[robar]

Wow thanks @Star Mastering
Yes there is also Meizu HD, it just seemed very fragile to me and also with seller coupons the other one is 10% cheaper. I also wishlisted the Jcally JM20 which was much cheaper with same chip and nice reviews, but it disappeared recently from aliexpress.

To be honest I much prefer the form factor of sonata hd pro where the Dac is just a box with female connectors, much more sturdy and flexible design imho, I can buy whatever usb cable I want without bulky type c adapters etc. But I accept compromise if build quality looks promising. What I don't like so much about hd pro is the enormous volume steps in the listening range, and sometimes it sound a bit too intense for casual listening. Something with a smoother gentler sound and better volume control would be a nice secondary dac for me, this is why I was looking for at the ESS dacs.

I've read some glowing reviews about E35, probably not a big upgrade but for second dac I'd rather buy something better for a bit extra so the hd pro becomes the portable one, or a bit worse for less that I'm not worried about. Btw Hiby FC1 is about 30usd, FC3 is about 58usd now with coupons.

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

Hello there! I'm just casually looking for a cheaper backup or similarly priced alternative for my sonata hd pro. I like it very much and I want to keep it in my PC, so I'm looking for a second dongle for portable use that I'm not so worried about, which preferably supports android + headset mic. (I'm using an SMSL X4 for this purpose at the moment, basically want to upgrade from it. I also have a Dac audio ES9018k2m which I mainly use with loudspeakers)

Any experience with Hiby FC1 vs Tempotec Sonata HD II ? Same chip, I like the Hiby's build better because of the modularity / volume control but HD II is a bit cheaper. Are these any better than a bluetooth dongle like Fiio BTR3 / Hiby W3 in usb mode by the way? Maybe someone even compared them to popular Dac audio ES9018k2m?

I've also found this, same chip as HD Pro for 20 bucks, maybe it's worth a try? https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002480980584.html

About potential future upgrades, is the Hiby FC3 any better than HD Pro? Or just go for the E35 or even higher?

And this looks interesting as an ultra budget option against realtek/conexant/qualcomm etc, I'm just curious if anyone tried it? Looks like a new oem design, maybe jcally or similar budget brands will come out with slightly better variants. Lets call it cs46l41 blue light. (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002452763815.html

If you're looking for something in ultra budget segment then please check VE Odyssey HD. For $10, it's very good. Nice build quality, comes with a USB A adapter and sufficient power to drive IEMs. May not work for full-sized cans but for IEMs it's fantastic. Also, no background noise as well.

 

[Star Mastering]

VE Odyssey HD is one of the better implementations of realtek - not sure which chip though.

 

[sunsun89]

hi guys, need help.
i have DAC Hilidac Audirect Beam 2, it has 2 port = 2.5mm balance and 3.5mm Single ended.
my iem blon bl05s has impedance 32 ohm, sensitivity 108dB, when i use 3.5mm SE it works perfect. Bass feel smooth and good punch, soundstage become wide and depth has increase a bit.
the problem come when i use 2.5mm balance port, it has huge noise floor/ "hisss" Sound.
can anyone explain it why that happen? is it because my iem cant stand the power of balance port?

 

[nc8000]

hi guys, need help.
i have DAC Hilidac Audirect Beam 2, it has 2 port = 2.5mm balance and 3.5mm Single ended.
my iem blon bl05s has impedance 32 ohm, sensitivity 108dB, when i use 3.5mm SE it works perfect. Bass feel smooth and good punch, soundstage become wide and depth has increase a bit.
the problem come when i use 2.5mm balance port, it has huge noise floor/ "hisss" Sound.
can anyone explain it why that happen? is it because my iem cant stand the power of balance port?

