Hi There - sorry for the repost, I wasn't sure which forum category to put this in. Please delete whichever thread doesn't belong.
I have run myself in circles trying to figure out a reasonable Dongle DAC for my setup.
My setup:
Pixel 4 XL
Tidal App (Hifi, not MQA) - I do not want to have to use UAPP - Tidal apparently is able to bypass the Android 48kHz wall now.
IEMs (currently using FLC 8s but may be getting a different pair of high-end IEMs this year)
Stock Google Dongle DAC that came with the phone (THIS IS WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO UPGRADE)
Price limit: 150 USD (but may be convinced to go higher if absolutely necessary)
Must Have:
No/minimal negative coloration to sound
Detachable USB-C Cable
Suitable for IEMs (no hissing/good noise floor)
VERY GOOD SHIELDING VERSUS EMI/RFI. My phone will be the source and the DAC will be right next to it - I will often use this off of cellular signal, not wifi and not airplane mode. I absolutely need to have something that does not pick up interference from a phone signal
Nice to have:
4.4mm in addition to 3.5mm output
Bonus to have:
Physical hardware volume control. This has also been a major confusion for me. I have looked at a lot of DACs recently and some of them feature their own app for volume control (iBasso, HiBy). Why is this necessary? If I get a DAC that features this, do I have to use their app or face running into noise floor issues? I have read that these apps need to take control of the USB-C port (similar to Tidal?) in order to control the volume - would this conflict with my use of Tidal? For DACs that feature a physical volume control instead, are they simply controlling the Android volume control (the same way a cheap in-line mic would) or are they actually controlling the volume of the DAC (or are they controlling the volume of the DAC through the android volume control with some kind of "digital handshake")??? SO CONFUSING.
Please help me
I have run myself in circles trying to figure out a reasonable Dongle DAC for my setup.
My setup:
Pixel 4 XL
Tidal App (Hifi, not MQA) - I do not want to have to use UAPP - Tidal apparently is able to bypass the Android 48kHz wall now.
IEMs (currently using FLC 8s but may be getting a different pair of high-end IEMs this year)
Stock Google Dongle DAC that came with the phone (THIS IS WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO UPGRADE)
Price limit: 150 USD (but may be convinced to go higher if absolutely necessary)
Must Have:
No/minimal negative coloration to sound
Detachable USB-C Cable
Suitable for IEMs (no hissing/good noise floor)
VERY GOOD SHIELDING VERSUS EMI/RFI. My phone will be the source and the DAC will be right next to it - I will often use this off of cellular signal, not wifi and not airplane mode. I absolutely need to have something that does not pick up interference from a phone signal
Nice to have:
4.4mm in addition to 3.5mm output
Bonus to have:
Physical hardware volume control. This has also been a major confusion for me. I have looked at a lot of DACs recently and some of them feature their own app for volume control (iBasso, HiBy). Why is this necessary? If I get a DAC that features this, do I have to use their app or face running into noise floor issues? I have read that these apps need to take control of the USB-C port (similar to Tidal?) in order to control the volume - would this conflict with my use of Tidal? For DACs that feature a physical volume control instead, are they simply controlling the Android volume control (the same way a cheap in-line mic would) or are they actually controlling the volume of the DAC (or are they controlling the volume of the DAC through the android volume control with some kind of "digital handshake")??? SO CONFUSING.
Please help me
