[baskingshark]

Should I buy it too, but does anything change between the Europe and the US versions?

The EU version is volume capped, I think the power is even weaker than the US version. Avoid the EU one.

 

[REXNFX]

I have a IBassoDC05 and a ShanlingUA1s that I alternate with powered speakers and they sound really good!
The trick is to get volume levels right so that they there is no clipping along the chain nor that the signal might get too low to the point of not being processed correctly.

Ordered a USB Apple dongle and will give that a try soon.

I found the Apple dongle sounds best with the hardware volume just below max (done via UAPP app). Will be interested to hear your thoughts compared to the other ones you own.

 

[REXNFX]

The EU version is volume capped, I think the power is even weaker than the US version. Avoid the EU one.

You can max the volume using UAPP app.

 

[rlw6534]

I have been using my Dragonfly Cobalt and Lotoo Paw S2 with my iPhone 15 Pro and have been using a MagSafe wallet to hold the dongles. With the Cobalt, this works pretty well as I can control volume from the iPhone, but with the S2 a I have to use the buttons on the dongle which are difficult to access.

Any suggestions on a quality dongle that allows volume control from iPhone (that is better than the Cobalt)?

There is lots of experience here in this thread...

Balanced outputs are not required (but OK) and power usage is a consideration for me.

Ideas?

Not my photo, but my setup is the same.

 

[povidlo]

I have been using my Dragonfly Cobalt and Lotoo Paw S2 with my iPhone 15 Pro and have been using a MagSafe wallet to hold the dongles. With the Cobalt, this works pretty well as I can control volume from the iPhone, but with the S2 a I have to use the buttons on the dongle which are difficult to access.

Any suggestions on a quality dongle that allows volume control from iPhone (that is better than the Cobalt)?

There is lots of experience here in this thread...

Balanced outputs are not required (but OK) and power usage is a consideration for me.

Ideas?



Not my photo, but my setup is the same.

Questyle M15i might be a feasible option based on your requirements.

 

[XTF1]

I have been using my Dragonfly Cobalt and Lotoo Paw S2 with my iPhone 15 Pro and have been using a MagSafe wallet to hold the dongles. With the Cobalt, this works pretty well as I can control volume from the iPhone, but with the S2 a I have to use the buttons on the dongle which are difficult to access.

Any suggestions on a quality dongle that allows volume control from iPhone (that is better than the Cobalt)?

There is lots of experience here in this thread...

Balanced outputs are not required (but OK) and power usage is a consideration for me.

Ideas?



Not my photo, but my setup is the same.

Khadas Tea may be worth a (quick) look… That is, only if MagSafe ranks really high on your list, otherwise, I wouldn’t not recommend it! (I have one and seldom use it).

 

[rlw6534]

Khadas Tea may be worth a (quick) look… That is, only if MagSafe ranks really high on your list, otherwise, I wouldn’t not recommend it! (I have one and seldom use it).

I actually have the Khadas Tea and also rarely use it. It just seems too bulky and heavy when connected to my phone. Also, I have never figured out how to turn off the bluetooth when using USB... I suppose that doesn't matter, but it still bugs me...

I wonder if there are USB dongles with volume control that also allow control from the iPhone? I'm not sure how that works and it's not mentioned in reviews; that's why I asked here.

Thank you for the response!

 

[rlw6534]

Questyle M15i might be a feasible option based on your requirements.

I wonder how much sound quality you give up with the smaller (maybe) M12i? I will only use IEMs that don't really need balanced...

 

[povidlo]

I wonder how much sound quality you give up with the smaller (maybe) M12i? I will only use IEMs that don't really need balanced...

https://headfonics.com/questyle-m15-review/3/

 

[sofastreamer]

questyle just came out with updates of both https://hifigo.com/blogs/news/questyle-introduces-m12i-and-m15i

 

[someyoungguy]

I have been using my Dragonfly Cobalt and Lotoo Paw S2 with my iPhone 15 Pro and have been using a MagSafe wallet to hold the dongles. With the Cobalt, this works pretty well as I can control volume from the iPhone, but with the S2 a I have to use the buttons on the dongle which are difficult to access.

Any suggestions on a quality dongle that allows volume control from iPhone (that is better than the Cobalt)?

There is lots of experience here in this thread...

Balanced outputs are not required (but OK) and power usage is a consideration for me.

Ideas?



Not my photo, but my setup is the same.

My vote would be Violectric Chronos. Small enough to fit in the wallet, you can control volume via phone slider, and low power draw. Plus it sounds good

 

[brjoon1021]

Kuang Pai Plus 4 at a really good price.
Those of you who have it, how good is it?

 

[XTF1]

Kuang Pai Plus 4 at a really good price.
Those of you who have it, how good is it?

I have that one!
If you mean sound quality... to me, it's as good as any other well-designed dongle. At least that's what I recall as I haven't used it in a long time: I liked a lot the 3.5+2.5+4.4 ports and the fact it can power pretty much anything... but it's on bulky side.

EDIT: I bought it in Jul 2023, and it was already $123 on AE. A decent price... because I'm spoiled, I won't say it's "really good"!

 

[brjoon1021]

XTF1,
Thanks for the response. Which dongles do you have that you consider to be really good... Better than it anyway ?

 

[Polky74]

Kuang Pai Plus 4 at a really good price.
Those of you who have it, how good is it?

The Kuang Pai Plus 4 has a sound very close to the L&P W1, therefore very bright but not as defined. It has many adjustments and three headphone inputs, but I don't think it's among the best dongles. Already with 90 euros from Hifigo you can get a Shanling UA4 which in my opinion represents an improvement in general performance. Then if we talk about which is the best dongle overall, without taking the price into account, among those I own I prefer the DC-Elite... but I still haven't listened to the Astell & Kern AKHC4 which doesn't cost a huge amount and could have excellent performance, even if the opinions on it are few and conflicting. We will see...