinformation, many manufacturers do not disclose the DAC chip used at all (e.g. Sony). Gordon Rankin of Wavelength Audio adds the other factors that create the sound: power, filters, analog design, digital design, software etc. In order to compare DAC chips, everything else has to be identical, as for example in iPods Classic that featured either Wolfson or Cirrus chips.

Tradutto’s sound and sound quality are actually determined by the DAC’s analog part, which is the result of a combination of parts and engineering.

After filtering the signal’s jagged edges coming out of the DAC (chip), the output analog stage performs several duties, for example, amplifying, additional filtering, removing distortions and residual DC, buffering, and providing balanced and single-ended outputs.

The Tradutto’s analog output stage feature German WIMA quality capacitors “for high-end audio applications” to minimize THD, audio electrolytes in combination with American MELF low noise resistors, and SoundPlus OPA1642 operational amplifiers (“op-amps”) by Texas Instruments.

But even more important than the parts is the engineering. EarMen claim to have minimized jitter (“packet errors”) through the separation of DAC and analog part by the power supply. The printed circuit board is gold plated for optimal contacts. And the solid metal chassis minimizes external interference.

The Tradutto incorporates the Bluetooth QCC5124 SoC (“System on Chip”) for wireless listening – that follows the Bluetooth 5.1 standard.

Last but not least, the Tradutto features a fully balanced circuit, which will work with your balanced amplifier.

Physical Things

In the box is way more than stated in the manual. Apart from the DAC, remote control, power supply with adapters for worldwide mains access, Bluetooth antenna, and user manual, further included are a USB cable, a mesh bag for the power supply, and a microfibre cloth.

The Tradutto is a very compact but rather heavy device in its sturdy aluminum enclosure. The combination of relatively tall feet and the clean, square shape with sharp corners give it a minimalistic elegance with Italian design charisma.

The designers clearly had optical and haptical appeal in mind down to the smallest detail, which includes the font selected for the name on the front. The Tradutto therefore does not only address our ears, but also our eyes (and fingers)…and therefore all senses.

Functionality and Operation

It does

• create a full, rich, dynamic, natural sound
• connect to balanced and single-ended amplifier circuits
• accepts a variety of sources per Bluetooth (phone, dap), USB (computer), and coaxial/optical (CD player)
• come with a nifty rechargeable remote

It does not

• amplify
• work as pre-amp
• feature selectable filters

Front Panel

The minimalistic design is complemented by very clean operational elements on the front panel: 4 buttons with an audible, rugged quality mechanism and an unobtrusive OLED display that gives you bit/kHz numbers for the USB connection, and “COAX”, “TOS”, or “BT” for the other input options.

No dial knob, no “dancing” colour graphs, no selectable filters — form clearly follows function. The Tradutto is designed to work, to translate zeros and ones into the best possible, natural sound. No amplification, no headphone jack. That’s it.

Back Panel

The rear panel features all inputs/outputs (from L to R): 12 V SMPS power supply, Bluetooth antenna, optical, and S/PDIF in, and RCA and 4.4 cm balanced out. 4.4 cm balanced is not the most common standard but it saves space compared to an XLR socket. A 12 V SMPS power supply is included.

Remote

The Tradutto’s front panel’s four buttons are mirrored on the included remote.

The remote is made of metal, has a great haptic, and its buttons have the quality spring mechanism experienced at the front panel.

It charges through any 5V power supply/computer socket through its USB-C socket. Charger and cable are not included.

Sound

One thing I am horrified of in DACs/amps is sonic sterility. I am a child of the pre-digital era going back to the late 1970s, and – with earphones – sacrifice detail resolution for organic sound.

One of the biggest shortcomings of low-quality DACs is a lack of realism and depth of stage, but added sharpness, and a thin, distant midrange. After all, both a $4000 or a $100 DAC do one thing, and one thing only: create sound (quality), that then needs to be amplified. A wow effect does rarely indicate quality: it is the long-term enjoyment that counts.

I tested the Tradutto with headphones in a desktop setting, and also with speakers on my big stereo system. I could not test the 4.4 mm balanced owing to lack of a balanced amplifier.

w. Headphones

Equipment used: Macbook Air (WiFi off, battery operated) with different USB cables (stock, Belkin Gold, AudioQuest Forest), Questyle QP1R with Lifatec USA optical cable, iPhone SE (1st gen.); AudioQuest Golden Gate RCA interconnects; Burson Funk amp; Sennheiser HD 600 headphones.

It is very difficult to isolate the sound of a single stereo component in a chain so that I arrived at my description through comparison with other DACs.

My general impression is that the Tradutto plays very natural, very maturely, never analytical, never lean, never sharp or aggressive. It has natural dynamics and is well composed across the frequency spectrum.

Bass is tight, lower midrange is rich and full, there is no upper midrange glare, and cymbals at the top decay naturally and are well resolving. Soundstage is wide with great spatial cues.

Dynamics is naturally dosed, never overwhelming or too polite.

When substituting the Macbook/Tradutto source/DAC with the portable Questyle QP1R DAP (its built-in DAC is believed to rival $500-700 desktop DACs), there was quite a sonic difference: the Macbook/Tradutto combo had better dynamics, clarity, and extension.

Substituting the Tradutto with other ES9038Q2M chip devices removed any doubt on the general misconception of the role of a DAC chip for sound.

The $250 EarMen TR-amp (as DAC) sounds slightly warmer than the Tradutto and it lacks the upper extension — but it can compete with the amount of bass. It does not rival the Tradutto’s soundstage, clarity, separation, and detail resolution. But it never sounded sharp or digital, harsh or lean. The Tradutto sounded livelier, better extended, with better defined notes. TR-amp is thinner and less dynamic/energetic.

The Khadas Tone2 Pro sounds flat with an attenuated midrange. It lacks depth in comparison to the other two devices. Voices sound lean and distant, which adds a component of air and a good stage width. But it lacks richness and body.

AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt without dedicated line-out needs more of the Burson’s amping power than the other DACs (I only set its output volume to 80% to avoid distortion). It lacks a bit in dynamics but sounds rather organic and natural – and surprisingly full and rich. The Tradutto has more bite, it plays bigger and clearer…

In summary, none of these DACs sound alike.

w. Stereo System

Equipment used: Marantz SA8005 SACD player with Cirrus CS4398 DAC; Blue Jeans coax cable, Sys Concept 1300 strand optical cable, AudioQuest Evergreen RCA connectors; Luxman L-410 stereo amplifier; Heybrook HB1 speakers & Sennheiser HD 600 headphones.

Using CDs as source, I could easily A/B between the SA8005’s integrated Cirrus 4398 DAC and the Tradutto, and also A/B between the Tradutto’s coax and optical inputs.

The Marantz ($1400 CAD in 2014) is known for its smooth, rich, clean, well balanced tone quality and its natural reproduction. It has a sweet treble but lacks a bit of sparkle. Its integrated DAC is at about the same price level as the Tradutto as the basic version of this player was $550 CAD at the time.

When switching between Marantz and Tradutto (coax), the difference is…essentially zero at casual listening…and therefore ignorable for everyday use. But when spending some time and using my analytical ear, the Marantz is a tad bassier and warmer with a lesser controlled, fuzzier low end. This results in a narrower stage and less lower midrange separation and resolution.

The Tradutto has the tighter, faster low end and better note definition up to the lower midrange. It also plays a tad warmer than neutral (but less so than the Marantz) – which appears to be EarMen’s house sound (also found in TR-amp, Sparrow, and Eagle).

Towards the top of the spectrum Tradutto (coax) has a slightly better extension and both offer natural decay of high notes e.g. cymbals. And that’s where mediocre DACs fail — they sound articial.

Both Tradutto and Marantz have no attenuation in the midrange, no lean vocals, they are rich and lush. Vocals are better aligned in 3D space in the Tradutto, which also has the wider stage.

When switching from coax to optical, there is a difference in that the TOSLINK produces slightly slower transients compared to coax. The notes are more rounded and the sonic image is a tad smoother – also compared to the Cirrus DAC. Again, the differences are small.

Overall, the Tradutto is slightly better composed across the frequency spectrum than the Marantz — which plays essentially no role for my system for everyday use.

I re-produced the results with the Sennheiser HD 600 plugged into the Luxman amp.

What we learn is that the Tradutto sounds natural and not analytical or aggressive or lean. It does its job very well.

Bluetooth

The Qualcomm SoC delivers pretty much a prefab standard sound in a black “box” where the engineer cannot optimize the sound.

I A/B-ed Bluetooth vs. coax with two iPhones (same music), one hardwired into the Marantz, the other wireless per Bluetooth.

Bluetooth plays quieter, it looses some richness and intimacy, and is edgier, but it is still decent, and more than good enough for casual listening.

Connection was great, I walked around the 1000 sq ft floor of my house (with the iPhone) and never had any problems.

Concluding Remarks

After 2 months of testing, I conclude that the EarMen Tradutto does what it is supposed to do: generate an analog audio signal of the highest quality. And it promptly delivers. It is sonically marginally ahead of my high-end Marantz SA8005 SACD player and beats all other ES9038Q2M devices I compared it to by a mile.

Apart from its sonic capabilities, the Tradutto is aesthetically pleasing (“Italian design”) and handles well, with high-quality button mechanisms and a rechargeable remote.

The Tradutto is a mature product with Auris Audio’s experience behind it. It is small enough to fit on your desk/stereo system, easy to operate, and it sounds great. What else do we want?

Until next time…keep on listening!

Contact us!

Disclaimer

The EarMen Tradutto was supplied by EarMen for my review and I thank them for that. You can purchase it at the EarMen Shop. I thank Gordon Rankin of Wavelength Audio and Paul McGowan of PS Audio for discussion.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

Gallery

The post EarMen Tradutto DAC Review – It’s Only Natural appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Cons — None.

Executive Summary

The ddHiFi MFi06 and TC03 are digital cables that are well conducting, well insulated, built rugged and priced right. And they add optical appeal to our devices.

Introduction

ddHiFi have been favourites of our blog for quite some time. They produce very well designed, functional AND optically appealing audio accessories and even earphones.

I have tested their TC25i and TC28i adapters, their Carrying Case C-2020 as well as their Janus E2020A and Janus E2020B earphones. And I purchased a few of their audio adapters. For their accessories, the whole company is attached to our Wall of Excellence.

In this article, I am analyzing the MFi06 and TC03, two USB cables in the broadest sense. Both have a USB-C connector on one and, the MFi06 has a lightning plug on the other, and the TC03 a micro USB plug.

And all USB cables are equal, right? Zeros and ones transfer the sound, the stock cable is as good as the snake oil ones at $$$.

Erm, stop. Not always. The signal carried by the cable is not only zeros and ones (which are actually transmitted as voltage fluctuations), there may be some noise riding along the lines that affects sound quality. Two kinds of noise exist, “Electromagentic Interference” (EMI) and “Radio-Frequency Interference” (RFI).

If the data line is not effectively shielded, nearby electrical components (e.g., switching power supplies, other fluctuating electrical/magnetic fields from computer circuitry) can contribute to EMI that might pollute the USB data.”

Running power and data lines (from a phone or computer) through a single USB cable can cause additional interference and exacerbate the issue. Decrapifiers such as the AudioQuest JitterBug FMJ act as filters to reduce such pollution, but a “good” USB cable adds to this effect, too.

“Good” does not refer to the wire (that’s where the snake oil is) but to the insulation of the power and data lines against each other. In other words, a quality cable does not add anything, it makes sure that nothing is taken away from the signal quality.

A well-known example of the positive effects of insulation is the EarMen Sparrow dongle, that, when operated with a phone, can show strong interference in the shape of intermittent buzzing and clicking (subsides when switching the phone function off). The culprit is the stock cable, and a good third-party cable strongly reduces (but might not completely eliminate) the problem.

One measure of the shielding effectiveness of different cables, the resistance of shield terminations, was investigated in this thread.

Good-quality, well-shielded USB cables do not have to be expensive. USB audio pioneer Gordon Rankin reported very poor $$$ USB cables to me. It is all about the cable’s design, not the price.

ddHiFi are a company that offer a large range of imaginative, well designed, and well built accessories….and even a couple of earphones.

Physical Things

Both cables are 8 cm long. Wire material is high-purity silver-plated OCC copper.

Four strands of separately insulated wire serve as conductor. The inner insulation is teflon. The outer insulation is thermoplastic polyurethane imported from Germany. The aluminum alloy connector are cased in stainless steel to minimize external interference.

Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) is any of a class of polyurethane plastics with many properties, including elasticity, transparency, and resistance to oil, grease, and abrasion. Technically, they are thermoplastic elastomers consisting of linear segmented block copolymers composed of hard and soft segments.

As it appears, these cables are technically sound. They feature good conductors and sufficient internal and external insulation. Sonically, they are indistinguishable from the OEOTG cable and one other brand of which I could not identify (see photo at the bottom of this article).

Haptically, the MFi06 and TC03 are vastly superior over the typical stock cables and the Apple Camera Adapter. The connectors feel rugged, the cable is flexible and the shiny, pearly white TPU is dirt and grease resistant.

And, let’s face it, these cables also add a jewelry effect to our gear. Yep, they don’t just feel good between the fingers, they also look good.

All good so far, only one worry remains: the MFi06’s battery consumption.

MFi06’s Battery Consumption

The MFi06’s lightning connector features a decoding chip which draws current from the phone. The question is how much it contributes to the phone’s battery drain.

I measured battery consumption of different dongles (AudioQuest DragonFly Red, Shanling UA2 single ended, Hidisz S9 Pro single ended) with the Apple Camera Adapter vs. the MFi06. I then repeated these tests with two other Lightning to USB-C cables (OEOTG and an unknown brand) for comparison purposes. All tests were performed under identical conditions. The absolute values are meaningless, what is important are the relative values.

.

Results:

1) The Apple Camera Adapter has by far the lowest power consumption.

2) In my 3 h tests, the 3rd-party MFi chip in the ddHiFi MFi06 cable consumed between 130 and 220 mAh (23%-36%) more (for my specific test parameters) than the one in the Apple Camera Adapter.

3) All three tested 3rd-party cables appear to have the same MFi chip (approx. same battery consumption with Shanling UA2).

4) Battery consumption of the ddHiFi MFi06 cable varies vastly between dongles. It is much lower for the DragonFly Red that consumes by far the least battery with the Apple Camera Adapter.

In summary, the MFi06’s power consumption is acceptable for today’s ever increasing phone battery capacities.

Concluding Remarks

The ddHiFi TC03 and MFi cables do what they are supposed to do: they work as promised while adding appeal to our devices. And they don’t break our piggy banks.

Until next time…keep on listening!

Contact us!

Disclaimer

THE MFi06 and TC03 cables were supplied by the ddHiFi for my review – and I thank them for that.

Get them from the DD Official Store

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

Gallery

The post ddHiFi MFi06 and TC03 Digital Cables Review – Unplugged appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Summary

These two single-chip dongles (Bolt: ESS9281 Pro, UA1: ESS9218 Pro) are superficially similar but quite different sounding. The Bolt can be summarized as clean and midrange-focused, the UA1 as bass- and upper-mid-emphasized (more “Harman”). Which is preferred will depend on the transducers they’re paired with as well as the tastes (and budget) of the listener.

For this comparison I listened with JVC HA-FDX1 single DD & Ultimate Ears UE900S quad BA earphones to 16/44.1 FLAC files played via USB Audio Player Pro from a Nokia 4.2 Android phone. The Bolt is currently $110, the UA1 $45. For details on physical things, specs, etc., see Jürgen’s individual reviews here and here.

Helm Bolt

In summary, the Bolt’s tonal/timbral package is warm in the bass and more clean & precise in the upper mids & treble. With some material, these contrasting characters make it seem a bit disconnected top to bottom. While having good weight in the bass, bass & sub-bass can come across as a bit boomy, un-defined (one-note) & soft, particularly with the source-picky JVC HA-FDX1. 

With the UE900S, though, the tendency for softness in the bass goes away and the rounder character benefits the otherwise lean BA bass notes. Treble is extended but not overemphasized; ‘sweet’ would be the old-school audiophool term. The clean nature of the mids and highs gives a very good sense of instrument separation and imaging. 

Overall I found the Bolt to be very good with UE900S – they sound ‘cleaner’ than from other SE dongles I’ve tried them with and the tonal balance benefits their lean-in-the-bass, low-in-the-upper mids, tizzy-up-top character.

Shanling UA1

First impression of the UA1 is of good top-to-bottom integration and good resolution, with dynamics that are more consistent in character across the range. The top end is well defined but well controlled, not splashy. There’s good bass: with HA-FDX1, sub-bass definition & extension are certainly there, both better than with the Bolt.

However, the UA1’s upper mids are a bit nasal/honky/shouty, particularly with the FDX1s which are a bit elevated there. With those ‘phones the UA1 is more balanced at the extremes than the Helm, but a bit tonally and timbrally off in the mids.

With the UE900S, the bass remains good but the upper mids & treble come off as overexaggerated, sibilant and a bit hashy compared to the Bolt. Cable games might help this, but I’m not optimistic.

Matching

Comparing these two dongles with these two earphones shows the importance of synergy: the Helm is a much better driver for the UE900S than the UA1 is. The sweeter treble of the Helm helps balance the 900s’ overdone highs, and although the 900s’ dipped upper mids would ostensibly seem a better fit with the UA1’s tendency for shoutiness, they actually seem cleaner and better balanced there with the Bolt. The Bolt’s softer, rounder bass isn’t a problem, as it makes the 900s sound a bit more natural. With the FDX1s, however, the Bolt gives a very soft sub-bass compared to the UA1. Conversely, while the bass of the UA1 matches the FDX1s better, its Harmanish tonality does their upper mids no favours.

It’s tempting to attribute differences in the bass, in particular, to differences in output power.  According to Audio Science Review’s measurements, the Bolt clips at 60 mW into 32 Ohms and about 56 mW into 16 Ohms (HA-FDX1 impedance). Shanling specifies the UA1’s power output as 80 mW into 32 Ohms. The difference between the two dongles isn’t large and I doubt it tells the whole story, because the DragonFly Black is very anemic at 18 mW into 32 Ohms yet the HA-FDX1s don’t lose the definition in the sub-bass when fed from the Black to the extent that they do from the Bolt (warmth of the Black’s signature aside). I conclude that with these dongles, transducer synergy is ‘a thing’.

