Schiit Audio Fulla

Sound - 9/10: The Schiit Fulla surprised me with the fullness of it's sound. I usually try to keep price out of my reviews, but for a dongle under 100 dollars I tend to expect a frailer sound, and difficulty powering higher impedance headphones. The Fulla can power my HD600s (300 Ohm impedance) very well. The main problem with the sound quality itself is the treble. In some songs, mostly when lost of different types of sound are happening (lots of bass, treble, and high at the same time), the treble is distorted. It's not terrible, but definitely shows that it's power has repercussions. Other than the treble inaccuracy, the Fulla is excellent, especially in comparison to dongles of similar price. 
 
Design - 8.5/10: Though i'm not terrible nit-picky, there are a good few problems I have with the Fulla design wise. The size is great, the weight is excellent, and the build quality, as far as materials and durability goes, is amazing. The main problem is the finishing of the product. The edges could have been filed down, or at least give a rubberized finish. They are very sharp, even more so than other Schiit products. The sides are rough, but not horrible. The only other complaint I have is for the dial. The dial is pretty small, which is okay, it is proportional, but it's oddly hard to turn. The first Fulla I got it was nearly completely stuck, and I got another, which was much better. The second was still difficult to turn accurately. If you want an exact amount of power, you have to be careful while turning it. Once you get used to it, though, it becomes pretty easy. The design overall is great, but the drawbacks are worth mentioning. 

(Update below)

For the past 5 days or so, I've been listening to my most recent acquisition (the DT-770) un-amped because I'm far away for home and I was waiting on my new Schiit to arrive. These cans are considered to be easy to drive, but they sounded flat directly trough my PC. The bass had no punch, the soundstage was rather poor and I had the volume maxed-out all the time. They were decent, but I missed my home set-up. The post-man came by this morning with my new Fulla. I plugged that (surprisingly) small dongle in, changed the audio-settings on my PC and started to search for a song to put them to the test. 
 
I bought the DT-770 to listen to hip-hop mainly since its bass had a good reputation, so I wanted to put it to the test with Run the Jewel, by RTJ. I hit play and just five seconds later I had this stupid grin on my face; I knew I spent my money wisely. There was the bass I was looking for, the detailed sound I came to be used to with my home setup and the soundstage I was looking for with good cans. I could finally push the sound to the level I wanted to with this small, smooth and precise knob (I can't go over half power without bleeding from my ears). 
 
I'll make a direct comparaison in a near future, but, from memory, I'd say that this small dongle puts my Matrix Cube to shame as an amp DAC combo; the Matrix cube sounds rather shy as an amp and doesn't have a lot of power even if it is plugged in the wall and had a way bigger footprint. It is hard for me to compare both purely as a DAC because I can't use the Fulla with the same amp; the DAC section of the Fulla seems to be really good tough, the sound is very detailed and instrument separation is great. 
 
The amp section does its job very well IMHO, it drives the DT-770 with authority at any volume level, it gives the bass good impact, pushes the mids a bit (which is great with these cans) and overall it brightens up the sound a bit (which is not always a bad thing, but when there's a lot of treble on a track, it becomes annoying). The sound with the DT-770+Fulla is kind of "in your face" when compared to my HD-650+M-Stage, it's a nice change for me and fares well with most of the music I listen to (most classical music sounds way better on my home setup tough).
 
So if you are looking for a solid upgrade from your PC sound card without having to cough up 250$+: this is it. If you have a good pair of headphones and never spent money on an amp, I can almost guarantee that this amp will put a stupid grin on your face too. 
 
When I came here about 5 years ago and ended up buying my first set of hi-fi cans (HD-650) I ended up buying a budget amp (PA2V2) for 50$ to drive them before I decided on a decent DAC/Amp (Matrix Cube) and later for a separate amp (Matrix M-Stage). I had to wait for the M-Stage to finally be really happy with the sound my headphones produces. It only took this 80ish$ dongle to make me happy about my most recent purchase. Looking back, I wish the Schiit Fulla was out then, because today buying a Cmoy amp or something alike seems like a really bad decision when you can get the Fulla for that kind of money. 

Update: I finally made a side by side comparaison with my home system (HD-650, Matrix Cube + M-Stage v2) and I'm still extremely happy with my purchase (also after more than 100 hours of listening with the Beyer 770); the difference is hard to tell honestly, the Fulla is certainly powerfull enough for the HD-650, it does sound brighter than the matrix setup and pushes the bass a bit (it has less impact at the same volume tough). The sound seems to be just as detailed if not more. The matrix set-up sounds warmer and less "clinical", it is less fatiguing and overall a bit more pleaseant to listen to for classical music and Jazz, it is also more flexible than the Fulla since it can take different sources and adapt another amp; but sound-wise only, the Fulla offers wayyyy more bang for the buck, I think it even delivers a better performance for pop and rap music. In a blind test I'm not sure I could tell the two appart if the tunes don't have a lot of treble...
 
