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

[superuser1]

It slightly increases the output voltage but I don't know the exact figure.

Didn't notice any difference on my easy to drive 1DD iem. Either because it's a cheapo or the extra voltage does nothing for the DD. Do you feel the presentation is absolutely uncoloured? I'm not much of a dongle person and the only other one I have is the shanling UA3.

Dare I say the DC04 is more punchy and dynamic than the DX160 in most situations. Im being delusional right?

 

[Ichos]

Didn't notice any difference on my easy to drive 1DD iem. Either because it's a cheapo or the extra voltage does nothing for the DD. Do you feel the presentation is absolutely uncoloured? I'm not much of a dongle person and the only other one I have is the shanling UA3.

Dare I say the DC04 is more punchy and dynamic than the DX160 in most situations. Im being delusional right?

I don't have the DC04 Pro yet but I like very much the DC03 Pro.
The presentation is neutral and linear with a touch of musicality and warmness.

Regarding the boost option, I think that is more effective for headphones with an impedance >150Ω.

And no, you are not delusional, high quality DAC dongles are getting very close to entry level DAPs and they have more advanced components inside than older generation DAPs so it is not of a surprise if they sound better.

 

[marekm]

If you use the DC04 pro with iOS you will loose the ability to use the app for the dongle which is limited to android.

Is the use of the App, a once in while affair, to set up the DC04 Pro or do you need it always when using the dongle (save for volume control).

I use Apple devices on a daily basis, but do have an Android phone, for when I need to work in that OS.

So, would you recommend DC04 Pro for an iPhone user or should I pass ?

 

[Ichos]

Is the use of the App, a once in while affair, to set up the DC04 Pro or do you need it always when using the dongle (save for volume control).

I use Apple devices on a daily basis, but do have an Android phone, for when I need to work in that OS.

So, would you recommend DC04 Pro for an iPhone user or should I pass ?

Regarding the app, it must be running for the selections to take effect as they are not permanently stored in the dongle memory.
Your phone (android) will remember the last selections but not the dongle.

 

[superuser1]

Is the use of the App, a once in while affair, to set up the DC04 Pro or do you need it always when using the dongle (save for volume control).

I use Apple devices on a daily basis, but do have an Android phone, for when I need to work in that OS.

So, would you recommend DC04 Pro for an iPhone user or should I pass ?

An iPhone user with the DC04 pro should answer that question. You'll be confined to filter No. 1. Whether it still sounds great without the app on iOS i can't objectively answer.

 

[grumpy213]

My DC04 Pro should be arriving soon so I’ll be able to chime in on the iOS vs android usability front.

To be honest, I didn’t envision messing around with turbo, eco and filters that much since I don’t usually do that with my other sources (as applicable) so it didn’t really bother me that I wouldn’t have access to the app with my main phone.

On the DAP front, the only DAP that appeared to match up with the DC04 in terms of noise and other measurable relating to sensitive IEMs was the quite expensive Shanling M6 Ultra.

The DC04 Pro (on paper at least) seems class leading on that front!

 

[marekm]

Your phone (android) will remember the last selections but not the dongle.

This is a deal breaker for me

I need take a look at Fiio's KA5. Also no app for iPhone, but set-up is possible directly on the dongle

 

[grumpy213]

This is a deal breaker for me

I need take a look at Fiio's KA5. Also no app for iPhone, but set-up is possible directly on the dongle

I had a look at the KA5 as well and it also measures quite well. The screen is a neat addition but I opted for the iBasso since it was on sale at a local vendor.

Hope it works out for you

 

[capybara is mine]

I've already ordered dc04pro, but I'm also interested in KA5 and SHIO recently. I will only use the dongle for PC, and mainly use the 4.4mm connection via IEM. I'm wondering which of the three is the most reasonable choice.

 

[grumpy213]

Mini, incoherent review of the iBasso DC04Pro since I just buy audio and don't really describe it well

It came bundled with a type-c to type-c cable, type-c to lightning cable and a type-c to A adapter. The finishing on the aluminium and the tempered glass is well done and feels very well built.