Other Quick Comparisons

Audioquest Dragonfly Black: pleasant warm emphasis (more than the Bolt), but everything softened and resolution lost (blurred, even a bit scratchy or fuzzy in the highs) compared to the Bolt and UA1. Would view as smooth if not by comparison. Smooth (but not soft) in the bass & lower mids; relaxing with the FDX1s.

Apple dongle: softer than DragonFly Black throughout, not as warm though.

EarMen Sparrow single-ended output: Bolt has better macrodynamics, more and cleaner treble, and is more resolving. UA1 has better note definition (resolution). Sparrow balanced output bests both in dynamics & resolution.

Ifi iDSD Nano BL SE (unfair comparison because: not a dongle, battery powered, 200 mW @ 16 Ohms, significantly more expensive; but included here for completeness because I compared it): darker tonal balance, timbre across the range more integrated, balance between dynamic swings & transient speed more even (maybe a little on the slow side compared to the ESS sound, but to me more natural because of that; organic). S-Balanced is a notable step up over SE in ‘cleanliness’.

Conclusion

It was interesting to hear such different sonic characters from these superficially similar dongles. I hesitate to recommend one over the other as transducer synergy, based on my admittedly limited trials, seems to be important. In general terms, I’d suggest that the Shanling UA1 might be the better match if you have ‘phones that are known to be demanding in the bass; and the Helm Bolt might be the better if you have ‘phones you find at the edge of your tolerance in the upper mids.

Disclaimer

These two dongles were sent to Jürgen for review by Helm Audio and Shanling, who we thank for the opportunity to hear them.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

Contact us!

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

The post Helm Bolt vs Shanling UA1 USB Dongle DAC/Amps Review – Freedom of Choice appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Gear of the Year: 2021 marks the blog’s third year and the second with 8 contributors. We collectively published almost 200 articles, mainly product reviews, but also technical information. Apart from receiving review units from manufacturers and sellers, we also purchased a lot…and we borrowed from audiophile friends and colleagues.

We are a heterogeneous bunch not pressed into templates by commercialism. Each of us enjoys maximum freedom. None of us gets paid. And it is this variety that makes this blog interesting. Two of us, Baskingshark and Kazi, have been drafted to also write for Headphonesty, which gives them more exposure and also access to very interesting gear.

We are currently experimenting with generic advertisements to recover our operating cost (Paypal does not work at all)…any money raised will go back into the blog. We remain non commercial.

Our main focus has traditionally been on earphones – we have reviewed almost 300 – but particularly DACs and amps also caught our attention this year.

As at the end of the previous years, we list our our personal favourites of 2021 – the portable audio we personally enjoyed most. There are no rules, we just tell you what we like. After all, the gear we use most is our best. And we attached some of this gear to our newly created Wall of Excellence, which averages all our opinions.

Enjoy this read and we wish you a happy and successful 2023!

We thank

Most of our reviews would have not been possible without our 2021 cooperating partners. We thank:

ADV, Allo, Apos Audio, Astell & Kern, AudioQuest, Azla, Blon, BQEYZ, Burson Audio, Campfire Audio, Cayin, CCA, Dekoni, Dunu, ddHiFi, EarMen, Easy Earphones, Fiil, Helm Audio, Hidizs, HifiGo, ifi Audio, IKKO Audio, KBEAR/TRI Audio, Keephifi, Khadas, Knowledge Zenith, Meze, Moondrop, Musicteck, NiceHCK, OneOdio, Penon Official Store, Pergear, Sennheiser, Shanling, Shenzhenaudio, Smabat, Snake Oil Sound, SpinFit, Tempotec, Tin Hifi, TRN Official Store, Unique Melody, Venture Electronics, Whizzer Official Store, Yaotiger Hifi Audio Store. Don’tkillusifweforgotyoujustsendusanotandwefixit. 

For the companies: you can check for your products/yourself in the search field on the right-hand side.

We also thank the private sources that supplied us with loaners.

And here we go…that’s what we enjoyed in 2021…

Alberto Pittaluga…Bologna, ITALY

I’ve come accross quite a few interesting pieces of gear in 2021, mixed / hidden amongst piles of shameful crap. Nothing new, is it ? I’ll try to make a succint list of the most significant stuff I auditioned here. Most of these devices are also now part of my operative audio gear.

IEMS

Dunu ZEN (discountinued, was $ 699,00) : beyond spectacular microdynamics, resolution, layering and technicalities in general. A masterpiece.

iBasso IT07 ($899) : the sole real “direct upgrade” to Ikko OH10 I encountered as of yet. Same presentation, twice the refinement, at more than four times the price.

Oriolus Isabellae ($ 599) : somewhat “more V-shaped” alternative to Zen, delivering very similar technical prowess.

Ikko OH1S ($143) : a potential new join into the our World of Excellence roster as a sub-200$ allrounder

Headphones

Final Sonorous-II  (€ 300) : arguably by far the best neutral-tuned closebacks in their price category, staging and imaging easily compete with many lower tier openback alternatives.

Sennheiser HD600 (€ 310) : not a novelty for anybody but me, I’m sure. Quite simply: I got my first HD600 pair in 2021 and that’s why I’m listing it here. I presume no one needs a description. Do you?

Earbuds

Rose Mojito ($259) : superbly neutral-tuned high end earbuds with strong bilateral extention, beyond spectacular mids and vivid, refined highs in a fully holographic stage, with plenty of resolution and dynamics.

K’s Earphone Bell-LBS (€ 59,25) : mid centric buds delivering superbly organic vocals – both male and female – and very good trebles

K’s Earphone K300 (€ 28,59) : unreal sub-bass extension for an earbud, they deliver a very nice V shaped presentation while drawing an incredibly sizeable 3D stage. Presentation remembers a bit Ikko OH10, but in earbud form.

DAC/AMPs

Ifi Micro iDSD Signature (€ 749) : top sub-$1K mobile dac-amp. Very high quality DAC reconstruction paired with superbly transparent amping stage with power to spare for the most demanding planars and power deflation options to optimise low impedance IEM biasing. Truly a full step ahead of the competitors’ pack.

DAPs

Cowon Plenue 2 MK-I (€ 835) : hopped on this recently when I found a impossible to turndown openbox deal. Starting from my direct experience proving that there’s pretty much no game between proprietary-OS DAPs vs commercial-OS (read Android) DAPs, the former being in by far better position to achieve superior output sound quality, Plenue 2 represents a great companion to my QP1R offering a different / alternative optimal pairing opportunity for a few of my preferred IEM drivers.

DAC/AMP Dongles

This year’s experience proved to me that exclusively higher-tier (and price) dongles are able to deliver sound qualities worth the comparison with battery-equipped alternatives. Simply put: pretty much nothing until an Apogee Groove ($200) is really worth the price difference compared to the super-cheap Apple Dongle ($9), and even on the Groove some caveats apply (power needs, amp stage competibility).  That said, I really had pick one device “in the midfield” I’d pick the :

Questyle M12 ($139,99): while still not worth an inclusion on our Wall of Excellence, yet M12 runs circles around pretty much all similar or lower priced competitors I assessed in terms of extension, note weight, clarity and technicalities.

Biodegraded…Vancouver, CANADA

Doesn’t have anything to report this year.

Durwood…Chicago, USA

Shozy Form 1.4 has still been my go to earphone due to it’s warm inviting nature, great technical abilities and it feels great in my ears.

7Hz Timeless is another good buy late in the year for me, it’s a little more sub-bass plus analytical counterpart to the Shozy that has nudged the BQEYZ Spring 2 out of the way. A more detailed review is coming.

I rediscovered the Senfer UES for a quick throw around set, was hoping the Senfer DT9 was a slight improvement, but alas the Senfer UES sticks around instead. Sony MH755 is also perfect for quick on the go usage where I don’t need the universal fit in-ears.

Tempotec impressed me enough to consider the Sonata E35 for when good phone DAP’s are finally dead. Other than that, dongles are not my thing, and I have issues with some of Sony’s GUI decisions on the NW-A55 mainly related to playlist creation and long text support.

Lastly, the Questyle CMA Twelve would be an awesome DAC/amp combo to have, but my needs are more mobile. Perhaps when life slows down, but there are other bucket list items such as the Burson Playmate 2, RebelAmp, the Ruebert Neve RNHP, or RME ADI-2 that look interesting as well. Maybe someone will loan me one in 2022?

Jürgen Kraus…Calgary, CANADA

Earphones have traditionally been our main trade and there’s not many that stuck with me this year. First and foremost, I was impressed by the immersive and engaging sound of the single DD Dunu Zen that further excel in microdynamics. They are still very popular within our team.

Moondrop finally got it right with their tuning in the smooth and very pleasant sounding Moondrop KATO single dynamic driver. This model is generally well received. The JVC HA-FDX1 are still my standard iems for equipment testing, and an honourable mention goes to the Unique Melody 3DT for the clean implementation of 3 (!) dynamic drivers.

Another iem that fascinated me is the Japanese Final E5000. On the market since 2018, and very source demanding, this iem can produce a bass texture beyond belief. I have become a bit of a Final fanboy, as their products are unpretentious and natural sounding…and they fit my ears very well. I also purchased the Final E1000, E3000, and A3000…which get a lot of usage. No surprise that our Wall of Excellence is decorated like a Christmas tree by quite a few of these Japanese earphones and headphones.

Expanding my horizon into other devices, the Sony NW-A55 is a user-friendly digital audio player with great sonic characteristics and signature-altering 3rd party firmware options. But, most of all, it updates its music library within a minute or two. For the ultimate portable enjoyment, I discovered the Questyle QP1R dap...sounds simply amazing with the Final E5000. Found the dap on Canuck Audio Mart.

Dongles, battery-less headphone DAC/amps that turn any cheap phone into a decent music player, were big in 2021. Around since 2016, the market caught on to these devices. But out of the mass of dongles tested, the 2019 AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt was the most musical to my ears. I also like the AudioQuest DragonFly Red and the EarMen Eagle (replacing the EarMen Sparrow which I sent to Biodegraded). For earphone testing (and bigger cans), I still use the excellent Earstudio HUD100.

For my full-sized headphone needs with my notebook, I discovered the powerful Apogee Groove, a current-hungry dongle DAC/amp that has been around since 2015. I am even portable around the house. As to headphones themselves, I am still happy with the Sennheiser HD 600 and HD 25, but also with the Koss Porta Pro.

For my desktop setup, I identified the EarMen Tradutto as being a fantastic DAC in combination with the Burson Funk amp. Currently testing the Tradutto with my big stereo system.

In summary, I learnt a lot in 2021…

My Take Home this Year

• The latest is barely the greatest…many old brooms get better into the corners
• Influencers are not always right (…to say it nicely)
• Measurements are overrated
• Timbre (degree of naturalness of sound) is underrated
• Source is super important and also underrated
• Group pressure through hype may become a sobering experience
• That groomed YouTube stuff is boring

Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir…Munich, GERMANY

This year was very educational for me when it came to audiophilia. I got the chance to try out truly summit-fi setups and realized how good a system can sound. This also resulted in a sense of yearning where you keep comparing the gears you own with the ones you cannot own, at least not yet. Nonetheless, without further ado.

Headphones: The one headphone that has stuck with me throughout the year is the Hifiman Susvara. They won’t flatter anyone with the build quality but when paired with the right amp they sound astonishing. One of the most natural sounding headphones out there with exceptional timbre. A must listen.

Honorable mention goes to the Final D8000. Supreme bass that’s pretty much unmatched. On the budget side, I really liked the Final Sonorous-III. They are underrated and under-appreciated.

IEMs: When it comes to in-ear monitors, I have a hard time picking any single one of them as all of them fall short in one area or another. Nonetheless, the one IEM I’ve used the most throughout the year is the Dunu Zen. There is something truly addicting about their sound that makes me come back to them time and again.

However, the Zen is not the best IEM that I have heard throughout the year. That would probably be the Sony IER-Z1R or the 64Audio U12t. In the relatively budget realm, the 7Hz Timeless took me by surprise with their planar speed and excellent bass slam.

Source: Instead of going with separate sections for amps, DACs and such, I will just consolidate them into one.

Best desktop amp I’ve tried: Accuphase E380. One of those rare speaker amps that sound great with headphones.

Best portable amp I’ve tried: Cayin C9. It is the only review loaner in the past year that I have wanted to buy with my own money. I probably will, soon, budget permitting.

Best DAP: Lotoo PAW 6000, even though it can’t power difficult loads.

Best dongle: L&P W2. The only dongle that I found to be good enough to replace some DAPs.

Best DAC: Holo May L2. The price is extremely high but so is the sound quality. Exceptionally natural and neutral tuning. Another must listen.

And that’s a wrap. Have a great Christmas, and see you on the other side!

KopiOkaya…SINGAPORE

Too many lists…I focus on eartips…

Best EARTIPS of 2021

Most versatile eartips: SpinFit CP-100+
Best budget eartips: Audiosense S400
Best eartips for bass: FAudio “Instrument” Premium Silicone Earphone Tips
Best eartips for vocal: Azla SednaEarFit Crystal (Standard)
Best eartips for treble: BGVP S01
Best eartips for soundstage: Whizzer Easytips SS20
Most comfortable eartips: EarrBond New Hybrid Design

Loomis Johnson…Chicago, USA

Gear of the Year (and other Favorite Things)

SMSL SU-9 DAC/Preamp—one of those pieces that makes you seriously question why anyone would spend more. A seriously good DAC which is even better as digital preamp.

Hidisz S3 Pro DAC/Dongle—lacks the juice to power challenging loads, but has an uncanny knack for enlivening and improving more efficient phones. Very refined, with impeccable bass control.

Cambridge Melomania TWS—ancient by TWS standards, and its rivals have more features and tech, but this may still be the best-sounding TWS you can buy.

Shozy Rouge IEM—like a really hot girl you get smitten by the beauty before you even delve into the substance. Properly driven, however, these sound just as good as they look, with estimable staging and clarity.

The Beatles, “Get Back” Documentary—as probably the only person on earth who hasn’t seen Lord of the Rings I was gobsmacked by how brilliant this film looked and sounded. The real surprise for me, however, was how natural  a musician John was—unburdened by technique, but soulful and  exploratory.  Poor George invokes your pity—a good writer forced to compete with two great ones– while Ringo wins the award for Best Attitude.

Bob Dylan, “Desolation Row”—I always found the lyrics impenetrable and a bit sophomoric, but the Spanish-influenced lead guitar part is incredible, with scarcely a phrase repeated throughout the full 11 minutes. I’d always assumed it was Mike Bloomfield, but it’s actually the harmonica virtuoso Charlie McCoy, who also plays the trumpet part of “Rainy Day Women”.

Reds, Pinks and Purples, “Uncommon Weather” In hope of finding something genuinely fresh I dutifully listened to the most-touted 2021 releases before fixating on this one, which (predictably) sounds exactly like 80s Flying Nun and Sarah bands.

And This Was The Previous Year:

The post Gear Of The Year 2021 – Our Personal Favourites appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Cons — Interference could be an issue with certain mobile phones or signals; SE output takes such a hit in dynamics and resolution vs balanced that it might be a waste for many users; power consumption via balanced is likely high.

Summary

The EarMen Sparrow is a flexible (balanced or single-ended), powerful USB DAC/amp dongle with great sound quality, being particularly dynamic from its balanced output. However, it can be susceptible to interference when run from a mobile phone.

Sonics and Comparisons

I listened to the EarMen as part of a comparison of a few USB DAC/amp dongles old and new. Listening to all was mainly done with the Drop+JVC HA-FDX1 single dynamic-driver IEMs using the Mee Audio MMCX balanced cable (SPC), with a 2.5 bal. to 3.5 SE adapter where necessary to minimize possible cable differences. Being an Android user, I sent audio (mostly 16/44.1 FLAC files) to the Sparrow with USB Audio Player Pro.

Balanced: From the balanced output, performance is impressive: macrodynamics, note definition & weight, instrument separation, and transient resolution are all excellent, making for a very ‘technical’ package. Tonal balance is good too, no particular part of the range seeming over- or under-emphasized.

While I liked it, the dynamic and fast presentation from the balanced output might become fatiguing after a while with revealing and dynamic transducers like the JVCs and especially with very ‘technical’ multi-balanced-armature IEMs. Matching with smoother ‘phones, or switching to the SE output, might be preferable for long listening sessions.

Single-ended: There’s a notable hit in macrodynamics and low-level resolution from the 3.5mm SE output vs balanced, and note definition, particularly in the bass, is weaker, leading to a much more relaxed presentation.

As mentioned above, depending on the transducers the EarMen Sparrow is paired with, this might not be a bad thing. The contrast however is very pronounced, especially when comparing with others: The Tempotec Sonata BHD, for example – a balanced-only unit – is itself pretty revealing but is notably less dynamic than the Sparrow’s balanced output and notably more dynamic than it’s SE output. And the latter is more relaxed than the single-ended Shanling UA1, and – except notably in the bass – than the single-ended Helm Bolt (which uses the same ES9281Pro SoC as the EarMen Sparrow).

Non-Sound Stuff

Here’s what might be a deal-breaker for some: when playing from the balanced output, the EarMen Sparrow can pick up interference when it’s close to a phone. This has been discussed on internet forums, and EarMen to their credit tried to address it by replacing the original cable with a longer, better shielded one.

I replaced the original with another that was reported to help, the OEAudio OEOTG, which improved the issue but didn’t completely solve it. If you can keep the dongle away from your phone, if you only use it in airplane mode, or if your phone/carrier/local signal doesn’t give you this problem (Jürgen tells me he didn’t experience it with his iPhone SE), great – but it might be a lottery.

For me (Nokia 4.2) it’s much reduced (or absent) from the SE output, but present enough to be annoying at listening levels from balanced when everything’s jumbled together in a pocket.

Minor considerations: unlike with other dongles, sometimes the EarMen Sparrow doesn’t play right away from UAPP when hot-swapped in after another dongle, requiring a re-boot of the player. This doesn’t happen every time, though, and I suspect a recent UAPP update might have cured the problem entirely; I haven’t seen it in the last couple of weeks.

Also, the EarMen Sparrow gets very warm in balanced mode – you can tell it’s putting out some power! This is good, but will come with a pretty high battery drain. Jürgen found the drain when using SE to be in the higher half of his tested units; be aware that balanced use will drain your battery faster still.

