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

[dj24]

I kinda have the same way of thinking but Hidizs AP80 Pro X isn't a good exemple.
Dongles are all about size and weight and not carrying much more stuff than your phone and IEMs.
While the AP80 Pro X is indeed a small DAP it's already too big to be compared with a dongle at 61x54x13,8mm and 72g, it is roughly twice the size and weight of the biggest dongles.

However in my opinion Shanling M0 Pro is another story.
At 45x43,8x13,8mm and 36,8g it is not much bigger than the average dongle and weight about the same as a dongle on the heavier side.
It has dual ES9219C DACs and a balanced output of 236mW @ 32Ω which is comparable to most dongles.
But it is also a stand alone DAP with micro SD slot and has bi directional bluetooth that can act like a bigger blutooth amp (extreme exemple, but FiiO BTR7 has the same DACs and is twice the size and weight, and cost 80€ more by the way).

Why is it so interesting to me ?
Because it means when i don't have wifi access or no more 4G data to stream music i still have access to all my music (as most phones don't have a micro SD slot anymore, storage space is often very limited, especially when you listen to FLAC or "hi-res" audio), and if i don't want to bother with the tiny screen i can link it to my phone and browse and control it with the big screen. Plus my phone, which is also on the most compact size, is a Samsung Z Flip 3 which has a small battery and so is known for a bellow average battery life. The M0 Pro has its own battery so if i don't want to drain my phone i just use the M0 Pro battery, plus if my phone battery dies, again, i still can listen to music. It does everything and cover all of my use cases.

Regarding the sound, it doesn't suffer the comparison with my current dongle (Tanchjim Space), it drives my Sennheiser IE800 perfectly and even drives my Denon AH-D9200 quite well ! I had the Shanling M3X which is also a DAP on the small side but is still MUCH bigger and heavier than the M0 Pro or a dongle, yet it has the same DACs and have a similar sound quality. Regarding the size and the stuff i carry, well there is no down side compared to a dongle, because it's so tiny it still fits in my IEMs case.

So yeah IMO, the Shanling M0 Pro does it all without much of a downside, and kinda is a dongle and bluetooth amp killer because you get so much for your money.
And yet it cost only 130€, which is about the average price of a dongle and cheaper than many bluetooth amp !

Here's all my setup, still fiting in my IEMs case (which is very pocketable at 75x75x30mm), just like with a dongle :
Shanling M0 Pro + Sennheiser IE800 MMCX Mod VesperAudio + ISN Audio C4 cable + Shanling 4.4mm balanced adaptor + FiiO USB cable

My 2 cents.

Does the Shanling handle gapless playback ? My music collection encompasses lots of dj mixes and albums with seamless playback from one track to the other..

Thanks!

 

[ApaucalyptiK]

Does the Shanling handle gapless playback ? My music collection encompasses lots of dj mixes and albums with seamless playback from one track to the other..

Thanks!

Yes the M0 Pro handles gapless playback

 

[laleeee]

.

 

[laleeee]

 

[hoofman]

The new Cayin RU7 is very interesting: 1-Bit DAC sound & a (shared) Line Out. Is there any other dongle on the market right now with a Line Out?

 

[InvisibleInk]

The new Cayin RU7 is very interesting: 1-Bit DAC sound & a (shared) Line Out. Is there any other dongle on the market right now with a Line Out?

Good question. Most, if you run up the volume to 100%, with work fine as a line out. Best not to forget you did that the next time you want to use the port as a phone out, though.

 

[AlexCBSN]

The new Cayin RU7 is very interesting: 1-Bit DAC sound & a (shared) Line Out. Is there any other dongle on the market right now with a Line Out?

Ltp s2 has LO, Quite good, I’m looking to get a ru7, ru6 is an excellent dongle

 

[ChangTan]

is there any significant difference when using a dongle with a line out function vs using a dac without a line out function but maxing out the volume?
both would be connected to a amp such as the nx7 for example.

