[FiiO]

@FiiO hey, have you guys tested your portable dacs with Pixel 8 pro phones.

I own a KA3, btr7, tanchjim space, moondrop dawn and one ddhifi dac. They all dont work with Pixel 8 phones.

I lost my KA3, so i haven't tried that one, but the rest of them make static noise on the left channel when plugged in. I tried posting in Pixel 8 support forums but they say that i should contact dac manufacturers. I want to buy a wired Fiio Dac, because i have had good experience with products from Fiio.

I have been researching and it seem like Pixel 8 just support some dacs and not all of them. Seen alot of threads regarding that on reddit.

Would be awesome if we knew which dacs work with newest Pixel and which dont. Thank you in advance.

Dear friend,

Sorry it seems that my colleagues and friends are not using this mobile phones so I failed to test currently.
And if this problem happens in different DAC, maybe you could report to the Google company for checking about that.

Best regards

 

[debart]

If using with a desktop (ie, power consumption is not a concern), what are pros and cons of turning on desktop mode if you already get plenty volume with it off?

 

[Longfellow78]

If using with a desktop (ie, power consumption is not a concern), what are pros and cons of turning on desktop mode if you already get plenty volume with it off?

I "believe" that it is not just a case of volume - harder to drive headphones, e.g. planar headphones may go "loud enough" with less power, but the sound quality, maybe bass depth, or speed/punch is worse. the more power the better - always, regardsless of the volume - so I understand.

 

[Longfellow78]

I just want to know if desktop mode on ka17 only activates when it is plugged in - if so I don't understand this because then it means the KA13 is more powerful when not plugged in than the KA17. Fiio can you answer please? Does the USBc actually allow the dac to produce more power? Or does it just stop the phone battery from draining so fast? Thanks.

 

[debart]

I just want to know if desktop mode on ka17 only activates when it is plugged in - if so I don't understand this because then it means the KA13 is more powerful when not plugged in than the KA17. Fiio can you answer please? Does the USBc actually allow the dac to produce more power? Or does it just stop the phone battery from draining so fast? Thanks.

KA13 gets louder with desktop mode on even running off a phone, and I expect KA17 to do the same. It may not get you the max 650mw+650mw, but it will get you more than 270mw+270mw (desktop mode off) .

I suspect to get the max, you'll need auxiliary power or running off a desktop. We'll need review to see exactly how much you can get w/o aux power.

Could the aux power also charge your phone at the same time? That'd be cool.

EDIT: chat-gpt says the Samsung S21 can deliver up to 15W through the USB C port, so it seems like you should be able to get the max with a recent high end phone.

 

[bru87tr]

My KA3 is not recognised anymore by any phone or pc. I've tried 2 usb-c cables both good. However when i connect it to any device(phone,pc) the blue light does light up .

If anyone is having issues with windows recognizing any device, it may be a windows update messing things up.

I decided to check my power settings. I changed my pc power setting from balanced power to full power and made sure to check my usb settings from suspend to never. Windows now sees my device’s again when plugged in.

 

[Voohoo]

Anyone else wish the volume control would go a few notches lower and quieter? I primarily use mine with IEMs and the lowest volume level is already a comfortable volume for me. I'd prefer to leave my source at 100% but it's not the end of the world if I need to lower it.

 

[abm0]

I'd prefer to leave my source at 100%

The benefits of keeping your digital volume maxed out have been greatly exaggerated. Delta-sigma DACs apparently start having trouble keeping a clean signal when you drive them with an input too close to 0 dBFS, so your overall sound quality might actually benefit from keeping your digital source a few steps below 100%.
https://www.itsonlyaudio.com/audio-hardware/the-case-for-digital-volume-control/

 

[Voohoo]

The benefits of keeping your digital volume maxed out have been greatly exaggerated. Delta-sigma DACs apparently start having trouble keeping a clean signal when you drive them with an input too close to 0 dBFS, so your overall sound quality might actually benefit from keeping your digital source a few steps below 100%.
https://www.itsonlyaudio.com/audio-hardware/the-case-for-digital-volume-control/

Thanks for sharing. I think my audiophiliac OCD clings onto the old purist ways of leaving the signal untouched until the volume pot.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a replacement 3 inch USB C to C cable? The one packaged with my KA13 is low quality and prone to skipping the music stream when it's bent at certain angles.

 

[abm0]

Does anyone have a recommendation for a replacement 3 inch USB C to C cable? The one packaged with my KA13 is low quality and prone to skipping the music stream when it's bent at certain angles.

A bit longer than 3" but this is the one I got in the interest of durability because of the braided structure: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006416071189.html

 

[abm0]

@FiiO I can't find this clarified anywhere: is there any significant reduction in the KA13's standby power draw when set to non-Desktop vs. Desktop mode? Or should we expect to see 140 mA in either mode.
Thank you!

 

[FiiO]

@FiiO I can't find this clarified anywhere: is there any significant reduction in the KA13's standby power draw when set to non-Desktop vs. Desktop mode? Or should we expect to see 140 mA in either mode.
Thank you!

Dear friend,

The volume and the headphone's impendance are related.
But when not connecting to headphone or not playing music, the power consumption in non-Desktop mode or Desktop mode is nearly same.

Best regards

 

[debart]

I don't know what all the KA13 built in filters do. Which one will give me LEAST bright sound? also, is it possible to choose none? thx

 

[Voohoo]

What's the difference between the lowpass filters?

Minimum phase fast roll-off filter: neutral, medium reverb, sound thicker, partial midrange, thick warm, suitable for vocals and slower tempo music;

Fast roll-off, Phase-compensated filter: neutral, a small amount of reverb, restored to the natural sound, neutral tone, suitable for natural and fast music with strong sense;

Minimum phase slow roll-off filter: neutral, a small amount of reverb, warmer sound, more mid-range, large soundstage, suitable for orchestral and other large compositions music;

Slow roll-off, Phase-compensated filter: sharp, a small amount of reverb, restored to the original sound, neutral tone, detailed, suitable for favoring monitor style;

Non over-sampling filter: sampling rate equal to the signal frequency, with no oversampling of the signal.

 

[abm0]

I don't know what all the KA13 built in filters do. Which one will give me LEAST bright sound? also, is it possible to choose none? thx

Yes and that's the same one that answers your first question. The NOS (non-oversampling) option, if it's implemented here in the typical way, involves turning OFF the digital low-pass filter, and this leads to the warmest or most veiled sound between all options, with its early roll-off already making a potentially audible difference around 10 kHz and going seriously down by the time it reaches 20 kHz:

You should realize though that this is a sort of "broken DAC" option that removes a necessary DAC function, and with this setting you're letting through a ridiculous amount of ultrasonic noise that can create intermodulation distortion into your audio band and make the reproduction sound "dirty" (but some people swear it's "better" this way, and I guess that's why companies keep including it). Archimago explains more here, which is also where I got the graph: https://archimago.blogspot.com/2018/11/nos-vs-digital-filtering-dacs-exploring.html