More Comparisons & Conclusion

The most obvious comparison among the units I have here – because it’s the only other one with a balanced output – is the dual-CS43131 Tempotec Sonata BHD. Compared to the EarMen Sparrow this has tonal emphasis in the upper mids, a splashier/hashier treble, a more rounded bass, and transients which apart from in the bass are similar in speed to the Sparrow but lesser in weight. However, the Sonata BHD is currently under 1/3 the price of the Sparrow.

The Earstudio HUD100 Mk2 (currently $120), a favorite of Jürgen’s which I haven’t heard, could make for an interesting comparison because although being single-ended, has two outputs, one with high power. Comparisons with other, non-balanced units should be seen in terms of price – and not having heard similarly priced SE units, I can’t usefully comment. 

Overall, I’m impressed with the EarMen Sparrow. The flexibility and differences in sound signature offered by the choice of outputs, and the absolute performance of the balanced output, make it a great contender in the dongle space. The interference issue however, is a serious one.

Contact us!

Disclaimer

This is the same unit reviewed by Jürgen here, which was supplied to him by EarMen upon request.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

The post EarMen Sparrow Dongle DAC/Amp – Brief Second Opinion appeared first on Audio Reviews.

21-11-21 Jürgen

Our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/audioreviews finally cleared 9,800 members. It was established on 1 Jan 2020 and its growth has been stalling lately. Will we have 10,000 members by Christmas?

21-11-19 Jürgen

More drama ahead? I published me take on the $5 VE Monk Pro earbud. They finally got the impedance down from 64 ohm to 32 ohm to present a truly “portable” earbud. I think my writeup is reasonably entertaining.

21-11-19 Jürgen

We have been playing with Google Adsense in order to try out whether Google prefers their clients in their listings. We put the settings on “autopilot”…after 203 days, this angry guys showed up. Sign of things to come? We’ll monitor this.

21-11-17 Jürgen

This “drama” over this Facebook post generated quite some outrage. What some people did not understand was that I don’t see a relationship between the hype and the quality of this iem. If you read between the lines, you’ll see my subtle criticism of peer pressure and compulsive buying triggered by pied pipers. 8000 views: goal achieved :).

21-11-17 Jürgen

Durwood posts his review of the $1500 Questyle CMA Twelve DAC/amp combo…endgame for many.

21-11-15 Jürgen

Loomis publishes his Sennheiser CX 400BT review.

21-11-13 Jürgen

Baskingshark’s IKKO Zerda ITM1 review now published. I see some KZ reviews being presently worked on. In the immediate line-up are a Sennheiser TWS and a premium Questyle amp.

21-11-13 Kazi

Received the Fearless Barcelona recently for review. It is the cheapest Fearless IEM till now and the design belies the price tag. I love how they’ve designed the face-plate here.

Sadly, they sound horrible. Not recommended at all. Too much bass, highly recessed mids, zero treble extension. Get something else this holiday.

21-11-12 Alberto

Yesterday I received my new/old Cowon Plenue 2 and of course the very first impression is imprinted over my experience with QP1R. At first listen the P2 on its balanced output is quite nice, nicely extended and with a very good note weight. While less clean / revealing / detailed compared to the QP1R (whose single ended output is a quite good proof of why balanced is more a marketing name for decent quality output than anything else) on the other hand it offers a huge host of sound finetuning options, commencing from selectable reconstruction filters, to a very good “tweakable” graphical EQ module (not a true PEQ but close) and some further DSPs. Connectivity options are null / nil / zero – like QP1R. There’s not even BT – and that’s perfectly fine

21-11-12 Jürgen

Singles day is over…as the name implies, I didn’t buy a single thing. Our blog stats are surprising: 70% of our traffic stems from Google searches, and only 15% from Facebook. It is therefore not worth posting across FB groups…which is uncool anyway.

21-11-11 Jürgen

Today is 11/11 Asian Singles day. Not many exciting deals as far as I can see…but our blog experiences lots of views. In the meantime we published reviews of the FIIL CC2 and Oneodio Pro C reviews.

21-11-07 Jürgen

Burson Funk review out now. A fantastic headphone amp it is.

21-11-04 Jürgen

Working on the Burson Funk amp to hit the weekend deadline. Fantastic, powerful amp that works for headphones and speakers alike.

21-11-03 Jürgen

Published the Tin Hifi T2 EVO review. Kazi and I ordered a Final A3000 as found on our Wall of Excellence.

21-11-02 Jürgen

Re-dressed the blog’s right sidebar and added useful information. Meet your 8 authors, Wall of Excellence etc. Just look to the right.

21-11-01 Jürgen

Alberto’s iBasso IT04 review published. 283 iem reviews altogether now. Solved a caching problem, which affected our Google indexing. Thanks to the support of rankmath.com SEO plugin.

21-10-31 Jürgen

Finally got the Shanling UA1 review published. It is currently in Biodegraded’s hands for a 2nd review. Will have to finish the NiceHCK T2 EVO next week, and work on the Astell & Kern PEE51 dongle.

21-10-30 Alberto

Got my Hip Dac 2 review loaner unit in yesterday. First thing I noticed it came equipped with firmware 7.3 installed. The odd part is that on IFI’s website the 7.3 firmware is not listed under Hip Dac 2’s eligible downloads. Which means I could not recupe any “release info” about what’s different in 7.3 vs 7.2

While I was there, I also checked under Micro iDSD Signature’s section, and apparently firmware version 7.x has been removed from there too. Odd, at least. I put a question into IFI to get more info.

21-10-29 Jürgen

Published my Venture Electronics BIE Pro review on the blog. Submitted link to VE Clan Facebook group, where it got stuck in censorship, but was eventually posted after approval. That was only intermittent, I think I was tacitly expelled from that group after mentioning censorship. Be prepared that VE Clan Facebook group is manipulative as it presents cherry-picked information.

On another note, Loomis Johnson submitted his review of the Sennheiser CX-400BT True Wireless Earphones for publication.

21-10-28 Kazi

Received KZ ZEX. Their naming convention is making me go bad. Graphed it and labeled the graph wrong because these names all sound similar (ZAX/ZEX/ZSX). Either way, not too impressed with the sound. Kinda peaky in the mid-treble. Graphs show that as well.

21-10-27 Jürgen

Behind with some reviews, e.g. Unique Melody 3DT and Tin Hifi T2 Evo.

21-10-26 Jürgen

Blog received a few more tweaks, including a new site map.

21-10-25 Jürgen’s 10 Day Roundup

In the last 2 weeks, we published reviews of 2 totally underrated Final Audio headphones (Sonorous II+III) including some update earpads.

We identified some good TWS iems for the office in the Elevoc Clear.

We further think the Moondrop Kato is a winner (but need a second set for our European crew).

And we had a couple of second opinions of the GeekWold GK10, Tforce Yuan Li, SeeAudio Bravery, and Tanchjim Tanya.

We currently offer 281 earphone reviews.

21-10-25 Kazi

Received the iFi Hip DAC2 today, and the copper colorway will surely steal some glances. The sound isn’t changed much from the original Hip DAC (if at all) but it didn’t need to since the OG was one of the best DAC/Amps out there under $200. Full review in the works.

21-10-25 Jürgen

Worked on search engine optimization “SEO” all weekend after some trouble with Google. Also subscribed to webmaster tools of Bing and Yandex search engines. You can analyze the SEO of your own site here: https://rankmath.com/tools/seo-analyzer/

21-10-24 Kazi

Slow weekend, nice weather. Went out mostly to enjoy the fall colors. Also did some random photoshoot for the upcoming reviews. Also received the VE Monk SM recently. Not a fan. Shrill, sharp sound and technicalities are middling even for the $20 price bracket. At least it looks and feels nice in hand.

In other news, A&K released the SR25 mk. 2. Not a fan of the design at all. The tilted makes no usability sense. Also it’s basically the original SR25 with just a 4.4mm jack added. Meh.

21-10-23 Jürgen

Our blog has currently problems with Google indexing. I re-created the sitemaps. It would help if you linked to it from your site. Thanks.

21-10-23 Jürgen

The ongoing power crisis in China has led to increased operating costs as well as to price hikes of raw materials. Expect delays and price increases for your Christmas shopping.

Have not heard of 11/11 deals this year…strange.

21-10-22 Jürgen

Coming next on the blog (tonight my time) is Baskingshark’s review of the SeeAudio Bravery. We have a few more ready ones such as a tech article on “System on Chip” (SoC), that is dac and amp on the same chip. Another tech post will be an elaboration on the 1/8 rule on the example of the Apogee Groove.

Alberto will be offering reviews of the iBasso IT04, the Kinera Leyding earphone cable, and the Tanchjim Tanya in the very near future. These are ready. He is still working on a couple of Fearless models among others.

Also almost ready to go are reviews of the Shanling UA1 dongle, the VE Bonus Pro iem, and the VE Monk Go.

21-10-21 Biodegraded

Behind in evaluating various dongles sent by Jürgen for second opinions: Helm Bolt, Shanling UA 1, Earmen Sparrow, Tempotec Sonata BHD. So far, I’m surprised by the contrast between the Bolt and UA 1 (both use the same ESS DAC/Amp chip but yes, they sound a lot different) and by the bal vs SE contrast from the Sparrow. Comparisons will be made to the Audioquest DragonFly Black and ifi nano iDSD Black Label.

I’m also considering a winter project building this Pass Labs class A solid-state headphone amp to complement my tube hybrid and little USB- or battery-powered desktop/portable things. Much swearing will no doubt ensue. Right now though, have to clean the scratchies from the volume pot of an integrated amp that needs to be moved on.

2021-10-21 Kazi

Have had quite a hectic October, so couldn’t manage to publish anything. However, look forward to the “Review Extravaganza” over the coming two weeks or so. At least four articles are in the works and shall be published withing quick succession including:

• FIIL CC2 (a pretty good TWS)
• Moondrop Quarks
• Campfire Audio Holocene
• Campfire Audio Honeydew
• Final A4000
• Shanling Q1
• Cayin Fantasy

And just to close out, one of the photos I shot today (I think it came out pretty good). See you on the other side.

2021-10-21 Jürgen

Sitting currently on review units of Burson Funk amp and two Allo power supplies that may take some time. Almost ready is a review of the Unique Melody 3DT iem whereas the IKKO OH10 still needs some work. Overdue are reviews of several VE Electronics items as well as some ddHiFi accessories.

That famous Hidizs S9 Pro Copper edition dongle (limited to 500 copies) has been on its way from Calgary to Bologna for a good week now. Let’s see how fast Air Mail is.

Currently looking for a second Moondrop Kato review unit for our European chapter. After all, a single opinion is not sufficient for an item to qualify for our Wall of Excellence.

2021-10-21 Jürgen

This page was established to report our progress (but also some observations and opinions) within audioreviews.org. All our authors with WordPress accounts have access.

2021-10-20 Jürgen

Android Brick alas audioreviews.news is using our good name to attract traffic to his fake reviews. This may be legally correct but it is not ethical. He was shamed and left our Facebook group.

Beware of imitations!

This is https://www.audioreviews.org/news/

No marketing!

No sugarcoating!

Just genuine analyses!

The post Our News appeared first on Audio Reviews.

A device gets attached to this Wall of Excellence when based on our private and of course subjective experience it performs so well within its technical and price category as to even discourage considering homologous alternatives.

If it ain’t here, WE don’t want it!

Please note that our WoE will not be limited to devices we actually published a review of. Nonetheless, all WoE devices have for long time been or still are part of our operative gear.

We start small and plan to expand our wall according to merit.

This Site is being consistently updated…please bookmark it and keep checking back!

In-Ear Monitors

Past excellences, now discontinued or superseded

Headphones

Digital Audio Players (“DAPs”)

Desktop Amplifiers

Desktop DACs

Desktop Integrated Headphone DAC/AMPs

Portable Headphone Amplifiers

Portable Integrated Headphone DAC/AMPs

Headphone DAC/AMP “Dongles”

Dongles are little DAC/amps without battery that are powered by their source device.

Accessories

The post Wall Of Excellence appeared first on Audio Reviews.

What Is…

“Dongle” is the casual term for a tiny portable USB DAC/amp that is sourced by its host device (phone/tablet, dap, computer). It is derived from software keys of this kind of shape.

Early Steps

The idea of a small, portable DAC/amp in the shape of a USB “thumb drive” goes back to a conversation between some industry reps and consulting audio engineer Gordon Rankin at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2010. Gordon had been designing DACs since the early 2000s and had lots of experience with asynchronous code, needed to minimize timing errors (“jitter”) that compromise an USB-audio signal. You find details of the dongle inception in my AudioQuest Dragonfly Red review.

The device was designed for larger headphones and with iPhone portability in mind – but iPhone limits the current draw to 100 mA to protect battery life. One of the challenges was therefore to minimize current draw, which, unfortunately, limits performance as we will see below.

In 2015, Apogee released their famous “Groove“, a very powerful and large device that draws 340 mA, and it has an output impedance of 20 Ω. This is not a dongle sensu stricto as it only works with computers and mainly with high-impedance headphones (with some exceptions).

It took until 2016 until the first USB devices had a current draw small enough to work with iPhone: AudioQuest’s DragonFly Black v.1.5 and DragonFly Red. Timing was right as Apple removed the headphone jack in the same year, as of iPhone 7. And most Android phones followed suit.

Apple offers a decent low-priced dongle of their own that is good value but is limited in power. My review of the “Apple Audio Adapter” is one of the evergreens of our blog.

The DragonFlys have an output impedance of <1 Ω, which makes them work well with headphones and iems alike. They do not have any physical controls and are operated through their host devices.

DragonFlys Black and Red still lead the pack in terms of low-current drain (if exempting the Apple Audio Adapter). You find drain comparisons between some models here.

Most dongles need a Windows driver, but all of them are plug’n’play with phones , tablets, and Apple computers.

From Thumb Drive to Dongle

The very first external iPhone DAC/amp, the Apple Audio Adapter, was physically a true dongle, and a seamless headphone/earphone cable extension.

The first non-Apple devices (the AudioQuest DragonFlys) had/have a USB-A plug and resemble a thumb drive. The USB-A pug works seamlessly with the Apple camera adapter and any computer. Android phones had no preference with developers as they had no standardized socket at the time and still do not produce music bit perfect (they resample a 44.1 kHz signal to 48 kHz).

Most of the Android devices had micro-USB ports until the USB-C port (finalized in 2014) was slowly spreading starting in 2015. Today, there are more than 100 dongles on the market, most of them featuring a USB-C port. And so do the latest Macs.

DAC/amp and music/power source are connected by a short USB-C to USB-C cable, most of them coming with an additional USB-A adapter. None of these has a USB-C plug, probably for the purpose of stability (the USB-C plug could break off easily). But the need for this additional cable turned the original thumb-drive into a true “dongle”.

Some devices have a fixed USB-C cable, and iPhone users are horrified by the snakes they produce when connected to the Apple camera adapter. Third-party USB-C to lightning cables may come in handy, but their MFI chip draws “healthy” additional current.

Technology – What makes a Dongle’s Sound?

There are many variables that contribute to the sound, such as the dac implementation which includes software coding and filtering, the analog output stage, and the amp design and implementation.

Therefore, same dac chip does not mean same sound in different devices. In my case, The Khadas Tone2 Pro, EarMen TR-amp, Hizids S9 Pro, Shanling UA2, and DragonFly Cobalt feature the ESS ES9038Q2M dac chip – and they do not sound even remotely close.

So it does not surprise that some high-end dacs and some budget dongles have the same dac chip, which are a relatively cheap ingredient. Some high-end manufacturers therefore do not disclose the dac-chip used in their specifications.

Characteristic Chip Sound?

Since buyers cannot audition dongles in most cases, many buying decisions are based on chip brand and model. Descriptions of characteristic sonic signatures based on chips by certain manufacturers echo through the blogosphere. Co-audioreviewer KopiOkaya summarizes them for us:

1. ESS Sabre (US/China) – neutral to neutral-cool, analytical, detailed, fast punchy bass, great dynamics, impressive soundstage and separation. Modern sound. “ESS glare”.

2. AKM (Japan) – neutral to neutral-warm, vocal-centric, laid-back/mellow, bodied. Can sound forward on some models. Some dislike the “AKM Velvet Sound” claiming that it sounds flat and lifeless. Modern sound with a classic twist.

3. Burr Brown/Texas Instruments (US): Natural tone with very good music texture. Generally sound neutral to neutral-warm. Their earlier multibit models (for example: PCM1704UK, PCM63P, etc.) sound extremely musical and dynamic at the same time. Can sound forward with average soundstage on some models. Traditional analog “solid-state” sound.

4. Cirrus-Logic/Wolfson (US/India/UK) – A staple of Apple products since their first generation iPod. Natural tone with warmth and body. Vocal-centric with good dynamics and music texture. Earlier Wolfson DACs can sound wooly and lacks resolution. Traditional analog “tube” sound.

As KopiOkaya points out to me, this does not consider the jitter-reduction and error-correction clock, LPF/IV stages, and power supply.

DragonFly creator (and therefore “dongle inventor”) Gordon Rankin told me that these four points are “totally off“, and “you could not classify these brands that way. There is too many factors to pigeon hole a sound for any DAC: power, filters, analog design, digital design, software etc.”. And that’s what I experienced with my devices featuring the ESS ES9038Q2M dac chip.

According to Gordon, “the difference [for example] between DragonFly Red and Cobalt is more than the dac chip. Power, filtering and new controller make up a big part of the difference in sound. More so than the dac chip itself“.

So, maybe the four points above apply to poorly implement dac chips?

Technical Limitations and Realistic Expectations

The dongle DAC/amps are limited by their (portable) source – and by Ohm’s law. Transducers are moved by current. Such devices that are optimized for low current drain/little battery consumption do not work well with low impedance/low sensitivity iems/headphones, as such require a lot of current.

Dongles optimized for low-current draw lack certain features: for example high-speed USB and balanced circuits that would add to the current draw.

If the required current cannot be provided, the iems/headphones start distorting, which first becomes evident at the low end as it needs the most current. The right pairing is therefore important and I am surprised that some experienced testers ignore this.

It’s the current, stupid (and not the power)!

Such dongles that draw lots of current from the host device may provide more amplification power and less distortion (and balanced outputs etc.), but they will drain your phone’s battery in no time – or don’t work with some phones at all.

Examples of popular powerful dongles are the Shanling UA2 and Hidizs S9 Pro, that consume twice as much battery as the DragonFly Red – which defies the idea of portability. You find a power drain comparison between selected models here.

