Need Recs for a balanced step up from Shanling UA1 Plus- Thoughts on Questyle M15C, UA4, DC-04 Pro?

Oct 28, 2024 at 1:24 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 5

bixby

Headphoneus Supremus
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Cheers Lads!

I have been quite satisfied with my Shanling UA-1 Plus paired with Samsung S21 and Tangzu Heyday for my walks. Over the weekend I got to spend some quality time with my friends Questyle M15i. My takeaway is that both in SE and Bal mode it was a nice upgrade from my UA1 plus. Balanced especially so, with the way better crosstalk revealing more width and instrument separation.

The thing I like about the UA-1 Plus is the warm midbass, although it does poke into the mids. I do like the mid clarity though. And in comparison to my desktop ifi Zen it can be a bit tubby in the lows. And it can, with higher volume get a bit glarey on vocals when pushed. Without any comparisons it sounds pretty nice on my walks. Treble is ok and maybe a bit emphasized on the lower treble but ok with me.

The Questyle M15i was really good on bass, much tighter and better bass timbre. Mids were a bit laid back but were composed and glare free when turning up the volume. Treble was more even yet the overall presentation did lean to the analytical side, but certainly not bothersome, especially in balanced mode.

So the challenge is to find a simple upgrade dongle that will give me the benefit of balanced 4.4mm output without the high cost of something like the M15i. Combing thru lots of threads, I can see many candidates. Also many have individual posts of issues. One that in particular seems to be a fave for sound yet has a good amount of troubling posts is the Onix Alpha. Ditto to a lesser extent for stuff like the Ibasso DC-04 Pro with longevity or build issues.

My focus at the moment seems to lean to the Shanling UA-4 or maybe the new Questyle M15C. Or maybe something as simple as the Dawn Pro. I think I favor a slightly warmer sound, in spite of the fact that I generally liked the M15i from Questyle. And as an aside I did try the Truthears Shio which some characterize as warmish, I thought it was sterile and uninvolving.

I know there a lots of you who have first hand experience with a number of portable dac/amps. I solicit your opinions. Use case is walking outdoors with my phone and UAPP or Tidal with no need to power regular cans, just the Tangzu Heyday and I rarely listen over 85-89 db or so.

Not interested in opinions of stuff you read about. If you haven't heard it don't recommend it.
Thanks in advance!
 
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Nov 1, 2024 at 5:39 AM Post #4 of 5
I had Shanling UA-1 Plus. Dunu DTC 480 or 800 sound much more interesting to me. True, DTC800 consumes 1.5 times more than DTC 480. I had many DACs from different manufacturers, now I have DTC 480 and 800 and Fiio BTR 7.And they all have 3.5 and balanced 4.4 outputs.
 
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