Best dongle dac reddit gaming I personally liked the LKKLUYIC "USB C to 3. The Personal Computer. A phone a mobile dac works best. I’ve heard it’s very good for its price ($250). 3 dongle since Maxwell uses Bluetooth 5. For example, if you use Qobuz to play hi-res audio, you won't be hearing hi-res audio through your USB DAC unless you use an app like UAPP. ) However, it's not necessarily how all USB dongles work. What's nice about the Qudelix 5k dac is u can use an inline mic with it or use the built in mic on the dac. Apple dongle does it job. Best part is, the Samsung dongle works with my Windows 10 laptop as well and quality of sound is better than that of an Android phone since I can set the Sound output at 196kHz/24bit 😌. CX-Pro CX31993 supports it. Thanks for all the comments in advance. 5mm output on a laptop or phone if your phone still has one. You don't necessarily need a PC to be a member of the PCMR. I'm looking to buy a cheap portable DAC or a USB-C Dac to use with my phone (Tidal or Apple Music lossless) - Galaxy Note 20 Ultra for daily usage. It's an mp3, dac, and Bluetooth hub all in one tbh. Music aspect is not really important for me This subreddit is for the budget minded audiophile that wants to grow out of soundbars, boomboxes, mini systems, portable bluetooth, lifestyle speakers, and PC peripheral branded audio solutions. So don’t let people fool you about this. A dac should be audibly transparent and anyone who says otherwise just likes to spend money. I then plugged the dongle dac to my laptop and it sounded as good as the other sources I plugged my headphones into. This subreddit is for the budget minded audiophile that wants to grow out of soundbars, boomboxes, mini systems, portable bluetooth, lifestyle speakers, and PC peripheral branded audio solutions. New to the hobby, I'm looking for the best dongle DAC to use with my mobile phone and pair with the moondrop aria Thanks The world isn't short of portable DACs nowadays as an increasing number of dongle DACs (like the Helm Audio Bolt) in particular hit the scene, but the AudioQuests remain the strongest propositions we've heard. 3. So really, there is no way to connect these. Costs some 900 bucks, order it on Apple India or buy from an Apple Store (original, made by Apple DAC). Dongle dacs in general also don't work for headsets only headphones. I also have a 4. Like the apple dongle is audibly transparent and if it gets loud enough, it is enough in most cases. The thx also measures well. No issue on DAC side and performance. The apple dongle was a shocking 1 of a kind product. imo the best way to find a product you want search something like "best dac/amp under X dollars" use search tool to filter results within a year then go through old audio forum posts and read what knowledgeable people have to say. There’s a $12,000 DAC that measures and preforms worse than the Apple dongle. If that doesn't work, look at an external amp/dac. Been using them on my desktop and have been loving them. I, for one, am not one of those people that believes that DAC performance begins and ends with the Apple dongle in specific or even dongles in general. It's ok to go with a simple cost effective setup, it's also OK to chase the Fidelity Dragon, everyone has to pick their own point on that spectrum. Amp/dac combo units are hard enough to find on a budget. A new DAC (dongle) I was planning to buy a portable dac for my Android and Windows PC. I'd like to try something with a more natural, warm, analog, musical sound. Once we get Samsing's adapter at work i'll get that better instead. Provided you buy an active dongle and not passive it will have its own DAC and Amp and bypass the onboard DAC/Amp. 5mm dongle When I try to boost the gain of the mic through software I get really bad noise. A well-reviewed cheap dongle with physical volume control will do it. sharkoon gaming dac pro s v2 - dont let the term "gaming" confuse you, its just marketing. I've been using Apple's headphone dongle with the DROP HIFIMAN 5XX and my experience have been good so far but I started to crave for more. My phone is fairly cheap, and clearly it's just a mediocre implementation, so I use a dongle, but I'd say you should try a cheap dongle before getting anything more expensive. It uses ES9038Q2M DAC chip that is used in some desktop DAC. - You're between a transportable, self contained Amp/DAC like the Topping NX4 DSD, Fiio Q3, or the Fiio BTR5/Qudelix 5k if you like having Bluetooth as an optional input, OR a Dongle/Thumb-drive style device like the Meizu Master Hifi, ddHifi TC35/TC44 (balanced), iBasso DC05, Tempotec Sonata HD Pro, Hidisz S8, E1DA, etc. Remember to consider what you want to use with the dongle, as plenty of them have output voltage limited to 1V which will restrict their capability to deal with demanding headphones. The apple dongle is best used alongside a sufficiently powerful amplifier. But also, honestly, a USB-C dongle dac for $15. The apple dongle has a usbc version FYI but if your looking for more cable options then go with the hiby fc1 at $26 usd or any fiio dac. The x3 can drive most headphones 32 -600 ohms. Low-mids (drums) have less kick on Apple dongle. $200 gets you one of the best DACS ever tested. This is why you see so many Chinese products in that sector, in the uk you can get a more powerful amp with a similar dac, in dongle format, for £40-£50 but it will be a Fiio/Hiby etc