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

[Ichos]

Everything depends on the use case scenario.
As an example I tend to use USB DAC dongles with sensitive mostly iems and I don't care if the dongle can't drive my Sundara.
I have other stuff for the job.
So I don't mind the Chronos being at the lower side of power output and I would choose it for the excellent sound quality when driving sensitive earphones.
Someone else who likes a do it all dongle would choose otherwise.

 

[PhonoPhi]

Apple dongle is amazing for the power consumpttion - less consumption than the internal DAC of Samsung S10.
I can drive all my IEMs (all under 64 Ohm) with the Apple dongle, and in blind tests surprisingly not much difference compared to $50'-$100 DACs (after all DAC is a DAC as the sound forum can teach us). My conclusuons are after spending/wasting almost $1000 on different DACs.
Many DACs are just coloured to be "different", one can do it for free with an equalizer, but understandably hobby is a hobby, and if someone can hear different cables beyond the expected resistivity difference - the power of imagination totally rules over pockets - caveat emptor

 

[OspreyAndy]

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.

The phone I mentioned is my daily phone connected to 4G network and thus subjected also to normal activities as per expected of Smartphone nowadays. The hours milage are measured on HiBy Music Player app that ran on USB Exclusive Mode (bitperfect) playing FLAC files at a minimum of 44.1/16 CD qualities. And yes of course the mileage will reduce even more once I switched to Tidal Masters or YouTube Music streaming

 

[someyoungguy]

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

You should give it a try if the chance arises. I've had Chronos, RU6, PEE51 and M12 and it compares favorably with all of them, soundwise. Powerwise, on my phone and computer I was usually at around the same level on the volume slider when using Chronos as with PEE51 and M12, so although the specs are low it seems to have comparable power output to those others.

 

[Hyde00]

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

You should give it a try if the chance arises. I've had Chronos, RU6, PEE51 and M12 and it compares favorably with all of them, soundwise. Powerwise, on my phone and computer I was usually at around the same level on the volume slider when using Chronos as with PEE51 and M12, so although the specs are low it seems to have comparable power output to those others.

Ehhhhhhhh I could be wrong, though my friend has a lot of experience in this hobby. But take our "impression" with grain of salt lol.

I did read a lot of favourable reviews for Chronos though, so my impression might be the first "meh" review LOL.

Me and my friend both thought Violectric Chronos, the vocal and guitar sounded really nice but everything else is kind of........ not stand out......? And sound stage is really small (in comparison Dragonfly Red is wider).

He really liked his Violectric V200 so we had high hopes for it. But in the end we felt like maybe Violectric just follow the Cirrus Logic chip manufacture design spec and call it a day. So chances are it sounds just like other dongle that uses the same chip.

Shortly after I sold my Chronos and he returned his to the store he bought from. I even message the guy who bought from me for his impression. He's like "the build and finish is really nice, but I like M9XX better for sound lol". (I sold him Chronos, Ztella and M9XX all at once)

Again I won't say I'm expert in this subject matter (my current highest dac/amp is Burson Playmate 2) but my friend does have a lot of gear in this hobby (Bifrost 2, Soekris 1321, Violectric V200, RNHP, Liquid Platinum, Bottle Head Crack...etc).

For reference I was using Denon D5200 and my friend was using Focal Clear, both are easy to drive headphone.

EDIT: Replied a little bit late, added someyounguy's quote.

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

Awesome! I'm also looking at Colorfly CDA M1 too. Looking forward to the reviews for both CDA M1 and RU6!

 

[OspreyAndy]

You should give it a try if the chance arises. I've had Chronos, RU6, PEE51 and M12 and it compares favorably with all of them, soundwise. Powerwise, on my phone and computer I was usually at around the same level on the volume slider when using Chronos as with PEE51 and M12, so although the specs are low it seems to have comparable power output to those others.

Thanks for the insight. This piqued my interests

 

[SlothRock]

Tried the Apple dongle today with my Sony IER M9's. I was honestly getting a little sick of using the BTR5 and, when I'm on the go, I always prefer just hardwiring in with the least bulky method possible. The dongle worked great! Drove the M9's perfectly and didn't have any issues with the sound or with the volume. Think this will be the way I'm gonna listen on the M9 moving forward but I'll keep the BTR5 around in situations where I need to charge the phone but also wanna still listen to music.

