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

[JWolf]

Plus, one would need to define "better".

Sounds better then the other with a fairly neutral headphone.

 

[dumpsterfire]

The Elite keeps the same volume, probably since it’s analogue with the R2R volume control. I’m not sure if it’s possible to change other settings like the digital filters.

I feel like the Mojo is a bit ahead on resolving ability overall. The Elite might pick apart and separate instruments better in some cases, and is wider in soundstage, but the Mojo still sounds like a small step up to my ears in terms of overall performance. Keep in mind this is with Poly; in my experience Poly via WiFi sounds better than Mojo alone and then there’s another small step up in soundstage and detail going to Poly playing via SD card. I don’t know why, probably something to do with interference and signal degradation. I haven’t listened to Mojo alone for a long time.

Thanks for the impressions! I was hoping this would be like a DX320 mini but it sounds like it’s more of its own thing. Given the price and power draw, I’ll pass.

 

[starfly]

I am kind of envious of people who don't hear a difference in source gear. I wish i could have just got an apple dongle and be done with it. It's tiny as well as power efficient. Sadly, i do hear a difference and therefore the need to probe more into the rabbit hole. I'm not saying hearing a difference is better than not hearing it.

Waiting on more impressions on the DC Elite but the power draw is insane!

Go to many festivals and loud concerts without hearing protection like I did when I was younger, and soon enough all hi-fi gear will sound excellent

 

[Brain Damage]

Go to many festivals and loud concerts without hearing protection like I did when I was younger, and soon enough all hi-fi gear will sound excellent

Or just average

 

[superuser1]

Is the output Ω of Fiio KA13 accurate?

 

[baskingshark]

Is the output Ω of Fiio KA13 accurate?

It is accurate IMO, it is on the higher side, so it doesn't synergize well with IEMs with low impedance (rule of 8ths), which may skew the frequency response for IEMs with a variable impedance curve.

 

[superuser1]

Any impression on the Shanling UA4?

 

[991 Carrera 4S]

I received my Shanling UA4 yesterday and am very disappointed.
Because in UA4, basic things are badly implemented, so that the sound itself doesn't even matter.
I personally do not recommend buying it, until the following issues are fixed:

1) UA4 noise floor is bad. Clearly audible even with my quite un-sensitive ER4SR. This is no issue with iBasso DC04 Pro.
[Update] Noise floor for 3.5mm is fine. Noise floor for 4.4mm is bad.

2) UA4 auto-mute regularly cuts off the first beat of certain tracks. This is also no issue with iBasso DC04 Pro.

To mask/hide the bad noise floor, UA4 has some kind of auto-mute, that automatically mutes output if there is no audio playing. Unfortunately, the response time is too slow and it regularly cuts off the first beat of certain tracks. When changing tracks, it first mutes between the two tracks, but then at the start of the next track un-mutes too slowly and cuts off maybe the first 0.1s of the track. If a track immediately starts e.g. with a kickdrum within the first 0.1s of the track, then the kickdrum (or whatever else is in these first 0.1s) gets cut off.

3) UA4 volume control is annoying, even with the latest firmware update. Again, this is no issue with iBasso DC04 Pro.

Let's say you want to change volume by 5 volume steps.

UA4 with original firmware:
Press volume button, wait for display animation, volume didn't change, press volume button again, wait for display animation, volume changed +1, press volume button again, wait for display animation, volume changed +1, press volume button again, wait for display animation, volume changed +1, press volume button again, wait for display animation, volume changed +1, press volume button again, wait for display animation, volume changed +1. Done.

UA4 with latest firmware (V1.0.2):
Press volume button, wait for display animation, volume didn't change, press volume button 5 times in quick succession, wait for display animation, volume changed +5. Done.

iBasso DC04 Pro:
Press volume button 5 times in quick succession. Done.

This issues need to be fixed as soon as possible and UA4 should never have been sold in this unfinished state.

