[photosonic]

Hi, I'm interested in buying this device. I read that it is compatible with my Google Pixel 2, but what intrigues me is how much is the consumption it requires, consumption more or less the same as other audio adapters type-c to 3.5 mm?

Seems to consume about the same amount of power as my Cyberdrive Clarity Feather DAC. It definitely sounds much better than the DAC that is built in my Google Pixel 1 phone. Bass tightens up, mid-range is more alive, and treble clarity is greatly increased.

 

[Galeonero]

Seems to consume about the same amount of power as my Cyberdrive Clarity Feather DAC. It definitely sounds much better than the DAC that is built in my Google Pixel 1 phone. Bass tightens up, mid-range is more alive, and treble clarity is greatly increased.

Hello, thank you very much for your response, but what would be the same amount? Do you consume the same if you use the 3.5 mm input?

 

[BreadFi]

Received mine this week to use with my DT770 32 ohm/Samsung S8+. Initial impressions were good, though volume increase over the Samsung was marginal.
Upon plugging it into my laptop (for flashing with full sound-only firmware), I noticed a big increase in volume/headroom.
After some research (I'm new to android DACs/amps) I installed USB Audio Player Pro on the Samsung, which gave buckets of volume and let me play tidal up to max "master" resolution (and use hardware vol control).

Really nice and convenient piece of kit and
a no brainer for <40 USD.

Hello, thank you very much for your response, but what would be the same amount? Do you consume the same if you use the 3.5 mm input?

I did a quick and not very scientific test listening at similar moderate levels (taking into account screen use and slow refresh rate).
Draw goes from -430 mAh to -480/500 mAh (ish) , so no huge increase.

 

[Galeonero]

Received mine this week to use with my DT770 32 ohm/Samsung S8+. Initial impressions were good, though volume increase over the Samsung was marginal.
Upon plugging it into my laptop (for flashing with full sound-only firmware), I noticed a big increase in volume/headroom.
After some research (I'm new to android DACs/amps) I installed USB Audio Player Pro on the Samsung, which gave buckets of volume and let me play tidal up to max "master" resolution (and use hardware vol control).

Really nice and convenient piece of kit and
a no brainer for <40 USD.



I did a quick and not very scientific test listening at similar moderate levels (taking into account screen use and slow refresh rate).
Draw goes from -430 mAh to -480/500 mAh (ish) , so no huge increase.

I had seen that USB audio player application, that application allows you to ignore the limitation of audio on Android so you comment or I'm wrong?
Thanks for your answer.

 

[BreadFi]

I had seen that USB audio player application, that application allows you to ignore the limitation of audio on Android so you comment or I'm wrong?
Thanks for your answer.

Yes - it seems the Hidizs doesn't output full power unless using this app (might be other USB Audio apps that work as well). The app also allows max bitrate/resolution).

 

[Navanod]

Hi,

Thanks for this review, it is really an interesting option, esp the ability to flash the fw to enable different modes.

This seems to be the only review I can find on this dac adaptor?

I'm upgrading to a Pixel 2 XL from a HTC 10 and is trying to find a USB C to 3.5mm cable/dongle that can hopefully match the HTC 10's audio quality without introducing too much bulk.
I had used a FiiO E07K before and it is just too clumsy for daily commute. Even the Dragonflies seemed bulky to me. All the adaptors, cables and wires to get caught on things on a crowded train!

Are there any comparisons between this and other popular portable DAC amps? Eg Dragonflies, stock Google dongle, Razer dongle?

If cost was not an issue, I would want a Nextdrive Spectra X. Direct USB C to 3.5mm with a Sabre DAC. But it's 8 times the cost of the Sonata!

 

[Galeonero]

Hi,

Thanks for this review, it is really an interesting option, esp the ability to flash the fw to enable different modes.

This seems to be the only review I can find on this dac adaptor?

I'm upgrading to a Pixel 2 XL from a HTC 10 and is trying to find a USB C to 3.5mm cable/dongle that can hopefully match the HTC 10's audio quality without introducing too much bulk.
I had used a FiiO E07K before and it is just too clumsy for daily commute. Even the Dragonflies seemed bulky to me. All the adaptors, cables and wires to get caught on things on a crowded train!

Are there any comparisons between this and other popular portable DAC amps? Eg Dragonflies, stock Google dongle, Razer dongle?

If cost was not an issue, I would want a Nextdrive Spectra X. Direct USB C to 3.5mm with a Sabre DAC. But it's 8 times the cost of the Sonata!

