[Owludio]

Hi, first post on the forum but I've been lurking chi-fi threads for years

Anyways, I just replaced my phone and my new one doesn't have a 3.5mm jack anymore. Ouch! I just can't find reasonably priced BT IEMs that sound as good as wired ones I already own. Plus, yet another battery to keep charged... Wired is just less of a headache for me, I'm sure other users here can relate.

I own several chinese IEMs, my favourite ones in my collection ATM are the Tennmak Piano (I know the Pros are an upgrade but those are the ones I have) and the CCA C12 (they do NEED an EQ to boost the mid frequencies tho).

I tried the 3.5mm to USB-C adapter that came in my phone's box and I was very unimpressed with both the clarity and the volume output, when compared to my previous phone's analog output. I then learned that there USED TO be (since I cannot find it in stock anymore) a "direct to" USB-C replacement cable for KZ/CCA IEMs, and I would like to know where I can find one that ships to Europe.

I also ordered a Meizu HiFi non-pro (since the Pro is too much for my needs) but having something I can directly plug into my phone would be VERY convenient.

Also, since I'll be rooting my phone (which BTW is a Xiaomi Mi 10, not the note one, the 5G one) I'd like to know if the mods detailed in this XDA thread are still needed on Android 10 or generally on recent Xiaomi phones. I will not be using USB Audio Player PRO as my main player, as I mostly use headphones on my phone to listen to streaming services or for videos.

Anyways, thank you for your attention and good listening to all!

I would recommend FiiO BTR3K - excellent BT LDAC + USB DAC with both SE & Balanced. It sounds a lot better than you would expect from BT adapter. It was a surprise to me as I also own BTR5 and given, how good BTR3K is I expect it to cannibalize some BTR5 sales. Also, both LDAC and APTX HD sound so good on it, that I predict that on the go, u would't not bother with USB connection. I know that Google is evil now(they dropped "Not be evil" slogan), and not loved in Europe for many other reasons but I myself year ago left Spotify Premium and switched to Google because of sound quality that I find to be superior on Google. Now for $12(I wonder if Europe makes it more expensive) I get it all: Music, Youtube off-screen+offline+ adds-free+ YT Music . Google play music is supported by UAPP! Also, I find that UAPP makes Google music sound so much better on both LDAC & USB.
I also owned Tennmak Piano and gave away them to my friend, who is sound engineer and needed a beater with good mids that sounds kind of like budget speaker system for on the go... Also, doesn't Ali-Express ship to Europe? They have it all!

 

[xtremesystems]

i will recommend earstudio es100. app of this transmitter is way better than fiio's. the eq is brilliant and sound is very good. it has 3.5 unbalanced and 2.5 ballanced outputs

 

[Pisanoid]

I appreciate your suggestions, however I still don't want to go wireless for many reasons. I was looking specifically at dongles and cable replacement cause they are the least annoying to carry around. AliExpress does ship to europe but there aren't any KZ USB-C cables available there, or at least I'm not able to find them: they only have Lightning (Apple) ones. I did find some USB-C ones but from a website that with prices in a currency I never saw before that I learned was for the Philippines.

 

[Owludio]

i will recommend earstudio es100. app of this transmitter is way better than fiio's. the eq is brilliant and sound is very good. it has 3.5 unbalanced and 2.5 ballanced outputs

I own 3 of ES100. They're a staple! But only micro usb, no USB C, also $90 in US and probably more in EU. If you EQ a lot - it's worth it, otherwise FiiO sounds slightly better to me. I also love Shanling UP4. Not UP2, which is buggy. Direct USB C to headphone cable makes no sense to me. Adapter with LDAC APTX HD on the go sounds just as good. Only in quiet room it's easy to tell the difference. People, who didn't try latest BT tech don't realize how much progress has been made recently.. What Asian stores do ship to EU? We're so spoiled here in US...

 

[Pisanoid]

I own 3 of ES100. They're a staple! But only micro usb, no USB C, also $90 in US and probably more in EU. If you EQ a lot - it's worth it, otherwise FiiO sounds slightly better to me. I also love Shanling UP4. Not UP2, which is buggy. Direct USB C to headphone cable makes no sense to me. Adapter with LDAC APTX HD on the go sounds just as good. Only in quiet room it's easy to tell the difference. People, who didn't try latest BT tech don't realize how much progress has been made recently.. What Asian stores do ship to EU? We're so spoiled here in US...