What the other guy said. He's asking for a dongle, not a USB DAC. Schiit fulla. So you can't compare power output from audio jack and usb, since they have different signal. There is only one definitive right answer to this question, and everyone wo tells otherwise haven't tested it or is full of shit. I currently have my headphones and mic plugged into my motherboard and I notice that the audio could be much better. I'm just saying that the 560 doesn't need one to be properly powered. There's even a teardown that confirms it. And the resolution was grainy. If you decide on a wired dongle dac, then I’d recommend the Questyle M15. Sure, but we’re discussing the apple dongle as a DAC only, ie feeding an Amp and then headphones. Any thoughts on this new Dongle dac released on headphonezone? My budget is around 2k rs. We have employed a "thank you" system for submissions. Get the Reddit app Scan this QR code to download the app now. I can also tell you that I don't agree with the people who say a dongle won't make much of a difference in most iem's then your standard 3. 5mm dongle such as the Apple dongle dac that costs less than $10, or straight off of the 3. I've noticed distortion on some android headphone outputs. It’s transparent conversion with a SINAD of 99, a clean DAC starts well below that so measurable differences above that are largely inaudible. It's possible for USB C connectors to have analog audio pins on them, so there can be USB It really depends on your use case. As another person pointed out, an apple dongle is plenty, but it is still not the best DAC, if youre ready to pay more, there are better options, also Apple dongle doesnt have any decoding capabilities, so if you listen to Hires FLAC, its useless Id recommend the Following: Hi there. No audible noise floor, I'm looking for a Dongle DAC or Bluetooth DAC (no real preference) to replace my dying BTR5. The best simple DAC is Apple's Type-C to 3. They are. It's a rare one off product in the market. my Sundaras (tested with Studio Ghibli albums) and there was only a 5% perceived difference between my JDS Atom amp+dac and the Apple Dongle. If you're going to be using it 100% at your desk, get a DAC/amp stack. . I currently own blon bl03, Moondrop SSR and OneOdio Pro 10 and airpods, soon planning to upgrade on Moondrop Kato depending on how reviewers suggest it to be. 5mm output doesn’t have to have volume buttons one with a input port (if that makes sense) Ive seen both of them with really good reviews and theyre about the same price in my country. It is only $10. As I feel in most cases, the DAC is the last thing to worry about in the chain and you often can't tell much difference between them. If you're on Android and can tell the difference between mp3 and flac files when listening to them, you'll need to get something like usb audio player pro to ensure the data passed to the dongle dac is in the correct audio resolution. My setup: Pixel 4 XL Tidal App (Hifi, not MQA) - I do If you’re looking for a desktop gaming DAC, the iFi Zen DAC 3 is a very compelling option for those seeking a blend of quality, versatility, and real value. Imo, you'd be fine with the apple dongle. The apple dongle basically consists of two main parts, a DAC (digital-to-analog converter) and an amplifier. My S23 doesn't have a jack, so I bought a Stouchi dongle from Amazon. I have Fiio KA3. All the other crap stuff like the sound blaster play series is a down grade from the apple dongle. I didn't try it on PC because I already have desktop DAC/Amp, but I don't expect any difference. Those at best can be considered as replacements for broken onboard audio, but not improvements. 4mm balanced output make it a stand-out for its price point in terms of features. It's 10 bucks. There are dongle dacs as well if you want mobility, from audioquest, hiby, xduoo and many others. The 58x were made to be used with mainstream headphone outputs like dongles and straight into the motherboards unless you use a more budget motherboard like b450 and the same level of a motherboard on the intel side, those have weak amps and cheap dacs on them (most) otherwise you will be fine using the dongle, however you could buy an amp like the zen dac (from what You don't necessarily need a PC to be a member of the PCMR. So getting a dongle was a no-brainer. Paired with Apple Dac with my phone or MacBook they sound great. 4mm balanced cable for my Sennheiser HD650 headphones, so I want something that has enough power to drive those as well. My budget is around 100 USD. Im not into super high end headphones but will be trying out DT990s and other recommended PC audiophile headphones Been thinking of getting the XDUOO MT-602 Tube Amp (Hybrid) with a dongle DAC, such as this one or this one for example. UPDATE - So I got the dongle delivered last night and I could here absolutely no difference at all connecting to my motherboard. Dongle on Android because there's no distortion that I noticed when used with my laptop. I use a tempotec sonata HD II and the tidal app does recognize it, but I don't know if it's like that in AM ): Don't misunderstand. So just quick and short. You'll just have to check them out and maybe choose the one that's a good mix of cheap and good build quality. What also would work is nybe something like a shiit Magni 3+ and an apple dongle, or any other dac. Usually people recommend to upgrade from the apple dongle is