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

[Ichos]

Must be a fact, given that "The review sample was kindly provided free of charge..." & "my honest and subjective opinion"

Funny...

 

[Alex Ulrik]

Funny...

Funny indeed, I paid for my KA3 and fully agree with your review

 

[Ichos]

Funny indeed, I paid for my KA3 and fully agree with your review

Thank you!

 

[Hyde00]

Guys what's the richest / colored sounding dongle dac around these days? I know most go for "reference/neutral" tuning but my preference is the other way.

I have RU6 on the way to me but us being audiophiles we must look up new gear while waiting for current gear to arrive LOLLLL jk (ok maybe half serious).

Was previously looking at PEE51, is that still good in comparison to RU6 or should I just be patient and wait for RU6 first. Any other choices that would fit in the ball park of RU6 / PEE51?

 

[artpiggo]

Guys what's the richest / colored sounding dongle dac around these days? I know most go for "reference/neutral" tuning but my preference is the other way.

I have RU6 on the way to me but us being audiophiles we must look up new gear while waiting for current gear to arrive LOLLLL jk (ok maybe half serious).

Was previously looking at PEE51, is that still good in comparison to RU6 or should I just be patient and wait for RU6 first. Any other choices that would fit in the ball park of RU6 / PEE51?

Ibasso is the most colored in my op.

 

[Hyde00]

Ibasso is the most colored in my op.

Got it, will take a look. Thanks!

 

[Brain Damage]

Guys what's the richest / colored sounding dongle dac around these days? I know most go for "reference/neutral" tuning but my preference is the other way.

I have RU6 on the way to me but us being audiophiles we must look up new gear while waiting for current gear to arrive LOLLLL jk (ok maybe half serious).

Was previously looking at PEE51, is that still good in comparison to RU6 or should I just be patient and wait for RU6 first. Any other choices that would fit in the ball park of RU6 / PEE51?

From my experience, I think the closest you'll get to the RU6 is the Dacport HD. Stay away from ESS Sabre DAC chip dongles (I wouldn't say they are coloured - more refined in terms of tonality - clarity and instrument separation; however, I wouldn't say coloured as I perceive). I am sure you have considered the following:

Do you already own a dongles with AK chips and are looking for something different (R2R is certainly different).

How portable are your preferences?

What output power are you looking for? (How power hungry are your headphones and IEMs?).

Type of amplification has a huge part to play too (Type A/B/H, etc.).

It's a minefield; but I'd end by returning to the top of my response with the Dacport HD.

 

[Hyde00]

From my experience, I think the closest you'll get to the RU6 is the Dacport HD. Stay away from ESS Sabre DAC chip dongles (I wouldn't say they are coloured - more refined in terms of tonality - clarity and instrument separation; however, I wouldn't say coloured as I perceive). I am sure you have considered the following:

Do you already own a dongles with AK chips and are looking for something different (R2R is certainly different).

How portable are your preferences?

What output power are you looking for? (How power hungry are your headphones and IEMs?).

Type of amplification has a huge part to play too (Type A/B/H, etc.).

It's a minefield; but I'd end by returning to the top of my response with the Dacport HD.

Hmmmmmm I did previously owned Modi 3+ and M9XX both are AKM based. I always thought AKM chips to me sounded too relaxed. ESS sounded more engaging for me in general. Keep in mind I like the Grado sound so my "normal" is probably very different than most people's "normal". Maybe I like aggressive sounding DACs while most higher end DACs tend to be more smooth and relaxed sounding.

Maybe I should look for "angry" sounding DACs LOLLLLLL (whatever that means).

I'm currently running Dragonfly Red at my desk hooked to PC (lol I run dongles on desktop, I'm weird). Headphone is D5200 (easy to drive). Will be selling my Burson Playmate 2 (class A 3.5W, too powerful, too loud) and have RU6 coming in on the way (should arrive next week).

I guess for the longest time I was looking for an "upgrade" from Dragonfly Red sound signature wise (contrary to popular believe, it's not neutral). Someone recommended PEE51 before that's why I was looking at RU6 or PEE51 (though I already bought RU6).

And I guess it's not that I "need" another dongle but you guys know how things are here. It's always good to read into the next potential purchase "just in case".

And yes minefield is correct, it's been a bit hit or miss trial and error along the way for. A lot of the time read some raving review but it turns out to be opposite of what I want lol.