The real current hogs are limited to operation with a computer, but what is the point of a small form factor for stationary use?

Not every small device is portable!

Decoding Acrobatics

Most dongles decode MQA, which is apparently a useless format. And even the cheaper models manage sample rates up to PCM 32-bit 384 kHz and DSD128 (DoP), as offered by some streaming services.

This may be interesting for $$$$ desktop DAC/amps, but why does anybody need such sample rates in a $50-100 device with limited sound quality to begin with – while forking out that monthly subscription fee? Sounds like a “gimmick” to me.

Most renowned reviewers such as Steve Guttenberg are perfectly happy with CD quality, even on their $$$$ devices. Works for me, too.

Rigour in Dongle Evaluations

Dongles underlie the same standard evaluation criteria as self-powered DAC/amps when it comes to sound quality, but there are some special considerations adherent to their lack of battery. As they were designed to drive headphones from smartphones on the go, portability is the main criterium. And portability is defined by size/weight and synergy with the host device. Not every small device is portable.

There are compromises between:

• small size and performance
• source’s battery consumption and dongle performance

The small form factor limits the size of the logic board and therefore the space for electrical components – which requires shortcuts that take away from performance (but add to the price).

The other compromise comes from the aforementioned current limitation that restricts technical features, amplification power, and headphone pairing.

Such devices that are not designed with energy conservation (and hence portability) in mind do not work well or not at all with phones. They are not (very) portable and essentially restricted to computers.

In this case, their small form factor is pointless and even disadvantageous, as these dongles have to stand comparison with self-powered, larger DAC/amps that offer better performance at similar prices – and therefore better value.

Since dongles have limited power, much of their value lies in the sound quality.

In summary, when evaluating dongles, the analyst must have a good understanding of what these devices are supposed to do and how they achieve it.

Consumer Choices

As elaborated on above, the user has choices: either low-battery drain or high power and additional features – but not both. Many popular powerful dongles with lots of features are rather useless with a phone, and many low-current dongles are problematic with current-hungry transducers.

The choice is yours, but my dongles have to be as portable as possible.

Concluding Remarks

OK, “1001 Facts” may be an exaggeration, but now you probably have a better idea what dongles are about. I personally use a phone with dongle as I do not want to carry a dap, and because the small DAC/amp can be swapped between my current and future devices.

Over time, my dongles may have a higher life expectancy than my phone and also battery-operated DAC-amps such as the hip-dac or ifi Nano BL.

Until next time…keep on listening!

Contact us!

Disclaimer

My knowledge of these devices benefitted greatly from discussions with the USB-audio pioneer Gordon Rankin of Wavelength Audio Ltd., co-bloggers Alberto Pittaluga & KopiOkaya & Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir & Biodegraded, and Chiqui Vásquez from hiendportable.com. AudioQuest’s Stephen Mejias provided the historical details. I thank them all.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

The post 1001 Critical Facts About Dongles (Source-Powered Portable DAC/Amps) appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Cons — No balanced circuit; limited Hi Res decoding; no “DragonTail” adapter included. 

Executive Summary

The AudioQuest DragonFly Red is a dynamic and natural sounding miniature headphone amp (dac/pre-amp). As the more vivid sibling of the relaxed DragonFly Cobalt, it is sourced by phones or computers with minimal battery drain.

Introduction

AudioQuest is primarily a cable company, established in 1980, but they also invented this type of small, source-powered portable dac-amp. The concept goes back to a meeting at the 2010 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest between DragonFly’s designer Gordon Rankin, Joe Harley (AQ’s former Senior Vice President of Marketing and Product Development), Steve Silberman (AQ’s former VP of Marketing), and Bill Low (AQ’s founder and CEO). Steve had asked to create a USB cable with an in-line converter with RCA cables coming out of one end.

Looking at a USB stick, Gordon said, “You know, we can make it like this. It could have a USB-A plug at one end and a 3.5mm output jack at the other.” Gordon Rankin had a lot of experience to offer. He had designed his first dac (the Cosecant) in 2003 and simultaneously started working on asynchronous code. He is one of the pioneers of computer audio.

In 2012, the first DragonFly was released, with the “Red” following in 2016. My analysis of the DragonFly Red obviously comes 5 years late so that there has been ample time for reviewers and audio enthusiasts to establish its place in the audio community.

What was new as of 2016, is that all DragonFlys had small enough power consumption to be operated by a phone’s battery. Not having a battery of their own increases their lifespan quasi infinitely over the bulkier transportable dac-amps with non-serviceable batteries (facing planned obsolescence).

I only received the “Red” recently, but had purchased the $99 DragonFly Black v1.5 back in 2016, which has been my goto until now. And I recently reviewed the $299 DragonFly Cobalt, released in 2019, that features very similar (but not quite the same) specs as the “Red” (which can be a bit confusing for the potential buyer).

In the last 2-3 years, Gordon Rankin’s idea of small portable dac-amps has been adapted by many manufacturers, mainly from the Far East, who are currently flooding the market with countless models priced between $10 and $400, with the sweet spot between $80 and $150.

Two main questions arise and will be addressed in this review. First, how do the DragonFlys Red and Cobalt compare? Second, is the 2016 DragonFly Red still current or have the competitors overtaken Gordon Rankin’s innovation?

Specifications

Physical Things and Usability

Just like the other DragonFly models, the “Red” comes with AudioQuest’s obligatory storage sheath and the “flight manual“. And, like the Cobalt, the Red is lacquered with car varnish. Guess its colour!

The DragonFly Red has a nominal output of 2.1 V (like the DragonFly Cobalt). This is no more than average in its category. Hobbyist Archimago measured a very low output impedance of 0.53 Ω. You find other detailed measurements by Stereophile and ASR (beware of overinterpretations).

Measurements, even if performed unbiased and correctly, cannot characterize a dac-amp sufficiently. They only give us half the story as there is no linear correlation between graphs and musical enjoyment/listening pleasure, sonic character/appeal, synergy, soundstage, separation, timbre, sense of ease etc. A correlation between electromagnetic and acoustic waves does not exist in physics. We need to deploy our ears for the ultimate test. There are plenty of examples where a “well-measuring device” does not impress sonically. Measurements are more important for product design than for practical testing. Alarm bells may only go up if measurements are “really bad”.

The DragonFly Red streams Tidal masters (MQA) and Qobuz, and works with all the non-audiophile streaming services such as Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud etc. And it is firmware upgradeable.

For DragonFly Red, the status indicator produces the following colors: standby (Red), 44.1kHz (Green), 48kHz (Blue), 88.2kHz (Amber), 96kHz (Magenta), MQA (Purple).

All DragonFlys can be sourced by a computer (no Windows driver required) or Android/iOS devices…and used as dac-amp with headphones/earphones, or as pre-amp with a dedicated amplifier. Their functionality is described in detail in my Cobalt review.

Amplification and Power Management

There is enough power to drive my 300 Ω Sennheiser HD 600 headphone. The Red also operated all my iems and the mid-sized 70 Ω Sennheiser HD 25 or 60 Ω Koss Porta Pro with ease.

In my 3h battery drain test of several dongles, the DragonFly Red (and Black) had the lowest consumption on my iPhone 5S, the DragonFly Cobalt consumed about a third more, which placed it in the midfield. All DragonFlys stayed pretty cool during operation. But it could have done far worse than that….see the detailed results. In this respect, the DragonFly Red/Black are the clear winners and therefore most useful on the road.

Power Consumption Test: Parameters and Raw Results

I tested the power consumption of several portable headphone amps connected to my iPhone 5S. The conditions were as identical as possible: 3 h test, volume calibrated to 85 dB  ± 0.5 dB white noise with Dayton microphone, no sim card, BT off, no other apps open; network on, 32 ohm Blon BL-03 iem, Genesis’s Supper’s Ready (from the Seconds Out album) played in an endless loop.

The iPhone’s battery was fully charged at the start of the test and the remaining charge was measured thereafter. The result is shown in the table below. Since the tests were performed at different times and considering the ongoing battery deterioration, the results have to be seen with a grain of salt.

[collapse]

Sound Comparisons

Equipment used: Macbook Air/iPhone SE first generation; Sennheiser HD 600, Sennheiser HD 25, Koss Porta Pro; Cayin Fantasy, JVA HA-FDX1, Sennheiser IE 300, Sennheiser IE 400 PRO, BQEYZ Summer, Meze RAI Solo, Moondrop Aria, Shozy Form 1.4.

The AudioQuest DragonFly Red’s sonic qualities have been known for the last 5 years. But how does it hold up against its competition today?

In my perception, the DragonFly Red offers a rather vivid, organic sound with good extensions at both ends resulting in a marginally warm, immersive listening being off strictly linear. The slightly elevated bass contributes to a good depth but takes a bit away from the stage width, which results in a good three-dimensionality.

The Red is the most dynamic dongle I have tested. It has superb separation of good note weight, and is a bit edgy at the top end. The presentation is rather musical (as opposed to analytical) with good PRAT.

The DragonFlys are musical… The rest just gives you sound. Co-blogger and Red/Cobalt owner KopiOkaya.

The DragonFly Red is ahead of its immediate (external) competition listed here in terms of dynamics, microdynamics, and microdetail.

The equally priced and also natural sounding EarMen Sparrow offers an additional balanced circuit. The Sparrow is flatter, less vivid and less (micro)detailed than the DragonFly Red with a shallower but wider and taller soundstage (balanced circuit only). It is more powerful, and has a much higher battery draw.

The $129 EarMen Eagle was hailed by some reviewers to best the DragonFly Red. Eagle is more linear, less bassy, has a wider but flatter stage. Most importantly, it is leaner sounding not quite reaching the Red’s midrange body, dynamics, and resolution. But it has the DragonFly’s USB-A plug.

The $119 Earstudio HUD100 is the flattest/most linear of the lot, and also the least lively, which qualifies it for earphone testing and for use with very thick sounding (bassy) iems. The $119 Hizids S9 PRO is sonically almost indistinguishable from the HUD100. The $85 Shanling UA2 has rather warm and bassy signature. These three models lack midrange body and note weight, and vocals are rather thin compared to the Red.

DragonFly Red’s real challenger is the $299 DragonFly Cobalt. Most specs are identical between the two models. But the Cobalt has a more expensive dac chip, a different receiver chip, and some JitterBug USB-cleaning technology.

Both have different sonic signatures that broadly correspond to their shapes and colour: smoothly rounded in subtle blue vs. edgier in the louder red.

It is the exuberance and the lively treble that distinguishes the DragonFly Red from the smoother, more relaxed sounding, more composed and mature Cobalt. The Cobalt’s notes are more rounded and weightier, vocals have an unparalleled richness, smoothness, and naturalness in the dongle world.

The Red is more spectacular, more forward into your face/ears especially at the top end, where the Cobalt is easing off a bit. The Red’s liveliness works particularly well with powerful music such as rock, pop, EDM, anything that needs a good punch. The Cobalt plays its strength out in acoustic and jazzy music with emphasis on detail, microdynamics, and timbre.

You experience the principal differences between the two models best when having hightened sensitivity be it through a cold or hangover, or simply early in the morning.

JitterBug FMJ adds body and depth to the Red’s presentation, and it rounds the top off. Separate review of the “Bug” is here.

Is the DragonFly Red still relevant?

This question is frequently discussed in audio forums. The Red is very relevant to me. It depends how you look at it.

The present trends are: maxed out Hi RES (PCM: support up to 768kHz/32Bit; DSD: native DSD64/128/256/512), swappable sound profiles, maximum power, an additional balanced circuit, and perfect measurements. All that at a low price. If that’s what you are after, all DragonFlys are outdated.

If you don’t want to handle Windows drivers, they are not. And if you judge by sound quality, the Red has yet to find a challenger (beside the Cobalt).

The competing devices I have tested do not match the Red in terms of note weight, dynamics, and detail resolution. You may get more sound but not more musicality from the competition. There is still catching up to do with dac chip implementation, which is particularly evident in lean vocals reproduction and timbre.

So, what is the point of decoding super HI RES with a mediocre dac – and/or pairing it with a premium earphone?

The DragonFly Red also clearly leads the pack in power management: its low battery drain results an always cool (as opposed to hot) device.

And whereas the Red has had a long shelf life without any necessary re-issues (though it is software upgradable), the competition keeps pushing improved “Pro” versions of their products.

Another advantage of all DragonFlys is the USB-A plug, which makes it equally practical for Android and iOS devices. The new dongle generations mainly feature USB-C plugs or fixed USB-C cables, which result in cumbersome snakes when combined with the Apple camera adapter.

Sure, there are third-party lightning cables to connect to a USB-C socket, but their MFI chips are not optimized for Apple’s power management, which results in unreasonably high additional battery drains.

There are a few products that incorporate such ingenuity that they remain current and relevant over many years. Other examples are the Apogee Groove and Chord Mojo dac-amps, both unmatched since 2015. Gordon Rankin’s experience must have made this sustained difference in the DragonFlys’ case.

Vorsprung durch Technik?

What I use

Ok ok, everybody has different preferences. I am a phone guy who does not want to carry a second device (“dap”) around – and who wants to use the dac-amp between different devices. I don’t listen on my desktop computer so that my stack is catching dust. And my Shanling M0 dap, too.

Since 2016, my go-to has been the DragonFly Black, but in the last 4-5 months, it has been replaced by: the DragonFly Cobalt for acoustic/classical/jazzy music, the DragonFly Red for Rock/Pop and for on the road (low battery drain), and the EarMen Eagle for thick sounding/bassy earphones and headphones. And I am very happy with this.

On top of that, I am having a lot of fun experimenting with the AudioQuest JitterBug FMJ (I also had purchased the original JitterBug upon its release in 2016) and the ifi Audio iSilencer. More about these USB cleaners is coming soon.

Concluding Remarks

Considering its organic timbre and its rich midrange, the Red could be the best-sounding portable dac-amp I have tested. But it is not as the DragonFly Cobalt is one step ahead and takes over the title “Lord of the Flies” (apologies to William Golding). The DragonFly Red comes in second best, but it is also $100 cheaper.

My investigations have shown that the external competitors (I have tested) have yet to match the DragonFly Red in terms of sound quality, which, quite frankly, surprises me, too. They may impress with added features, balanced circuits, and amplification, but there is obviously still some room to catch up with the experience in asynchronous coding and the other nitty gritty that make your earphone/headphone sound “good”.

So, yes, the old “Lady in Red” is sonically still on top of the $200 class imo.

Until next time…keep on listening!

Contact us!

Disclaimer

The DragonFly Red was kindly provided by AudioQuest up my request and I thank them for that.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

Gallery

The post AudioQuest DragonFly Red USB DAC + Preamp + Headphone Amp Review – Still Lord Of The Flies? appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Cons — No storage case.

Executive Summary

The $129 EarMen Eagle is a rather refined sounding dac & amp that beats it immediate peers in terms of sound quality. It is the lowest priced dongle offering premium sound quality (of all the ones I have tested) imo.

Introduction

EarMen may be a rather young company that released their first products in 2020, but they have the very experienced premium manufacturer Auris Audio behind them. They are registered in Chicago but produce in Serbia, so you get an American-European product. Their first releases into the world of combined dac-amps were the excellent $199 Sparrow dongle and the $249 TR-amp, both receiving undeservedly little attention by consumers on our YouTube channel (You find the Sparrow video here and the TR-amp video there). But both products received high praises by reviewers.

The Sparrow is special in that it features a balanced circuit on top of the single-ended one, which appears to put the Eagle in its shadow, but undeservedly so, as we will find out. EarMen asked me to compare their Eagle to the AudioQuest DragonFly Red – which some reviewers have done already.

In this review, I will demonstrate that a comparison with the DragonFly Red is somewhat irrelevant and why I prefer the Eagle over the Sparrow. The Eagle simply has its very own merits and deserves to fly high above the radar of the dongle universe.

As mentioned before, I have written an extensive review of the EarMen Sparrow and both are overlapping in terms of functionality. I will therefore focus on my new findings with my experience in “dongle-itis” gained and rather focus on how the EarMen Eagle fits into the big picture.

Specifications

Download Manual: EarMen Eagle

Purchase Link: EarMen Shop

Tested at: $129

Visit mqa.co.uk for more information.

Physical Things and Usability

In the box are the EarMen Eagle, the warranty card, and a USB-A female to USB-C male adapter cable. This allows the Eagle to connect to Apple and Android phones/tablets, and any Windows/Mac computers. It features the ESS Sabre ESS ES9280 C PRO dac chip – which is well implemented.

As you may be well aware, the chip does not matter much for the sound as it is only one of many components. More important are its implementation (including filtering), the analog output stage, as well as the amp design and amp implementation. Therefore, devices with the same das chip may sound totally differently. One ingredient does not make a great meal, experienced chefs are needed. Luckily, they have good cooks at EarMen.

In contrast to its Sparrow sibling, the Eagle features a USB-A connector, a rarity outside the AudioQuest models. The EarMen Eagle therefore works with iOS devices (but requires the Apple Camera Adapter) without creating a “monster dongle snake”. And that’s why I prefer the Eagle over the Sparrow.

The actual EarMen Eagle is as sturdy and filigree CnC machined aluminium construction with top and bottom covered by glass…although I wished it had come with a sheath to protect it from being scratched. It has the same build and dimensions as the Sparrow.

The EarMen logo is illuminated depending on input:

• White – Connected
• Green – PCM/DXD/DSD
• Magenta – MQA
• Red – Not Connected

Functionality and Operation

A Summary Of What It Does

• Can be connected to Windows/Mac computers or Android/iOS sources
• USB-A connector works well with iPhone and Android alike (with included OTG cable)
• Works as a pre-amplifier or dac when connected to a dedicated headphone amplifier
• Drives small loudspeakers through its 3.5 mm output

AND Of What It Does Not

• …has no physical controls
• …needs no battery; draws power from source…and lots of it
• …is not driverless: needs a USB driver for Window computer
• …needs an Apple camera adapter or other third-party lightning cable for connecting to an iOS device
• …does not like driving power-hungry headphones, let’s say my 300 Ω Sennheiser HD 600, is pushing it

Well, the first fail of most dongle manufacturers (imo) is the choice of a USB-C connector, be it a socket or a fixed cable. While this is mildly beneficial for Android users, it adds inconvenience to iOS users as they need to chain two cables together: an OTG one and the Apple Camera adapter, which results in a cumbersome “snake”. Yes, you can get third party lightning cables to connect to a USB-C socket, but their MFI chips are not optimized for Apple’s power management, which results in unreasonably high additional battery drains.