because of power, crappy build quality, weird power limit on android, or to take full advantage of their amp (because apple dongle only outputs 1vrms instead of 2), not because the dac part failed them. 4mm sockets. If you want to treat yourself to a nice DAC/AMP, go ahead, it won't hurt but don't expect it do magic. That just being the vocals Usb only send digital signal, your headphone need analog signal, so usb powered headphone will have dac and amp inside it to convert digital to analog. A good headphone with bad quality music and a bad amp/DAC won’t sound good. I can reccomend the Ifi Zen dac (I got the V2). Depending on many things including your headphones or IEMs, your source, your music/streaming file type and quality/resolution, etcetera DACs that handily out perform the apple dongle in multiple aspects including sonically can I need a portable DAC for my 16" M2 Max Mac and iPad M1. My phone pixel 7, I have to use usb-c dongle, no headphone output, both apple and Google usb-dongle dacs still have distortion, there's apparently a work around maybe to unlock apple. I play COD / FPS games and regularly get compliments re: my PC38X's mic clarity. I use a dac /amp for my dt 770 @ 250 ohms then if I dont feel like wearing my headphones I use a razer hammerhead in-ear plugged directly into the MoBo. I just recently got a pair of Sennheiser HD 560s with the abelt boom mic for everyday use such as gaming, music, etc. I have the same mother board and headset as you and was getting some buzzing from it. You only really need a bigger dac/amp with hard to drive stuff. The (best quality) route is a deep rabbit hole. In comparision I've heard that Apple one is limited to 44kHz 16bit or something. The Apple dongle reduces the volume by 20% in my case. Questyle M15/ Cayin RU6 are some of the best dongle DACs if you want to enjoy the utmost sound quality offered by portable setups. Other popular budget DAC dongle options include the Apple USB-C dongle ($9) and Meizu HiFi Pro ($45). (Scroll near the end. The dongle DAC is about $5 here and the Apple dongle is 4 times that price; easy to decide which one to get especially for Android devices where I'm from. Hey im looking for some recommendations for a good gaming dac/amp Hey im looking for some recommendations for a good gaming dac/amp to pair with my Beyerdynamic mmx 300. I have never invested in a dongle dac but after getting a new phone it seems like I have to get one. You are just getting into the hobby. Some people still report hissing with it though. Reply reply For now i got Apple's adapter and made it go 200% and they sound as they should. I didn't notice this before on Sundara. I have found dongles on linsoul like . I'm also looking for a flagship dongle that outperforms the Apple and iBasso ones. I like to use bluetooth DAC/amps and enjoy the IFI Go Blu, it has 3. So I was just in this predicament and I bought the Apple USB C dongle and the SoundBlaster X4 and to be honest I rather the sound from the Apple USB dongle. It’s the thing that converts the digital audio data into an analog audio signal. The simgots are perfectly fine to drive on any old dac. Yes, try the Apple dongle first. Sometims these devices have analogue inputs, but yours doesn't. You'll have to find your Mic Gain or Mic Volume control. 5 phone jack. Best Dongle-Dac for DT1770's. I am not sure but should I spend money on a DAC AMP dongle ore just take the apple headphone adapter. 1 surround sound output and convert it to stereo using many possible headphones surround sound processing methods. Doesn't give you any increased power. It also doesn't have all of the quality control issues associated with Hifiman. Provides plenty of power for almost all headphones (extension cable required for planars for max output), sounds excellent, measures excellent. 👍. Some are a bit over the budget but most are within $100. In this configuration it is audibly transparent enough that switching to a full fat DAC will not bring significant improvement IMO. So get a well-reviewed dongle with physical volume control. Bluetooth 5. You just have to love PCs. Then I tried Avani dongle which uses Realtek ALC5686 and it just sounds the same as onboard Realtek, still shouty, has more output, but less definition. 5 apple dongle My benchmark is a lg v40 would any Dac/amp dongle sound better than the lg mentioned. But feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. Some will say this dac has more bass than an apple dongle and that means the dac is not audibly transparent and it is mostly a bad product. I have an iphone 15 pro max and want to start using them on the go. Adapter Just buy the Apple dongle if you don't already have one. It's more of a usb to 3. I used to use my dragonfly cobalt with a slew of adapters, and I genuinely can’t tell the difference between the two when streaming with Tidal. I've since upgraded to a Topping system, but I don't really feel that I lose anything going back and forth. IMO, a dongle needs to come with a USB-C to USB-A adapter/converter, a removable cable, and has to be well-reviewed. Now, the Soundblaster G6 you mentioned is a Gaming DAC/Amp, ie with a mic input. Your device is a 2 in 1 solution (Dac + amp). 