USB-C to 3.5mm adapters (DAC) - Let's find the best

[OspreyAndy]

Have really enjoyed the #donglemadness web page - so informative to have reviews and comparisons (of so many dongles) side-by-side.

I own the Zorloo Ztella - got mine by helping fund its production via Kickstarter a couple of years ago - and I do quite enjoy it.

Question: is the Questyle M12 a noticeable step up from the Ztella? I am intrigued by the M12 and the Centrance Dacport HD.

Thanks.

Zorloo Ztella exhibit the typical brightness of ESS Sabre sound signature. A lot of folks enjoy this type of clean sound. In fact Zorloo Ztella sounds very similar to Hidizs S3 Pro, HiBy FC3, IKKO Zerda ITM01, Audirect Atom2 etc - all of which are built on ES9281. What makes Questyle M12 special is that it is a lot more balanced and well tuned implementation of ES9281 on top of having more power at 2 Vrms. M12 is among the rare ES DAC/Amp that actually sounding truthfully natural alongside the likes of Apogee Groove (ES9016, the most organic sounding ESS still), HiBy FC5 (ES9281 too but just slightly brighter), REIYIN DA-Plus (ES9038Q2M with 4 Vrms of power).

CEntrance DACport HD on the other hand is the closest thing that I regard to real Analogue sound which at the same time exceedingly technical and resolving. DACport HD is AKM based and sounds totally different from Zorloo Ztella or most ES based DACs. Right after DACport HD, Cayin RU6 follows very closely with great analogue timbre as well.

 

[Brain Damage]

Thanks.

Zorloo Ztella exhibit the typical brightness of ESS Sabre sound signature. A lot of folks enjoy this type of clean sound. In fact Zorloo Ztella sounds very similar to Hidizs S3 Pro, HiBy FC3, IKKO Zerda ITM01, Audirect Atom2 etc - all of which are built on ES9281. What makes Questyle M12 special is that it is a lot more balanced and well tuned implementation of ES9281 on top of having more power at 2 Vrms. M12 is among the rare ES DAC/Amp that actually sounding truthfully natural alongside the likes of Apogee Groove (ES9016, the most organic sounding ESS still), HiBy FC5 (ES9281 too but just slightly brighter), REIYIN DA-Plus (ES9038Q2M with 4 Vrms of power).

CEntrance DACport HD on the other hand is the closest thing that I regard to real Analogue sound which at the same time exceedingly technical and resolving. DACport HD is AKM based and sounds totally different from Zorloo Ztella or most ES based DACs. Right after DACport HD, Cayin RU6 follows very closely with great analogue timbre as well.

Thanks. Really appreciate your feedback. Would love the Centrance Dacport HD or the version with the in-built battery.

The only issue is, it seems to be hard to buy one in the UK.

 

[syazwaned]

Thanks.

Zorloo Ztella exhibit the typical brightness of ESS Sabre sound signature. A lot of folks enjoy this type of clean sound. In fact Zorloo Ztella sounds very similar to Hidizs S3 Pro, HiBy FC3, IKKO Zerda ITM01, Audirect Atom2 etc - all of which are built on ES9281. What makes Questyle M12 special is that it is a lot more balanced and well tuned implementation of ES9281 on top of having more power at 2 Vrms. M12 is among the rare ES DAC/Amp that actually sounding truthfully natural alongside the likes of Apogee Groove (ES9016, the most organic sounding ESS still), HiBy FC5 (ES9281 too but just slightly brighter), REIYIN DA-Plus (ES9038Q2M with 4 Vrms of power).

CEntrance DACport HD on the other hand is the closest thing that I regard to real Analogue sound which at the same time exceedingly technical and resolving. DACport HD is AKM based and sounds totally different from Zorloo Ztella or most ES based DACs. Right after DACport HD, Cayin RU6 follows very closely with great analogue timbre as well.

I agree with the Apogee Groove, for me it is the best dac/amp I ever own. The only portable dac/amp that can beat the Apogee Groove in term of timbre and separation in my opinion is Chord Mojo, but that one is battery powered dac/amp and located at different category.

 

[Nellie75]

I have both. E44 is the better device IMO. Battery drain is very noticeable with KA3.

What do you like better about the E44? I have the KA3 but have a E44 in transit from Ali Express (January 17th.).