With only my desktop stack and my DAP (see signature) to compare it to, I can say that the DC04 Pro is quite straightforward in the listening experience with a potential tilt towards the highs. The word that came to mind with my initial listening was "sharp", some K-Pop songs such as "4 Walls" by fx caused me a little discomfort at first with female vocal high notes as they were noticeably "sharper" and more pronounced than my Hiby R5 Saber.

Otherwise, I feel that they present the low-end and mids with tremendous clarity and linearity. I feel that the overall signature is very detailed if a little lean for my ears currently (noting that I just got the dongle and have been listening to "warm-neutral" IEMs for the last several months). Overall I feel that they work very well for a good critical listen where you're trying to extract minor details in a well-recorded song and less so for a relaxing background music mood type of listening.
In more technical aspects, the noise floor is no joke, touted by iBasso to be 0.9 microvolts, I am unable to hear any audible noise looping a 'silent' track on my Campfire Andromedas in a quiet listening environment until I get to volume levels that would cause hearing damage or driver damage.

For the app (and lack thereof for Apple devices), the filters do subtly change the sound signature, with the aforementioned song being less sharp and sibilant on the ears with the slow filter or NOS on. I believe using it on an iOS device defaults to Filter No.1 and Turbo mode and therefore if you're particularly sensitive to high end sibilance than I would factor that into your decision. I don't think I will ever turn off Turbo mode, turn on Eco Mode nor am I using these with headphones on a regular basis, so your mileage may vary.

Overall, I think the DC04 Pro presents a rather compelling package and I'm pretty happy with the purchase. Almost black background, sharp and detailed, I will be utilising this for critical listening sessions and when I'm using particularly sensitive IEMs.

 

[REXNFX]

Bought a iBasso DC04 Pro after having some issues with the noise floor on my DAP with my IEMs and am looking forward to seeing how it performs after some of the reviews in here!

As an aside as someone who uses a iPhone and an Android DAP there are benefits and advantages to both in terms of USB amps/DACs. My iPhone outputs bitperfect when connected to a USB DAC with little to no effort whereas I believe Android (small sample size of an old Xiaomi phone) doesn't output bit perfect all the time and is app dependent. As far as I know, Apple Music didn't output perfectly, resampled to 48khz, Tidal asked for permission to access the USB device and output bit perfect and I have yet to try with Qobuz and Amazon. Obviously this is less of an issue if you use UAPP and your own local files but that doesn't fit my use case.

I have seen mixed experiences with some owners of Sony Xperia's having no issue with USB DACs and my Hiby DAP with a SRC bypass does it fine. Otherwise, iOS is hampered with having no expandable storage (not good for music hoarders), poor power output via Lightning and no system wide parametric EQ apps like Wavelet.

So basically, I'm stuck in between a rock and a hard place lol

How about using your DAP with the DC04?

 

[grumpy213]

How about using your DAP with the DC04?

Currently doing that but I was hoping to buy a fairly cheap Android phone with a bigger screen, faster SoC and updated version of Android to improve the UX, utilise apps like Wavelet and still enjoy bit perfect output. Will have to go back to the drawing board for now for my portable source now though

 

[NexusOne]

using it on an iOS device defaults to Filter No.1 and Turbo mode

Would you buy it for an iOS device, too?

 

[grumpy213]

Would you buy it for an iOS device, too?

Well it depends on how much you tend to tinker with your settings/filters etc. For me I don't really do so on a regular basis and feel that I can enjoy the sound signature with default settings save for maybe some outlier songs. As such I would buy it but if that tinkering is important to you then I would recommend the KA5, which I was also researching before I decided on the DC04Pro. Similarly it only has an Android app but it has a display that you can toggle such settings on the device itself.

I chose the DC04Pro for slightly better measurables and the cheaper price.

 

[laleeee]

Hi guys, can you compare the ibasso DC04Pro and the Xduoo Link2 Balanced ?