5mm if you're sure you don't want balanced. I am using HIFI ANANDA headphones and I want the DAC to get the best performance out of the The apple dongle really is just fine for mobile use. It works pretty well, but the small cord looks/feels flimsy and I feel like it's going to get It’s not really profitable to cram a quad dac and high performance amp into a $20 dongle, not when you factor in r&d, manufacturing, marketing, qc, tech support, legal costs and logistics. Internet Culture (Viral) Amazing it's a dongle DAC but cheapest one you can get that does 2Vrms and has a good DAC chip, Apple dongle only does 1Vrms and EU version 0. Heck, even a US-spec Apple USB-C to On the other hand, Apple dongle sounds smooth and not sibilant. Works on Android (I use this). With the first 2 especially, you’ll get the same power (sometimes more), Bluetooth capabilities, apps with EQ (Qudelix is incredible for this), and you can always use a usb-c to lightning or similar cable setup to plug it in and avoid bitrate Bluetooth restrictions. To the Audiophile gods of Reddit, I need your advise! I'm looking to step up my mobile listening experience with my iPhone 15 Pro, and with USB-C (finally!) comes new possibilities. Oh yes, there is big difference and could be huge depending dac/amp you use and your IEM. Though its such a short distance and the apple dongle has very low current draw, so in reality that shouldnt be a problem too. Qudlelix 5k. On some songs, desktop setup is getting up there with the sibilance. An apple dongle into a usb-c->a adapter if necessary will work. There are plenty of options out there. They read a different article about a DAC, so they buy a DAC, without understanding that the difference between two decent quality DACs is inaudible, but the difference between two headphone amplifiers can be very audible (and the DAP's is likely to be far superior to the dongle DAC's). Or check it out in the app stores Home; Popular; TOPICS. The Apple dongle at $10 is already an anomaly not a sign of what quality is like at that price. After receiving Apple (EU) dongle yesterday with disappointment I got the CX31993 today and ooh well, it is better at everything compared to Apple dongle. If you want to get fancy then some $50-100 dongle is a fine thing and you might even hear a difference. However, my new work laptop seems to have a pretty decent DAC/Amp. You should be able to adjust your game volume here too. Alternatively, Best USB: Questyle M15i; Best DAC/amp combo: iFi xDSD Gryphon; Best smartphone DAC: Moondrop MIAD 01; Most portable: Qudelix-5K; Best for gaming: Creative Sound Blaster X4; Best Hi There, I have run myself in circles trying to figure out a reasonable Dongle DAC for my setup. The Qudelix 5K is the ultimate device right now to pair with headphones/IEMs as it has parametric EQ (you won't really be able to find parametric EQ with Apple phones/devices) and other extra features in its app. You should read into HeSuVi application for Windows, which would allow you to use games in 7. For nuance like footsteps not so much although the higher the volume the clearer you hear the footsteps but its not like once you use a proper dac/amp you can hear everything 360 like. Like a rigid dongle, a braided dongle, or a dongle with a small spring on the cord. Looking for a DAC/AMP for my PC gaming and music/movie listening. The Need a usb c dac to connect it with phone and pc,I read supermix 4 requires a little better dac, Otherwise sound becomes too bassy (1) Abigail pro Ideally, you would want a Bluetooth 5. 5mm single-ended and 4. An input on your AMP would come from a DAC. It sounds like $10. 4 specs were released last month but to my knowledge, no products support it yet. You either have to use the DAC in your X6, or you have to buy anther amp. I currently have the Samsung USB C adapter however it doesn't have a DAC so it's not that good. They can be used portable or as desktop. The DAC disappeared from the phone along with the headphone jack directly from apple's website: “Yes. I had a Creative AE5 Sound card before, so I kinda want something a little cleaner and a little more powerful. If you're not worried about that just buy the cheapest dongle dac that can power your headphones/IEMs Get the Reddit app Scan this QR code to download the app now. 5 is total BS SQ so 70-100 usd dongle dac will do the magic afterwards you can experiment with more expensive dac and IEMs. The sound quality is pretty much the same with all of the dongles, especially if you're just using IEMs or at low volume. My suggestion with the pc38x would be the apple dongle to start, then either one of the sennheiser or Creative amp/dac/mic input setups for around $150. It's cheap and the quality of the dac is pretty good honestly. For gaming it would make more of a difference to use some good sound DSP like Creative SBX or SXFI. I live in the US with 3. Hi, do you mean to connect Optical/Coaxial to ADI-2 DAC and use it instead of the internal ZEN-blue DAC? Can that signal then be re-sampled on the path: PCM(1) -> Bluetooth -> PCM(2) -> DAC? (I am afraid that PCM1 != PCM2) Also, I am not sure why to use ADI 2 DAC FS as pre-amp, and not to use it as Headphone-AMP and DAC. otherwise its one of the best bang for buck The vast majority or IEMs are very sensitive with really low impedance and can be driven by basically anything, the apple dongle is your best bet Howver, there's one reason to use a discrete amp, and that's that it lets you use a discrete DAC, you can't use the apple dongle with a different DAC (or a tube preamp if you prefer) The dongle that measures the best is apples USBC