Well they don’t give full specs on it so hard to tell as I have not heard it but if it is a rebrand of the Cyrus SoundKey it will not have the 2 volt output of the Dragonfly Red as it is 1.7 volts for the SoundKey so it will not have as much power as the Red but the Red I’m sure will drain a phone faster if using it at higher volume though. I’ve only have heard the Red as a dac and it was in front of a Amps and Sound Kenzie amp and it sounded pretty darn good as I bought the amp it sounds better from my Yggdrasil but the Red did a very good job.
I actually had a chance to hear the Ultrasone NAOS at RMAF this year. It was incredibly good. I was using Audirvana+ through my Macbook pro paired with my 64 Audio Tia Fourtes. I had just gotten done listening to the Opus#2 ( best DAP I've heard), A&K SP1000 ( extremely detailed but just didn't feel it was musically engaging), and the Sony WM1Z (sounded as good as the Opus #2 but no Tidal/Wifi/External DAC mode were deal breakers - and it's 3X the price). Wasn't expecting much since it was "only" 24bit/192Khz and I couldn't feed in DSD via Audirvana. But I was wrong. Dead wrong. All three songs I heard from it sounded incredible. I actually went back the next day to hear it again to try to compare directly to the Opus#2 which had impressed me earlier ( using it in external DAC mode sending it DSD256). The Ultrasone NAOS still wowed me - couldn't believe the sound I was getting from a $200 unit. I then plugged in my AudioQuest DragonFly Red to do a direct comparison and just found the Ultrasone sounded more detailed AND more musically engaging ( a rare combination).
Only issue I had was the volume control via Audirvana+ using the NAOS was not working as designed. It wouldn't go up or down smoothly. I had to manually drag the volume indicator and even then it would over/undershoot where I was trying to go. Hoping that it was just a preproduction issue.
I actually had a chance to hear the Ultrasone NAOS at RMAF this year. It was incredibly good. I was using Audirvana+ through my Macbook pro paired with my 64 Audio Tia Fourtes. I had just gotten done listening to the Opus#2 ( best DAP I've heard), A&K SP1000 ( extremely detailed but just didn't feel it was musically engaging), and the Sony WM1Z (sounded as good as the Opus #2 but no Tidal/Wifi/External DAC mode were deal breakers - and it's 3X the price). Wasn't expecting much since it was "only" 24bit/192Khz and I couldn't feed in DSD via Audirvana. But I was wrong. Dead wrong. All three songs I heard from it sounded incredible. I actually went back the next day to hear it again to try to compare directly to the Opus#2 which had impressed me earlier ( using it in external DAC mode sending it DSD256). The Ultrasone NAOS still wowed me - couldn't believe the sound I was getting from a $200 unit. I then plugged in my AudioQuest DragonFly Red to do a direct comparison and just found the Ultrasone sounded more detailed AND more musically engaging ( a rare combination).
Only issue I had was the volume control via Audirvana+ using the NAOS was not working as designed. It wouldn't go up or down smoothly. I had to manually drag the volume indicator and even then it would over/undershoot where I was trying to go. Hoping that it was just a preproduction issue.
If you want one of these things for just a laptop the original GeekOut is still worth seeking out for half the price. Massively dynamic (almost Mojo matching) powerful and smooth.
I actually had a chance to hear the Ultrasone NAOS at RMAF this year. It was incredibly good. I was using Audirvana+ through my Macbook pro paired with my 64 Audio Tia Fourtes. I had just gotten done listening to the Opus#2 ( best DAP I've heard), A&K SP1000 ( extremely detailed but just didn't feel it was musically engaging), and the Sony WM1Z (sounded as good as the Opus #2 but no Tidal/Wifi/External DAC mode were deal breakers - and it's 3X the price). Wasn't expecting much since it was "only" 24bit/192Khz and I couldn't feed in DSD via Audirvana. But I was wrong. Dead wrong. All three songs I heard from it sounded incredible. I actually went back the next day to hear it again to try to compare directly to the Opus#2 which had impressed me earlier ( using it in external DAC mode sending it DSD256). The Ultrasone NAOS still wowed me - couldn't believe the sound I was getting from a $200 unit. I then plugged in my AudioQuest DragonFly Red to do a direct comparison and just found the Ultrasone sounded more detailed AND more musically engaging ( a rare combination).
Only issue I had was the volume control via Audirvana+ using the NAOS was not working as designed. It wouldn't go up or down smoothly. I had to manually drag the volume indicator and even then it would over/undershoot where I was trying to go. Hoping that it was just a preproduction issue.
Hi nice review. I am thinking of it buying for my android fone pairing with Meze 99 Neo headphones. I just wonder whether they need extra players like usb players and all because i usually listen to online streaming players and youtube.
Expecting a detailed review and with your phone too if possible.
I actually had a chance to hear the Ultrasone NAOS at RMAF this year. It was incredibly good. I was using Audirvana+ through my Macbook pro paired with my 64 Audio Tia Fourtes. I had just gotten done listening to the Opus#2 ( best DAP I've heard), A&K SP1000 ( extremely detailed but just didn't feel it was musically engaging), and the Sony WM1Z (sounded as good as the Opus #2 but no Tidal/Wifi/External DAC mode were deal breakers - and it's 3X the price). Wasn't expecting much since it was "only" 24bit/192Khz and I couldn't feed in DSD via Audirvana. But I was wrong. Dead wrong. All three songs I heard from it sounded incredible. I actually went back the next day to hear it again to try to compare directly to the Opus#2 which had impressed me earlier ( using it in external DAC mode sending it DSD256). The Ultrasone NAOS still wowed me - couldn't believe the sound I was getting from a $200 unit. I then plugged in my AudioQuest DragonFly Red to do a direct comparison and just found the Ultrasone sounded more detailed AND more musically engaging ( a rare combination).
Only issue I had was the volume control via Audirvana+ using the NAOS was not working as designed. It wouldn't go up or down smoothly. I had to manually drag the volume indicator and even then it would over/undershoot where I was trying to go. Hoping that it was just a preproduction issue.
I just gotit and using it with my se846 sound is pretty good gets louder with Tidal on my phone than either of the dragonflys but the noise floor is higher
Just bought this today for my Razer phone. Wasn't impressed by the Razer THX certified USB dac at all, the impedance was far too high and caused issues on my BA CIEMS. This Naos worked much better and has higher output. For now I can say it has usual AKM velvetsound signature. I also tried the SMSL Idea before this but couldn't get it to work on my phone, same buzzing issue as reported by other posters.
For those with Smartphones that don't have a headphone jack, this is a decent replacement dac.
Just bought this today for my Razer phone. Wasn't impressed by the Razer THX certified USB dac at all, the impedance was far too high and caused issues on my BA CIEMS. This Naos worked much better and has higher output. For now I can say it has usual AKM velvetsound signature. I also tried the SMSL Idea before this but couldn't get it to work on my phone, same buzzing issue as reported by other posters.
For those with Smartphones that don't have a headphone jack, this is a decent replacement dac.
I have a Pixel 2 and tried the Razer dongle -- similar results. Its better using the Neutron USB driver but still not great, imo. Right now I'm in love with my new A&K bluetooth receiver so may put this on hold for a bit. I do like this thing though!
I don't know if Razer has handled it differently, but there are a host of issues with the Android USB audio driver on the new Pixels. There is an excellent thread on XDA on dongle quality, etc. if you have not seen it:
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