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

[lordearl]

There is part of me that would love a dongle that could find a way to replicate the functionality of the old MiniDisc remotes but I suspect it's probably impossible:

Enter the Shanling UA4!

https://en.shanling.com/article-IntroUA4.html

 

[Fourier transformer]

new ESS dac already outdated by its 'Hardware MQA Renderer'

 

[bavlf]

A completely unnecessary comment!
Soon, if this continues, we will be able to read comments like: I only use mp3 so WAV, Flac etc "dac ESS already outdated". Absolutely stupid and childish.

 

[EddyRnB]

Guys, 11/11 is right around the corner, can you suggest a cheap warm dongle worth getting? Something below 50 dollars? Thank you very much!

 

[bithalver]

Guys, 11/11 is right around the corner, can you suggest a cheap warm dongle worth getting? Something below 50 dollars? Thank you very much!

https://www.hidizs.net/products/hidizs-s9-pro-balanced-single-ended-mini-hifi-dac-amp is 50 USD now; No idea if it's warm or not.

 

[jasonb]

https://www.hidizs.net/products/hidizs-s9-pro-balanced-single-ended-mini-hifi-dac-amp is 50 USD now; No idea if it's warm or not.

It has an ESS chip, so probably not. They are usually on the brighter/leaner side.

 

[991 Carrera 4S]

new ESS dac already outdated by its 'Hardware MQA Renderer'

Completely pointless, ignorant comment.

ES9069 is the newest ESS Sabre DAC available and simply has MQA already included. Who cares?

 

[Polky74]

Guys, 11/11 is right around the corner, can you suggest a cheap warm dongle worth getting? Something below 50 dollars? Thank you very much!

I'm waiting for a Shanling UA3 to arrive that has the features you're looking for, but costs more or less double what you want to spend... instead of getting any dongle, wait until you have the right amount and then invest it.. otherwise, you just risk wasting 50 bucks. (personal opinion)

 

[EddyRnB]

I'm waiting for a Shanling UA3 to arrive that has the features you're looking for, but costs more or less double what you want to spend... instead of getting any dongle, wait until you have the right amount and then invest it.. otherwise, you just risk wasting 50 bucks. (personal opinion)

Oh I have an eye on the UA3 for quite some time, I hope finding a good deal on it next week

 

[starfly]

How well would the DC04Pro be able to drive Planars? And in terms of some of the firmware settings (e.g. the roll-off filters), is the only way to set those through an Android app? I'm on the iPhone, but do have an Android tablet. And once set, are the settings stored on device? Or does it need to be reset everytime through the Android app?

 

[PhonoPhi]

Completely pointless, ignorant comment.

ES9069 is the newest ESS Sabre DAC available and simply has MQA already included. Who cares?

Really surprised by this unprovoked aggression and that of another comment.
It is important to many, including myself.
If ESS incorporates such a snake oil, like MQA, in their hardware - it tells a lot!
I made sure to absolutely avoid their MQA products and ultimately stopped buying their products altogether.
I used to be ESS fan, but Cirrus chips are now vastly superior, in my opinion, to both ESS and AKM.

On another note, is the USB splitter with a battery:

is any different in principle to more involved setups discussed.
I had to do this since small V1 DAP could not power power-hungry DACs, serving as a transport - this setup is at least conceptually portable.

P. S. I have more than 50 different DACs - with a lot of trial of mistakes I learned and finally realized few that I really like - all Cirrus-based.

 

[LouisLoh]

Anyone tried the ddHifi TC44Pro

 

[bavlf]

Really surprised by this unprovoked aggression and that of another comment.
It is important to many, including myself.
If ESS incorporates such a snake oil, like MQA, in their hardware - it tells a lot!
I made sure to absolutely avoid their MQA products and ultimately stopped buying their products altogether.
I used to be ESS fan, but Cirrus chips are now vastly superior, in my opinion, to both ESS and AKM.

On another note, is the USB splitter with a battery:

is any different in principle to more involved setups discussed.
I had to do this since small V1 DAP could not power power-hungry DACs, serving as a transport - this setup is at least conceptually portable.

P. S. I have more than 50 different DACs - with a lot of trial of mistakes I learned and finally realized few that I really like - all Cirrus-based.

Ah OK! We understand why use this old Tempotec V1, their Sonata BHD pro has a Cirrus and the MQA!

 

[Fourier transformer]

ES9069 is the newest ESS Sabre DAC available and simply has MQA already included. Who cares?

you are right, noboby cares about MQA, not even the manufacturer who didn't mention it in the product description

 

[TheFritz]

is any different in principle to more involved setups discussed.
I had to do this since small V1 DAP could not power power-hungry DACs, serving as a transport - this setup is at least conceptually portable.

I am curious how this specific USB-C splitter in your picture works!

Often, these usb-c-to-2c adapters / y-cables do either
- power the host (your DAP) but do not power the attached USB-devices (i.e. the dongle DACs) ... but at least do not inhibit the USB-audio-output
or
- they do not work at all for USB-audio transmission to DACs during charging of the host (they disable the USB-OTG detection when charging)

This is independent of the price/complexity of them. Even the (relative expensive) ddHifi TC28Cpro does not really work with the V1(A): it only allows simultaneous charging and USB-audio output via OTG only for some of my Android devices and NOT for the Tempotec V1(A) which I also own. The same holds for othe compact DAPs like e.g. the Fiio M6, Shanling M0, ...

That is one of the main differences to the "hub mod" setups discussed above where the external supply powers (only) the DACs with sufficient (clean) power while keeping the audio transmission working. The other is that it also works with iOS/Lightning-devices if you use a Lightning-to-C adapter.

If your specific splitter actually powers the DACs while outputing USB-Audio from the Tempotec V1(A), I would be very interessted in a link to that specific adapter model.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, that the Tempotec V1(A) works with the "hub mod" and different dongle DACs very well ... but it is very bulky then. I do not use it this way; if I take it out of the drawer at all, I use it as an LDAC BT-receiver (with play/skip keys) with its 3.5mm-coaxial SPDIF-output to the chord mojo (you need a 3.5mm TRRS-to-TS cable for that and it is nearly not using any of its battery at all this way and the V1's USB-C port is then free for charging it).