dongle. A dongle dac supposed to be cheaper then regular dac/amp. Both of those measure so accurate that best guess is that they would sound the same or close enough as to be insignificant to any budget audiophile. Internet Culture (Viral) Amazing Is Apple's Usb c dongle dac good enough for IEMs? DAC - Portable It will only power my Moondrop Aria. Apple dongle is perfectly fine. Portable DAC/AMP dongle under 100 . The Apple dongle is a DAC and not an amp. Just like the title says, I want a IEM/DAC/AMP Combo that’s well suited for gaming, I’m tired of big headphones, they make my ears uncomfortable after a few hours of use and I hate dealing with headset hair, I mainly play shooters like cod warzone, apex legends but also story mode games like RDR2, GOW, and the Arkham Games etc. A dongle dac works better as it keeps the bulk down. Your computer already has a DAC in it—it’s built into your motherboard, and it’s what feeds the signal to your computer’s built in headphone output. 5mm already has dac and amp inside it. A dac is only converting a digital signal to an analogue one. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. The headphone jack on my phone sounds like crap; there's annoying static noise and no punch or dynamism. I have a samsung s20 FE a pair of theiaudio L3 and a pair of hifiman edition X currently being powdered by a usb-c to 3. Unfortunately I hear noticeable amounts of white noise when I plug in my iems. Better DACs process the signal more accurately, resulting in better sound quality (better dynamics, clearer instrument separation, less noise/interference). USB-C DAC Dongle . I double checked that it wasn't an iem issue by plugging it into my laptop where it performed perfectly. It looks like you have a 1V_rms Apple Dongle (A2049), but Android can be finicky with those unless you go exclusive mode. The 3 options I've come across are: Apple's USB-C to 3. Valheim; Genshin Impact; So still the best DAC under 200 bucks. (Dollar store headphones on equipment that costs 5000x more) A good amp/DAC with a good headphone will make bad quality music sound better. A lightning port has no analog ouput, so you will need a dac somewhere else if you want to get anything that sounds like music. but I definitely think my shitty headsets and headphones all sound more consistent and at their best going through this DAC instead of directly off my The Apple dongle DAC costs $9 and measures as well or better than plenty of DACs that cost hundreds of dollars. There's no USB-C port on my motherboard so I used a USB-A male to USB-C female (adapter) and then connected apple dongle to that adapter. Uses the same ESS dac. The DAC essentially just converts the digital information into an analog signal, and reduce the distortion. Valheim Genshin Impact Minecraft Pokimane Halo Infinite Call of Duty: Warzone Path of Exile Hollow Knight: Silksong Escape from Tarkov Watch Dogs: Legion. Is perfect for my moondrop SSR which needs a bit of extra power. Once it's set at a comfortable level, the app can even be closed if you don't care about bypassing the AAS, and the volume will remain at that level till the Dongle is unplugged. A DAC doesn’t let you “play” with anything really. When using the dedicated DAC (the Apple dongle), the device skips the cheaper built-in DAC. On Amp side, no issue with ppwer and volume for Sundara. This thread is archived New For context I haev truth ear zero blues and Waner sg iems. 5mm jack is not your strict requirement. The DUNU DTC-480 is the cheapest DAC on our list, but it offers really strong sound quality, and having both a 3. I am looking for a dongle ore something extremely portable. (i had the sennheiser gsx 1000, but i dropped it while cleaning my desk)Im currently looking at the sound The Fiio KA3 seems like a good dongle dac, has 3. But seriously now, schiit modi 3 is right on the budget. LG phone's quad DAC is not really 4 dacs inside. To my dismay, I heard crackling and hissing as soon as I started to play my music. Or check it out in the app stores     TOPICS. I'm not telling you NOT to get an external DAC, AMP or a DAC+AMP combo. The play series sound way worse. I currently use KZ ZSN Pros, but I'm saving for IE600s (yes, quite a large price difference. Since it does not have a headphone jack, I could not use my expensive wired heaphones with it; I bought a USB-C dongle DAC in order to kill to birds with one stone: connect the wired headphones, and get better sound than with the built-in DAC on the chip. I assume it sounds like the BTR5 which has a lively engaging sound. I have a fiio ka3 which uses a sabre chip which is used on many desktop dacs. Man this asking this in a sub that will obviously say no 🗿 But yes do you need a decent DAC and the apple dongle won't suffice, not even for IEMs, it doesn't output enough power, has noticeable EMI and sounds like shit. Just get 1 and a better dongle, and do the test yourself. It made a huge difference. Another option for others is the ibasso DC05 USB DAC dongle. Tempotec Sonata HD Pro if you don't mind the volume steps. Any and all suggestions would be helpful. Plus, when I want to I can use Bluetooth sync as a DAC, or just listen to it on the go with buds instead. Tanchjim Space Lite is very very good and only cheap one with standard 2Vrms output, so you can use with external AMP sometime in the future and get best of it, $44,99. I'm interested in trying a balanced setup. Archived