I like the fact the KA3 had no integrated cables and has 3.5 and 4.4 built on. Also they have no problem driving my HD6XX off balanced.

 

[Brain Damage]

Thanks.

Zorloo Ztella exhibit the typical brightness of ESS Sabre sound signature. A lot of folks enjoy this type of clean sound. In fact Zorloo Ztella sounds very similar to Hidizs S3 Pro, HiBy FC3, IKKO Zerda ITM01, Audirect Atom2 etc - all of which are built on ES9281. What makes Questyle M12 special is that it is a lot more balanced and well tuned implementation of ES9281 on top of having more power at 2 Vrms. M12 is among the rare ES DAC/Amp that actually sounding truthfully natural alongside the likes of Apogee Groove (ES9016, the most organic sounding ESS still), HiBy FC5 (ES9281 too but just slightly brighter), REIYIN DA-Plus (ES9038Q2M with 4 Vrms of power).

CEntrance DACport HD on the other hand is the closest thing that I regard to real Analogue sound which at the same time exceedingly technical and resolving. DACport HD is AKM based and sounds totally different from Zorloo Ztella or most ES based DACs. Right after DACport HD, Cayin RU6 follows very closely with great analogue timbre as well.

Out of interest @OspreyAndy , in your opinion, is the Centrance Dacport HD the endgame for maximum audio sonic quality from a dongle DAC at present?

I appreciate this is a probably a difficult question to ask based on the many other variables that need to be factored in (ie. type of headphone/IEMs paired, impedance of headphones/IEMs paired, smartphone/PC used as the main source, battery life and USB spec of smartphone (for strain on phone's battery whilst using dongle dac).

Trying to weigh up the immense shipping fee on top of the retail price of the Centrance Dacport HD v current LG V30/Zorloo Ztella with PC & Audirvana setup. Will easily pay for a step up on what I already have. Just wary that, at this final price (for a dongle dac, you could instead probably invest in a decent home desktop dac amp setup. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

 

[chifihead]

I'm looking to buy a new USB C DAC for portable use, but I'm confused between UA2/KA3/DC05/S9PRO. Can anyone suggest which one would be better?
All of them are priced almost the same in my country except S90PRO, which costs a little bit higher.

From all of them I've read rave reviews more frequently on UA2 and S9 Pro.

However, personally I would choose one that would have a built-in volume control because some (most?) Android phones have worse sound quality in low volumes. Ideally I'd like my phone to have a high volume which then gets tempered with the dac's volume control.

Also, the granularity tends to be finer on DACs.

 

[lanister]

I recently use Avani dongles with my phone. I use Hiby app to bypass audio. But when I switch to Youtube or browser it was muted. Anyway I can use my dongle with all my app in my phone? Thx!

 

[OspreyAndy]

Out of interest @OspreyAndy , in your opinion, is the Centrance Dacport HD the endgame for maximum audio sonic quality from a dongle DAC at present?

I appreciate this is a probably a difficult question to ask based on the many other variables that need to be factored in (ie. type of headphone/IEMs paired, impedance of headphones/IEMs paired, smartphone/PC used as the main source, battery life and USB spec of smartphone (for strain on phone's battery whilst using dongle dac).

Trying to weigh up the immense shipping fee on top of the retail price of the Centrance Dacport HD v current LG V30/Zorloo Ztella with PC & Audirvana setup. Will easily pay for a step up on what I already have. Just wary that, at this final price (for a dongle dac, you could instead probably invest in a decent home desktop dac amp setup. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

What is Endgame? it differs from one person to another. As I always been saying, taste and preferences ultimately decide what is best for the listener.

Having said that, for my own taste and preferences, yes CEntrance DACport HD is Endgame, after owning and extensively tested over 100 Dongles I can't find anything else that can compare with DACport HD when it comes to delivering wholesome package of sheer Class A amplification, analogue timbre, articulate technicalities, and adaptability for both highly efficient IEMs or the most stubborn Magnetic Planars. The closest thing to DACport HD is the Cayin RU6, they are pretty much similar sonic wise - of course with RU6 limited to 2 Vrms as opposed to DACport HD at 4.1 Vrms and 775 mW. Then there's still Ovidius B1 that I loved so much as well, for being ethereal sounding when paired with the likes of Etymotic ER series.

