DITA Navigator

So, I‘ve owned a lot of dongles. I’ve had the L&P W2 and W4, the Cayin RU6 AND RU7, Shanling UA5, AK HB1, Lotoo PAW S2 and the Questyle M15 to name some of the big ones. They are all fairly mind blowing considering how close they get to top tier DAP sound quality with the portability of a pack of gum. I think the Shanling UA5 came the closest to the sweet spot for me, so much so that I purchased it twice. But in the end I decide to try one more….enter the Dita Navigator.




Upon receiving the Navigator from the wonderful folks at Musicteck I was VERY taken with the overall build of this bad boy. I’m not sure if it’s indestructible but it would take a seriously long fall or perhaps a sledge hammer to put a dent in the thing. The absolute best accessories of any dongle I’ve tried….ACTUAL OTG USBc to USBC and USBC to Lighting at ACTUAL USABLE lengths! It’s incredible how much difference a couple inches makes…..but I digress.


Dita is marketing this piece of kit as sort of an outdoorsman audiophile….for hiking or I guess just rougher use than your typical couch session with a glass of red. The oddest part of this strategy is the little hidden trap door with a….phillips had screwdriver inside…..not really sure….anyway, this thing sounds awesome!!!

This dongle sounds absolutely fantastic. There is no upper mid excess energy, no pulled back mids, wonderfully satisfying sub and mid bass performance and to my ear, perfectly extended treble with no fatigue whatsoever. In practice, it’s really got it under the hood. It powers my headphones and difficult to drive IEMS like Penon Quattro with ease and not just volume wise but to excellent sound quality levels, pushing Quattro to roughly its full potential. It even plays well with Hifiman Planar headphones like Arya stealth and HE1000V2. I’m extremely impressed….as evidenced by the fact that I still have this sweet little device.


Another quirky little addition to the Dita Navigator is that not unlike a Transformer, it’s back extends so that the device can be used as a phone stand to either watch movies or have perfect views of whatever streaming service you may be using. This little gadgety addition is actually very useful on planes or just having a cup of coffee down at the shop.




There is no charging the device as it’s completely powered by whatever device you have it plugged into. It does suck up a decent amount of my iPhone’s battery…probably about 35% after 3 hours of streaming. Not amazing but certainly not terrible either. My iPad Pro doesn’t drain nearly as fast operating the Navigator and with these LONGER CABLES THANK YOU DITA the iPad matchup is just perfection. The volume buttons have a wonderfully tactile feel as well as a very satisfying push that lets you know for sure that you’ve successfully turned the device up or down. These are the only two buttons on the device. Navigator is a no muss no fuss type of dongle for sure.


In conclusion, of all the dongles I listed above this one is my keeper. It’s absolutely perfectly within my sound preference wheelhouse. Has PLENTY of power and while it does play nice with IEMs it also won’t leave you disappointed with your headphones one bit. Heck, maybe one day I’ll have a reason to use the Phillips head….

I've been looking for a small desktop source to use my Subtonic Storm with for casual listening when I'm not using my speakers. I asked @Chang from Subtonic for recommendations and he suggested the DITA Navigator so I went and purchased one to demo and below is my review of it. Big thanks to @MusicTeck for being a US retailer for it, I was able to purchase through them and I'd recommend you do so if the Navigator is something that is up your alley and you're in the market for one.

TL;Dr: Great dongle: big sounding, forgiving treble, and good power delivery.

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What is it?


The Navigator is an unique dongle dac/amp. The design reminds me of the things I'd see in the carryology EDC hobby, has this industrial and functional aesthetic to it. The built in phone stand is quite sturdy, it can support my iBasso DX320Max TI.


The navigator features a built in screwdriver that is secured with magnets as well which I find pretty cool since I'm into the EDC hobby myself. They include a PH0 bit, it won't fit the 1/4 inch standard bits that you'll find in screwdrivers/power drills, but it'll fit the smaller sized 4mm hex bits, for example any of the bits in this kit: https://www.ifixit.com/products/moray-driver-kit



The chassis for the Navigator feels sturdy, cool to the touch and feels cool even when in use.

