[marekm]

Plus, one would need to define "better".

 

[originalsnuffy]

This cowboy is on hiatus from anything ESS based. I have had too many ESS based devices that sound overly bright. Yes, that can be addressed in architecture but usually is not.

 

[marekm]

iFi Go Link uses ES9219MQ/Q DAC from ESS Technology and it sounds as sweet as their Burr Brown based ZEN series

 

[jasonb]

This cowboy is on hiatus from anything ESS based. I have had too many ESS based devices that sound overly bright. Yes, that can be addressed in architecture but usually is not.

Same

 

[Ichos]

iFi Go Link uses ES9219MQ/Q DAC from ESS Technology and it sounds as sweet as their Burr Brown based ZEN series

This is true!

 

[jason96]

Which dac is highly recommended in this thread?

 

[jasonb]

Which dac is highly recommended in this thread?

Apple dongle.

 

[laleeee]

Apple dongle.

Lol

 

[r31ya]

Which dac is highly recommended in this thread?

Whats your gear, use case, and budget?

 

[DumZoyem]

Whats your gear, use case, and budget?

Not the one who asked, but I'm kinda new to the portable DAC niche of the Audiophile community. I've been searching for a few weeks now for the best chip for my purpose, but I realised on the way after a lot of reading that it is more up to the implementation than the pure chip. After seeing a lot of DACs I'm really not sure where to go from now.

Purpose is daily driver, budget max around 100 euro (though if there's a big quality increase with a bit more, i don't mind to shell out). Location is EU (NL)

I'm gonna use it with a pair of IE 600. Pluggin it into a NW-A306 (the NW-ZX707 is nowhere available for NL, which would have the integrated 4.4mm) and a Xperia 5V on the daily. And probably some laptop once in a blue moon, so forget about the laptop.

It has to have 4.4mm (balanced) out, and I would love to have it about gumstick sized for everyday portability in my pocket besides the phone/walkman. It would also be really great to have an integrated usb-c cable of about 10cm/4inch so I don't have to bring a cable or wreck the connector in my pocket.

As I'm in the EU (NL), I don't mind buying from Aliexpress. If you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know or any other info I can use to search further.

 

[someyoungguy]

Well the DC-Elite is finally out (here at least):

Actually it’s not that big, and not really that heavy either - although heavier than all the dongles in the photo above.

It’s early days in terms of sound. I’ll leave it to run in a bit before saying much, but so far sounds quite wide, with a bit more depth than most dongles. As expected there’s clicks when you change the volume. I didn’t realize the 3.5mm actually doubles as a coaxial output too. It looks like the button on the side can be used to reduce volume - presumably so with the 24 steps on the volume wheel you can dial in the right volume:

It comes in nice packaging, with some cables in a bag and a little leather case:

I measure the power draw as a whopping 626mW without music playing and 638mW with (unlike some other dongles I’ve tested, the power draw doesn’t change that much with/without music). That’s higher than any I’ve owned and tested so far. Just the other week Yuki set the record for me, but that was 580mW with music. In contrast the Chronos comes in at 320mW; pretty much half the DC-Elite. Obviously the HB1 has its own battery, and I measure 40mW draw from my phone with music and it running off its own power.

 

[jasonb]

Lol

I’m kind of serious.

When used with my Aful Performer 8’s I only need 6-12% volume, and when used with my Focal Elear with Clear pads I only need 31-43% volume. I’m giving those specific numbers because that’s where the steps on the iOS volume control ends up in terms of percentages. So never more than 50%.

So why bother with anything else? I obviously don’t need more power. I don’t believe that I notice any benefit from anything above 24bit/48khz. The Apple dongle measures flat in terms of frequency response and plenty good on other tests. It draws very little power from my phone, so it’s not killing my phone battery in the short term or long term(battery health). It’s convenient since I just leave one attached to each of my most used headphones/IEM’s. iOS even remembers the volume I left each at when disconnect and reconnected.

I actually have some “better” gear, but what’s the point? The other gear is less convenient for what benefit? I own a Qudelix 5K, Topping NX4DSD, JDS Labs ODAC, and the Schitt Magni Heresey, but I don’t feel the need for any of it. The Qudelix 5K is attached to my K371 to make it Bluetooth, otherwise the rest of it just sits in a drawer.

 

[579369]

Apple dongle.

In recent Head-Fi news, the Apple dongle is better than an ESS DAC.

 

[dumpsterfire]

Well the DC-Elite is finally out (here at least):

Actually it’s not that big, and not really that heavy either - although heavier than all the dongles in the photo above.

It’s early days in terms of sound. I’ll leave it to run in a bit before saying much, but so far sounds quite wide, with a bit more depth than most dongles. As expected there’s clicks when you change the volume. I didn’t realize the 3.5mm actually doubles as a coaxial output too. It looks like the button on the side can be used to reduce volume - presumably so with the 24 steps on the volume wheel you can dial in the right volume:

It comes in nice packaging, with some cables in a bag and a little leather case:

I measure the power draw as a whopping 626mW without music playing and 638mW with (unlike some other dongles I’ve tested, the power draw doesn’t change that much with/without music). That’s higher than any I’ve owned and tested so far. Just the other week Yuki set the record for me, but that was 580mW with music. In contrast the Chronos comes in at 320mW; pretty much half the DC-Elite. Obviously the HB1 has its own battery, and I measure 40mW draw from my phone with music and it running off its own power.

I’m very curious to hear your thoughts after you run it in a bit.

 

[jasonb]

In recent Head-Fi news, the Apple dongle is better than an ESS DAC.

In some ways I’d agree.

There have been lots of times that the Qudelix 5K, which uses ESS chips, to me sounds too thin. It sounds good enough with the AKG K371, which to me sounds full and dark enough already where the 5K doesn’t hurt it any. The K371 is the only thing mine gets used with anymore.

Otherwise the Apple Dongle and the headphone jack on my M1 MacBook Air are all I use anymore.

I have no complaints with the sound of the NX4DSD or the ODAC, which also both use ESS chips. The NX4DSD just has issues with channel imbalance at the low end of the dial which makes it hard to use, especially with IEM’s, and again, isn’t as convenient.