 

[superuser1]

Thanks @991 Carrera 4S

 

[ducnsh]

I received my Shanling UA4 yesterday and am very disappointed.
Because in UA4, basic things are badly implemented, so that the sound itself doesn't even matter.
I personally do not recommend buying it, until the following issues are fixed:

1) UA4 noise floor is bad. Clearly audible even with my quite un-sensitive ER4SR. This is no issue with iBasso DC04 Pro.

2) UA4 auto-mute regularly cuts off the first beat of certain tracks. This is also no issue with iBasso DC04 Pro.

To mask/hide the bad noise floor, UA4 has some kind of auto-mute, that automatically mutes output if there is no audio playing. Unfortunately, the response time is too slow and it regularly cuts off the first beat of certain tracks. When changing tracks, it first mutes between the two tracks, but then at the start of the next track un-mutes too slowly and cuts off maybe the first 0.1s of the track. If a track immediately starts e.g. with a kickdrum within the first 0.1s of the track, then the kickdrum (or whatever else is in these first 0.1s) gets cut off.

3) UA4 volume control is annoying, even with the latest firmware update. Again, this is no issue with iBasso DC04 Pro.

Let's say you want to change volume by 5 volume steps.

UA4 with original firmware:
Press volume button, wait for display animation, volume didn't change, press volume button again, wait for display animation, volume changed +1, press volume button again, wait for display animation, volume changed +1, press volume button again, wait for display animation, volume changed +1, press volume button again, wait for display animation, volume changed +1, press volume button again, wait for display animation, volume changed +1. Done.

UA4 with latest firmware (V1.0.2):
Press volume button, wait for display animation, volume didn't change, press volume button 5 times in quick succession, wait for display animation, volume changed +5. Done.

iBasso DC04 Pro:
Press volume button 5 times in quick succession. Done.

This issues need to be fixed as soon as possible and UA4 should never have been sold in this unfinished state.

Many thanks for your impression, I have recommended 5 friends to buy DC04Pro, and all of them are very satisfied with that choice (of course, including me ), even with the hiss catching Campfire Audio Andromeda, DC04Pro sounds silently, and the volume steps are still enough to fine-tune.

 

[Dragonmilenario]

An owner of an iBasso DC04 Pro is also here, and I couldn’t be happier with it. It works flawlessly on Android, iOS, and Windows.

 

[ducnsh]

An owner of an iBasso DC04 Pro is also here, and I couldn’t be happier with it. It works flawlessly on Android, iOS, and Windows.

More precisely, MacOS and Linux also

 

[wskl]

More precisely, MacOS and Linux also

Really? I use Linux Mint but the volume is very low, it is unusable.

Pls let me know which Linux distro you are using and if you need to config any specific settings.

Tyvm

 

[ducnsh]

Really? I use Linux Mint but the volume is very low, it is unusable.

Pls let me know which Linux distro you are using and if you need to config any specific settings.

Tyvm

I used to use Lenovo Thinkpad Carbon Gen 10 with Ubuntu 22 (installed as the second OS, not in Virtual Machine) , I just plugged & tested since do not use Ubuntu frequently, and did not configure any specific settings. I have switched to using MacOS (Pro 14 M1) for 6 months, so I cannot check it again for you. Btw, which earphones do you use? I am using 64 Audio A12t, it is quite sensitive, so maybe it was not a problem for me?

 

[wskl]

I used to use Lenovo Thinkpad Carbon Gen 10 with Ubuntu 22 (installed as the second OS, not in Virtual Machine) , I just plugged & tested since do not use Ubuntu frequently, and did not configure any specific settings. I have switched to using MacOS (Pro 14 M1) for 6 months, so I cannot check it again for you. Btw, which earphones do you use? I am using 64 Audio A12t, it is quite sensitive, so maybe it was not a problem for me?

Thanks, I will try Ubuntu since it is using a newer kernel than Mint but I'll probably wait until the 24.04 LTS release.

I'm using easy to drive earphones, max volume on the dc04 pro is like 1/3 the volume of my PC built-in headphone jack, almost inaudible actually.