As a new and inexperienced owner of the EarMen Sparrow, I am so far quite happy with its performance. My first major snag has been that when I plug it into my Android phone, it doesn't get a signal. The device comes with a USB C – USB C cable and a USB A – USB C cable, and it works well driven by computers and phones with a USB C output. My phone is now older (Samsung A600FN with Android 10, kernel 3.18.140) The reason this phone doesn't drive the DAC appears to be either its USB micro connection or the cable.
At first I thought EarMen doesn't supply a USB micro – USB C cable just because it's an older format. So I found and bought a 15-cm cable with those connections, plugged the Sparrow in and no joy. It doesn't light up. So then I suspected that this older phone just doesn't automatically redirect to USB; however, a bit of research shows that Android has done that since Android 6 or 7. It now seems more likely that the cable may not be compatible. I perhaps naively supposed that the ability to transfer data was the only real requirement. Here is all the relevant info the packaging offers:
https://www.sackyvysavace.cz/nabijeci-kabel-aligator-usb-c-microusb-15cm-cerny-30677/
Has anyone else had experience connecting a DAC or other audio device with USB C to a USB micro? Is it a bit more complicated than just finding the right cable? I think I contacted the wrong person at EarMen (sales) and will now be impatiently pestering their customer service for an answer as well.
At first I thought EarMen doesn't supply a USB micro – USB C cable just because it's an older format. So I found and bought a 15-cm cable with those connections, plugged the Sparrow in and no joy. It doesn't light up. So then I suspected that this older phone just doesn't automatically redirect to USB; however, a bit of research shows that Android has done that since Android 6 or 7. It now seems more likely that the cable may not be compatible. I perhaps naively supposed that the ability to transfer data was the only real requirement. Here is all the relevant info the packaging offers:
- Data and charging cable
- High data transfer rate
- Ultra fast charging
https://www.sackyvysavace.cz/nabijeci-kabel-aligator-usb-c-microusb-15cm-cerny-30677/
Has anyone else had experience connecting a DAC or other audio device with USB C to a USB micro? Is it a bit more complicated than just finding the right cable? I think I contacted the wrong person at EarMen (sales) and will now be impatiently pestering their customer service for an answer as well.
