ONIX Alpha XI1 - Smallest & Most Affordable ONIX DAC - High-Power Portable USB DAC/AMP

[Deckard001]

You may have missed where @Shanling stated the devices with the incorrect firmware were recalled before release to be updated by the factory. If, and this is purely speculation, non-official channels received devices and shipped those without the devices going back to the factory, that would not be Shanling’s doing…

If instead you are referring to a different problem with the USB port, again Shanling is not doing anything unusual. It is common practice for manufacturers to request that customers work through the dealer they purchased a device through. That’s part of what dealers do with the markup that they charge for a device above what they purchased it for from the manufacturer. For customers this is sometimes very convenient (if the dealer is in their town or city), or very inconvenient if the seller is in a different country.

You are right, We just speculate as you know that most of the Chinese products are in China and almost all of the users buy from these countries.

There is not any official statement for recall. Also no one can explain that many devices exist and are sold to many different suppliers right?

But you are right about that.

Just so many issues occurred so often and we are responsible too.

 

[Musicis]

The ONIX AI1 alpha is a bit tricky with its power supply.
It works with my old Samung A3 and draws about 0.15 A of power (0.8 W; in high gain) with its on C-to-C-OTG-cable and some random other OTG-cables. It also works with PCs and other Android devices (Fiio R7 ... - especially if using a powered hub obviously).


It also works with my iPhone 12mini with the Shanling L6 Lightning to USB-C cable but depletes the iPhone battery quite quickly


It does NOT work (without external power) with my Hiby R4 DAP. It does not power on when connected with any of my USB-C-OTG-Cables.
It works however when using the CB19-y-cable from iBasso and an external power bank.

In any way a solution with the cb19 cable and an external power source is favorable given its power consumption. I honestly do not fully understand why Andy (donglemadness) rated it as power efficient.

It sounds really good BTW and drives my different IEMs and my more sensitive headphones very well.

EDIT:
It also works with my USB-C iPads (iPad mini 6 and iPad PRO; normal OTG cables) and my old iPhone XR (Shanling L6 cable as above)
... but NOT with my LG V50 (does not power on)

Hiby R4 vs Onix, which one is better? I consider both of them. Thanks before

 

[ohaeng]

I plugged it to my iPhone and opened Eddict Player, but I see nowherer USB-control in the menu

It appears in the instruction manual. Go into UAC1.0 and keep pressing the power button to see the firmware version. I don't work on the Samsung A52s, but the firmware version is 1.03.

 

[jsmiller58]

Hiby R4 vs Onix, which one is better? I consider both of them. Thanks before

I don’t have an R4 (have an R6 Pro II), and am waiting for my Onix to arrive… But let me help you by asking you to clarify what you are asking when you say “better”, because these are completely different use models… one is a DAP and one is a dongle. If you are asking about sound, you should specify what you are looking for and ask how the devices compare with respect to what you are looking for.

 

[bazhin61]

So your device is fine with the versioning and all the issues that mentioned?

both smartphone- samsung s21fe & xiaomi 13t pro - works well. firmware version 01.00.03
1st screen- samsung
2nd - xiaomi

 

[Deckard001]

both smartphone- samsung s21fe & xiaomi 13t pro - works well. firmware version 01.00.03
1st screen- samsung
2nd - xiaomi

You know if the usb version is with the newer version too? Or if I understand correct, if from default there is the version 01.00.03 then is fine?

 

[captblaze]

@Shanling -Came across a strange condition while using today. I don't remember the exact sequence of events, but I basically locked the screen, and it prevented me from access to the menu functions manually. I think a double press of the button released it. Is double press a screen lock feature? At first, I thought the unit had failed, but with anger and panic as a motivator I managed to get the device back in working order

Spoke too soon. I am back in that condition again; screen goes blank and will not turn on at all until it is disconnected and reconnected. Then it goes back to a blank screen
It seems there is something a miss with the menu button. If I connect and let it sit untouched it goes into screen saver mode. As soon as the menu button is touched the screen goes blank

Final update - Sending this back for a refund. Not happy with this failing with a few hours of light use.

 

[Singaravelan]

received it yesterday. this dongle is amazing. compared to ru7, the bass has more texture and the sparkling high is delicious
everything just seems to sound clearer.

I agree! I have the filter on 'fast roll-off', that to me aids in the treble high richness ... Early days but bloody good DAC. Larger soundfield than my fav hiby FC6 and almost as full and rich. And better treble extension quality than DC-03 Pro.

 

[bazhin61]

You know if the usb version is with the newer version too? Or if I understand correct, if from default there is the version 01.00.03 then is fine?

I don't know what to say. With these questions, it is better to wait for an answer from Shanling

 

[kvik]

USB Control is not available on iOS, it's on Android only.

To view firmware version:
Connect XI1 in UAC1.0 mode (Hold down play button while inserting cable).
Go to setting menu and go to the last item 9/9
There you can see your firmware version.

So, with USB Control not working in iOS, iPhone users won’t be able to take full advantage of XI1 (gain, digital filter, channel balance, ao). I wish this piece of information had been mentioned before I ordered a few days back. I was under the impression Eddict Player was all that was needed, the full usage scenario was one of my main reasons for choosing XI1 rather than one of the competitors.

 

[Singaravelan]

So, with USB Control not working in iOS, iPhone users won’t be able to take full advantage of XI1 (gain, digital filter, channel balance, ao). I wish this piece of information had been mentioned before I ordered a few days back. I was under the impression Eddict Player was all that was needed, the full usage scenario was one of my main reasons for choosing XI1 rather than one of the competitors.

What happens when you long press that main big button on the dac itself. I use Android and do have that eddict app and usb control.

But then even without accessing app, I get those features when I long press that button. Gain, filters et all (and use the long volume button to toggle through individual options).

 

[kvik]

It was shipped only today, hopefully it will work as you suggest.

 

[D1N0]

So, with USB Control not working in iOS, iPhone users won’t be able to take full advantage of XI1 (gain, digital filter, channel balance, ao). I wish this piece of information had been mentioned before I ordered a few days back. I was under the impression Eddict Player was all that was needed, the full usage scenario was one of my main reasons for choosing XI1 rather than one of the competitors.

Everything you can do with USB control you can just as easily do on the Dongle. Except checking the firmware version which is a bit harder. This is probably a limitation of iOs.

 

[kvik]

Great, time to delete Eddict Player then

 

[conspibro]

So, with USB Control not working in iOS, iPhone users won’t be able to take full advantage of XI1 (gain, digital filter, channel balance, ao)

Everything that can be done through USB Control can be done on the dongle itself, without any app. And settings will be kept too.