I don't want to carry a BT receiver of that size around, and if I'm home I'd rather have wired. I can only fit my wallet, my keys, my phone and just barely a super thin case for IEMs. It's a bit better in the winter cause of jackets and stuff, but otherwise in the warmer period of the year I'm very strapped for pocket real-estate unless I'm carrying some kind of bag with me which is almost never.
I guess I'll just have to be extra careful with my Meizu adapter.

 

[Nimweth]

CA16 review: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/cca-ca16.24390/reviews

 

[Thx1326]

CA16 review: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/cca-ca16.24390/reviews

This is a repost from my response to your review..Nicely Done... but thought the comments were also relavent here:

You were pretty much spot on with my assessment of the CA16. Although I must say that while I appreciate your choice of music, I chose to listen to music more on the high energy rock genre and also focused on instrumentals and vocals. This IEM really does seem to meet the needs of the classical lovers, the so called audiophiles as well as us rockers. It portrays an accurate and most importantly a very musical and listenable (with no fatigue) rendition of whatever you feed it. Lik

BTW... I'm kind of glad they went without the metal faceplate. The plastic and/or resin is well suited for these IEM's and I don't really need my kids reminding that I look like I have Borg implants when I wear them.



Thanks for the review.... Enjoy the music!

 

[morphon]

I appreciate your suggestions, however I still don't want to go wireless for many reasons. I was looking specifically at dongles and cable replacement cause they are the least annoying to carry around. AliExpress does ship to europe but there aren't any KZ USB-C cables available there, or at least I'm not able to find them: they only have Lightning (Apple) ones. I did find some USB-C ones but from a website that with prices in a currency I never saw before that I learned was for the Philippines.

Hello, friend!

Allow me to suggest a dongle with the Realtek ALC4042 DAC chip. There are many available through Amazon, Ebay, and AE. It has 32bit/384khz decoding and a very unusual class-G amplifier. I think it is much too powerful for IEMs when driven by a full-amperage USB port (like on a desktop computer) but is perfectly reasonable out of a phone. Is it as clean sounding as my FiiO BTR5? No. But they are $13(US), and are much better than any other dongle I've used.

Also - the official Apple USB-C dongle is highly regarded, and very inexpensive. It doesn't deliver the power of an ALC4042 design, but for most IEMs you don't need all that power anyway.

Happy shopping!

EDIT: I should add - the USB-C dongle from Apple obeys the USB audio spec, so it should work in pretty much any device. Make sure you get the USB-C one (meant for the iPad Pro) and not the Lightning one (meant for the iPhone).

 

[Dave Drums]

All this wireless chat is very interesting! I was considering converting a pair of KZ or CCA to wireless but I'm out of my depth with all the tech talk!
Dongle's TWS etc I'm a bit lost lol
I wonder if the convenience of true wireless with just ear buds and no leads is compromised when you start attaching cables and batteries that hang below the ear?
I would be keen to hear from others thoughts who have tried this mod....
What with all the custom stylings I see with aftermarket cables/tips etc there's bound to be quite a few people on here that are doing it!

 

[axhng]

Hello, friend!

Allow me to suggest a dongle with the Realtek ALC4042 DAC chip. There are many available through Amazon, Ebay, and AE. It has 32bit/384khz decoding and a very unusual class-G amplifier. I think it is much too powerful for IEMs when driven by a full-amperage USB port (like on a desktop computer) but is perfectly reasonable out of a phone. Is it as clean sounding as my FiiO BTR5? No. But they are $13(US), and are much better than any other dongle I've used.

Also - the official Apple USB-C dongle is highly regarded, and very inexpensive. It doesn't deliver the power of an ALC4042 design, but for most IEMs you don't need all that power anyway.

Happy shopping!

EDIT: I should add - the USB-C dongle from Apple obeys the USB audio spec, so it should work in pretty much any device. Make sure you get the USB-C one (meant for the iPad Pro) and not the Lightning one (meant for the iPhone).

Would second this. The Apple USB-C to 3.5mm sounds pretty clean to me (i'm only using it with easy to drive IEMs earbuds and it's good enough for my needs), just that the cable is rather thin. I'm using it on my Mac Mini even though it already has a built in jack because the adapter sounds nicer. Though the only down side is that if you're planning on using it with Android phones, it doesn't seem to be able to draw as much power compared to when plugged into something more powerful? So for example, the Google 1st gen 3.5mm adapter sounds noticeably louder on my android phone compared to the Apple adapter, but on my Mac Mini the apple adapter is able to get louder.