The Navigator comes with two lanyards, one grey and one orange, I put the bright orange on my unit so I can quickly find it plus I like the color pop.



Random Facts about Navigator:
Weight: 64 grams
Dimensions: 2.75 in x 1.375 in x 0.625 in
Power Consumption at Idle: 0.454 W (4.98V and 0.090 A) This power draw is on the high side, it may draw your battery faster than normal if you're using this with a mobile device.
Comes with a USB C to C cable, If purchased through Musicteck they will provide an additional C to Lightning cable

The volume control is done on the Navigator itself, so you'll have to max out volume at your USB source. The volume is changed by the knurled + and - buttons. I counted about 28 steps from zero volume to max volume by using an oscilloscope. There is no gain setting on the Navigator, all you'll have to controls are the volume buttons.

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How does it sound?

All listening done on my Subtonic Storm + Nightjar Sovereign Symphony cable + Roon on my PC with the Navigator in WASAPI Exclusive mode.



Tone:
Bass: subbass boosted, midbass is neutral to my ears.
Mids: neutralish, I found the mids to sound "dry" after comparing vocals and strings to my DX320Max, but it could be that the DX320Max is just lush/wet sounding here.
Treble: either neutral or mild downwards tilted, does not add more treble than storm which I find a plus since I am treble sensitive. People who prefer some sparkle in this region may not like the Navigator.

Overall tone: Kind of L shaped (subbass boost perceived, with pretty much flat line on rest of the spectrum)

Techs:
This section will be made in comparison to the Hiby FC6 since I find it unfair to compare the Navigator to my iBasso DX320Max.

Dynamics: Good dynamics here especially for a dongle. Definitely more than FC6 as well. I do not feel unsatisfied here when I listen to Storm on the Navigator.
Leading Edge: Rounded, some may find this to be on the plasticky side.
Res: I like the res, I find it to be more textured than FC6.
Stage Depth / Width: fairly average for dongle, there's more depth than width here.
Image Size: big sounding here, large sound images which leaves a grand impression on the perception of music. In particular vocals like Take me Home, Country Roads by Lana Del Rey

Soundwise, I am impressed with the tonality and techs of the Navigator. It provides an engaging and non fatiguing listening session with Storm.

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Brief Comparisons to other dongles I've heard:
Hiby FC6: I find Hiby FC6 to have a warmer presentation with smoothed out treble. The power delivery on the FC6 I find to be ok/average compared the Navigator. I felt like the FC6 staged better than the Navigator, but I don't find that aspect as important for my listening preferences.

Questyle M15: M15 to my ears sound v-shaped compared the Navigator. The treble glare that the M15 has isn't appealing for me since I am sensitive in this area. My only comment on the tech differences (I no longer have the M15 with me to do a listening comparison though so take this with a grain of salt), I believe the Navigator has more dynamics than the M15.

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Navigator Cons:
- When I connect the Navigator + Storm to my iPhone 14 pro and I try to listen louder than I normally do, I can get the iPhone to turn off the Navigator. I believe this is because the Navigator is exceeding its power budget on the iPhone and the iPhone shuts off the port to protect itself. This doesn't happen to the Navigator when I'm using it with my PC.
- Dongle is big in size compared to FC6/M15. May be cumbersome if you try to use it on the go.
- There isn't really an user manual online

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Conclusion: I like the Navigator, I plan to keep it for the foreseeable future. It fits my sonic needs ; it sounds big, has solid dynamics, and it doesn't have treble glare. Functionally, it's simple to use and looks aesthetically pleasing as well. I'm impressed with DITA for dropping this product and hoping to see what other source gear they might release in the future.

Thanks for reading!
-tamtrum