 

[Brain Damage]

is there any significant difference when using a dongle with a line out function vs using a dac without a line out function but maxing out the volume?
both would be connected to a amp such as the nx7 for example.

If your dongle dac doesn't have a LO or Auxiliary mode then you are essentially double amping, which - if the tolerance levels and impedance ratings of both your amp and dongle are fine - shouldn't be a problem. An external dac will provide a LO to an amp, and will have it's own separate power supply which can help it to be more powerful and efficient when driving a range of headphones and IEMs. If it's an integrated dac amp, it depends on the class of amp used alongside the architecture of the internal components (R2R, DS, etc). Most external dacs and dac amps do provide a LO and can provide a cleaner, more powerful output for headphones. However, some of the high end dongle dacs are easily competing with midrange dac amps and DAPs. The upcoming Cayin RU7 will be one of the first dongle dacs that will provide a shared 3.5 and 4.4 LO. Exciting times.

 

[Hal Rockwell]

If your dongle dac doesn't have a LO or Auxiliary mode then you are essentially double amping, which - if the tolerance levels and impedance ratings of both your amp and dongle are fine - shouldn't be a problem. An external dac will provide a LO to an amp, and will have it's own separate power supply which can help it to be more powerful and efficient when driving a range of headphones and IEMs. If it's an integrated dac amp, it depends on the class of amp used alongside the architecture of the internal components (R2R, DS, etc). Most external dacs and dac amps do provide a LO and can provide a cleaner, more powerful output for headphones. However, some of the high end dongle dacs are easily competing with midrange dac amps and DAPs. The upcoming Cayin RU7 will be one of the first dongle dacs that will provide a shared 3.5 and 4.4 LO. Exciting times.

is there any significant difference when using a dongle with a line-out function vs using a DAC without a line-out function but maxing out the volume?
both would be connected to an amp such as the nx7 for example.

It's not entirely correct. LO is fixed out. Meaning, unbalanced and balanced outputs put out 2v and 4v respectively. This voltage is constant while the signal is being passed from the source to the headphone amp and can even reach 10v on some studio equipment. So, in practice, if your dongle has a LO option, activating it will just fixate the output signal voltage to 2 or 4 volts. If your dongle doesn't have an LO option, turning it up will work as a lineout only if the maximum voltage fits the connection type. Higher voltage will overdrive the input and lower voltage won't give the amp enough juice for optimum operation.

 

[Brain Damage]

It's not entirely correct. LO is fixed out. Meaning, unbalanced and balanced outputs put out 2v and 4v respectively. This voltage is constant while the signal is being passed from the source to the headphone amp and can even reach 10v on some studio equipment. So, in practice, if your dongle has a LO option, activating it will just fixate the output signal voltage to 2 or 4 volts. If your dongle doesn't have an LO option, turning it up will work as a lineout only if the maximum voltage fits the connection type. Higher voltage will overdrive the input and lower voltage won't give the amp enough juice for optimum operation.

True but your double amping. You need to be careful with this as you bring in more interference as you are essentially going to have a larger noise floor which can rule out the use of sensitive IEMs.

 

[ronaldlcm]

For home usage, I am using koss KPH40/PP, SHP9500, by shanling UP4 under LDAC or Small dongle Jcally JM6 to play YouTube music from Samsung Note10..
May I know will I get big improvement if I replace with DC03pro? Or other better recommendation?
Thanks.

 

[awacs7n]

a very personal question? How much is the budget?

 

[NexusOne]

I have also got a question: Because an iphone limits the power so much is it always better to buy a dongle with batteries? Which is the best for planar iems in combination with an iphone?

 

[ApaucalyptiK]

I received the FiiO KA2 today, it's almost the same size as the female 4.4mm jack of the Shanling adapter

The family of smallest & lightest audio things grows :
DAP (Shanling M0 Pro, 37g) / balanced dongle with volume control (Tanchjim Space, 21g with cable) / balanced dongle (FiiO KA2, 12g) / SE 4.4mm dongle (ddHifi TC44A, 5.5g)