The EarMen Eagle contains no battery and is powered by the source device. It works plug ‘n’ play with computers, tablets, and phones (Windows/Mac/Android/iOS). And it requires adjusting the respective sound panel settings in Mac and Windows computers (and a Windows driver).

Volume is controlled from the source device – there are no buttons on the EarMen Sparrow. It is as easy as that. The EarMen Eagle decodes all 32bit/384kHz formats: PCM, DoP, DSD64, DSD128 and MQA. 

Amplification and Power Consumption

You have to give it to EarMen that they disclose detailed power ratings (see specifications above). The Eagle drives any iem and mid-sized headphone such as the 70 Ω Sennheiser HD 25 very well, but starts losing heft at the more power-hungry, full-sized cans such as the 300 Ω Sennheiser HD 600.

In my 3h battery drain test of several dongles, the Dragonfly Black and Red had the lowest consumption on my iPhone 5S, the EarMen consumed about a third more, which placed it in the midfield. But it could have done far worse than that….see the detailed results. I would call the Eagle’s battery consumption acceptable but not outstanding.

Power Consumption Test: Parameters and Raw Results

I tested the power consumption of several portable headphone amps connected to my iPhone 5S. The conditions were as identical as possible: 3 h test, volume calibrated to 85 dB  ± 0.5 dB white noise with Dayton microphone, no sim card, BT off, no other apps open; network on, 32 ohm Blon BL-03 iem, Genesis’s Supper’s Ready (from the Seconds Out album) played in an endless loop.

The iPhone’s battery was fully charged at the start of the test and the remaining charge was measured thereafter. The result is shown in the table below. Since the tests were performed at different times and considering the ongoing battery deterioration, the results have to be seen with a grain of salt.

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Sound

Equipment used: MaBook Air/iPhone Se (1st gen.); Sennheiser HD 25; Cayin Fantasy, Sennheiser IE 300, Sennheiser IE 400 PRO, Moondrop Aria, Shozy Form 1.4.

The EarMen Eagle sounds essentially like the single-ended circuit of its sibling EarMen Sparrow. It is marginally off neutral with a bit of warmth added. Warm enough to work well with natural earphones, and neutral enough to work with warm sounding earphones. This makes it flexible with earphone/headphone pairings. It has a rather wide soundstage and a very pleasant, natural timbre, without any harshness or grain.

Voices are smooth, the imaging has some sense of ease, timbre is organic, transparency and clarity are good. The overall presentation is very musical, nothing is analytical or sterile. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Eagle, sonically, but rather everything right.

EarMen Eagle Compared

With tens of dongles on the market, it has become impossible for a single reviewer to keep the overview. As a rule of thumb, pricier models do NOT have necessarily more amplification but a better dac (implementation) in my experience, which translates to better sound. The Eagle’s money is not so much in the amplification but in the sound quality.

“Better sound” in this context means richer/fuller, with better microdynamics (“the small things”) and macrodynamics. It also means more organic/natural as opposed to digital. These improvements result in better musicality. This is not different with your desktop stacks.

I was asked to compare the EarMen Eagle with the $199 AudioQuest DragonFly Red. And the Red shows the Eagle’s limits, which is no surprise as it is 50% more expensive. The Red is bassier, punchier, and more agile & dynamic, it has more note weight and better note definition, and better detail retrieval. It is a bit fuller, richer, and smoother sounding. Vocals are more forward.

The Eagle has a wider but flatter stage. It is overall leaner sounding than the Red but also a bit clearer in the midrange. The Eagle is overall more polite. These differences are only obvious when A/B-ing. What plays into the Eagle’s hands is its more linear signature: the Red does not pair as well with thick sounding/bassy earphones, that’s where the Eagle excels.

Compared to the $85 Shanling UA2 and $109 Hidizs S9 PRO, the Eagle is ahead in terms of timbre. It sounds more natural and even, and it is fuller in the midrange. UA2 is the bassiest and warmest of the three. The UA2/S9 PRO feature an additional balanced circuit and more power. You have the choice: features or sound quality. Quantity vs. quality.

The Eagle’s closest competitor, sound wise, could be the $119 Earstudio HUD100, which is less dynamic but more linear than the Eagle. I prefer the HUD100 for earphone analyses and the Eagle for recreational listening.

In summary, I would draw a line in the sand and claim that the Eagle is the lowest-priced dongle with true premium sound. This is, of course, subjective.

Concluding Remarks

The EarMen Eagle (and the Sparrow) are the company’s first foray into source-powered portable amp/DACs. And it is a very good one. The Eagle sounds great without any major weakness, has excellent build, and it is practical with its USB-A connector. And that’s why I personally prefer it over the more expensive Sparrow. Of all the dongles I have tested, the Eagle is the lowest-priced one that offers premium sound quality imo, and it is worth pairing with the most expensive iems.

In the meantime, I have mailed the EarMen Sparrow to Biodegraded for a second opinion/review.

Until next time…keep on listening!

Contact us!

Disclaimer

The EarMen Eagle was provided by EarMen for my review and I thank them for that. You can get the Eagle at the EarMen shop.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

The post EarMen Eagle Review – Most Affordable Premium Sound appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Cons — No automatic power off; bass boost at too low a frequency to be effective; fixed cables; sound relies to a large extent on source dac; non-serviceable battery (planned obsolescence).

Executive Summary

The Helm DB12 is a powerful portable, battery-operated inline headphone amplifier that serves the sole purpose of adding 12 dB of linear gain to your audio signal (plus an optional independent 6 dB linear bass boost) in numerous applications.

Introduction

Helm Audio are a British-American company established in 2017. Their Helm DB12 amp was introduced at CES Las Vegas in 2020. In a time where integrated headphone dac/amps (“dongles”) flood the market, the Helm DB12 is a bit of an oddball device: old school connectivity paired with the latest THX amplification technology.

Helm are cooperating on the DB12 with THX, a company established by George Lucas in 1983 to make his Star Wars movies sound better. THX is currently owned by Razer, a Hong Kong manufacturer focusing on devices for gamers,

The rather light Helm DB12 lamp looks a bit rudimentary with its oversized buttons and it is similar in size and shape to a Bounty chocolate bar. Audio enthusiasts slaved to their desktop stacks may roll their eyes….but never judge a book by its cover. Bottom line: it works, and it does so very well.

The Helm DB12 is marketed primarily as a mobile device, to be used with your phone or tablet. And this this works very well, there are so many other uses one could think of. Stay tuned.

Specifications

Physical Things

Physicals according to the Manufacturer

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In the box are the amplifier unit with fixed cables, a USB-C charge cable, a roomy carrying bag, and the usual paperwork. The body is made of brushed aluminium, the inline-remote buttons and the on-off-bass slider are made of plastic. The unit is rather light and sits well in my hand. The large buttons make operation easy.

Functionality and Operation

What It does

• connects to the 3.5 mm audio socket of your phone/tablet or computer…actually of any device. Also works with OTG/Apple lightning adapter
• 3.5 mm sockets include airplane entertainment system, car stereo, gaming consols, dap, iPod, discman, walkman, radio…
• is purely analog: operates independently on software and drivers…picks up any signal and adds a linear gain of 12 dB and, if desired, and independent 6 dB of bass boost
• works plug’n’play, no drivers needed
• allows for phone signal to pass through its TRRS connectors and adds volume to your phone calls
• conserves phone battery
• saves iPhone users from buying the pricey Apple camera adapter
• creates space on the go: no bulky device strapped onto the phone with rubber bands
• has no dropouts as with dongles (when moving around in one’s pocket)

What It does not

• no digital to analog signal conversion
• cannot be connected to a USB port

The Helm DB12 is essentially a self-powered headphone cable extension that amplifies and upgrades your source device. You could also say it is an oversized inline remote with integrated amp that reminds me of the control panel of my wife’s heating blanket. And it works like a regular inline remote that is part of many Sennheiser and AKG headphone/earphone cables.

When the Helm DB12 is switched off or out of battery, your headphone and source device still work as it it was not connected at all, thanks to the TRRS connector. This is very useful for A/B-ing. TRRS also comes in handy for phone calls, which do not work with USB dongles.

The Helm DB12 has two main purposes: to amplify your source’s analog signal and to make it sound better. As a side effect, it preserves/conserves your phone’s battery.

The Helm DB12 has an on/off switch that, if moved one step further, activates a bass boost. Of the large three buttons on top of the device (ergonomically useful as easily usable inside your pocket), the middle one is start/stop/forth/back and the two outer ones are volume up/down (just like the Apple remotes). When increasing/decreasing volume with these buttons, the slider on my iPhone moves up/down accordingly.

And that’s it. Or not. The Helm DB12 is meant to be connected to your phone/table or computer via their 3.5 mm socket – the simplest plug-n-ply possible. iPhone users will save their money on the Apple camera adapter.

But that’s still not where it stops. The fact that there is no dac, the Helm DB12 has distinct advantages: you can connect it to essentially any device with a 3.5 mm headphone jack, be it an iPod Classic, a walkman/discman, even a normal FM radio or a car stereo, or an airline entertainment system. The options are unlimited to combine the latest THX amplification technology even with your vintage devices – anything with a 3.5 mm socket.

You can also use the Helm DB12 in combination with in-line with portable headphone amps like the Helm Bolt. A/B-ing is easy: just switch the Helm DB12 on and off.

The remote buttons only worked properly when connected directly to my iPhone’s 3.5 mm socket of the Apple Audio Adapter. When putting a portable dac/amp between phone and Helm DB12, the volume will have to be controlled from the phone. The DB12 amp still adds a constant 12 dB linear gain.

When connected to my Mac’s headphone jack, the 3-button remote is not fully functional. Both middle and “+” button only work for start/stop/forward/back functions. The “-” is disabled.

Limitations of the Inline Control Buttons according to Helm

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Practical mobile Use

The Helm DB12 is marketed as a mobile headphone amplifier so I primarily tested it with my phone on the road. The device essentially works as a three-button remote on steroids. It is practically more and add-on to the headphone than to the source device. It is like lowering the output impedance and increasing the sensitivity of power-hungry headphones.

Whenever you plug the Helm DB12 in, it works – no software needed. The large buttons are extremely handy for adjusting volume and and forwarding tracks in my pocket. No need to fiddle with the phone’s screen and no need to strap a portable amp onto it with rubber rings…which has been awkward at best of times.

Operating the volume buttons moves the iPhone’s volume slider up and down, too. The Helm DB12 essentially just adds a constant power of 12 dB and relegates the iPhone’s amp to pre-amp, in analogy to a power amplifier in your home stereo.

I could add a dongle such as the Helm Bolt between phone and Helm DB12 to use as dac/pre-amp, but this would block the phone’s signal. This combination drives power-hungry full-sized earphones of 300-600 Ω impedance well.

But while this scenario is rather unrealistic in mobile use, it is good practice when working with computers to improve on their built-in poor-quality dacs. To give you an idea of the unlimited use of the Helm DB12, please watch my video.

Amplification

The Helm DB12 received its name from the 12 dB of linear volume again it adds to any audio signal. This is rather strong considering that perceived volume doubles every 10 dB, if I have not snoozed in physics completely.

Independently, a 6 dB bass boos can be added, too. THX Achromatic Audio Amplifier technology stands for almost zero distortion.

Battery Life

The Helm DB12 contains a non-serviceable lithium-ion battery with a 6-8 hrs of battery life. This is beneficial on the road as it conserves battery life of the device “phone” it is connected to.

And if the battery runs empty, the Helm DB12 just acts as cable extension without any adverse effect on the operation. It can be fast-charged in 2.5 hrs via USB-C with any 5V charger.

Unfortunately, the Helm DB12 will have to be disposed of once the battery has been consumed.

Sound

The sound obviously depends on the source dac and the DB12 combined. It therefore varies across devices it is connected to. But the intended use is with a phone (or similar) – and I tested the Helm with my iPhone SE (1st generation), connected weather via the Apple Audio Adapter or directly plugged into the headphone jack – made no sonic difference.

I used it with some 60-70 Ω headphones such as the Koss HPH30i, Koss Porta Pro and Sennheiser HD 25, all mid-sized headphones that are realistically used on the road in real life, and that are exceeding the 50 Ω recommended max. impedance manageable by phones.

The Helm DB12 adds life to the comparatively brittle Apple-only sound – and a lot of it. Everything becomes wider, bigger, swifter, air and a sense of ease are added, soundstage and headroom are greatly enlarged, space is added between instruments, and the sound becomes clearer and sparklier.

It is as if you transferred your live concert from a smokey bar into a big stadium (around your head). Sound is/remains natural, not analytical or sterile.

This effect also works with <50 Ω earphones (average impedance is 32 Ω), so the Helm adds to the sound even when its strong power is not needed upon, just by downgrading the Apple’s amp to a pre-amp.

But this “stretching” and added “fluffiness” of the musical image also means sacrificing some heft/punch, density/note weight, depth, and intimacy. The amplification is essentially distortion free, hiss-free, and it is linear. There is no bass boost or metallic upper edge, the whole experience is rather smooth.

The situation is different when plugging the Helm DB12 into my MacBook Air with its limited-quality built-in dac. According to the motto “garbage in, garbage out”, the DB12 simply amplifies the Mac’s dull sound – and therefore needs the support of a dongle’s better-quality dac in series with the DB12.

Helm offer the Bolt portable dac-amp (which I don’t have) so I mainly used the AudioQuest DragonFly Red to take over the signal decoding from my MacBook. This worked well even with full-sized headphones used preferably at home such as the 300 Ω Sennheiser HD 600. And since essentially any dongle above $80 drives a 300 Ω headphone, the Helm brings this up to 600 Ω.

The basic sound signature could be varied using different dongles (e.g. EarMen Sparrow or Eagle, Shanling UA2, Earstudio HUD 100, AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt, AudioQuest DragonFly Red) but the principal underlying effects as described with the iPhone remained.

A word on the bass boost: switching it on adds an independent 6 dB bass gain. This did not do it for me as the gain is at a frequency too low to add an effective punch to the low end for my taste. No comparison to the zippy Xbass in the ifi Audio hip-dac.

Concluding Remarks

The Helm DB12 is a versatile amp for on the road improving the sound of my phone, particularly with less sensitive headphones and iems, while being easy to operate in my pocket.

At home, it upgrades the dongles on my computer for driving particularly power-hungry headphones up to 600 Ω. But as the Helm DB12 amplifies any device with a 3.5 mm headphone socket, its applicability knows no limits.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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Disclaimer

The Helm DB12 war provided by Helm Audio for my review – and I thank them for that. You find the product page here.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

Gallery

The post HELM DB12 AAAMP Portable Headphone Amplifier Review – The Sky’s Your Limit appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Introduction

The world of portable music changed forever with the arrival of the first iPod in 2001. But it took earphone manufacturers beyond the 2008 release of the first iPhone to offer some premium alternatives to the stock buds at a grand scale. And where are we today in terms of iems? Yes, more or less saturated.

With the advent of the AudioQuest DragonFly Black v1.5 portable headphone amp/dac in 2016, any smartphone could be upgraded to a premium music player (albeit some dap fans may disagree). v1.5 was the first “dongle” to draw so little current that it could be sourced by a phone’s battery (and it still leads the pack in this respect, jointly with the Dragonfly Red).

Again, it took a while for manufacturers catch on, but the market is currently flooded with tens of models so that it is difficult to keep the overview.

Purpose of this Guide

This writeup is foremost a small encyclopedia for my own comparison purposes and will always be work in progress. Feel free to bookmark this page and come back from time to time. I do not claim that it offers complete information – and it is highly subjective as it caters to my personal preferences.

In the future, I will not only add more models but also update and refine the individual entries. I hope it will grow into a representative database with time.

In Q1 2020, mostly by coincidence, I started having a closer look at dongles – and analyzed some. I focused on listening while ignoring tech specs and chip models as manufacturers report amplification power inconsistently…and not always correctly. All of the models tested work even with my power hungry 300 Ω Sennheiser HD 600 headphones, so the details are irrelevant for my daily usage.

In this guide, I also do not worry about special features offered in the individual models, build, drivers, digital filters, Hi Res decoding, or operation…which is your homework. All I focus on in my descriptions is perceived sound quality. But I care about battery consumption – we don’t want to run out of “juice” on the road – which is listed independently below.

Note: when looking at a dongle, don’t forget one of its main purposes: preserving portability. Fixed cables (typically with USB-c connector) can be awkward for use with iPhones and may result in cable snakes. And good adapters are pricey and cumbersome. I am hesitant with dongles featuring fixed cables – and for good reasons.

If you have tested these models and arrive at a different opinion, please drop a line in the comments section.

Spoiler alert: I identified clear trends in my results that are not surprising:

• The pricier models sound better, sorry for the lack of fantasy. No, they may not have stronger amplification or better features but they sound better.
• It is the other way round with value: the cheaper models offer better bang for the buck.

But to keep you happy: all of the models currently tested are very good in their own way and and each one of them is worthy to be used even with premium iems. Yep, I am mainly evaluating these dongles with iems (and not headphones): both are most portable.

When it comes to value, I intuitively compare to what you get in terms of iem for your money…and feel the dongles fare generally better. Nevertheless do many believe, a good dongle should not cost more than $100.

Equipment used: MacBook Air; BQEYZ Summer (32 Ω), Sennnheiser IE300/400 (16Ω)…this list will also grow to consolidate my findings.

The Lineup

I have no humour and arrange my list according to price from high to low.

AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt ($300)

US design. The smoothie of the dongle world and the dongle with the best sound quality by a long shot. Has simply the biggest note weight, most natural/organic sonic reproduction, and best musicality. It is not its power or resolution or staging that puts it ahead (by $100), it just sounds better. Voices are richer and fuller compared to the other models below.

For people who do not want to make compromises. Received criticism for being overpriced by people looking at the specs/measurements only. You pay for the sound quality, not sound quantity. Output is the same as in the DragonFly Red. Review.

AudioQuest DragonFly Red ($200)

Is somewhat more dynamic and edgier than the Cobalt. In fact, it is the most dynamic dongle I have tested. The most visceral of this lineup. Both DragonFlys have a slight bass boost compared to the other models. Vocals are still richer and fuller than in the Sparrow and HUD 100, but not as smooth as in the Cobalt, which is simply richer sounding. Has by far the smallest battery draw of the lineup. Review.