Normally a balanced output is by far the port with less noise compared to single ended, but it is all down to implementation

 

[keyoke]

I am looking for a usb c to 3.5mm dongle with a budget of around 20USD, what options are there? Will be using it on a android phone

Sound quality is priority as i uses iems

Saw quite a few recommendation such as meizu hifi, tempotec sonata hd in

Am leaning towards cirus logic, or ess sabre dac

 

[Sulbh]

I am looking for a usb c to 3.5mm dongle with a budget of around 20USD, what options are there? Will be using it on a android phone

Sound quality is priority as i uses iems

Saw quite a few recommendation such as meizu hifi, tempotec sonata hd in

Am leaning towards cirus logic, or ess sabre dac

Apple Dongle

 

[robar]

I have a small story to share, maybe it helps someone else in the future. A few days ago my Tempotec Sonata HD Pro stopped working, probably while I was trying to connect it to a new android device. From that point on it simply didn't work with anything, I tried to connect it to multiple PCs and androids with zero success… it was recognized as an audio device but no sound was coming out of it. I began to worry..

Today I had an idea: I connected it again to my PC, went into the device manager and deleted it. Then unplugged and plugged in again. The problem is solved, now it works perfectly again.
(It started to work on every other device as well)

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

I am looking for a usb c to 3.5mm dongle with a budget of around 20USD, what options are there? Will be using it on a android phone

Sound quality is priority as i uses iems

Saw quite a few recommendation such as meizu hifi, tempotec sonata hd in

Am leaning towards cirus logic, or ess sabre dac

Sonata HD would be perfect. And if chipsets aren't a hard and fast requirement, then VE Odyssey HD at $10 is fantastic for the cost.

 

[Robius]

New product from Hidizs: https://www.hidizs.net/p/hidizs-s3-pro-mqa-streaming-dac-dongle

 

[robar]

Sonata HD would be perfect. And if chipsets aren't a hard and fast requirement, then VE Odyssey HD at $10 is fantastic for the cost.

Is this Odyssey HD really any better than a similarly priced realtek solution like the Jcally JM04pro or similar? Anyone compared this kind of stuff in the low end? For me it could be a nice solution to use the inline mic with my PC or leave in my laptop which has a crappy jack.

 

[keyoke]

Apple Dongle

I did thought of this, but i heard on android it will be low volume. Am using apple music, so i wont be using other software for music

 

[keyoke]

Sonata HD would be perfect. And if chipsets aren't a hard and fast requirement, then VE Odyssey HD at $10 is fantastic for the cost.

Chipsets are not a hard requirement but realtek chips, its like using onboard pc audio chip :s13:

Will u pick sonata hd over odyssey?

 

[Star Mastering]

I have a small story to share, maybe it helps someone else in the future. A few days ago my Tempotec Sonata HD Pro stopped working, probably while I was trying to connect it to a new android device. From that point on it simply didn't work with anything, I tried to connect it to multiple PCs and androids with zero success… it was recognized as an audio device but no sound was coming out of it. I began to worry..

Today I had an idea: I connected it again to my PC, went into the device manager and deleted it. Then unplugged and plugged in again. The problem is solved, now it works perfectly again.
(It started to work on every other device as well)

Can anyone explain why this happened?

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

Is this Odyssey HD really any better than a similarly priced realtek solution like the Jcally JM04pro or similar? Anyone compared this kind of stuff in the low end? For me it could be a nice solution to use the inline mic with my PC or leave in my laptop which has a crappy jack.

I don't have the JCAlly model but considering how things go in China, JCAlly might be OEM for VE. So they might leverage the same tech but will have some adjustments as per VE's requirements.

Chipsets are not a hard requirement but realtek chips, its like using onboard pc audio chip :s13:

Will u pick sonata hd over odyssey?

Well Sonata costs twice as much if I'm looking for something in ultra budget category then I'd pick it over Sonata HD, for the matter I actually did when I purchased Odyssey HD. For $10, it gives a clean sound and is very transparent. Enough to drive IEMs via phone. More than the chip, it is about how they've tuned that chip. There are quite a few examples of how companies use audiophile chips and still create a mediocre product. Most PC manufacturers don't even tune the DAC. For what it costs, VE has done a good job with it.