On the other hand, if portability is not your priority, you can absolutely opt to get the stacks of JDS Labs DAC+ and Amp+, or iFi ZEN Stacks of V2 and ZEN Can. Both of which capable of whopping 9 Vrms fidelity on the fly. I personally avoid anything from Topping as they seem to prioritize too much on measurements, and adversely lacking in musicality

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Hyde00]

What is Endgame? it differs from one person to another. As I always been saying, taste and preferences ultimately decide what is best for the listener.

Having said that, for my own taste and preferences, yes CEntrance DACport HD is Endgame, after owning and extensively tested over 100 Dongles I can't find anything else that can compare with DACport HD when it comes to delivering wholesome package of sheer Class A amplification, analogue timbre, articulate technicalities, and adaptability for both highly efficient IEMs or the most stubborn Magnetic Planars. The closest thing to DACport HD is the Cayin RU6, they are pretty much similar sonic wise - of course with RU6 limited to 2 Vrms as opposed to DACport HD at 4.1 Vrms and 775 mW. Then there's still Ovidius B1 that I loved so much as well, for being ethereal sounding when paired with the likes of Etymotic ER series.

On the other hand, if portability is not your priority, you can absolutely opt to get the stacks of JDS Labs DAC+ and Amp+, or iFi ZEN Stacks of V2 and ZEN Can. Both of which capable of whopping 9 Vrms fidelity on the fly. I personally avoid anything from Topping as they seem to prioritize too much on measurements, and adversely lacking in musicality

Just my 2 cents.

Awesome write up! It's crazy how many dongle dacs you've reviewed so far, also the whole dongle dac market is getting out of hand, so many choices now lol.

I thought about buying CEntrance DACport HD a few times before but I was never a fan of the volume wheel as it feels too 90s for me, also I keep reading review regarding excessive heat. Otherwise from what you said it does indeed sound like an awesome unit.

What's your opinion on PEE51 vs RU6? Overtime I realize I don't like neutral sound because to me it sounds too boring and I like colored sound. Current dongle dac is Dragonfly Red which boosts female vocal (upper mids/low treble?), mid bass and sub bass. In the past I guess I've been prefer the ESS sound over the AKM sound in general.

Though it sounds like the new dongle dac trinity is RU6 / Lotoo S2 / L&P W2. My friend is pushing me towards the W2 since it sounds like it has the highest resolution but I keep reading it sounds "boring" LOL.

So realistically I think at the moment I'm most intrigued by the RU6, would it be a good choice for upfront female vocal and bass rumble? I also listen to rock so I find sometimes the newer dongle dacs tend to be too smooth to represent the aggressiveness of rock well.

This hobby is hard..... LOL (oh and I'm actually just using it as desktop unit, I think I just like the form factor of dongle dac on my desk LOL, also volume control from keyboard shortcut is nice).

 

[Angel III]

What is Endgame? it differs from one person to another. As I always been saying, taste and preferences ultimately decide what is best for the listener.

Having said that, for my own taste and preferences, yes CEntrance DACport HD is Endgame, after owning and extensively tested over 100 Dongles I can't find anything else that can compare with DACport HD when it comes to delivering wholesome package of sheer Class A amplification, analogue timbre, articulate technicalities, and adaptability for both highly efficient IEMs or the most stubborn Magnetic Planars. The closest thing to DACport HD is the Cayin RU6, they are pretty much similar sonic wise - of course with RU6 limited to 2 Vrms as opposed to DACport HD at 4.1 Vrms and 775 mW. Then there's still Ovidius B1 that I loved so much as well, for being ethereal sounding when paired with the likes of Etymotic ER series.

On the other hand, if portability is not your priority, you can absolutely opt to get the stacks of JDS Labs DAC+ and Amp+, or iFi ZEN Stacks of V2 and ZEN Can. Both of which capable of whopping 9 Vrms fidelity on the fly. I personally avoid anything from Topping as they seem to prioritize too much on measurements, and adversely lacking in musicality

Just my 2 cents.

I too would like to buy CEntrance DACport HD, have you had occasion to try Violectric CHRONOS and iBasso dc05?