EarMen Sparrow ($200)

European design. Features two circuits (3.5 mm single ended and 2.5 mm balanced) of which the balanced excels and offers the widest staging and biggest headroom of the competition, beating both DragonFlys in this respect (you need a balanced cable to use this circuit). But the midrange reproduction is not quite a rich as in the DragonFly Red…though pretty impressive. Natural sound.

The Sparrow is more linear, less bassy, and less punchy than the Red and cleaner through the whole frequency range. Review.

EarMen Eagle ($130)

Features essentially the same sound as the Sparrow’s single-ended circuit. Less bassy and with slightly leaner vocals department than the DragonFly Red. Comes close to the “Red” in terms of sound quality, but has a substantially higher battery drain. Natural sound. The lowest-price premium sounding dongle imo. Review.

Earstudio HUD100 ($120)

Korean design. Offers two single-ended circuits with different output powers and three digital filters (I used the “bypass” filter for testing). A bit less dynamic than the Sparrow but very linear with no elevations and a nice wide, stage.

The HUD100 is the most polite of the lot, which is a good thing for taming punchy iems. Received a lot of flack on drop.com for being overpriced, which is simply not warranted. It is the best deal of this selection and worth every penny imo.

Gains richness and depth with the AudioQuest Jitterbug FMJ. HUD100 Review.

This is only a start. There are some upscale favourites that were highly recommended to me such as the Luxury & Precision W2 and the Lotoo Paw S1…but I have yet to get my hands on these. Co-blogger KopiOkaya auditioned these and let me know that they sound technically good but not musically good , and that the DragonFly Cobalt (he bought one in Q1 2021) sounds more natural.

Power Consumption

This is an important aspect when using the dongle on the go. The DragonFly Red wins the “power saving” contest comfortably.

Power Consumption Test: Parameters and Results

I tested the power consumption of several portable headphone amps connected to my iPhone 5S. The conditions were as identical as possible: 3 h test, volume calibrated to 85 dB  ± 0.5 dB white noise with Dayton microphone, no sim card, BT off, no other apps open; network on, 32 ohm Blon BL-03 iem, Genesis’s Supper’s Ready (from the Seconds Out album) played in an endless loop.

The iPhone’s battery was fully charged at the start of the test and the remaining charge was measured thereafter. The result is shown in the table below. Since the tests were performed at different times and considering the ongoing battery deterioration, the results have to be seen with a grain of salt.

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Sneak Peak into the <$100 Realm

That’s where the biggest crowding is, currently, although it appears to shift toward the $150 – $200 category with the recent releases by interesting companies (Astell & Kern, Razer…). Of the sub-$100 dongles I can really only offer the Shanling UA2 right now, which is not any less powerful than the >$100 models listed above, sounds natural, features a second balanced circuit and the same dac chip as the DragonFly Cobalt (and even more power).

But where it falls short in comparison even to the (admittedly much pricier) Earstudio HUD 100 is its less linear response, particularly its leaner, sharper midrange and elevated bass.

This is in line with my observations that the more expensive models offer a richer, thicker, fuller, smoother sound. That said the Shanling UA2 offers tremendous value alone for its natural sound. Review.

Concluding Remarks

My preliminary observations (based on the few available data points) appear to correlate somewhat with desktop equipment: more money buys you a better sounding dac. But where it does not compare well is the amp part, at least in terms of power. You can get a lot for less in this respect. Your choice will depend on your budget and personal preference.

Oh, and the EarMen Eagle is about to arrive for analysis. And the Helm Bolt is also somewhere in limbo.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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The post A Simplified Personal Guide To Small Portable Headphone DAC/Amps ($100-300) v0.9 appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Cons — Midrange attenuation; high battery drain from phone.

Executive Summary

The Shanling UA2 is a slightly off-neutral, rather natural sounding, and very powerful portable DAC/amp with good dynamics that features single-ended and balanced outputs at a budget pice. Compared to some of its much more expensive rivals, the UA2 has a leaner midrange while being competitive in terms of power.

Introduction

Shanling is a Chinese HiFi company established in 1988. They hit the western markets in the early 2000s with premium amplifiers at very competitive prices. At the time, while working in China, I talked to them about getting a 110 V version of one of their famous tube CD-players manufactured. This, unfortunately, failed because of export regulations.

More than half a generation later – Shanling has long established itself as a quality player and brand name around the world – I finally try my first Shanling product, the UA2 Portable USB DAC/Amp. And TL;DR, it is a good one.

Shanling is currently joining an army of companies populating the market with portable dac/amps that turn you phone into a dap. In this ever more crowded field, where the potential buyer cannot try before buying, reviewers like me have to provide the overview. But since it is impossible to test all interesting products, you have to check out a few qualified opinions before pulling the trigger.

Specifications

Physical Things and Usability

In the box are the UA2, a USB-C to USB-C cable, and a USB-C to USB-A adapter. The UA2 body is made of metal and its coating feels smooth and appealing between my fingers.

In contrast to most other dongles does the UA2 offers two different circuits: a single-ended output through a standard 3.5 mm socket and a balanced output through a 2.5 mm socket. Both outputs/sockets work simultaneously. And it is the balanced output that makes the UA2 particularly attractive.

The two headphone sockets are on end, a USB-C port on one the other: the 3.5 mm single-ended socket is reinforced with a thick metal ring in expectation of the higher usage of the two.

There is a little LED light between them indicating sampling rate and connection to a gaming console.

Functionality and Operation

A summary of what it does

• Can be connected to Windows/Mac computers or Android/iOS sources
• Works as a pre-amplifier or dac when connected to a dedicated headphone amplifier
• Features two circuits: 3.5 mm single ended and 2.5 mm balanced
• Drives two earphones/headphones simultaneously through its two outputs
• Drives small loudspeakers through its 3.5 mm output
• Handles even power-hungry headphones well, imo up to 300 Ω

…and of what it does not

• …needs no battery; draws power from source…and lots of it
• …is not driverless: needs a USB driver for Window computer (download)
• …needs an Apple camera adapter or other third-party lightning cable for connecting to an iOS device

The Shanling UA2 has only a single button that serves the purpose of enabling a connected gaming console. It is powered and operated from the source device and decodes Hi Res up to 32 bit/768 kHz and DSD 512.

Shanling are offering their free Eddict player companion app that allows fine tuning the UA2 (and other Shanling products) with Android and iOS devices.

Amplification and Power Management

The Shanling UA2 is powerful. It delivers 125mW @ 32 ohm (single ended) and 195mW @ 32 ohm (balanced) according to the manufacturer. Even the single-ended circuit drives my 300 ohm Sennheiser HD 600 reasonably well.

But the UA2 consumes a lot of battery – twice as much as the AudioQuest DragonFly Black/Red. This makes it less beneficial for mobile use. You certainly need a big battery.

Power Consumption Test: Parameters and Results

I tested the power consumption of several portable headphone amps connected to my iPhone 5S. The conditions were as identical as possible: 3 h test, volume calibrated to 85 dB  ± 0.5 dB white noise with Dayton microphone, no sim card, BT off, no other apps open; network on, 32 ohm Blon BL-03 iem, Genesis’s Supper’s Ready (from the Seconds Out album) played in an endless loop.

The iPhone’s battery was fully charged at the start of the test and the remaining charge was measured thereafter. The result is shown in the table below. Since the tests were performed at different times and considering the ongoing battery deterioration, the results have to be seen with a grain of salt.

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But hold the horses. This is not as bad as you think. Co-blogger Alberto Pittaluga actually likes this drain. But why? For him it is a matter of choices. The Shanling UA2 pushes more current than its competition, which drives low-impedance and low-sensitivity headphones and iems better. After all, transducers are moved by current.

Sound

Equipment used: Macbook Air/iPhone SE first generation; Sennheiser HD 600 / HD 25, Shozy Form 1.4, Meze RAI Solo, BQEYZ Summer.

The Shanling UA2 offers a relatively natural, well rounded, dynamic, appealing sound, but could deserve a richer midrange.

Its sound is slightly off linear and off neutral by a slight bass boost that improves the sound of anemic earphones/headphones, keeps the sound away from sterile, and it adds depth. But, in some earphones, it can also narrow the soundstage and smear into the lower midrange/vocals, which adversely affects separation. The bass rumble becomes weaker under higher impedance loads.

What distinguishes the UA2 from its more expensive competition is not its amplification power…it is its attenuated, recessed, thin and occasionally sharp midrange (in comparison) that is evident in both single-ended and balanced circuits.

Vocals are set back in the UA2 but they are also a bit lean and pointy, they could be smoother, richer, and more intimate. This attenuation may exacerbate shoutiness in some earphones and moves the bass into focus.

But this is very-high level criticism with perfection as reference. The overall sound is dynamic with a good punch, it is not edgy at the upper end and comes off as pleasant during normal recreational listening (I was listening “analytically” for this review).

I assign good musicality and liveliness to the Shanling UA2, it is not technical, sterile, or boring sounding. Overall, the UA2 is more homogenous and natural sounding than the $40 Tempotec Sonata HD PRO or the $70 Tempotec BHD.

The UA2’s balanced circuit does not only deliver more power than the single-ended one, but also a marginally wider and deeper soundstage, improved dynamics and separation, and more intimacy. But it is still affected by the lean midrange.

When comparing the UA2 – I only had more expensive models available – they all rank sonically according to their price. The $120 Earstudio HUD 100 was more linear and cleaner at the bottom end with a wider stage and a headroom similar to the UA2’s balanced circuit’s. This also applied to the $199 EarMen Sparrow (balanced circuit) and $199 Audioquest DragonFly Red but with improved resolution added. The DragonFly Red reproduced voices richer, cleaner, and more intimate.

None of the higher-priced models with single-ended outputs has less headroom than the UA2’s balanced circuit – but also not necessarily more power. This also applies to the AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt, the smoothest and most natural of them all. More in this video:

Concluding Remarks

To pack my testing results in a single sentence: the $85 Shanling UA2 is a $200 dongle with a thinner midrange. No it does not quite rival, let’s say, the more homogenous DragonFly Red or the EarMen Sparrow sonically, but it offers better value while still sounding very good.

I heard it. Can’t get anything better for $85. Larry Fulton, co-blogger.

Considering the current uber offer of portable DAC/amps in the $100 category, I surely will be asked how the UA2 compares to X, Y, and Z at a similar price. While I cannot answer this question, I speculate its sound quality is hard to beat in its class, and claim that the UA2 is a great choice.

It feels good, is well accessorized, sounds organic, it has two powerful circuits – and also works with portable gaming consoles. And it is a brand-name product with R&D behind it. Is it the new $100 one to beat? Time will tell.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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Disclaimer

The UA2 was provided by Shanling and I think them for that. Shanling also kindly included a third-party USB-C to lightning adapter.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

The post Shanling UA2 Portable USB DAC/Amp Review – Crazy For You appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Cons — No balanced circuit; limited Hi Res decoding; pricey.

Executive Summary

The AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt is a natural sounding miniature headphone amp (dac/pre-amp), that even drives power-hungry headphones. It is sourced and powered by phones or computers. For people who don’t want to compromise sound quality.

Introduction

First was the DragonFly, which It hit the market in 2012. I purchased its 2016 re-incarnation DragonFly Black v1.5 upon its release. The DragonFly was the first “thumbdrive” dac of its kind, and v1.5 was the first that worked with smartphones because of its low power drain. And whereas many other companies have copied AudioQuest’s pioneering ideas since, the Black (jointly with the DragonFly Red) still has the lowest battery consumption of all I have tested with my iPhone. See below.

The “Black” has been my go to since it is a workhorse that has accompanied me and my iPhones around the world, from Egypt to Brazil. What I like about the “Black” apart from its power management, is its small form factor, and, of course, its good sound.

AudioQuest added the more powerful DragonFly Red in 2016, and the DragonFly Cobalt in 2019. All DragonFlies all have male USB-A connectors that makes them the only dongles that are actually sticks (“thumbdrives”), when connected to a computer’s USB-A port.

Today, there are portable dac/amps like sand on the beach it seems. They start at below $20, and many of the cheaper ones are pure power-draining ornaments that add nothing to the iPhone’s sound. I tested quite a few of the better ones up to $200, including the DragonFly Red, and TL;DR, the DragonFly Cobalt is the by far best sounding of them all, albeit not the strongest amplifying one.

Specifications

Physical Things and Usability

The DragonFly Cobalt comes with the obligatory travel sheath and the “DragonTail”, a USB-C male to USB-A female adapter (“OTG cable”) to connect to Android devices and newer MacBooks (ever attempted to attach the tail of a dragon to a dragonfly? Works only in this case). The device is attractively lacquered with car varnish – and you may wax it occasionally to preserve its looks :). It feels really good in my hand…

Functionality and Operation

The plug’n’play AudioQuest DragonFly connects to your computer’s USB port (Windows, Mac) and, via “DragonTail” or Apple camera adapter to your Android/iOS device, respectively. It converts the digital signal to analog and amplifies it. The volume is controlled from the source device, which essentially acts as a pre-amp.

The DragonFly has no battery, which is good and bad. Good in that it will not fall victim to planned obsolescence and work for a long time. Bad in that it draws power from your phone and therefore shortens the period between charges.

The DragonFly Cobalt streams Tidal masters (MQA) and Qobuz, and works with all the non-audiophile streaming services such as Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud etc. And it is firmware upgradeable.

The dragonfly-shaped LED is lit in different colours according to status or sample rate: red: (standby),  green (44.1kHz),  blue (48kHz), yellow (88.2mkHz),  light blue (96 kHz),  purple (MQA).

Apart from its use as a headphone amplifier, the DragonFly Cobalt can be used as a dac in combination with a dedicated (desktop) headphone amp. For this purpose, its volume should be cranked up to close to but not quite to 100% (100% which would cause distortion and ringing according to Archimago’s measurements). This worked well with my Schiit Magni 2U.

The downside of the driverless technology is that the microchip’s USB receiver limits resolution to 96kHz PCM on Hi Res audio…which is not that important as it only affects 5% of audio files. I personally do not have any such Hi Res files.

What distinguishes the DragonFly Cobalt from most dongles (including the other two DragonFlys) is its dac functionality including its sophisticated USB noise filtering (any computer or phone is a source of electromagnetic interferences that deteriorates the audio signal).

Yes, many more devices feature the same ESS ES9038Q2M dac chip (costs $12 or less when purchased in large amounts), and people WRONGLY go by chip and amplification power when selecting a dongle. This is inherent to the fact that most of these devices are sold by mail order, which excludes the possibility of trying them out first.

But it takes more than that to produce good sound and therefore to define value: it is the dac chip + dac implementation (including filtering) + analogue output stage of the dac + the amp design…many variables.

It is therefore not surprising that my four devices featuring the ESS ES9038Q2M dac chip, that is the Cobalt, Shanling UA2, the Khadas Tone2 Pro, and the EarMen TR-amp, all sound completely different.

As to noise suppression, the DragonFly Cobalt borrows some of the AudioQuest JitterBug’s filtering by deploying an “extremely low-noise power supply” and a single low-jitter clock that minimizes timing errors. This is claimed to result in optimal signal-to-noise ratios and to resolution. You find the nitty gritty technical details on the product page , in the manual and the DragonFly comparison sheet.

Amplification and Power Management

The DragonFly Cobalt has a nominal output of 2.1 V (like the DragonFly Red). This places the Cobalt into the midfield of the countless $100 to $300 headphone dac/amps. Hobbyist Archimago measured a slightly higher voltage of 2.23 V at an output impedance of 0.4 Ω. John Atkinson of Stereophile measured 2.16 V at 0.45 Ω.

This is enough power to drive my 300 Ω Sennheiser HD 600 headphone sourced by my MacBook Air (the DragonFly Black with 1.2 V output worked, too, but was reaching its limits).

I had mentioned that DragonFly series does not have an internal battery but draws power from the source. This is of little relevance for a computer, but important for mobile use with a phone.

Power Consumption Comparison: Parameters and Raw Results

I tested the power consumption of several portable headphone amps connected to my iPhone 5S. The conditions were as identical as possible: 3h test, volume calibrated to 85 dB  ± 0.5 dB white noise with Dayton microphone, no sim card, BT off, no other apps open; network on, 32 ohm Blon BL-03 iem, Genesis’s Supper’s Ready (from the Seconds Out album) played in an endless loop.

The iPhone’s battery was fully charged at the start of the test and the remaining charge was measured thereafter. The result is shown in the table below. Since the tests were performed at different times and considering the iPhone’s ongoing battery deterioration, the results have to be seen with a grain of salt.

[collapse]

In a 3h battery-drain test of several dongles with my iPhone 5S, the DragonFly Black and Red had the lowest consumption, the DragonFly Cobalt needed about a third more, which placed it in the midfield of my test candidates. But it could have done far worse than that….see the detailed results. I would call the Cobalt’s battery consumption ok but not outstanding. In this respect, the DragonFly Red is the winner….of all the more powerful models tested.

AudioQuest DragonFly Red USB DAC + Preamp + Headphone Amp Review – Still Lord Of The Flies?

Sound

Equipment used: Macbook Air/iphone SE first generation; Sennheiser HD 600 / HD 25, Triaudio TRI3, Shozy Form 1.4, Dunu Zen; Schiit Magni 2 Uber.

Upon plugging the DragonFly Cobalt into my Mac for the first time, it sounded instantly better to my ears than my familiar DragonFly Black and all the other dongles I had tested – actually MUCH better – and it has stayed like that since…which makes the Cobalt most appealing to my ears.

The Cobalt sounds more natural and analog, and therefore smoother than the rest…it has this sense of lightness, there are no corners. The smoothness and refinement is particularly evident at the top end where the DragonFly Red, for example, is more forward and edgier. The Cobalt’s presentation is linear without elevated bass or top end.

Another aspect the Cobalt excels in is micro- and macrodynamics. While a rock band or an orchestra delivers a good punch, the Cobalt distinguishes small details around a single instrument or the interplay between two, for example oboe and harpsichord. This works for both, electric rock music and classical music. It brought the best out of the $700 Dunu Zen earphone.

The sonic image was like an analog photo: atmospheric, with a good depth of field, never overpixelated or oversharpened.

