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

[smegel]

Guys,
Look this is getting silly.

Do you blame Onix, or the phone manufacturer who's either out of spec or provides the minimal to be compliant?

Now Onix tried to remedy some of the issues w their new firmware.
I'm going to make an educated guess that they were trying to reduce the power requirement of the Alpha with the update.
And in doing so... changing the power requirement had a negative impact on some of the perceived sound.
(So Shanling provided software to revert back to the sound that everyone enjoys.)

As to point out Samsung... you kinda hit the nail on the head.
Samsung M series has issues w dongles. Why? Could it be that they don't provide enough power out?
Yet their higher end models don't have this issue?

Look at the end of the day... Shanling is a reputable company making good products.
Be thankful that there is a user community....

Note: What I find silly is that if this doesn't work for you... for whatever reason... you can sell it. You may not break even, but you can recoup some of your cost.
For me... taking the wife out to dinner in Chicago? More expensive than the cost of this DAC.

 

[ybbobserrot]

Guys,
Look this is getting silly.

Do you blame Onix, or the phone manufacturer who's either out of spec or provides the minimal to be compliant?

Now Onix tried to remedy some of the issues w their new firmware.
I'm going to make an educated guess that they were trying to reduce the power requirement of the Alpha with the update.
And in doing so... changing the power requirement had a negative impact on some of the perceived sound.
(So Shanling provided software to revert back to the sound that everyone enjoys.)

As to point out Samsung... you kinda hit the nail on the head.
Samsung M series has issues w dongles. Why? Could it be that they don't provide enough power out?
Yet their higher end models don't have this issue?

Look at the end of the day... Shanling is a reputable company making good products.
Be thankful that there is a user community....

Note: What I find silly is that if this doesn't work for you... for whatever reason... you can sell it. You may not break even, but you can recoup some of your cost.
For me... taking the wife out to dinner in Chicago? More expensive than the cost of this DAC.

Not blaming, just being defensive but you're right this is silly... I don't even have that incompatibility issue... I'm quite happy with my Onix because it works for me.

 

[Shanling]

Ok then do us a favor Shanling. Why don't you release an official list of phones you currently support to back up your claim?

That will make your buyers' decision to buy or not to buy so much easier!

It's impossible to test all the phones on the market to create a list of supported models.

Currently we are aware only of the Samsung A line as a product range that is problematic with ONIX XI1. We haven't seen such clearly isolated issue with any other manufacturer. We sometime get report of one or two models from some brand not working, while other 10+ models from the same brand work just fine. We so far sold few thousand units of ONIX XI1 and while its power demands might cause slightly more compatibility issues, it's still only in isolated incidents and not a wide-ranging issue.

As the world of Android smartphones is so massive (not even talking about possible issues caused by same phones releasing with different CPUs or limited firmware), it's not within capabilities of audio companies to guarantee which phones work and which don't.


Our best recommendation, as posted before:

Look up your local Shanling/ONIX distributor and check on their return policy. Our international distributors are experienced with the risk of Android smartphones compatibility and will be understanding of this.

This provides the best affirmation to buyers' decision.

 

[Osikiri]

To whom it may concern:

Onix Alpha XI1 works well with Google Pixel 8 Pro! (I’m at version 1.0.3)

In my experience, Shanling and Fiio dongle DACs generally provide good compatibility with Android phones. There is a worse brand whose dongle randomly make only bursting noise through left or right channel when I plug it in my Android phone… (I won’t mention the specific brand name )

Android phones are so much fragmented and every time I buy a new dongle I pray it work with my minority (but something reference) Pixel phone…

 

[bithalver]

Samsung S22+ 5G : no problem.
Xperia 1 IV : no problem.

 

[domzz]

Please, check sample rate/audio signal type on the screens device, that indicates DSD or DoP (PCM with proper sample rates to correspond DSD64/128/...) . I can't make foobar2k (ASIO, SACD, DSD Processor) to play native DSD or DoP (DSD over PCM) thru my device on Windows OS (lateast drv installed). I have no problem to do that on linux/android platform. Anyone?

EDIT: ok, my bad... I've not checked DSD+PCM in SACD output :/

Here...

 

[ShangriLa]

I've read great things about the Onix alpha and was just going to order one. But there seem to be a lot going on in this thread. Can someone help summarize what issues we currently have? This is definitely going to help people like me who's looking to buy one. Thanks in advance.

 

[ShangriLa]

@Shanling

If you guys can be more specific with the compatibility issue in your product description, e.g. "We have noticed (list specific model year ) Samsung A line may have compatibility issues",
instead of a general line like "Noted: Samsung phones/tablets are not compatible with the XI1." You would be doing your customers and yourself a big favor.

 

[smegel]

I've read great things about the Onix alpha and was just going to order one. But there seem to be a lot going on in this thread. Can someone help summarize what issues we currently have? This is definitely going to help people like me who's looking to buy one. Thanks in advance.

Well...
Its a great sounding dongle.
The issue is that it requires some power to drive it.
Most phones seem to work, however there are a couple that have issues powering the dongle.
There are issues w some PCs... but if you get the correct driver(s) installed... you'll be ok.
If you're running a Mac or Linux, you should be ok.

I have this paired w a Macbook M1Max, iPhone 15 Max, and drive Dita Project M IEMs, and M&D MW65s. So no issues there.
Works for me and I love it.

I would say that the issue is that some phones don't output enough power on their USB-C port to help save on battery.

If you want something similar the iBasso DC07 is twice the price and from reviews... comes a close second to the Alpha. ( I don't know, I don't own one.)

 

[casaleone]

Currently we are aware only of the Samsung A line as a product range that is problematic with ONIX XI1. We haven't seen such clearly isolated issue with any other manufacturer. We sometime get report of one or two models from some brand not working, while other 10+ models from the same brand work just fine. We so far sold few thousand units of ONIX XI1 and while its power demands might cause slightly more compatibility issues, it's still only in isolated incidents and not a wide-ranging issue.

Samsung A55 works without any problems

 

[toimoi]

Here...

What operating system do you install it on? Do you have a driver installed for Onix? Use UAC 1 or UAC 2?

 

[felixkopian]

Well...
Its a great sounding dongle.
The issue is that it requires some power to drive it.
Most phones seem to work, however there are a couple that have issues powering the dongle.
There are issues w some PCs... but if you get the correct driver(s) installed... you'll be ok.
If you're running a Mac or Linux, you should be ok.

I have this paired w a Macbook M1Max, iPhone 15 Max, and drive Dita Project M IEMs, and M&D MW65s. So no issues there.
Works for me and I love it.

I would say that the issue is that some phones don't output enough power on their USB-C port to help save on battery.

If you want something similar the iBasso DC07 is twice the price and from reviews... comes a close second to the Alpha. ( I don't know, I don't own one.)

just wanna say about apple music on android really a perfect match for onix alpha.. i don't understand how it works but definitely change onix

 

[smegel]

just wanna say about apple music on android really a perfect match for onix alpha.. i don't understand how it works but definitely change onix

Hmm.
I don't do Apple Music.
Just Spotify.

 

[0ostin0]

High gain or low gain?
Which option do you prefer with IEM?

 

[smegel]

High gain or low gain?
Which option do you prefer with IEM?

Not sure if that was to me...
@ToneDeafMonk , you also use the Project Ms... (along w your other IEMs)

I prefer the low gain, lowlatency/slow.
But honestly, what do I know? It just sounds good.
Still listening to a lot of different things... From Otyken, YoYo Ma and other cellists, Exyz, Melody Gardot, Berlioz, classic rock, jazz, Ness, etc ...
All over the place...