post. UAPP specifically helps the Apple Dongle by giving access to the "Hardware Volume Control" of the Dongle. Gaming. This will be exclusively for use with IEMs and my cell phone. It’s capable of handling a lot more. Just noticed the price. Thanks for your submission to r/headphoneadvice. Currently I'm confused between xDuoo X2S, Shanling Q1 and Shanling UA2. Compared to more expensive dongles ($50+) and desktop DAC/Amp, Apple dongle vocals are thin, trebles are lacking (soundstage is not open nor airy). Don't expect miracles. Headphones>amp>DAC assuming you have already picked up an entry level of each. It has excellent holographic and imaging performance, making it ideal I personally like the CX31993 DAC chip in the VE Abigail and the CX-Pro for cheap dongle DACs. The Qudelix is a different beast. For Airpods, incase i decide to jump the gun one day, would the SILICON-LESS Airpods 3 be enough and working? (Along well, true quality clearness n volume n stuff) There's the Qudelix 5K, it's a Bluetooth amp/DAC dongle. I will be returning the X4. The Apple dongle/DAC can more than handle the highest quality Spotify music and mp3s. I intend to use them for PC gaming and casual music listening. USB Audio Player PRO or Neutron Player), or you're able and willing to root your phone, this limitation can be a real pain in the ass. 4mm and outputs at least 2 volts on 3. g. So clearly my Galaxy s20+ is the problem, as I had a similar experience with an ifi Hip-Dac in the past. The DAC the apple dongle has is excellent however it's amplifier component isn't very powerful and won't be able to drive most headphones at a listenable volume. You can get that with the $50 Tempotec Sonata HD Pro. I have the Apple dongle and the Qudelix 5k. On top of all this, the Mac book jacks have 24 bit 96khz. don't expect to use there "Super X-Fi", most users don't like this and rather use "Dolby Access" or "DTS Unbound" from the microsoft store The difference is a desktop dac will have its own power supply, so you will go through your battery faster with a dongle dac. I have my CCA CRA paired with the notbyVE Abigail, and it works great. It has an app that has a very good eq and the various options you'd expect from a full DAC. I use Qobuz and there is some hi res music on there that technically it couldn’t fully take advantage of, but honestly even with using my nicest iems and switching to my qudelix amp/DAC you won’t be hearing huge difference. That was why I switched to the dongle. Works perfect with my iem's and no noise. I’m looking for a accurate, no EQ dongle DAC for my system. The apple dongle will work well upto the dt770 80ohm. If you aren't trying to power crazy headphones just go apple. I would recommend getting something with a detachable cable, with both 3. These products just suck under $50. I don't think you could hear the difference between a more expensive one and the apple dongle. Buy USB-C to 3. It sounded more natural to me. That said I tried so hyped Apple USB-C dongle and it just had a harsh treble. 3. I'm looking for recommendations on a good usb c adapter that falls under the $15 price tag. Now fortunately this is NOT the case for portable DAC / AMP's. It's very easy to use - if a comment on your post is considered helpful, please reward them by using the term !thanks. View community ranking In the Top 5% of largest communities on Reddit. use the search funcion. $69. This DAC will give you so much more dynamic range (so you can hear the quiet and loud parts in a song at the same time) resolution, amp power, and way less distortion than your phone or computer headphone jack. After a bit of research, I've found a bunch of DAC/amp combos that work with the PS5 at around 150€: the SoundBlasterX G6, the ifi Zen DAC V2 and the Schiit Hel 2 (200€, actually). 5mm adapter with a good dac. 32 x 384, more power, detail, soundstage and resolution with better build and a free usb adapter for the same price. No budget dongle that I know of comes close to 245mw @16ohm for just 25$ so I'd say it's the best bang for $ dongle on the market right now. This will add a thank you count (in the form of Ω) to that users flair. A friend of mine recommended a dongle dac in order to amp my headphones and other headphones I might buy in the future that will need more power. It works, but I wish there were more options from Apple themselves. Apple dongle is also ok if you want a cabled solution It can be driven off of a 3. It is 1V, 63mW at 32Ohm, I think like around 6-7mW at 300Ohm. To be fair, the Dawn Pro is probably one of the best buys at $50 and one I picked up immediately on release for that reason. You may find that it is best to buy one made by an audio company where they state the power output, the dongles from the likes of Apple, Google & Samsung don't seem to have much more power than the standard headphone jack that they were designed to replace. I wouldn't like my 7hz diokos like that, but my em6l's happily run on my laptop, steam deck and my phone with an apple dongle. PC-->DAC-->AMP-->Headphones So an input on your DAC would come from PC. And the volume increase is not significant enough. Ive been blown away by the meze 109 pro and thats with a dongle dac, i'd like to take things to the next level so im wondering if a dedicated desktop dac with a tube amp is like vs a portable music player with all the bells and whistle as well. If instead you will only