[Mellowship]

I'll be moving away for college soon and I'm planning to downsize my audio gear. I've already sold or given away most of my full-size headphones & I'm also planning to sell my Cayin N3 DAP soon. I'm interested in buying something tiny like this portable HIDIZS dac-amp for now to listen directly from my phone. I'm planning to use it with 32 ohm iems like CCA C10.

So, I'm wondering how much of a downgrade will the SQ be when compared to something like Cayin N3? I want to ultimately buy DFR but don't want to spend that kind of money now.

Also, I don't like piercing highs & am treble sensitive. I've seen some users complaining that they sound too bright. So, does it make it very fatiguing to listen for extended periods of time?

Finally, did anyone use it with Honor phones? I've read that some people have run into issues because of the weird Honor software. I have Honor 8.

Hi. Honor 8 with Emui 8 here. No problems.

 

[rad7]

Hi. Honor 8 with Emui 8 here. No problems.

Thank you!

 

[Mellowship]

Thank you!

Forgot to mention, but the battery will drain slightly faster with the sonata connected.

 

[rad7]

Forgot to mention, but the battery will drain slightly faster with the sonata connected.

Thank you for mentioning this. That is a concern for me as my phone already seems to be a bit struggling in the battery department. I wish there is a way to listen & charge at the same time like we see in Advanced Accessport Dac/Amp. EarstudioES100 seems like a much better option especially since it has the bluetooth option too, but unfortunately it is also 3 times more expensive.

 

[BigDave]

I still have not heard anything back from Hidizs. Surely they must be back from New Year holidays by now? Anyone else having issues contacting them? My sonata is still fried and is not recognized by my computer. I tried again on my phone and it just gives me a crackly mess of sound. I have tried it on other devices and the same thing. Will not even be recognised on computers.

 

[PlantsmanTX]

I still have not heard anything back from Hidizs. Surely they must be back from New Year holidays by now? Anyone else having issues contacting them? My sonata is still fried and is not recognized by my computer. I tried again on my phone and it just gives me a crackly mess of sound. I have tried it on other devices and the same thing. Will not even be recognised on computers.

If you're on Facebook, you could try sending them a message there.

 

[moisespr123]

I wrote my unboxing/simple review of this DAC today: https://moisescardona.me/the-hidizs-sonata-hd-usb-c-to-3-5mm-dac-cable/

And in Spanish here: https://moisescardona.me/es/el-cable-dac-usb-c-a-3-5mm-hidizs-sonata-hd/

 

[Mellowship]

The sonata has been pretty roughed but those cable connections didn't keep me from worrying me from time to time. So I just modded it.



Reversible reinforcement of the cable. Wrapped in ptfe tape, then covered with shoestring and finished with retractable.

 

[Lifted Andreas]

The sonata has been pretty roughed but those cable connections didn't keep me from worrying me from time to time. So I just modded it.



Reversible reinforcement of the cable. Wrapped in ptfe tape, then covered with shoestring and finished with retractable.

That's a lovely mod.

I'm personally not worried about the cable itself, but the black paint on the jack side of the cable has started rubbing off in places though.

 

[PlantsmanTX]

I wrote my unboxing/simple review of this DAC today: https://moisescardona.me/the-hidizs-sonata-hd-usb-c-to-3-5mm-dac-cable/

And in Spanish here: https://moisescardona.me/es/el-cable-dac-usb-c-a-3-5mm-hidizs-sonata-hd/

Those are good, clear step-by-step instructions. Well done.

 

[mysiak]

I went through the whole topic, but I'm a bit confused about a couple of points. I have Xiaomi Mi A1 phone which has absolutely terribly noisy headphone output with sensitive headphones. So despite having 3.5mm jack on the phone and capable of driving my 250ohm Beyerdynamic DT990pro, I'm looking for a noiseless USB-C DAC/AMP dongle. Sonata is receiving mixed reviews, some claim that they are completely silent, others that hissing noise can be heard. So..

1. how is the hissing noise with low impedance and highly sensitive IEMs (Etymotic research for example)? Any owners with such combination?
2. I don't call much, but I use volume/play buttons on the headphones very often, do they work with every type of firmware? I can unplug the DAC to make a call, but find buttons essential and a must have.
3. I am not really interested in USB Audio locking, extremely high volume output and want to hear my notifications, in such case I need to keep firmware A, correct?
4. Is there audible difference between different firmwares when playing streamed music/videos (Google music, youtube,..)? To my understanding it matters only with USB Audio lock and high res files, which I don't plan to use yet.

I can still use my phone's headphone output for higher impedance headphones, but I basically can't stand it with IEMs. Maybe I need to look at another dongles..?

Thanks in advance guys.

 

[dude30003]

4. Is there audible difference between different firmwares when playing streamed music/

I have a xiaomi mi a2 and the sound quality with spotify is much much better than the stock output. I use A firmware and still get notifications, remote works etc. No difference between A and C firmwares for me. D sounds a bit better I guess. I only have sensitive IEMs though and never tried anything with high impedance.

Also in terms if dongles I think this is the best you can get. The next level is an external dac/amp.

 

[mysiak]

I have a xiaomi mi a2 and the sound quality with spotify is much much better than the stock output. I use A firmware and still get notifications, remote works etc. No difference between A and C firmwares for me. D sounds a bit better I guess. I only have sensitive IEMs though and never tried anything with high impedance.

Also in terms if dongles I think this is the best you can get. The next level is an external dac/amp.

Thanks, I ordered one - got some coupon on Aliexpress, so it was a no-brainer for 22eur. I will try different firmware versions just for the sake of comparison, but as long as the headphone output doesn't hiss and I can use my headset buttons, it'll be a win for me even with the "non musical" D firmware.

 

[Zeus1017]

Hey could anyone please guide me through the setup process of Sonata HD with UAPP on android? I have firmware D installed. First of all should I change Internal audio driver to original or Hires? Secondly what settings should I change in the Usb audio option? Lastly if I select bit perfect streaming, software volume control doesn't work and I can't control my volume in the app but when I deactivate bit perfect volume control works. I would be really glad if you could guide me through the setup.

 

[jameson71]

1. how is the hissing noise with low impedance and highly sensitive IEMs (Etymotic research for example)? Any owners with such combination?

I have a pair of Etymotics HF3 that I use with my Sonata HD and as far as I can tell there is absolutely no background hiss at all. I have tried to listen for it but can hear none.