Iphone 12 Pro or DAP?
Sep 2, 2021 at 3:27 AM Post #31 of 76
Are there any cheap DAC for iphone? DAC only, not AMP. 2V out
I already have the apple dongle. but 1V out is not enough
 
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Sep 2, 2021 at 7:08 AM Post #32 of 76
Are there any cheap DAC for iphone? DAC only, not AMP. 2V out
I already have the apple dongle. but 1V out is not enough
DAC only? Maybe I don't understand your question or application.

There are several dongle DACs out there. I have the Hiby FC3 which works well and is within the iPhone power limits for USB. Power is 70+70mW@32Ω.
 
Sep 2, 2021 at 7:12 AM Post #33 of 76
DAC only? Maybe I don't understand your question or application.

There are several dongle DACs out there. I have the Hiby FC3 which works well and is within the iPhone power limits for USB. Power is 70+70mW@32Ω.
Dac only.
iphone---->DAC-----> xCAN
 
Sep 2, 2021 at 7:16 AM Post #34 of 76
Doesn’t xCan already include an excellent ESS DAC?
 
Sep 2, 2021 at 7:41 AM Post #35 of 76
Dac only.
iphone---->DAC-----> xCAN

Ah, I see. I don't know of any portable devices are line-out only. The FC3 should output 2V (ES9281 DAC) against a line-out load, but I haven't tested. I guess technically that's double-amping, right?
 
Sep 2, 2021 at 7:47 AM Post #36 of 76
Doesn’t xCan already include an excellent ESS DAC?

I believe that is only for the BT function. There are no digital inputs, AFAIK.
 
Sep 2, 2021 at 10:21 AM Post #37 of 76
An external dongle DAC with the xCAN would be double amping. If you're using the xCan, might as well get the Zen DAC to use. If you want something portable, get one of the S tier dongles from the site I linked a few posts back.
 
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Sep 2, 2021 at 11:56 AM Post #38 of 76
Just want to chime in that you can check on the Apple website how much you'll get for your G8 on trade-in. Looks like you'll get $60, assuming the phone is in decent condition.
Tell your wife you're planning on buying a $200 dongle/DAP if you have to get rid of your old phone. If she wants you to trade your old LG for financial reasons, you'd save $140 by keeping it.

I just switched from a Samsung Galaxy S9 to the iPhone 12 Mini and am pretty happy with the switch. After a certified repair shop broke my S9's motherboard and refused to fix it without charging me "a lot" (their words), I decided to make the switch.
Personal opinion: just start with the Lightning dongle and see where that takes you. I just plugged in my DT 1990 (250Ω) and it sounds great and gets them louder than I like to listen (though without terribly much room in the volume control). I've used a FiiO BTR5*, an AudioQuest Dragonfly Red**, and an old FiiO X5+E12A*** stack and to me the Lightning dongle sounds just as good as any of those and costs way, way, way less.
If you decide to use the dongle, you just saved $191. If you decide to buy something else, you only wasted $9.

* I do not think the BTR5 is a very good product and wouldn't really recommend it. You can buy twelve Lightning dongles for the price of one BTR5.
** I liked the DFR when I used it, but in retrospect it was a total ripoff and also not a very good product. It broke just after the one year warranty expired. You can buy 22 Lightning dongles for the price of one DFR, and each one will be a better product than the AudioQuest. In my opinion, of course.
*** The original X5 is what has turned me off from modern DAPs. What a hunk of junk. Sounded like trash and the UI was even worse than the sound. The firmware was even worse than that. The E12A made the whole sound much better, but it ended up weighing 8 ounces (226.8 grams)! You could buy 55 iPhone dongles for the price of this stack and it would still weigh less than half! And sound as good!
I realize that the X5 isn't made anymore and that possibly newer DAPs are better in every way, but the experience with it soured me on DAPs. In fact, my experience with the BTR5 and X5 has soured me on FiiO and portable audiophilia in general.
 
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Sep 2, 2021 at 2:25 PM Post #39 of 76
Just my 2¢

With everything being said, I have a 12 Pro Max and I have been using the 2.5mm balanced port on the HIDIZS S9 Pro. I am very satisfied with it. I haven't really compared it to my other DAC/Amps, but when not at home, it's very convenient to put the S9 and Lightning to USB-C cable in my IEM case and have everything together in 1 case. I don't think I would be able to hear the subtle intricacies anyways when sitting in my car with the A/C on during lunch with ANY device; nothing is going to compare to the A50s/D50s stack I have in my quiet home next to my reclining couch.
 
Sep 2, 2021 at 2:41 PM Post #40 of 76
do you make phone calls or use internet, iPhone wins. I use one with Hugo
 
Sep 2, 2021 at 2:49 PM Post #41 of 76
I just re-read through the whole thread and have a few thoughts to add for you to consider:

1. iPhones currently don't support HiFi streaming over BT, so I would forget about any dongles that use BT to connect

2. IIRC, the iPhone 3.5mm dongle has 34mW of power; while it does sound VERY good with lower impedance headphones, my experience has shown that more power will get you better sound in most cases. Another thing to consider is that it only supports up to 24/48.

3. Comparing DAPs to dongles, I have seen DAPs don't offer much more power. The S9 Pro in balanced mode will out put 200mW, which is equal to a lot of the DAPs out there.

4. Apple Music now supports Lossless streaming, but highest quality offered is 24/192. If they ever decide to increase it (which I don't think they will) many dongles now can do 32/768 and DSD512.
 
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Sep 2, 2021 at 3:30 PM Post #42 of 76
I should add that the iPhone dongle is pretty flimsy feeling. I just spent an hour-ish with it connected to my DT 1990 (which have a pretty heavy cable), and it was bent so that it looked like it might break. It's cheap to replace, but having these things constantly die might get annoying.

Also, it may not have much power, but it does sound good. And I'll stand by that. I'd disagree that it'd sound better with "more power." All power does is make it louder or quieter.
 
Sep 2, 2021 at 3:58 PM Post #43 of 76
I'd disagree that it'd sound better with "more power." All power does is make it louder or quieter.
Maybe I'm phrasing it wrong, but there have been many headphones and IEMs that have sounded much more open and detailed when they are provided with more headroom.
 
Sep 2, 2021 at 5:09 PM Post #44 of 76
Maybe I'm phrasing it wrong, but there have been many headphones and IEMs that have sounded much more open and detailed when they are provided with more headroom.

IMO people tend to think more power is better and obsess over max milliwatts or voltage, but it is much, much more complicated than that. Power ratings using RMS output really do only tell you how loud the amp can play. It doesn't tell you a thing about speed, dynamics, quality, etc.

It makes me chuckle when people go on about "high gain" sounding better when all it does is change the volume setting (and potentially increase noise and hiss).
 
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Sep 2, 2021 at 6:22 PM Post #45 of 76
Maybe I was looking to say "they scale better with more power/different amps"
 

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