use it on pc, most desktops/laptops soundcards already have enough power, so using the dongle with the USB-a adaptor actually makes the max volume a bit lower (with the Abigail dongle, on my specific laptop that is Huawei D15, but I think that accounts for most cases anyway) with the ibasso dc05, the volume is probably the same as with the phone, The US dongle is best-in-class for the price (unbelievable value for $8), but, you can only get the maximum volume on a computer or iPhone, since Android cuts its volume in half for some reason. I've been looking at some DAC/Amp combos like the GSX 1000 and ARC Mk2 that include a mic input. (Power hungry planars running on an Apple dongle) A good amp/DAC with high quality music won’t make a bad headphone sound good. The chips they use internally are much the same. I listen to ASMR too, and that usually puts the volume (again with the Qudelix 5K as a wired amp/DAC dongle) at say maybe 60-70/100 for the regular IEMs and then 70-80/100 for planars IEMs. I'm looking for a neutral sounding source. So any balanced dongle dac offers similar or better sound quality than lg. I will keep this reply up for others. Not at level that is uncomfortable, but that difference between Apple Dongle and desktop DAC/Amp is clearly noticeable. That said, especially where the Q5k is concerned, there is so much value at its current price that it's really tough to not recommend to almost anyone looking for a dongle-based solution. Creative X3/X4/G6 (honestly all of there external dac/amp are fine for a SHP9500, even the small dongles). That's not to say that a DAC or Amp will or won't change the sound you hear, but most of the difference you'll hear when changing components in your audio chain come from the headphones. The dragonfly has a really poor measurements and power according to reviews. Best dongle DAC under 100 . Althought It might be overkill. If you're mostly going to be using it portably, for commuting or whatnot, get a dongle DAC. It's not so much an issue of cost, as it is saving space and being minimal. Shio is a good option if you can still find it. Unless you use a dedicated music player app that can bypass these limitations (e. The KA1 just has 3. I would’t mind little more bass and better volume control as volume control from iPhone using Apple dongle is not that great tbh. It basically sounded like I was listening in mono as the soundstage was nonexistent. The audiophile answer is: save a bit more and get a better dac. So I've looked for an options in a similar price point and FiiO KA13 seems like a slightly better The Creative Sound Blaster X3 takes the top spot for the best budget gaming DAC amp combo. But even if you are in the EU or using Android I would recommend just getting an Apple dongle and see if it gets loud enough for you. 4mm, is tiny and sounds wonderful. For gaming it is pretty solid giving you lots of options for surround sound , mic monitoring and a low noise floor. But if you had to buy a more expensive dongle, I recommend the qudelix 5k, it has bluetooth and is the best out of its competitors, but if you won't take advantage of the bt, get the moondrop dawn pro. 5mm, like the new Moondrop Dawn Even in terms of sound quality, going phone + dongle DAC is sometimes better. 5mm Audio Adapter [♪Hi-Res Lossless Music♪] CX Pro USB C Headphone Adapter 32bit 384KHz CX31993 DAC Chip Headphone Amp HiFi Headphone Jack Adapter USB C to Headphone Jack for Type C Devices" on Amazon. As another user recommended, you can check r/AVexchange as Specifically I was looking for a budget dongle DAC/AMP with both 3. Then start nitpicking on DAC/Sources. A dongle isn't going to give you the value for your money a desktop DAC & amp will, and you obviously can't take a desktop stack on the subway. As the Title suggests, I want a cheap dongle DAC to use with my Salnotes Zero and Moondrop Chu II IEMs. 5Vrms, meaning it will limit limit how loud your AMP will get, AMP only amplifies Looking for a DAP or a dongle dac under $100. Generally speaking for a dongle to support mic input either the DAC chip needs to have ADC function integrated or there has to be another ADC chip (rare for dongles). Ima be honest but anything past 24 bit 48khz high res is not noticeable. 5mm Headphone Jack Adapter - Apple (IN) This subreddit is for the budget minded audiophile that wants to grow out of soundbars, boomboxes, mini systems, portable bluetooth, lifestyle speakers, and PC peripheral branded audio solutions. 4mm jacks so there might be better options if 4. Optionally, you may want to look into a USB DAC with Bluetooth so you get DAC functionalities + Bluetooth. The topping DX3 Pro+ — verified by Amir at AudioScienceReview. Only bad thing is it doesn’t have an eq :/ only bad part about the Qudelix is that when wired, the cord can get a little buggy and disconnect (maybe it’s just my cord). Your looking for an amp/dac combo unit with a mic adc. Basically, differences may be minimal. BUT I understand why people would buy them as I also own a DAP (Walnut V2s) which is the more masochist-friendly type (no display, 5 buttons, plays random tracks, picky when it comes to file condition and file types; include the wrong metadata? - nope, DAP won't play music for you). I was wondering what are everyone's thoughts on all these different alternatives, and if they would drive the AKG K712 Pro well. It's not about the hardware in your rig, but the