I’m relatively new to these forums, and am not sure that this hasn’t been discussed before, but I recently stumbled upon a simple and inexpensive tweak that can vastly improve the sound of remote DAC/Amp like the Lotoo PAW S2 that I use with my iPhone to stream Qobuz.
I used an inexpensive “USB-C Data/Power Splitter” to power the dangle independently - via a USB power bar. Bypassing the power the dangle usually gets from my iPhone’s lightening jack removed a lot of noise or haze that I assume comes from the phone’s digital circuits. I was really stunned by the degree of improvement, particularly in the bass region. Great electric bass, like that of Mike Watt, and great drumming, like that of Ginger Baker, comes through with much richer harmonics and tone colors that I never noticed before. The harsh tizz of badly recorded crash cymbals and the like - a failing, I suspect, of my humble Moondrop Starfield single DD IEM’s - is still there, but it’s easier to listen around. It doesn’t overpower and obscure as much of the surrounding music as it had done. More importantly, good recordings have a subtlety and finess that I didn’t think my IEM’s were capable of.
The power splitter is a little PCB sold by PiHut in England for £3:
It came pretty quickly to the US, and I attached both it and the Lotoo PAW S2 to a phone case with adhesive Velcro fixings: an awkward Kludge, but one that’s light, and as I said before, brings amazing improvements in SQ. Apologize for the crappy pictures.
Can’t recommend highly enough!
Thermist
I used an inexpensive “USB-C Data/Power Splitter” to power the dangle independently - via a USB power bar. Bypassing the power the dangle usually gets from my iPhone’s lightening jack removed a lot of noise or haze that I assume comes from the phone’s digital circuits. I was really stunned by the degree of improvement, particularly in the bass region. Great electric bass, like that of Mike Watt, and great drumming, like that of Ginger Baker, comes through with much richer harmonics and tone colors that I never noticed before. The harsh tizz of badly recorded crash cymbals and the like - a failing, I suspect, of my humble Moondrop Starfield single DD IEM’s - is still there, but it’s easier to listen around. It doesn’t overpower and obscure as much of the surrounding music as it had done. More importantly, good recordings have a subtlety and finess that I didn’t think my IEM’s were capable of.
The power splitter is a little PCB sold by PiHut in England for £3:
It came pretty quickly to the US, and I attached both it and the Lotoo PAW S2 to a phone case with adhesive Velcro fixings: an awkward Kludge, but one that’s light, and as I said before, brings amazing improvements in SQ. Apologize for the crappy pictures.
Can’t recommend highly enough!
Thermist
