Khadas Tea - World's First MagSafe Headphone Amplifier for Smartphones
Jan 14, 2022 at 12:01 PM Post #16 of 122
This looks awesome! Khadas if you can somehow implement a 10-band parametric adjustable band EQ into this device, I am sold!
Yep, we are still working together with ESS team on the EQ features but we still have problem on this as the ESS ES9281ACPro with limited hardware resources to achieve all the features of Khadas Tea.

Our initial idea is to realize the EQ feature through the Khadas Audio App with the UI design below:

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Jan 14, 2022 at 2:34 PM Post #20 of 122
So does this work with a case already on the phone? It would be stupid if you have to remove a protective case of the iPhone every time to use this. Any dongle will then look like a smarter solution. Please tell me that the magsafe will work over a Otterbox or other after market case.
 
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Jan 14, 2022 at 3:54 PM Post #21 of 122
Jan 14, 2022 at 4:17 PM Post #23 of 122
I've been looking for a DAC that I can slip inside the chassis of my Bottlehead Crack, this looks thin enough to potentially pop inside the chassis!
 
Jan 14, 2022 at 9:39 PM Post #24 of 122
Interesting device no balanced output on it? Maybe manufacturer could develop a custom device like pictured below?
 

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Jan 14, 2022 at 9:44 PM Post #26 of 122
"Your internal DAC cannot decode lossless audio".
This is shameless marketing BS, how ignorant they expect consumers to be to buy that.
I think there stating without a dongle or a device like this you are unable to get hirez from iPhone. Looks like it can do up to 32-bit 384KHz @PCM, or Native DSD 256.
 
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Jan 14, 2022 at 11:02 PM Post #27 of 122
What makes you think that?
They are literally stating the following
However, if you ever tried to listen to lossless audio from your iOS or Android device, you would know that your smartphone's internal DAC is unable to decode lossless audio.
There is nothing about high-res, just lossless, that is even RedBook 16/44.1 format.
And on high res, phones are different, even if iPhone downsamples everything to 24/48 (24bit technically is still high res, at least Qobuz and Amazon think so), bunch of phones have no issues playing 24/192 or even DSD and MQA like LG V30 for instance.
 
Jan 14, 2022 at 11:16 PM Post #28 of 122
So does this work with a case already on the phone? It would be stupid if you have to remove a protective case of the iPhone every time to use this
There are two situations there:
1) The case you are using is MagSafe case: the Tea can magnetically attaches on your case well just like attaches to iPhone directly
2) The case you are using is normal case and without MagSafe: the Tea can still attach on the back of the case but with poor magnetic force on that.

Anyway we will suggest a MagSafe case but even you just use a normal case, the ultra-slim & flat design still help on your experience for any smartphones(the Samsung S21 also with megnate inside but quite poor magnetic force):

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Jan 15, 2022 at 12:04 PM Post #29 of 122
Dear Community!

It is with great joy and anticipation that we announce the upcoming launch of our latest hi-fi audio product the ‘Tea’, an ultra-slim high-resolution headphone amplifier for smartphones. This portable amplifier features the high-performance ESS ES9281AC Pro DAC, as well as LDAC and aptX HD bluetooth audio via the Qualcomm QCC5125 chip.



Why Tea?

‘Tea’ was created to satisfy a high demand from our community for a “Portable Tone2 Pro”; many music streaming apps such as Spotify and Apple Music now have high-quality lossless music that can only be fully enjoyed when you connect a portable DAC such as the ‘Tea’ to your Android or iOS smartphone.



Pocket Friendly

'Tea' measures just 7.95mm at its thickest point, which means it can still comfortably slip into your pocket even when magnetically attached to your smartphone.



LDAC & apt-X HD

Android users can enjoy the freedom of wireless high-resolution digital output direct from a streaming app via aptX HD and LDAC from a Qualcomm QCC5125 bluetooth chip. Sample Rate: up to 24bit 96KHz



Magsafe Compatible

"Khadas Tea" magnetically attaches to your iPhone 12 or newer smartphone, or an Android phone equipped with a MagSafe compatible case. No more messy wires and dongles, just freedom of pure style.



ESS Technology

'Tea' ultra slim high-resolution headphone amplifier is powered by the high performance ESS ES9281AC Pro DAC, which delivers desktop-class audio. Sample Rate: up to 32-bit 384KHz @PCM, or DSD 256 (Native)



Analog Output

'Tea' brings back the analog audio jack to your smartphone with 3.5mm output, so you can use your favourite high-fidelity headphones to listen to lossless streaming audio directly from your streaming app. Supports up to 300 ohm impedances.

THD+N, 1KHz, 300Ω: 0.000355% (-109dB)
Max Output @300Ω: 20.8mW (2.5Vrms)
Max Output @32Ω: 165mW (2.3Vrms)



Lossless Audio

Did you ever wonder what "Lossless Audio" means when you open Apple Music or Tidal? These are high-fidelity audio tracks that can only be rendered at their original quality with an "external DAC-amplifier" such as "Khadas Tea" attached to your smartphone.



Inbuilt Battery

'Tea' incorporates a high-capacity 1160mAh lithium-polymer battery that provides up to 8 hours of continuous playback time, so you can enjoy your high-fidelity music throughout your entire day without draining your smartphoneʼs battery.



Bluetooth Calls

'Tea' includes two inbuilt microphones so you can receive and make calls without removing your headphones. Press the 'power' button to accept the call, and speak into the microphones located next to the USB-C port.



Bit-Perfect Audio

For the Audiophile who must always have a bit-perfect audio connection, a wired connection guarantees that you're always listening to the original data stream. 'Tea' includes two cables in the box for connecting to your iOS or Android device. Each cable measures 100mm in length (w/ plugs), cable diameter of 2.1mm. The USB-C to Lightning Converter is MFi Certified.



Available On Indiegogo

Creating 'Tea' for your listening pleasure is no easy feat. Show your support for our project by joining our Indiegogo Crowdfund. Your contribution will enable us to bring this breakthrough hi-res audio product to market.



Technical Specifications



I don’t get it. Isn’t BT on the iPhone throttled by AAC even with SBC link? If so…doesn’t that negate any BT add-on device? Why carry or attach another BT device if the BT codec is capped/limited by what’s onboard the iPhone? If I have it wrong can you please explain?
 
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