Anyway.... on cca's website...
http://www.cca-earphone.com/en/pro/tws bluetooth headset/

 

[Slater]

Anyway.... on cca's website...
http://www.cca-earphone.com/en/pro/tws bluetooth headset/

Nice find. Unfortunately it’s more than likely going to suffer from the same connectivity problems as other KZ TWS earphones.

 

[pfloyd]

I have to say I am truly astonished at the naturalness these C16s exude for the number balanced armatures they possess. Sometimes it sounds like there’s a discreet armature for each instrument and yet the sound coalesces into a harmonious whole. Good Stuff

 

[Pisanoid]

Hello, friend!

Allow me to suggest a dongle with the Realtek ALC4042 DAC chip. There are many available through Amazon, Ebay, and AE. It has 32bit/384khz decoding and a very unusual class-G amplifier. I think it is much too powerful for IEMs when driven by a full-amperage USB port (like on a desktop computer) but is perfectly reasonable out of a phone. Is it as clean sounding as my FiiO BTR5? No. But they are $13(US), and are much better than any other dongle I've used.

Also - the official Apple USB-C dongle is highly regarded, and very inexpensive. It doesn't deliver the power of an ALC4042 design, but for most IEMs you don't need all that power anyway.

Happy shopping!

EDIT: I should add - the USB-C dongle from Apple obeys the USB audio spec, so it should work in pretty much any device. Make sure you get the USB-C one (meant for the iPad Pro) and not the Lightning one (meant for the iPhone).

Would second this. The Apple USB-C to 3.5mm sounds pretty clean to me (i'm only using it with easy to drive IEMs earbuds and it's good enough for my needs), just that the cable is rather thin. I'm using it on my Mac Mini even though it already has a built in jack because the adapter sounds nicer. Though the only down side is that if you're planning on using it with Android phones, it doesn't seem to be able to draw as much power compared to when plugged into something more powerful? So for example, the Google 1st gen 3.5mm adapter sounds noticeably louder on my android phone compared to the Apple adapter, but on my Mac Mini the apple adapter is able to get louder.

Anyway.... on cca's website...
http://www.cca-earphone.com/en/pro/tws bluetooth headset/

Ok so, thanks for the ALC4042 suggestion, I already ordered a Meizu dongle but since I found the one you suggested for very cheap on AliExpress (link here for who's interested) I said what the hell, why not just order one of those too, worst case scenario it will serve as a backup for when I'll inevitably lose my Meizu one.

About the Apple one, there is a specific procedure detailed on XDA forums to bring out more power out of it, I dunno how relevant it is with current Android versions or if it works with more customized versions (such as MIUI, Samsung's OneUI) since the guide was made for a Pixel. It does require root. If you're interested, here's the guide in question.

TBH I'm not gonna buy an Apple dongle since it would cost me more than one with the ALC4042, which according to you guys is better, but that guide may be helpful if you already own one.

 

[bhazard]

Can confirm w/ the ALC4042. It's not amazing, but very listenable for ~$12 compared to almost anything else at that price. Have no choice now with the Galaxy S20.

CA16 on the way. I have a feeling my BL-05 and V90 will be up for sale shortly after.

I have far too many old KZ / CCA IEMs that I should put up for sale to those looking for them.

 

[Pisanoid]

Can confirm w/ the ALC4042. It's not amazing, but very listenable for ~$12 compared to almost anything else at that price. Have no choice now with the Galaxy S20.

CA16 on the way. I have a feeling my BL-05 and V90 will be up for sale shortly after.

I have far too many old KZ / CCA IEMs that I should put up for sale to those looking for them.

I got my ALC4042 for just under 10$ inc shipping, and you can get it for even cheaper but it's just a solid connector with USB-C male on one side and 3.5 female on the other, decided to spend the extra 2/3$ and go for the dongle design for ease of use.
The most insulting thing about my phone's included dongle is that there's a big golden "Hi-Res Audio" logo on the box, I honestly don't know what they're referring to at this point cause the dongle's quality is trash compared to my previous phone's analog output (Mi 9T Pro, which also had the same logo). Maybe they're referring to the fact that the phone can reproduce and output high sample rates and bitrates out of the box? IDK. Either way, I'm stuck with that terrible dongle the foreseeable future (China shippings take a couple months at least) and I hate it more each coming day. I don't even consider myself particularly snob, but believe me when I say it is that bad.