In terms of headroom, I don’t find it inferior to the dongles with a second, balanced circuit such as the $200 EarMen Sparrow or the $85 Shanling UA2. So no reason to fiddle with different headphone cables – one problem less. I never had the impression I just had a little stick in my MacBook but a desktop sized integrated dac-amp. Using the Cobalt as a dac with the Schiit Magni amp worked well and underlined its sonic quality.

The Shanling UA2, in comparison has a less linear response with a boosted and bumpier sounding bass, and thinner mids lacking the Cobalt’s creamier texture, sense of lightness/relaxation, and great midrange clarity. It also features a more powerful balanced output. The Shanling UA2 is a severe power drain on your mobile device.

Value – It’s the Dac, Stupid

At $299, the DragonFly Cobalt does not come cheap compared to its competitors, but, does it, really? The Cobalt was initially marketed as a dac, at a time when most competition was company internal; and it is the dac where its money is. The dac is the “voice” (sound quality), and the amplification makes it louder (sound quantity). Louder does not mean a better sound. Garbage in, garbage out…you know that.

Audiophiles pay $$$$ for a good dac for their home system, and they may add sophisticated USB noise filtering and re-clockers that add more $$$$. The DragonFly Cobalt has a bit of each built in – the competition, including the DragonFly Red, does not – and it shows in terms of sound quality. So, what you get for your money is – duhhh – better sound quality.

Therefore, if you get satisfaction from not having made compromises to sound quality, the Cobalt is for you. If you get satisfaction from a bang for your buck, get the Red or something similar.

YouTube Video

Concluding Remarks

The DragonFly Cobalt is a “piece-of-mind” product. It has its price but you cannot go wrong as it offers the best compromise between sound quality, amplification, and power consumption. Its value is mainly defined by sound quality combined with its long-term usability (without consumable built-in battery). I have treasured my DragonFly Black for over 5 years now, and for good reasons. And it will not be different with the superior DragonFly Cobalt.

The lesson learnt from reviewing dongles in the last year is that there are large differences in sound quality at similar specs. And the Cobalt leads the pack.

Quite frankly, I had not expected the DragonFly Cobalt to sound this good. Considering its qualities, the Cobalt is my new standard for miniature portable dac/amps.

Until next time…keep on listening!

Contact us!

Disclaimer

The DragonFly Cobalt was kindly provided by AudioQuest upon my request and I thank them for that.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

Gallery

The post AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt USB DAC + Preamp + Headphone Amp Review 1 – It’s Natural appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Cons — No gain switch; rather big; non-serviceable battery.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The EarMen TR-Amp is a powerful neutral but not sterile of generic sounding integrated headphone amp (dac/pre-amp) that drives headphones up to 300 Ω) with ease. Made in Europe.

INTRODUCTION

EarMen recently appeared big on our radar out of nowhere, with their two models the TR-Amp (“transportable amp”) and the Sparrow dongle. The company is a subdivision of premium manufacturer  Auris Audio. Earmen is registered in the US, where most of its stakeholders are from. The new Chicago warehouse has its focus on the North American market. The production is currently in Krusavec, Serbia [video of production facilities]. EarMen is “Made in Europe”.

I have used the EarMen TR-amp for 4-5 months, mainly with the 300 Ω Sennheiser HD 600 headphones. This worked so well and the TR-amp so so easy to operate that I had real problems writing an actual review other than telling you that it “works well and is really good”.

I apologize to EarMen that it took me so long to write this article.

SPECIFICATIONS

ES9038Q2M SABRE dac chip

Inputs: USB C (DATA & charge)
Outputs: 6.3 mm/3.5mm (stereo)

Headphone Amp with Texas Instruments TPA6120 chip:
THD+N: (2.7V, 32R) <0.005% SNR: >114dB
Dynamic Range: >107 dB
Power: >2.5V/400 mW (16 Ω); >3.4V/350 mW (32 Ω)

Output Impedance: <1 Ω

Manual: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0250/1758/1634/files/TR-Amp_1_2_3_4.pdf?v=1593165092

Tested at: $249

Product page: https://earmen-shop.com/products/tr-amp

PHYSICAL THINGS

In the box are:

• TR-amp
• USB-C to USB-A cable, 1 m
• rubber ring (for strapping TR-amp to phone)
• storage meshbag
• manual/warranty card

The case is of sturdy aluminum, knob and switch are metal, there is nothing plastic. Rubber feet on the bottom prevent the metal chassis from being scratched/scratching the underlying surface such as a smartphone. The build is so sturdy that you can probably use it in self-defence – and it will still work thereafter.

The EarMen TR-amp features the TOTL ES9038Q2M SABRE dac chip and the Texas Instruments TPA6120 headphone amplifier chip. 

FUNCTIONALITY

The EarMen TR-amp connects to smartphones vial plug ‘n’ play, it needs a driver for Windows (download) and none for the Mac.

WHAT IT DOES

• Can be connected to phone or Windows/Mac computers or Android/iOS sources
• Works as a pre-amplifier or dac when connected to a dedicated headphone amplifier
• Plays two earphones/headphones simultaneously through its two outputs (3.5 mm/6.3 mm)
• Drives small loudspeakers through its RCA outputs
• Plays and charges simultaneously through its two USB-C ports (5V power supply/charger)
• …Or runs on its built-in 3700 mAh battery
• Handles even power-hungry headphones well, imo up to 300 Ω

WHAT IT DOES NOT

• There is no choice of different digital filters
• It has no gain switch
• The output impedance is fixed
• Cannot be used as an amp only as it has no analog inputs

The EarMen TR-amp is a rather large for use on the road – I’d store it in my pocket rather than strapping it onto my phone. I like using it in bed with my phone, where size does not matter…at least amp size does not.

OPERATION

Operation is straight forward. “The music plays” – as they say – in the front and back panels…

Front Panel

The front panel of the EarMen TR-Amp features 2 outputs: a 3.5 mm and a 6.3 mm, which points to its particular suitability for full-sized headphones. The “On-Off/Volume” is nicely protruding out and therefore convenient to handle. That little LED serves mainly as an audio format indicator, and less so than a battery indicator: EarMen TR-amp is on (“white”), connected/PCM (“green”), MQA (“magenta”), DSD (cyan), charging (“flashing blue”), and low battery (“flashing red”). It is well visible while inconspicuous.

Rear Panel

The back panel sports two USB-C ports, a Pre Out/Direct switch, and RCA outputs.

One of the UBS-C outputs is used for charging, the other for data transfer. Both can be deployed simultaneously. When the EarMen TR-amp is connected to a computer, it is running on battery by default. You have to connect the other USB-C port to a USB-charger or external battery pack for charging.

The EarMen TR-amp’s amplifier function can be bypassed when connecting it to a (more powerful desktop) amplifier through the 2 RCA outputs. The switch serves the purpose of specifying the volume control. in the “Direct” position, the EarMen TR-amp’s volume knob is being disabled and the full-strength signal is being transferred through the”Line Out” into the external amp, which requires its own volume control. In the “Pre Out” position, the TR-amp’s volume control is activated.

Independent of the switch position both headphone outputs are always operative and two people can listen simultaneously.

AMPLIFICATION

The EarMen TR-amp works well with the Sennheiser HD 300 Ω impedance headphone (and therefore most on the market), but its 350 mW into 32 Ω would probably not drive more exotic 600 Ω headphones well. Power details in the specs above.

POWER CONSUMPTION/PLAY TIME

Ear Men claims up to 10 hrs of play time but does not give you specifics on the setup. I tested with the power-hungry Sennheiser HD 600 and iPhone 5S at a “normal” but pretty healthy volume level. After 6 h and 15 minutes, the indicator light started blinking, which means the the battery level and dropped below 20%. This points to 7-8 h playtime with this setting.

I value this as being in line with the manufacturer’s claims.

SOUND

My tonal preference and testing practice

My test tracks explained

Equipment used: EarMen TR-amp; Macbook Air, iPhone SE 1st gen.; Apple camera adapter, ddHifi TC28i adapter; Schiit Magni 2U headphone amplifier with Audioquest Forest and Snake Oil Taipan RCA interconnects; 300 Ω Sennheiser HD 600 headphone, 16 Ω Sennheiser IE 300 earphone.

The “ingredients” of the EarMen TR-amp are top notch, but how good is the “cooked meal”? Such a device works well with your phone on the go (if you like strapping it around it), but it can also be deployed as a desktop amp, and it can also be used as pre-amp or dac, when connected to a “bigger” dedicated headphone amplifier.

I tested the TR-amp in these scenarios:

1. …as dac-amp with MacBook plus headphones/earphones
2. …as dac-amp with phone
3. …as dac AND pre-amp with Schiit Magni 2 Uber, sourced by MacBook

The EarMen TR-amp, just like the Sparrow, produces a neutral sound with a tinge of warmth added to spare us from a clinical, lifeless, or overwhelming sonic reproduction. Straddling that thin line, it allows for harmonizing with both, neutral and warm headphones/earphones.

Extension towards both ends is very good and so are headroom, sense of space, and dynamics. The punch is natural and works with electronic, rock, and acoustic music such as symphony or jazz. The image has a good volume and body, it does neither sound lean or syrupy thick. The TR-amp preserves the music’s midrange clarity and brings vocals out intimately.

I also could never hear any noticeable hiss, not even with the sensitive 16 Ω Sennheiser IE 300. But it brought out the bassy side of these naturally bassy iems without muddying or congesting the sound.

It is really boring to report the sound of an amp that does not alter music and reproduces it as should be. The EarMen TR-amp simply works and has been for quite some time for me.

Using the EarMen TR-amp with as a pre-amp (“Pre-Out”) and dac (“Direct”) with the warmer Schiit amp adds a bit of colour and results in added power and heft. This is only valid for this particular setup . Sonic results will vary with different amps connected.

What I’d like to see is a gain switch for easier volume fine adjustments with sensitive earphones.

EARMEN TR-AMP COMPARED

I can only offer the $199 British nano iDSD Black Label (“BL”), which is a bit smaller and less powerful (285 mW vs. 350 mW @ 32Ω) – both feature a 3700 mAh battery. The BL does not drive the Sennheiser HD 600 as well as the TR-amp, but it has two 3.5 mm outputs, one of which (“IE Match“) offers increased output impedance for sensitive iems. The more powerful TR-amp is rather designed towards full-sized cans with its 6.3 mm output – whereas the BL caters more to the less power hungry peripherals…although both play both well.

The BL is warmer sounding and therefore more limited to the more neutral headphones/earphones, it may sound muffled with warm earphones/headphones. The EarMen TR-amp is more versatile in this respect. The BL has the choice of two audio filters, the TR-Amp does not. And the BL has a pseudo 3.5 mm balanced circuit.

In terms of connectivity, the EarMen TR-amp has a L and R line out, the BL has a single 3.5 mm line out. Both can be used as dacs, and only the EarMen as pre-amp. The TR-amp, with its separate UBC-C ports for charging and data can be charged while playing, the BL with its USB-A port can draw power from the source (“computer”) or run on battery, but it cannot play and charge simultaneously.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

The Earmen TR-amp has been playing everything I threw at it in the last few months, from sensitive iems to the 300 Ω Sennheiser HD 600. And it played them all very well. It is a robust classic design that feels and sounds good, that is powerful enough for almost anything, and that is reasonably priced. It simply works for me and don’t want to miss it.

What else can I say?

Until next time…keep on listening!

Contact us!

You find an INDEX of all our dac/amp reviews HERE.

DISCLAIMER

The Earmen TR-amp was provided by Earmen upon my request. I thank them and also the Audiofool who had established the contact. The Audiofool has reviewed the Earmen TR-amp here.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

GALLERY

The post EarMen (By Auris) TR-Amp DAC + Pre-Amp + Headphone Amp Review – Work Horse appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Cons — No (affordable) linear power supply offered as add-on; learning curve; awkward operation with 2 hands; bluetooth module not yet implemented.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Khadas Tone2 Pro is an innovative miniature desktop dac with integrated headphone amplifier that offers a ton of functionality qualifying it as a competent “Jack of All Trades”.

INTRODUCTION

Khadas is a Shenzen company run by a team of audio enthusiasts. Their first release was the infamous “Toneboard”, a $99 dac/amp that came “naked” without housing. Much of the company’s inventory caters to electronics junkies with soldering skills.

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF THE KHADAS TONE2 PRO

The Khadas Ton2 ProPro is a miniature integrated dac-amp that works with Window and Mac computers as well as with Android and iOS devices. It shares certain features with traditional dongles such as the EarMen Sparrow or DragonFly Cobalt in that it is connected to a phone or computer via USB. But a dongle relies entirely on the power of its source and only outputs into 2.5 mm/3.5 mm/4.4 mm audio. The Khadas Tone2 Pro can be powered by its audio source or independently, and has more output options/possibilities than a dongle. It shows, however, less flexibility when connected to a phone because it needs an external power supply in this setup.

The Khadas Tone2 Pro’s distinctive features are:

• Unique encoder knob
• Flexible power supply options (source device or linear power supply)
• Balanced RCA connectors (cable available from Khadas; backwards compatible for connecting a single-ended headphone amp)
• Reversible S/PDIF coaxial input/output (for connecting a CD player or use as USB to coax converter)
• 4.4 mm balanced headphone socket (plus single-ended 3.5 mm socket)
• Add-on bluetooth module (still being developed)

SPECIFICATIONS

Khadas lists the Tone2 Pro’s full specs in every detail; they can be downloaded here. The most important ones are:

DAC chipset: ESS ES9038Q2M 32-Bit Stereo Mobile Audio DAC
Amplifier chipsets: I/V Stage: TI OPA1612 x2, LPF Stage: TI OPA1612 x2, Buffer Stage: RT6863D x3
Output Impedance: <0.3 Ω
SNR: 119-121 dB (depending on output)
Up to 32bit 384KHz sample rate, bit-perfect DSD512, and -118dB THD+N (line-out).
MQA decoding
Compatibility: Windows/Mac, Android, iOS

Maximum output, single-ended circuit (3.5 mm socket):

• 35.3 mW @ 150 Ω (2.0 Vrms)
• 125 mW @ 32 Ω (2.3 Vrms)
• 114 mW @ 16 Ω (1.35 Vrms)

Maximum output, balanced circuit (4.4 mm socket):

• 83 mW @ 300 Ω (5.0 Vrms)
• 167 mW @ 150 Ω (5.0 Vrms)
• 211 mW @ 32 Ω (2.6 Vrms)
• 123 mW @ 16 Ω (1.4 Vrms)

Full Specifications: https://dl.khadas.com/products/tone2/specs/Khadas_Tone2_Pro_Specs.pdf
Product Page: https://www.khadas.com/tone2pro
Purchase Links: hifigo or amazon
Tested at $199.90

PHYSICAL THINGS AND FUNCTIONALITY

In the box are the actual device, a USB-C to USB-C cable, and the manual. The very small Khadas Tone2 Pro ‘s enclosure and the encoder knob are made of aircraft grade aluminium, with a polycarbonate bottom cover on a soft silicone pad – in order not to scratch the underlying surface.

The manual is pretty confusing when it comes to setup with a computer (Mac is not mentioned at all but it worked just upon plugin), firmware update, and operation, but there are excellent videos available that offer all necessary solutions.

User Manual: https://dl.khadas.com/products/tone2/manual/tone2pro_user_manual.pdf

Firmware Upgrade: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRswdL1HPZU

Balanced RCA: https://www.khadas.com/balanced-rca

Khadas Discussion Forum: https://forum.khadas.com

Khadas Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/khadas.official

CONNECTIVITY: THE SKY’S YOUR LIMIT

The Khadas Tone2 Pro offers a variety of connections – and therefore a variety of usages.

Inputs: USB-C (computer/phone/raspberry-type single-board computer), I2S (linear power supply, bluetooth module), coaxial (CD-player).

Outputs: 3.5 mm and .4 mm “balanced” headphone sockets (can be used simultaneously), balanced RCA (backward compatible), and the coaxial can be reversed with a firmware change.

INTRODUCING BALANCED RCA

Khadas developed “balanced” RCA connectors which they implemented in their Tone2 Pro. You can connect balanced RCA cables and stream to a balanced amp. While this is a great idea, such cables do not exist yet, and other manufacturers have yet to embrace the balanced RCA technology (but Kadhas sell you a $40 balanced RCA to XLR adapter). No third-party amp with balanced RCA connectors exists presently. Good that these connectors are backward compatible – you can use your old RCA cables.

However, balance amps exist and in order to connete them with the Tone2 Pro, Khadas are selling RCA to XLR adapter. Problem solved…for now. But other manufacturers will have to embrace the balanced RCA technology for the technology to survive.

THE CRAZY VOLUME KNOB IS ALSO A JOYSTICK

Khadas introduce a hybrid digital/analog volume control knob that works like both a normal rotary knob and joystick.

You can turn it like a standard volume knob but also push it sideways…but you need to hold the light device with the other hand during operation…awkward when it is sitting on an amp. Typically each two lateral pushes cycle you through the different modes from volume through track forward/backward, gain, input selection, and digital filter. Here the overview of all modes (from the user manual):

In each mode, you rotate the knob to change the functions as indicated in this graphic. Any setting is visualized by a colour combination in the RGB ring light at the base of the knob. While it is painful to read is, you just watch these two videos to get the details:

PRACTICAL USE OF THE KHADAS TONE2 PRO

In real life, you can use the Khadas Tone2 Pro as follows, for example:

CD player/streamer/computer/tablet/phone –> Khadas Tone2 Pro –> headphone

CD player/streamer/computer/tablet/phone –> Khadas Tone2 Pro –> headphone amp –> headphone

CD player/streamer/computer/table/phone –> Khadas Tone2 Pro –> stereo amp –> loudspeakers

To give you some idea: I first connected the Khadas Tone2 Pro to my computer via USB-C and also used the computer as power source. This was just fine for listening to iems and even the 300 ohm Sennheiser HD 600. I then added power by connecting the Schiit Magni 2 Uber headphone amp via RCA cables. The Khadas Tone2 Pro now served as pre-amp.

I then moved to my stereo system and connected the Khadas Tone2 Pro to my CD player via coaxial RCA. I also connected my phone to the Khadas Tone2 Pro’s USB-C port…and had two music input sources to choose from. I switched between the sources using the rotary function of the dial after having it set to “Input” mode….and listened to CDs with my Sennheiser HD 600 connected to the Khadas Tone2 Pro 3.5 mm socket. I now had to option to use the RCA out to connect the Khadas Tone2 Pro either to a headphone amp or to the stereo’s power amp.

