Hidizs Sonata HD DAC cable - new tiny and mighty DAC&AMP
Feb 10, 2019 at 2:17 PM Post #408 of 862
I measured the output impedance of my Sonata HD DAC Cable II: 1.8 Ohm.
Conclusion: you can use the Sonata with most multi-BA IEMs, only some impedance-critical headphones like the Andromeda might have some deviations in their frequency response.

Thank you for confirming what I've believed all the time!
 
Feb 10, 2019 at 2:22 PM Post #409 of 862
I measured the output impedance of my Sonata HD DAC Cable II: 1.8 Ohm.
Conclusion: you can use the Sonata with most multi-BA IEMs, only some impedance-critical headphones like the Andromeda might have some deviations in their frequency response.

Great to finally have this said in here.

The Sonata II has been nothing short of an outstanding unit for me, its fantastic with my Sennheiser PC37x / 50ohms and IEMs with 16 ohms.

Can't believe it's so cheap. I'm thinking of buying another one so I can dedicated it to use with my phone.
 
Feb 12, 2019 at 12:43 PM Post #410 of 862
I measured the output impedance of my Sonata HD DAC Cable II: 1.8 Ohm.
Conclusion: you can use the Sonata with most multi-BA IEMs, only some impedance-critical headphones like the Andromeda might have some deviations in their frequency response.
Hey, thanks for measuring it. I asked around about hiss and some said it has some, some said it does not have any. I do hear hiss sometimes from different equipment, therefore I was worried about it, but I'm pretty sure, higher impedance earphones should have inaudible hiss...

Also, how exactly do you measure the impedance? is it something I can do with my multimeter?
 
Feb 12, 2019 at 12:51 PM Post #411 of 862
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Feb 12, 2019 at 4:08 PM Post #412 of 862
Hey, thanks for measuring it. I asked around about hiss and some said it has some, some said it does not have any. I do hear hiss sometimes from different equipment, therefore I was worried about it, but I'm pretty sure, higher impedance earphones should have inaudible hiss...

Also, how exactly do you measure the impedance? is it something I can do with my multimeter?

You are welcome.

For output impedance measurement you need
  • a multimeter that can measure AC voltage
  • a resistor (I use a 47Ohms resistor, we note its value as RL)
  • a cable that you plug into the headphone-out of the amp you want to measure. I use a cable with one 3.5mm jack on each end.
  • some more cables, preferably with clamps
First, give some sine signal on the amp. I use a 100Hz sine. Use your usual listening volume, in doubt a bit more, but stay away from clipping. I went for around 0.5V.
Measure the output voltage with the multimeter between right/left channel out and ground (i.e. for a 3.5mm jack: measure AC voltage between the first and third ring).
Make sure your multimeter correctly measures the AC voltage: change the frequency of the sine signal, the voltage measure should stay constant if you don't change the volume.
Write down the voltage you read with the multimeter - that's U1.
Now connect the resistor in parallel to the multimeter. In my example I would connect one end of the resistor to the first ring and the other end to the third ring. Cables with clamps come handy here. Keep the multimeter connected the way it was. Write down the voltage you read with the multimeter now - that's U2.
The formula for the calculation of the output impedance Ri is

Ri = RL * ( (U1 / U2) - 1)

or use this web page (in german, but it is easy to use) http://www.sengpielaudio.com/Rechner-EingangsAusgangsWiderstand.htm.

For my Sonata, I had these values:
RL = 47Ohm
U1 = 0.494V
U2 = 0.477V
and I got Ri = 1.78Ohm.
 
Feb 13, 2019 at 2:29 PM Post #414 of 862
You are welcome.