 

[Ichos]

When we examine USB DAC dongles then the comparison must be apples to apples.
The DACport cannot be powered from the phone without draining the battery very fast.
It needs as the manufacturer states "Due to high output power, a power bank or hub may be required"
On the other hand the iBasso DC05 or the Chronos can run for hours.
So in my opinion the DACport belongs to a different category and should not be compared with low powered DAC dongles.

 

[OspreyAndy]

When we examine USB DAC dongles then the comparison must be apples to apples.
The DACport cannot be powered from the phone without draining the battery very fast.
It needs as the manufacturer states "Due to high output power, a power bank or hub may be required"
On the other hand the iBasso DC05 or the Chronos can run for hours.
So in my opinion the DACport belongs to a different category and should not be compared with low powered DAC dongles.

I actually has been running both my Apogee Groove and DACport HD straight from my Xiaomi Redmi 10 and gets 6 hours of continuous play (USB Exclusive mode SRC bypassed), in comparison Cayin RU6 and Lotoo PAW S2 runs for about 8 hours. Taking that into perspective, DACport HD and Apogee Groove still does qualify for Host Powered Dongle DAC/Amp, they do drain more power but then that's what makes them great. There was never a moment I needed to use support from a power bank even when running DACport HD on high gain mode driving my Fostex T40RP MK3 Magnetic Planar

 

[OspreyAndy]

I too would like to buy CEntrance DACport HD, have you had occasion to try Violectric CHRONOS and iBasso dc05?

I considered CHRONOS early on but decided not to pursue it as it seems Violectric designed the CHRONOS for driving only for highly efficient IEMs with very low output power, much similar to L&P W2 which sounds amazing and resolving with those super easy to drive stuffs but then the W2 started to weaken significantly for anything lower than 100db of sensitivity or above 250 Ohms. For the asking price of W2 I expect at the very least it can do decent performances up until 320 Ohms since quite a few other dongles that cost much less proved to be more competent be it highly efficient or outright stubborn load. I suspect that the CHRONOS being rated even weaker than many other Dongles, I just can't interest myself enough to splash the high asking price to drive an already very efficient and competent IEMs.
For iBasso DC05, I have one on order and will arrive soon with Colorfly CDA M1, FiiO KA3, ZOOAUX Version 3 & SMSL Idol+.

@Hyde00 I will have a full article on RU6 soon. So you will be able to read my full assessment on that unit. Thanks

 

[Ichos]

I actually has been running both my Apogee Groove and DACport HD straight from my Xiaomi Redmi 10 and gets 6 hours of continuous play (USB Exclusive mode SRC bypassed), in comparison Cayin RU6 and Lotoo PAW S2 runs for about 8 hours. Taking that into perspective, DACport HD and Apogee Groove still does qualify for Host Powered Dongle DAC/Amp, they do drain more power but then that's what makes them great. There was never a moment I needed to use support from a power bank even when running DACport HD on high gain mode driving my Fostex T40RP MK3 Magnetic Planar

What are the conditions regarding player and source material?
Do you stream or listen to stored files?
6 hours of listening time , I guess that it is good if you don't drain your phone with other activities.
Something like iBasso DC05 will give you 3-4 times more playing time of course with less driving force and maybe quality
I do heavy multitasking while using 4G network and I believe that USB dongles should drain low power from the host device.
I see power hungry devices like DACport better suited for PC use but anyway this is just my opinion.

 

[Angel III]

I considered CHRONOS early on but decided not to pursue it as it seems Violectric designed the CHRONOS for driving only for highly efficient IEMs with very low output power, much similar to L&P W2 which sounds amazing and resolving with those super easy to drive stuffs but then the W2 started to weaken significantly for anything lower than 100db of sensitivity or above 250 Ohms. For the asking price of W2 I expect at the very least it can do decent performances up until 320 Ohms since quite a few other dongles that cost much less proved to be more competent be it highly efficient or outright stubborn load. I suspect that the CHRONOS being rated even weaker than many other Dongles, I just can't interest myself enough to splash the high asking price to drive an already very efficient and competent IEMs.
For iBasso DC05, I have one on order and will arrive soon with Colorfly CDA M1, FiiO KA3, ZOOAUX Version 3 & SMSL Idol+.

@Hyde00 I will have a full article on RU6 soon. So you will be able to read my full assessment on that unit. Thanks

Thank you, I await your tests.