Streaming music from your phone to the Khadas Tone2 Pro via Bluetooth would be an interesting asset. This functionality has not been implemented yet – a add-on Bluetooth module is presently being developed.

SUPPLIED POWER VS POWER SUPPLY

The Khadas Tone2 Pro is driven from the USB-port of your computer without problems. I was told that a notebook is an electrical firestorm and that there is some electrical noise associated with Mains power at 20, 60, and 180 Hz on laptop USB.

The Khadas Tone2 Pro features a second USB-C port (labelled I2S), designed for input from a Linear [Voltage] Power Supply (“LPS”). An LPS supplies a constant current, which minimizes electrical noise and generates ultra-clean signal-to-noise ratios. But I was warned that the “wrong” LPS could make the Khadas Tone2 Pro (and similare devices) “dull and uninspiring” sounding. When in use, I2S prioritizes the LPS over the USB source. Separating data flow and power, and supplying power from a “clean” LPS serves the purpose of improving sound quality. This is particularly important when the Khadas Tone2 Pro is used as dac. Any distortion/impurity in the signal will be exaggerated by the attached power amplifier.

And while an LPS may feed the Khadas Tone2 Pro with “clean” power, this also opens a can or worms.

First, an LPS is expensive. At a minimum, you spend 40% of the Khadas Tone2 Pro’s purchasing price – when you live in North America. In Europe, a quality LPS sets you back 120 EUR. And even if you convert your old microwave into an LPS, it takes $50 in parts. This is cost prohibitive.

Second, these LPS are bulky and heavy, which is contradicting the idea of the Khadas Tone2 Pro’s lightweight and small dimensions. This is less of an issue when don’t locate the LPS on your desk but use it as a kick plate underneath.

Third, the music coming out of the computer’s USB port will still carry impurities.

Khadas failed to design an affordable LPS as an add-on, which I consider a flaw considering all the good ideas that went into the Tone2 Pro. After all, the buyer wants a perfectly functional device out of the box.

So, what are the alternatives? After all, any dac or amp comes with its own power supply – and you don’t have to worry about it – and therefore not pay extra through your nose. I tested a $15 powerbank (stable power supply), Apple stock 5 V chargers for iPhone and ipad (all switched-mode power supplies but of good quality), and two low-noise power supplies provided by ifi Audio (for a separate review). The potential issue with switching currents is electrical noise being introduced to the signal.

First of all, all of the above principally powered the Khadas Tone2 Pro. So the question is whether LPSs are overkill. We will answer this question below.

SOUND IN DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS

My tonal preference and testing practice

My test tracks explained

Equipment used: MacBook Air, iPhone SE (first generation), Marantz SACD8005; Khadas Tone2 Pro, Schiit Magni 2U; KBEAR TRI I3, Shozy Form 1.4, Sennheiser HD 25 and HD 600; ddHifi adapters DJ35AG/DJ44AG; diverse power supplies (ifi Audio iPower & iPower X, Apple iPad 12 W switching power supply, Tzumi 10,000 mAh power bank); Snake Oil Taipan and Radio Shack RCA interconnects; Amazon basics coaxial RCA cable.

Setup 1: Khadas Tone2 Pro with MacBook Air and TRI3 and Shozy Form 1.4 earphones with DJ35AG/DJ44AG adapters

This test served the purpose of comparing the single-ended and balanced circuits using 2.5 mm balanced cables and the DJ35AG/DJ44AG adapters. I used the easily driven Shozy Form 1.4 and the harder-to-drive planar magnetic TRI3 earphones, both on low gain.

The balanced circuit was much superior over the single-ended one in that the sonic experience was much more three dimensional and atmospheric, with a much better spatial cues, more note weight…and it was simply louder. The technicalities were all quite good with one downside: the timbre was rather digital and a bit edgy for the cello sonatas I had started my test off with…and the sound was lively and crisp with rock music, though the bass could have been a bit meatier.

I mentioned it above: both outputs work simultaneously…two can listen.

Setup 2: MacBookAir with Khadas Tone2 Pro and Sennheiser HD 600 headphones

I could only test the “weaker” 3.5 mm single-ended output with the 300 Ω Sennheiser HD 600 headphones…and I was pushing the Khadas Tone2 PRO’s limits (on high gain). I achieved an astounding headroom considering this small device, although the dynamics stayed on the “polite” side. This combination principally worked, but it had reached its limit. I would not push any harder-to-drive headphones.

Setup 3: Marantz SACD8005 with Khadas Tone2 Pro and Sennheiser HD 600 headphone

This experiment served testing the coaxial input from the CD player with uncompressed music. I used a $12 CAD amazon basics coaxial cable that is surprisingly well made. The SACD has its own integrated headphone amplifier so I could A/B from the same source.

This combination sounded quite impressive with lots of headroom and transparency. In comparison, the integrated Marantz headphone amplifier (with unknown but probably high output impedance) sounded somewhat muffled with less extension.

Setup 4: MacBook Air with Khadas Pro into Schiit Magni 2 Uber and Sennheiser HD 600/HD25 headphones

In this setup, the Khadas Tone2 Pro was only used as a dac, with the Schiit as the amp. And it literally rocked. The punch returned to the Senns and so did naturalness. Yes, this combination sounded more natural than the Khadas’s integrated amplifier. Switching from the 300 Ω HD 600 to the 70 Ω HD 25 added some lightness and ease…but this probably has to do with the Schiit’s limited output rather than the T2 Pro.

I also played with cables and compared the sturdy Snake Oil Taipan interconnects (with their German Sommer wire) with some 20-year-old Radio Shack ones. And, compared to the Radio Shack ones, the Snake Oil added…no, not snake oil, but bass, as if a subwoofer had been added. Which one is better comes down to personal taste.

I then replaced the Khadas Tone2 Pro with the Dragonfly Cobalt as dac, which also sounded great but slightly less substantial. This probably lies in the quality of Khadas’s dedicated RCA outputs.

And what did the different power supplies contribute?

I tested the Khadas Pro with the different power supplies (ifi Audio iPower/iPower X, Apple iPad 12W switching supply, Tzumi power bank, Macbook’s USB power), musically sourced by the MacBook. Since the Khadas prioritizes the I2P port (it switches automatically when an external power source is connected), A/B-ing was easy.

What did I expect between Mac power and external power? From discussions and company advertisements/claims, the electric noises should should have been decreased – and the sonic impact should have increased with an external low-noise supply.

What differences did I hear? Absolutely none, zero, zilch. This relates to the Mac as the music source while using the Khadas as amp and as dac in combination with the Schiit amp. I would have expected this for integrated amp, but additionally amplifying the signal with the Schiit should also have further amplified the noise.

I also alternated the external power supplies when playing music from the Marantz SACD player…and could also not hear any differences between them. But I noticed an excellent clarity and headroom, which probably reflected the uncompressed nature of the music compared to the compressed formats on the Mac.

In the end, there were too many unknowns to allow for a conclusive answer on the LPS question other than that an external power supply likely does not make the world or a difference. The cheap compromise would be the power bank.

Talking to audio engineer Amir from Audio Science Reviews (who had also reviewed the Khadas Tone2 Pro), he told me that different power supplies can make a small measurable difference, which are not significant enough to justify their purchase. The Khadas Tone2 Pro’s performance is superb without.

I don’t object.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

The Khadas Tone2 Pro is not only a “Jack of all trades”, it is also a master of many. It incorporates a lot interesting concepts and innovations – and it works by itself or in combination with essentially anything. It has come a long way from the original “naked” Toneboard for the DIY person to this turnkey device that will provide users with lots of fun…after an initial learning curve. A unique product that is uniquely good.

Recommended.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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You find an INDEX of all our dac/amp reviews HERE.

DISCLAIMER

The Khadas Tone2 Pro was kindly provided by hifigo for my review. Thank you very much.

You can get the Khadas Tone2 Pro from hifigo or amazon.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

GALLERY

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Cons — Deserves more midrange transparency; bassy for some audiophiles; poor-quality silicone eartips; recessed MMCX connectors do not fit standard aftermarket cables.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Sennheiser IE 300 is the company’s audiophile answer to their own PRO series. It is leaning strongly on the Sennheiser IE 400 PRO, sonically, with a warm and safe signature retaining the 400’s bass boost.

INTRODUCTION

Sennheiser microphones are the world’s best. Even US president Joe “Buy American” Biden addressed the nation through a German Sennheiser at his January 2021 inauguration. And whereas Sennheiser headphones are still considered belonging to the very best, their earphones have been exposed to a much tighter competition.

The company still relies entirely on the dynamic-driver principle and proprietary or fixed cables, whereas the wide-awake competition floods the market with high-quality multi-drivers and exchangeable/universal after-market accessories at increasingly lower prices.

Sennheiser have been holding on to the proven technologies for three reasons: dynamic drivers provide a natural timbre and a cohesive sound, and they have very low THD (total harmonic distortion)…a symphony orchestra sounds authentic and you can turn the volume up without regret when listening to, let’s say, the “Scorpions”. The downside is limitations in the technicalities such as detail retrieval.

The company’s answer to the changing market was the PRO series issued 2018-2019: three in-ears with detachable cables aiming at professional musicians. We at audioreviews.org have reported on these from all angles, addressing the three models individually (IE 40 PRO, IE 400 PRO, IE 500 PRO)….and we recently drew comparisons between them…with the IE 400 PRO keeping the upper hand.

More recently, Sennheiser recognized the desire of “recreational listeners” for an “audiophile” mid-price iem and designed the IE 300, tuned in Singapore by their company acoustician Virgilio Pasqua Jr. It is essentially an evolution of the IE 400 PRO – both are very similar sounding.

The IE 300’s transducer is “Made in Germany”, the iem is assembled in China, and it was first released in Asia. The company is obviously having a good look at the Asian markets, which appear to be the world’s largest for audio.

SPECIFICATIONS

Drivers: Single Dynamic Driver, Pressure Chamber
Impedance: 16 Ω
Sensitivity: 124 dB/V (1 kHz / 1 Vrms)…very easy to drive
Frequency Range: 6 – 20,000 Hz
Total Harmonic Distortion: < 0,08 % (1 kHz, 94 dB SPL)
Tested at: $300
Product page: https://en-de.sennheiser.com/ie-300
Quick Guide: Download

PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY

In the box you find:

• IE 300 Earphones
• Cable with MMCX connectors and 3.5mm plug
• Silicone & Memory Foam Sets (S, M, L)
• Carry Case
• Cleaning Tool
• User Manuals

The earpieces show the typical Sennheiser polycarbonate build. They are functional and don’t quite have a jewelry appeal but the company understands material science like no other so I trust them. The shells are small, light, and comfortable…which is a huge advantage over their bulky multi-driver competition.

The cable is stiffer than that of the IE 40/400 PRO and all of these show noise transfer when wiggled. In this case, “microphonics” is minimized by the cable’s texture. There is no noise problem when moving. And the cable is tangle free.

Another interesting design are the earhooks: the user determines their shape, they are very comfortable and keep the earpieces safely in place…as opposed to merciless memory wires that take over and attempt pulling your ears off your head.

The Sennheiser IE 300 have marginally shorter nozzles than the IE 400/500 PRO. And they deploy a new kind of Sennheiser eartip (not the ones you can order from their website) which has the same umbrella sizes but a thinner membrane than their previous standard tip – used, for example – on the Sennheiser Momentum In-Ear and the PRO series. The new eartip is also shorter than the previous design.

The combination of relatively short nozzle and tip together with the thin membrane creates a real fit and isolation issue for my large ear canals. I had problems inserting the IE 300 nozzles as deep into my ear canals as desired. As a rule of thumb, a thinner membrane may result in a fit a size smaller than needed. This has already been a problem for many with the Pioneer CH3 earphone, for example.

I had to purchase the new Spinfit CP100 XL (14 mm umbrella diameter), which are longer than the stock tips to get the fit and isolation promoted by Sennheiser. That worked.

In the Sennheiser IE 300, Jannik Schentek’s proprietary cable connector design for the PRO series was replaced by recessed MMCX connectors. This could have been a good idea if it let you connect aftermarket cables. But none of mine fit because of Sennheiser’s recessed socket, presumably aiming for added stability and durability of the naturally unreliable MMCX design….and controlling the after-market market.

The previous proprietary connectors had worked (technically) for me, they were robust and reliable. MMCX connectors are historically prone to failure so that most manufacturers have replaced this type with the reliable 0.78 mm, two-pin.

These two-pins also sit firmly in place and do not rotate like a helicopter rotor. When taking the Sennheiser IE 300 out of their case, the ear hooks will have to be re-aligned every time.

TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES

Follow these links for some background information:

My tonal preference and testing practice

My test tracks explained

Equipment used: iPhone SE (1st generation) with or without Audioquest Dragonfly Back 1.5/Earstudio HUD100. MacBook Air with EarMen Sparrow, Earstudio HUD100, and Schiit Fulla (1st generation); iPod Classic 6th generation.

Considering that the Sennheiser IE 300 graph is essentially identical with the Sennheiser IE 400 PRO’s, and the fact that both models are $50 apart, the primary question is what the sonic difference between the two is. Both are driven easily by even the least powerful phone or dap.

The Sennheiser IE 400 PRO is easily the best sounding model of their PRO series – and I like and use it a lot. Sennheiser know how to create an appealing, agreeable sound without any unpleasant peaks, but the IE 400 PRO does still not quite reach “high-end” status. It falls short against the “kilobuck” iems with a smaller soundstage and less clarity and midrange transparency/definition, but scores in timbre and THD (and big in size/weight/comfort/fit).

Sennheiser addressed the clarity issue in their IE 300 model. The biggest difference between the two models I hear is actually in the midrange. In comparison to the Sennheiser IE 400 PRO, vocals in the Sennheiser IE 300 are more intimate and lively, but also leaner, and the midrange as a whole has increased transparency.

This results in a better midrange atmosphere and spatial cues compared to the Sennheiser IE 400 PRO. But this improvement is not earth shattering.

The Sennheiser IE 400 PRO, in comparison, have fuller bodied, more relaxed, smoother vocals and a shallower stage than the Sennheiser IE 300. Depends what you prefer!

Bass response is pretty much identical between the models. Results may vary depending on the eartips used. Bass is relatively boosted, but less so compared to previous Sennheiser iems such as the Momentum In-Ear.

There are differences in the lower treble where the Sennheiser IE 300 have a small peak – which appears to be real (and not a coupler resonance). This peak may help enhance the midrange transparency.

In terms of treble, I cannot detect any noticeable differences between the two models either. There is a good extension, the lower treble is boosted, but this single driver does not reach the clarity and definition of a dedicated piezo.

In summary, the Sennheiser IE 300 PRO build on the the sonic legacy of the Sennheiser IE 400 PRO with added midrange clarity – and it plays all genres of music well. Such sonic versatility plays a huge role in customer satisfaction.

INTERNAL FEEDBACK

Co-blogger KopiOkaya auditioned the Sennheiser IE 300 earlier in Singapore. He found them congested sounding and could not handle the thin stock silicone tips, which he replaced with the more substantial Spinfit CP100.

This does not come as a surprise as the Asian tonal flavour is different from the western one: preferred is a more glaring midrange produced by a boost in the 2-4 kHz region paired with a toned-down bass. But he also found the treble “a bit peaky”…and that’s the tenor I found elsewhere. Young guys with “sharp” ears: be warned.

Sennheiser have always been going their own way, not influenced by any trends. The IE 300’s “forward dipping”, gently U-shaped frequency response graph produces a warm and coherent “safe sound” and maximizes the driver’s low harmonic distortion quality: you turn any Sennheiser iem up, and they will never be “shouty” or aggressive sounding…the tradeoff for midrange transparency.

MY PERSONAL OPINION

…should not matter to you. Everybody has their own taste and no $300 iem is perfect. But of all these iems that have gone through my hands in the past 5 years, only the fewest have appealed to me for longer periods of time. And the Sennheiser IE 300 and IE 400 PRO belong to this handful.

Let me give you my holistic view: they fit me extremely well, they are comfortable over long periods, and the sound does not lose its attraction even after hours of listening – which is rare for me.

Yep, they do not have the world’s best transparency or staging, but they have this special timbre, the right punch, and they are never fatiguing. And they work with any source and music for me. They play loud if needed, and, most of all , they have provided me a lot of pleasure. And that’s the difference between recreational listening and a reviewer’s analytical listening.

VALUE

At $300, the Sennheiser IE 300 don’t come cheap, but value is correlated with usage. If you use them all the time, the value is ok. But if they catch dust in your collection, it is not. There are a lot of Chi-Fi products on the market in this price category which are technically better, but I have yet to find one that is as cohesive sounding and as emotionally appealing as the IE 300. Sennheiser put a lot of R&D into their products, and they pay German salaries and benefits. You also get a 2-year warranty.

WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE FROM SENNHEISER IN THE FUTURE

First of all, there is nothing wrong with holding on to single dynamic driver earphones – there are plenty of examples of the type in the premium segment up to $2000 – and I prefer them over multi-drivers for the above mentioned reasons (timbre; low THD; small driver/shell size = comfort, ).

But Sennheiser may also want to offer a more “audiophile” tuning with a flatter bass and a slightly more elevated 1-2 kHz area, which would increase midrange clarity and open up the soundstage. Offering both tuning types would address a wider audience.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

With their IE 300, Sennheiser went two steps forward and one step back. They advance the sound of their IE 400 PRO marginally (at a lower price), but they irritate us with lesser-quality silicone tips and a pseudo-proprietary version of the unreliable MMCX cable connector that has been phased out by many manufacturers. 

The Sennheiser IE 300 will appeal to listeners who want to avoid unpleasant surprises. They are a safe choice for everyday listening. The company’s sound engineers know how to provide a level of listening pleasure beyond mere technical quality.

Sennheiser are planning to release a “balanced” 2.5 mm cable for the IE 300 for use with balanced amplifier circuits such as the EarMen Sparrow. This will increase the IE 300’s soundstage and headroom. I will update this review once I get my hands on such a cable.

In the meantime, which one would I choose? The Sennheiser IE 300 or IE 400 PRO? Easy: the one I get the better deal on. Both are recommended.

Until next time…keep on listening!

Contact us!

DISCLAIMER

The Sennheiser IE 300 was kindly provided by Sennheiser Canada/USA before its North American release and I thank them very much for that. I also appreciate the responsiveness of everybody at Sennheiser USA and Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG in Germany over the last 2 years.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

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