software in your heart! Join us in celebrating and promoting tech, knowledge, and the best gaming, study, and work platform there exists. If you go more into $30 there is a CS-Pro CS43131, although I find this kind of dongle as less comfortable than simple cable ones. Dongle DACs tend to be restricted in power output by system-level limitations from Android devices. DAC stands for digital to analog converter. Only problem with this dac/amp is a hissing noise when you try to power low impedance headphones like 8-30 ohm. But I keep getting USB DAC recs, those simply are less portable than dongle DACs because they are huge. I loved my BTR5, but I've always found it to be a bit too clinical, with that sharp digital sound. Don't start buying things where you will probably not notice a difference if you're blond testing them. 5mm and 4. As a full DAC/amp solution feeding headphones directly, the dongle is definitely not enough for a lot of headphones. The 2 constraints I have is that the DAC must natively use USB for data and power, and that the DAC is small (I'm mainly referring to the size of the internal circuitry, as unless it severely hinders the performance or introduces noise I'll be removing its housing to save space). This is using Samsung S20 FE and iPad Pro 2018. It’s called the Moondrop Dawn pro, and retails for about 50USD although you can frequently get them on sales for even 40 to 37 dollars. For any hissing/humming/buzzing or static/white/etc. Not a dongle but pretty compact and works in a lot of ways. Then a portable sound card or dac for a laptop like a soundblast g6 or x3 or schitt hel will drove dt990 600ohms well. I need the best dongle for when I go on walks and still able to use my phone without the bulk of Dragonfly USB DACs or W2. It costs about a dollar to make with $9 of markup and the community has a collective seizure when they realize they’ve been spending 70% of their audio budget on sound jewelry when a device this simple and small does the same thing as what they skipped a car payment for. And unless you are driving hard to drive cans. A temporal workaround. This DAC amp combo was built from the ground up for gaming and is jam-packed with features and sophisticated Hey, I want to know if you know of dacs that are compatible with apple music on android (redmi note 10pro in my case). The FX AUDIO DAC-X6 seems like a good option at about 60 usd on Amazon. A stack sounds like you're more likely getting noisefloor issues instead of sound quality. With a gaming DAC you may find some of the extra sound functions give a diff experience even with your Phillips that you may like. It's far from "all you ever need", but I'd love to see how people can distinguish between different dacs. The amp allows the music to get louder without causing distortion. And yes, none of them have a mic input but that's what splitters are for. I'm looking for a budget dongle DAC to use mainly with a MacBook, for IEMs. ) I bought just a random 3rd party adapter on Amazon, and as I should've The Apple dongle is the DAC / amp that replaced the headphone jack. View community ranking In the Top 1% of largest communities on Reddit. You can still perform software EQ adjustments on them. You don't need to use the Bluetooth part, just set the battery life to 80% if you're using it as a wired USB dongle. yes you Nope. 5mm DAC. I am just confused among Hidizs s9 pro, Hidizs XO, FiiO KA3. My current sources are unbalanced (Topping D50s, Meizu HiFi audio Pro USB-C dongle). The Tidal app is able to use a USB DAC fully without interference from Android, I think Apple music can but I couldn't get it to work, possibly a me problem. PC/phone 3. While it may not be the most portable dongle out there, it certainly is the greatest value dac/amp in the world made by none other than moondrop. Portable dac an amp, you can use qudelix 5k, or fiio btr7. The dragonfly USB dacs cant do this. Whats the best mini dac under $50? Or should I just stick to the apple dongle dac? You won't get a dac dongle for $40 or really in general that is good with volume control for $40. Once you find your preferred headphone(s) then worry about the best amp. The Apple dongle is indeed a DAC. This is because Youtube just has bad volume levels, compression, etc. Internet Culture (Viral) Amazing; Animals & Pets $50 Moondrop Dawn Pro dongle DAC as a DAC and Topping L50 AMP, you can have Dawn hanging out of the back not taking any space, together they are $220 for $30 you can get decent short cable to No, no dac in the phone (not one for headphones anyways, of course theres a dac for the speakers). Earphones are usually fine. Only thing they may differ in is voltage drop, if you happen to get one with some pretty bad connectors. Hi, I recently upgraded to a Google Pixel 6 Pro, which, unfortunately doesn't have a headphone jack like my old phone. noise, that can be removed/reduced easily by an external audio device. I plan to use these in my office or coffee shop with adapter for enhanced volume control and possibly in future drive headphones like HifiMan Sundra. I know that Moondrop Dawn Pro is a decent option for it's price, but I'm also concerned with it's QC issues (buttons ripping from the PCB just with moderate usage). I personally would skip the dongles and get a Bluetooth capable dac/amp like Fiio BTR5, Qudelix-5k (my favorite), or similar. opnfgzkh ytkh dohy iwym mfzont ghhyp zsmcqk akuo sgjp tyq