[TooPoorForHiFi]

dang, a $200 dongle is a cheap option these days?

 

[dgjl]

dang, a $200 dongle is a cheap option these days?

Best cheaper (<$100) is probably the ibasso DC03, though doesn't work well with some Samsung phones. There's a site that has reviewed plenty of dongles at all price ranges here: https://andyaudiovault.com/donglemadness/. Take a look

 

[544592]

I had a look at the website, a lot of commercial mumbo jumbo promoting the thing.
No doubt a good device when you want watch movies with surround sound via your headphones.
I don't see the usefulness when you want to listen to music on your phone, so I stick to my Ibasso DC-03.
If I want to listen to music with surround sound on my phone, I will get some binaural albums (difficult to find) which don't require a special DSP dongle.

Yep I totally agree. That's why I said to ignore the SXFI rubbish... It's totally useless. But as a standard DAC it's very good. I just think people disregard it is a viable audiophile option just because it's marketed with the SXFI technology... But that doesn't have to be turned on.

 

[Qupie]

@Ichos For that price though, is it better than a $200 atom/schiit/topping stack?

@dgjl will take a loot at that. Probably not going to use it on phone like ever, just interested in laptop use (and maaaybe phone use in the future sometimes).

 

[Ichos]

@Ichos For that price though, is it better than a $200 atom/schiit/topping stack?

@dgjl will take a loot at that. Probably not going to use it on phone like ever, just interested in laptop use (and maaaybe phone use in the future sometimes).

No it doesn't best them.
You choose it for the excellent sound while staying portable.
I have listened only to the Schiit stack but I bet the same goes with the others.
If you can stay Desktop then the other options are surely better.
But they don't do MQA if you care about that.

 

[Ichos]

dang, a $200 dongle is a cheap option these days?

No , of course not.
It is top of the line dongle.
Cheap is UA1 , DC03 , Rhodium etc that are very good for the price point.

 

[Pro-Jules]

Love my Onyx

 

[Bitsir]

The Ovidius B1 is intriguing because it measures relatively poorly compared to similarly priced dongles, yet it is the favorite dongle by Andy.

https://andyaudiovault.com/donglemadness/ovidius-b1-2/

 

[darmanastartes]

Great thread once again. Read "only" through the last couple of pages though. Can any of these hold up against a cheap portable dac/amp like the schiit fulla? I don't need a dongle perse, just want a cheap option for at work etc.

I highly recommend the Hidizs S9 (Pro or non-Pro) as a work stack replacement.

 

[LaughMoreDaily]

The Ovidius B1 is intriguing because it measures relatively poorly compared to similarly priced dongles, yet it is the favorite dongle by Andy.

https://andyaudiovault.com/donglemadness/ovidius-b1-2/

Andy doesn't stand for God.

 

[Bitsir]

Andy doesn't stand for God.

Sure, but my point is that it's intriguing that he ranks that particular Dongle DAC as his definite favourite considering how poorly is measures, relatively speaking.

He has the L&P W2 up for review which is, I believe, the best measuring Dongle DAC right now - quite a bit better than the Ovidius B1, so it'll be interesting to see how it stacks up subjectively.

 

[Infoseeker]

Anyone got information on the korean AZLA dongle?
https://www.0db.co.kr/NEWS/1609236


The item on the left is just an adapter for computers.

 

[renekok]

Anyone got information on the korean AZLA dongle?
https://www.0db.co.kr/NEWS/1609236


The item on the left is just an adapter for computers.

Thank god for Google Translate.
There is not much in the way of specs. But it seems to be a low end dongle (24 bit/96kHz).
The article about the dongle is already 1 year old.
But looking in the comments for this dongle I found something that might be far more interesting, a new tempotec 4.4mm dongle:
https://www-0db-co-kr.translate.goo...x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=ajax,nv,elem (choose language=Korean to get proper translation).

 

[Infoseeker]

Thank god for Google Translate.
There is not much in the way of specs. But it seems to be a low end dongle (24 bit/96kHz).
The article about the dongle is already 1 year old.
But looking in the comments for this dongle I found something that might be far more interesting, a new tempotec 4.4mm dongle:
https://www-0db-co-kr.translate.goo...x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=ajax,nv,elem (choose language=Korean to get proper translation).

Wow. 4vrms dongle!

 

[Ichos]

It is not the only one.
EarMen Sparrow is 4V , iBasso DC04 is , ddHiFi TC44B and others.