Hi, I'm in the same situation as your I have a pixel 2 and I want to improve the audio quality, since the adapter did not last more than a month. I was seeing many options and I think the best option is this dac has a pretty good quality and very good durability. The other option is that you buy a Bluetooth adapter the best for $ 100 is earstudio es100, is smaller than the cell phone charger pixel 2

 

[Navanod]

Hi, I'm in the same situation as your I have a pixel 2 and I want to improve the audio quality, since the adapter did not last more than a month. I was seeing many options and I think the best option is this dac has a pretty good quality and very good durability. The other option is that you buy a Bluetooth adapter the best for $ 100 is earstudio es100, is smaller than the cell phone charger pixel 2

Yea. I've tried a BT adaptor from LG but even with aptX, the SQ took an obvious hit. Plus, the battery life and different charging port (micro USB) is a pain.

Have you tried the Sonata? The stock Google dongle is supposed to be pretty good (when it works) but we need to mess around to reduce the default gains or there will be distortions according to another thread

 

[peter123]

Yea. I've tried a BT adaptor from LG but even with aptX, the SQ took an obvious hit. Plus, the battery life and different charging port (micro USB) is a pain.

Have you tried the Sonata? The stock Google dongle is supposed to be pretty good (when it works) but we need to mess around to reduce the default gains or there will be distortions according to another thread

The Sonata is really good sounding imo, a significant step up from the Galaxy S8 3.5mm output.

That being said the mentioned ES100 is a extremely good device and yet another step up from the Sonata (but also a good deal more expensive). Just because you've tried one Bluetooth option doesn't mean they're all bad.....

 

[BreadFi]

I'm upgrading to a Pixel 2 XL from a HTC 10 and is trying to find a USB C to 3.5mm cable/dongle that can hopefully match the HTC 10's audio quality without introducing too much bulk.

The Sonata cable offers better quality and significantly more power than any standard built in portable device 3.5mm I've heard.

I use an OTL amp and a couple USB DAW interfaces at home, and the Sonata cable is definitely enough to satisfy my need for a portable amp (with my 32 ohm Beyers).

 

[Navanod]

The Sonata is really good sounding imo, a significant step up from the Galaxy S8 3.5mm output.

That being said the mentioned ES100 is a extremely good device and yet another step up from the Sonata (but also a good deal more expensive). Just because you've tried one Bluetooth option doesn't mean they're all bad.....

Thanks for your input.
I'm currently very spoilt on a HTC 10. Audio is great but the camera and call quality is dodgy as...
So I'm trying to gauge if the Sonata can come similar to the HTC 10 or LG V30. I understand that it'll blow most other phone's 3.5mm out of the water.

Very fair point about the BT. I have not had the incentives to try the aptX HD or the higher end BT, so I can totally agree that it is possibly the future.

 

[peter123]

Thanks for your input.
I'm currently very spoilt on a HTC 10. Audio is great but the camera and call quality is dodgy as...
So I'm trying to gauge if the Sonata can come similar to the HTC 10 or LG V30. I understand that it'll blow most other phone's 3.5mm out of the water.

Very fair point about the BT. I have not had the incentives to try the aptX HD or the higher end BT, so I can totally agree that it is possibly the future.

If your phone can output LDAC it seems to be a consensus that it's the best sounding codex with the ES100 but this is off topic here so if you're interested in more information about the ES100 you can join us in the dedicated thread

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/radsone-earstudio.867366/page-156#post-14448536

 

[Navanod]

The Sonata cable offers better quality and significantly more power than any standard built in portable device 3.5mm I've heard.

I use an OTL amp and a couple USB DAW interfaces at home, and the Sonata cable is definitely enough to satisfy my need for a portable amp (with my 32 ohm Beyers).

Sounds great
I would say that I'm not comparing it to a "standard" 3.5 mm device though. Am going to pull the trigger on this and do a comparison to the HTC 10 on a 32ohm Sennheiser HD569 as well as a couple of iems.

 

[dodap]

I tried the Sonata HD DAC cable. It worked out of the box with my Windows 10 notebook. But neither my LG 5 nor my OnePlus 3 could see the device. And I could not change the firmware to "pure music" as the windows software (1.4.0.0) did not recognize the Sonata and I cannot change the VID or PID values (and I could not identify the values in the driver information anyway).

 

[Dobrescu George]

I tried the Sonata HD DAC cable. It worked out of the box with my Windows 10 notebook. But neither my LG 5 nor my OnePlus 3 could see the device. And I could not change the firmware to "pure music" as the windows software (1.4.0.0) did not recognize the Sonata and I cannot change the VID or PID values (and I could not identify the values in the driver information anyway).

You should contact HIDIZS, maybe your unit has some kind of issue (?)

Sonata was pretty much recognized right away on my PC and phone, didn't cause any issues (?)