 

[Ichos]

The phone I mentioned is my daily phone connected to 4G network and thus subjected also to normal activities as per expected of Smartphone nowadays. The hours milage are measured on HiBy Music Player app that ran on USB Exclusive Mode (bitperfect) playing FLAC files at a minimum of 44.1/16 CD qualities. And yes of course the mileage will reduce even more once I switched to Tidal Masters or YouTube Music streaming

Still under this circumstances 6 hours are a good count for class A amplification!

 

[Ichos]

Ehhhhhhhh I could be wrong, though my friend has a lot of experience in this hobby. But take our "impression" with grain of salt lol.

I did read a lot of favourable reviews for Chronos though, so my impression might be the first "meh" review LOL.

Me and my friend both thought Violectric Chronos, the vocal and guitar sounded really nice but everything else is kind of........ not stand out......? And sound stage is really small (in comparison Dragonfly Red is wider).

He really liked his Violectric V200 so we had high hopes for it. But in the end we felt like maybe Violectric just follow the Cirrus Logic chip manufacture design spec and call it a day. So chances are it sounds just like other dongle that uses the same chip.

Shortly after I sold my Chronos and he returned his to the store he bought from. I even message the guy who bought from me for his impression. He's like "the build and finish is really nice, but I like M9XX better for sound lol". (I sold him Chronos, Ztella and M9XX all at once)

Again I won't say I'm expert in this subject matter (my current highest dac/amp is Burson Playmate 2) but my friend does have a lot of gear in this hobby (Bifrost 2, Soekris 1321, Violectric V200, RNHP, Liquid Platinum, Bottle Head Crack...etc).

For reference I was using Denon D5200 and my friend was using Focal Clear, both are easy to drive headphone.

EDIT: Replied a little bit late, added someyounguy's quote.

Awesome! I'm also looking at Colorfly CDA M1 too. Looking forward to the reviews for both CDA M1 and RU6!

The Chronos can't drive the Focal Clear.
I have both and the set-up is not optimal.
The Chronos can't move the Clear and if you push it to full volume then it clips.
The Chronos is for a quality experience with top tier iems.

 

[Hyde00]

The Chronos can't drive the Focal Clear.
I have both and the set-up is not optimal.
The Chronos can't move the Clear and if you push it to full volume then it clips.
The Chronos is for a quality experience with top tier iems.

Ah okay that might explain it.

Thought I thought it should at least drive D5200 (24 Ohm). For reference when using Dragonfly Red on D5200 I typically listen to volume between 4-12 (out of 100).

It could just be that it's not the best synergy.

 

[Ichos]

Ah okay that might explain it.

Thought I thought it should at least drive D5200 (24 Ohm). For reference when using Dragonfly Red on D5200 I typically listen to volume between 4-12 (out of 100).

It could just be that it's not the best synergy.

There is a difference between getting a headphone to louder levels and property driving it.
With the Chronos maxed I can get pretty satisfying volume when using the Clear or the Sennheiser HD660s but they are not properly driven and don't play at their best state.
Or it plays quite loud with the Liric but I am not satisfied at all.
On the other hand with FiiO FD7 or FH9 it is magic.
Anyway as I wrote previously I wouldn't buy such a dongle for full sized cans.

 

[Ichos]

I have reviewed the Hidizs S3 PRO.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/hidizs-s3-pro.25264/review/27597/

Not up to the price point class leaders like the iBasso DC05 but it is good sounding, very small and the three different firmwares are quite interesting to fiddle around, if you have a Windows 10 PC, that is.

 

[thepiper92]

I vote the S9 Pro. It doesn't add color to the sound and drives the FD7 well, as the Oppo PM3. I hardly use it now, due to battery drain, and it just doesn't sound as full as the HIP DAC 2

 

[endrian]

Already informed ibasso regarding this through email and FB, I hope they fixed this in the next update ASAP.

After updating my ibasso dc03 to the latest firmware (Oct29th, 2021) , Finally it's detected by my ryzen3 pc and my macbook m1 2020 but still not working on samsung m31. I hope ibasso will add it to the fix for the next firmware release. But still am happy now 2/3 my devices are working and i don't have to buy a new dac dongle . By the way, Happy new year everyone!

 

[artpiggo]

any review on cayin ru6?