For output impedance measurement you need
  • a multimeter that can measure AC voltage
  • a resistor (I use a 47Ohms resistor, we note its value as RL)
  • a cable that you plug into the headphone-out of the amp you want to measure. I use a cable with one 3.5mm jack on each end.
  • some more cables, preferably with clamps
First, give some sine signal on the amp. I use a 100Hz sine. Use your usual listening volume, in doubt a bit more, but stay away from clipping. I went for around 0.5V.
Measure the output voltage with the multimeter between right/left channel out and ground (i.e. for a 3.5mm jack: measure AC voltage between the first and third ring).
Make sure your multimeter correctly measures the AC voltage: change the frequency of the sine signal, the voltage measure should stay constant if you don't change the volume.
Write down the voltage you read with the multimeter - that's U1.
Now connect the resistor in parallel to the multimeter. In my example I would connect one end of the resistor to the first ring and the other end to the third ring. Cables with clamps come handy here. Keep the multimeter connected the way it was. Write down the voltage you read with the multimeter now - that's U2.
The formula for the calculation of the output impedance Ri is

Ri = RL * ( (U1 / U2) - 1)

or use this web page (in german, but it is easy to use) http://www.sengpielaudio.com/Rechner-EingangsAusgangsWiderstand.htm.

For my Sonata, I had these values:
RL = 47Ohm
U1 = 0.494V
U2 = 0.477V
and I got Ri = 1.78Ohm.

Thanks for the reply! I'm bookmarking your post to test out my crappy laptop headphone out impedance :D
 
Feb 13, 2019 at 2:35 PM Post #415 of 862
I received my Hidizs Sonata HD two days ago and I was testing them with very low impedance and sensitive iems and luckly I din't find any hiss sound while listening. Also I discovered I am able to aswer calls (with good quality in mic) using firmware D pure music. Also I checked the latency of the mic in windows is very very short, I can listen my voice also at the same I speak. The soundstage it gives is simply great.
 
Feb 13, 2019 at 9:57 PM Post #416 of 862
Hi guys, not sure if anyone else has had this problem but I just got my sonata in the mail yesterday and when I plugged it into my computer it got boiling hot. I was trying to change the firmware to pure music D but stopped when I touched the DAC and felt how hot it was. Not warm - hot. Anyone else have this?
cheers
 
Feb 14, 2019 at 8:36 AM Post #417 of 862
I received my Hidizs Sonata HD two days ago and I was testing them with very low impedance and sensitive iems and luckly I din't find any hiss sound while listening. Also I discovered I am able to aswer calls (with good quality in mic) using firmware D pure music. Also I checked the latency of the mic in windows is very very short, I can listen my voice also at the same I speak. The soundstage it gives is simply great.

I'm glad you mentioned latency. how is the latency when watching videos? is the audio in sync with the video?
 
Feb 14, 2019 at 8:36 AM Post #418 of 862
Hi guys, not sure if anyone else has had this problem but I just got my sonata in the mail yesterday and when I plugged it into my computer it got boiling hot. I was trying to change the firmware to pure music D but stopped when I touched the DAC and felt how hot it was. Not warm - hot. Anyone else have this?
cheers

Hello: I have the same problem, when I connect it, both to the computer and the phone, it heats up a lot and the music is distorted.
In mid-January, I contacted Hidizs and they sent me another, but they told me that they don't have stock until the end of February :frowning2: :frowning2:
 
Feb 14, 2019 at 8:40 AM Post #419 of 862
Hi guys, not sure if anyone else has had this problem but I just got my sonata in the mail yesterday and when I plugged it into my computer it got boiling hot. I was trying to change the firmware to pure music D but stopped when I touched the DAC and felt how hot it was. Not warm - hot. Anyone else have this?
cheers

Hello: I have the same problem, when I connect it, both to the computer and the phone, it heats up a lot and the music is distorted.
In mid-January, I contacted Hidizs and they sent me another, but they told me that they don't have stock until the end of February :frowning2: :frowning2:

Both of these occurrences definitely sound like a faulty unit (no pun intended).

Also, Hidisz is likely out of stock because this tiny device has become very popular. Just to note, mine stays plugged into my laptop most of the time while it's in operation. I use it for both sound and microphone, it gets warm during long hours of operation but definitely not hot to touch.

PS. I use firmware A because that's the only way the mic works for me in Windows 10, I tried firmware C but for some reason even though Windows detects that there's a Sonata microphone, but it doesn't actually work. I would be grateful if anyone can tell me why?
 
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Feb 16, 2019 at 11:37 PM Post #420 of 862
what combination of full-size headphone work best with this cable II unit? I enjoy instrumental jazz, will be playing flac file from my Xiaomi Note 5AI phone. I see some headphone may produce hiss, so I want to avoid this obviously. My budget is under $100 (Cable II - amazon $28) including headphone.
 

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