 

[Brain Damage]

Hmmmmmm I did previously owned Modi 3+ and M9XX both are AKM based. I always thought AKM chips to me sounded too relaxed. ESS sounded more engaging for me in general. Keep in mind I like the Grado sound so my "normal" is probably very different than most people's "normal". Maybe I like aggressive sounding DACs while most higher end DACs tend to be more smooth and relaxed sounding.

Maybe I should look for "angry" sounding DACs LOLLLLLL (whatever that means).

I'm currently running Dragonfly Red at my desk hooked to PC (lol I run dongles on desktop, I'm weird). Headphone is D5200 (easy to drive). Will be selling my Burson Playmate 2 (class A 3.5W, too powerful, too loud) and have RU6 coming in on the way (should arrive next week).

I guess for the longest time I was looking for an "upgrade" from Dragonfly Red sound signature wise (contrary to popular believe, it's not neutral). Someone recommended PEE51 before that's why I was looking at RU6 or PEE51 (though I already bought RU6).

And I guess it's not that I "need" another dongle but you guys know how things are here. It's always good to read into the next potential purchase "just in case".

And yes minefield is correct, it's been a bit hit or miss trial and error along the way for. A lot of the time read some raving review but it turns out to be opposite of what I want lol.

Interesting - I run dongles from my laptop too (Dragonfly Black and Zorloo Ztella MQA) using Audirvana. Both sound great with my Beyerdynamic DT880 pros.

The Dragonfly is a well rounded match for the beyers and extends the soundstage somewhat. The Zorloo is crisp, clean and compliments the detail retrieval already offered by the beyers.

I know what you mean about reviews. I have read so many reviews that either talk a piece of equipment up (to the point of disappointment when purchasing and trying for myself); or, vice-versa. The Dragonfly Black would be evidence of the latter: many reviews suggest a gulf in audio quality when compared to the red and cobalt, but I actually return to using the black often - it's a great dongle dac. Interestingly, it measured fairly well (Audioscience) and the margins between the red and cobalt far more marginal than other reviews by contrast to price difference.

At the end of the day, it's how the music comes across to the listener and the pairings between equipment and headphones/iems. This makes for an interesting hobby (if not expensive lol) with infinite possibilities.

 

[Brain Damage]

Hmmmmmm I did previously owned Modi 3+ and M9XX both are AKM based. I always thought AKM chips to me sounded too relaxed. ESS sounded more engaging for me in general. Keep in mind I like the Grado sound so my "normal" is probably very different than most people's "normal". Maybe I like aggressive sounding DACs while most higher end DACs tend to be more smooth and relaxed sounding.

Maybe I should look for "angry" sounding DACs LOLLLLLL (whatever that means).

I'm currently running Dragonfly Red at my desk hooked to PC (lol I run dongles on desktop, I'm weird). Headphone is D5200 (easy to drive). Will be selling my Burson Playmate 2 (class A 3.5W, too powerful, too loud) and have RU6 coming in on the way (should arrive next week).

I guess for the longest time I was looking for an "upgrade" from Dragonfly Red sound signature wise (contrary to popular believe, it's not neutral). Someone recommended PEE51 before that's why I was looking at RU6 or PEE51 (though I already bought RU6).

And I guess it's not that I "need" another dongle but you guys know how things are here. It's always good to read into the next potential purchase "just in case".

And yes minefield is correct, it's been a bit hit or miss trial and error along the way for. A lot of the time read some raving review but it turns out to be opposite of what I want lolIf youre

Hmmmmmm I did previously owned Modi 3+ and M9XX both are AKM based. I always thought AKM chips to me sounded too relaxed. ESS sounded more engaging for me in general. Keep in mind I like the Grado sound so my "normal" is probably very different than most people's "normal". Maybe I like aggressive sounding DACs while most higher end DACs tend to be more smooth and relaxed sounding.

Maybe I should look for "angry" sounding DACs LOLLLLLL (whatever that means).

I'm currently running Dragonfly Red at my desk hooked to PC (lol I run dongles on desktop, I'm weird). Headphone is D5200 (easy to drive). Will be selling my Burson Playmate 2 (class A 3.5W, too powerful, too loud) and have RU6 coming in on the way (should arrive next week).

I guess for the longest time I was looking for an "upgrade" from Dragonfly Red sound signature wise (contrary to popular believe, it's not neutral). Someone recommended PEE51 before that's why I was looking at RU6 or PEE51 (though I already bought RU6).

