[Polky74]

Has anyone tried Questyle CMA 18 portable yet?

If I read correctly it should cost 800 euros... too much for me, then with the assistance of Questyle which appears and disappears it's better to stay away. I'm hoping for a lower price for the iBasso D16 Taipan... we'll see.

 

[dumpsterfire]

hello everyone! i am looking for an upgrade with balanced output to replace my 'ibasso dc03', how about this new arrival? It is from Tempotec.
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806190639586.html

If you like the sound of the 03 Pro, I highly recommend the 06 Pro which retains all those sound qualities but takes technicalities and performance farther (including balanced out).

 

[sistoz]

If you like the sound of the 03 Pro, I highly recommend the 06 Pro which retains all those sound qualities but takes technicalities and performance farther (including balanced out).

Thanks for the advice, but the dc06 pro is out of my budget. I own the 'non pro' version of the dc03 and wanted a DAC with more power output for under $40.

 

[someyoungguy]

Has anyone tried Questyle CMA 18 portable yet?

There's a thread here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/questyle-cma18-portable-dac-with-headphone-amplifier.969449/

I have one, I've posted some thoughts in that thread.

 

[someyoungguy]

I picked up an HC4 yesterday. First impressions remind me of Polky74's description above, talking about the Colorfly being "tuned in the old fashioned way of the famous AKM (pre-factory fire) Velvet Sound to the nth degree". It has some emphasis on the low and medium-low frequencies with extra body (and also uses the same chip as Colorfly's).

So far in my listening I'm agreeing with the reviews from MajorHifi:
https://majorhifi.com/astell-kern-hc4-review/
https://majorhifi.com/astell-kern-ak-hc4-vs-questyle-m15-comparison-review/

The DAR switch smooths off the rough edges a little; treble and mids are a bit smoother, although it doesn't make a massive difference.

I measure the power draw as 530 mW with DAR on, and 520 mW with DAR off when using the 3.5mm out, which puts it slightly below the power draw from HC3 from my measurements (568 mW) but higher than HC2 (349mW). Strangely I find that when connected but not playing it's drawing more power: 690-700 mW. I tried with a few different cables and get the same result. So looks like you should always disconnect it if not playing music.

 

[eloelo]

Btw has Andy reviewed the tempotec bhd pro?
Have been using dc04 pro, tanchjim space and bhd pro for a while, and while I rated bhd pro the lowest at first, I use the bhd pro the most now. I got used to its default warm tuning and heavier oozy note weight and fell in love with it. Somehow it pairs well with warm sounding iems like qdc 4ss and 8sl that can have too much treble energy with certain dacs. Perhaps bec I experience ear fatigue pretty easily and warm sound helps with comfortable listening. Warmth helps drown out surrounding noise as well lol.

 

[Syan25]

I've got three dongles in circulation: the iBasso DC04 Pro, the Hidz S9 Pro, and the Cayin Ru7. Synergy wise the ie600 works wonderfully with the iBasso. And I enjoy the Cayin with my LCD-X.

 

[Konstantin690]

Hey all,
What's the latest USB C Dongle with a REALTEK chip?
.

 

[darmanastartes]

Do we have reviews for Colorfly m1p and/or m2?

Soon, next up in my queue.

 

[mejoshua]

I rotate between the DC04PRO, M1P and RU6 and enjoy each with different earphones.

The M1P I can say is truly bang for buck with a very inviting and dynamic signature

 

[brjoon1021]

CMA 18. Too much for me

 

[darmanastartes]

Hey all, just a quick update on the Colorfly M1P. I noticed when using it with my Android phone that I seemed to have a lot more headroom than when using it with my computer. I uninstalled a bunch of other dongles from my Windows installation and their drivers to see if my volume was bugged, and it was.
Re-running my standard test for output and power consumption, achieving an SPL of roughly 94 dB with the Moondrop S8 running into my IEC-711 clone microphone now required a system volume of 25/100, which is basically the same as the Moondrop Dawn Pro's 26/100 for the same output.
The power efficiency is still essentially a generation behind the latest Cirrus Logic DAC chips though. The Dawn Pro pulls about .55W for the same output under the same conditions.

 

[BX700]

Truthear Shio's spec/price seems unbeatable, surprised the reviews say detail is lacking though.

 

[sodesuka]

Btw has Andy reviewed the tempotec bhd pro?
Have been using dc04 pro, tanchjim space and bhd pro for a while, and while I rated bhd pro the lowest at first, I use the bhd pro the most now. I got used to its default warm tuning and heavier oozy note weight and fell in love with it. Somehow it pairs well with warm sounding iems like qdc 4ss and 8sl that can have too much treble energy with certain dacs. Perhaps bec I experience ear fatigue pretty easily and warm sound helps with comfortable listening. Warmth helps drown out surrounding noise as well lol.

If you use it for IEM try the low gain mode, I feel it sounds even better for IEMs.

 

[VirtuousMuffin]

Hey, is the cx31993 good for SHP9600 headphones?