*This is a first impression review based on only a few hours of listening and only one set of cans was used with this device (DT-770 80ohm), I'll update it when I can try it with my other headphones (Pro 900 and HD-650). Also, I'm no hi-fi connaisseur, I don't have any experience with really high-end DAC or Amps, I'm not so tech-savy either so I don't really understand the hardware behind amps and DACS. This is just a review by someone on a budget who enjoys music a lot. English isn't my first language and this is my first review here, I'm open to constructive criticism.*

I'll be honest, after reading a few chapters from Schiit Happened and the hilariously honest, bulls***-free product descriptions and FAQs on their website, I just had to buy something from them. And what does a consumer buy when he wants to buy stuff for the sake of buying? Simple, the cheapest product on the catalog, of course (which produces sound on its own).
 
Evaluation equipment and quick preface:
Shure SE535, Philips SHP9500, a Nexus 5 smartphone and a desktop computer (VIA VT2020@Gigabyte Z77-D3H, but let's face it, most of them sound the same).
The evaluation and ranking of the unit is with regard to its price and advertised function.
 
Sound:
As far as I'm concerned, this little thing is aimed at replacing the crappy little headphones-out of your computer, laptop or stationary smartphone (*). In that regard, the Fulla is a great success. Firstly, the sound is much cleaner, fuller and more extended. If you're a critical listener (i.e., don't own Beats or Skullcandy), you will hear more detail in your music and some records might unveil a bit of ambient detail (I call it musicality, but whatever) - listen to Daft Punk's Random Access Memories and Symphony X's Underworld, and decide for yourself. Secondly, you might argue that some smartphones have excellent sound, but I've yet to witness any coming anywhere near a standalone DAC (iPhones included), let alone being able to properly drive anything power-hungrier than IEMs, which brings me to the next point.
The Fulla has plenty of power, which I feel is great for driving common full headphones (anything under 150 ohm), both in terms of sound quality and output volume. For IEMs however, it has too much power: The more sensitive ones have a pretty noticeable hiss which is audible in music that's considered quiet, and if you crank the volume up, an odd beep begins to be audible as well.
 
From an audiophile point of view, and I'm just mentioning it here for completeness because I don't believe the Fulla is aimed at audiophiles, I find the unit lacks a bit on both ends of the spectrum. That is, it does not produce a low enough bass, nor the highs are open enough in my opinion. Additionally, I feel both ends, bass in particular, lacks detail and smoothness. That's not to say the overall experience is bad, it's just that, say, the HiFimeDIY Sabre DAC ($42) produces more of the bass I described (and slightly less detail and highs)(**). A matter of tastes and compromises, all in all.
 
(*) Office/home listening.
(**) I coupled the Fulla with a Fiio E12A for that conclusion.
 
Package and externals:
I like it. Cleverest use of cardboard I've yet seen, with the only drawback being that it might leave a mess once you take it out. Comes with a short USB cable and a questionable carrying bag. The reason I call it questionable is because the Fulla has jagged edges and I'm pretty sure that if you use that bag often, it'll be shredded to bits sooner than later.
Aesthetically, the Fulla looks great, being this tiny silver-gray thing with folded metal and a volume knob. The materials look and feel good, although, as I mentioned, the edges are jagged to a point of possible injury and the volume knob wobbles - not that it's loose, it's just that the board underneath appears to be not 100% stationary.
 
Bottom line:
This thing is aimed to improve a default setup you get with a computer/laptop, and it succeeds with flying remarks in terms of sound quality and function. If you move around a lot and not fussy about high-end headphones, then the Fulla is a perfect companion. Particularly for full headphones (all sorts of mid-range AKGs, Shures, Sennheisers), it's an easy recommendation. $80 well spent.
For pricier headphones, it can leave a craving for more, particularly if you already own a fancy DAC or amplifier at home and just buying this for portability.
Finally, for earphones and IEMs, I'd advice more caution in regard to how sensitive your phones are, and how sensitive you are to hiss. Shure earphones and old fashioned Jazz, for instance, might be a no-no.
 
On an off-subject note, I've read reviews saying the Fulla is a good first step in the foray into the audiophile world. I won't rule it out, nor I'm going to argue with anyone, just keep in mind this is an all-in-one purpose-guided product. It will not suit everything you throw it, nor is it upgradeable.