And I guess it's not that I "need" another dongle but you guys know how things are here. It's always good to read into the next potential purchase "just in case".

And yes minefield is correct, it's been a bit hit or miss trial and error along the way for. A lot of the time read some raving review but it turns out to be opposite of what I want lol.

If you like ESS Sabre dongle dacs, you may want to look into the Questyle M12. It's supposed to be one of the more natural sounding of all the other ESS ones on offer.

 

[Hyde00]

The Dragonfly is a well rounded match for the beyers and extends the soundstage somewhat. The Zorloo is crisp, clean and compliments the detail retrieval already offered by the beyers.

LOL funny enough I had Zorloo Ztella too, but I think I liked Dragonfly Red more so I sold the Ztella. Otherwise Ztella was pretty nice sounding from memory, but ever so slightly on the clean/clinical side.

I know what you mean about reviews. I have read so many reviews that either talk a piece of equipment up (to the point of disappointment when purchasing and trying for myself); or, vice-versa. The Dragonfly Black would be evidence of the latter: many reviews suggest a gulf in audio quality when compared to the red and cobalt, but I actually return to using the black often - it's a great dongle dac. Interestingly, it measured fairly well (Audioscience) and the margins between the red and cobalt far more marginal than other reviews by contrast to price difference.

Yo I swear shopping for dongle dac feels like trying to find upgrade for HD650. Granted I don't own HD650 but I've heard all those horror stories of how HD800 is not really an "upgrade" because its tonal balance is different. So it's like saying your $10 apple is an upgrade to your $3 orange.

This is my experience trying to "upgrade" from Dragonfly Red to Cobalt (exaggerated for entertainment purpose).

"introducing Dragonfly Cobalt"
"omg omg omg what's the difference in Cobalt that's better than Red?"
"better layering, better sound stage and higher resolution!!!"
"omg omg tell me more!??!?!"
"we also changed the sound signature to more reference sounding!!!"
"wait you what? but I liked the Red's sound signature, it's mildly v shaped"
"shhhhh we don't talk about the V word here, here we only talk about R"
"R what?"
"reference!!! have you not been paying attention?"
"I did! But wait can we go back a sec?"
" INTRODUCING DRAGONFLY COBALT!!!!"

LOL jokes aside yes Cobalt is higher resolution.....etc but I like Red's signature so I went back. It's been a long time since I tried Black but I do remember it being more aggressive sounding so it's good for certain genre, but Red from memory is wider more spacious than Black I think (remember Black being a bit narrow).

Might revisit this again in the future!

At the end of the day, it's how the music comes across to the listener and the pairings between equipment and headphones/iems. This makes for an interesting hobby (if not expensive lol) with infinite possibilities.

Oh yeah I've come to realizing pairing is important which complicates things because now you need more equipment for every scenario lol.

If you like ESS Sabre dongle dacs, you may want to look into the Questyle M12. It's supposed to be one of the more natural sounding of all the other ESS ones on offer.

Oh yeah was looking at that too, I think after RU6 I'll probably check out either M12 or PEE15. Thanks!

 

[Fourier transformer]

Oh yeah I've come to realizing pairing is important which complicates things because now you need more equipment for every scenario lol.

It's a nightmare. Is there a software to calibrate our listening ? Maybe Harman How to Listen ? I didn't try it.
http://harmanhowtolisten.blogspot.com/

 

[dgjl]

Guys what's the richest / colored sounding dongle dac around these days? I know most go for "reference/neutral" tuning but my preference is the other way.

I have RU6 on the way to me but us being audiophiles we must look up new gear while waiting for current gear to arrive LOLLLL jk (ok maybe half serious).

Was previously looking at PEE51, is that still good in comparison to RU6 or should I just be patient and wait for RU6 first. Any other choices that would fit in the ball park of RU6 / PEE51?

Pee51 is outstanding if you're after colour and richness

 

[Hyde00]

Pee51 is outstanding if you're after colour and richness

Very tempted to order PEE51 ahead so when RU6 arrive I can compare them side by side LOL

 

[ExTubeGamer]

My CX31993 doesn't work correctly with my phone but correctly with PCs. Sometimes it doesn't get recognized. I don't know why. The sound is still really good. Do I need to wait for a UAPP patch?