[magicalmouse]

HI i am looking for a dac/amp that is usb powered and is as good as or better than mojo, i only havesingle ended headphones so do not need or want balanced output.

Any ideas?

thanks

d

 

[psikey]

Dragonfly Cobalt sounds great if your OK at 24/96 + MQA as max.

If really on a budget give a BTR5 a try wired and primarly used as a BT DAC/AMP.

I've had all and now just keep the BTR5 for wired and BT use.

Not wanting a Mojo ? For my use I'd not pick a Mojo now over my BTR5 or DFC.

 

[joshnor713]

There's only one Mojo

I tried the Cobalt. It sounded good. Very nice openness and imaging. But the sound quality wasn't as tight or detailed as the Mojo. Noticeable to me.

I would give the iFi Micro iDSD BL a shot, if it's not too big for you. Only portable dac/amp I've tried that can go toe-to-toe with the Mojo.

 

[magicalmouse]

Dragonfly Cobalt sounds great if your OK at 24/96 + MQA as max

Yes i have tried this but returned it as it was far too loud out of my laptop and desktop with my headphones (oppo pm3 and meze 99 classics) and did not work properly with my fiio x7 (the fiio usb out works fine with the mojo)

 

[aramico]

try Fiio Q5 / Q5s with AM3 / AM5 module. They Sound very good. other option would be iFi Micro iDSD BL.

 

[magicalmouse]

bump!

 

[sajunky]

Nobsound 8xTDA1387 DAC/HPA
https://www.aliexpress.com/i/32881225029.html

I am unable to compare with Mojo, but it is one of very few (if any) that gives portable R2R sound, a gateway to the world of musicality. HPA not bad at all. It drives my 19 Ohms HD 4.50 BTNC (which I use on the road) and HD600. RCA outputs are passive (no opamps), so matching impedance is critical. Tried also with FiiO E12A, it gives more clarity, but on expense of a tiny electric sound. An improvement in general, but not worth carrying extra box and cables. A DAC itself (if not listening loud) doesn't take a lot of power and is compatible with most of phones. This is old good stuff made of recycling components. No DSD and only 44.1/48kHz 16bit PCM, but Android is resampling everything to 48kHz if not using special players.

 

[Supremevegbeef]

The mojo is hard to match with lossless files. The problem is even high bit rate mp3 sounds like total garbage on Mojo. I know micro iDSD BL sounds great but i did not keep one in the end because it was so big to use with only IEMs.

 

[Supremevegbeef]

Nobsound 8xTDA1387 DAC/HPA
https://www.aliexpress.com/i/32881225029.html

I am unable to compare with Mojo, but it is one of very few (if any) that gives portable R2R sound, a gateway to the world of musicality. HPA not bad at all. It drives my 19 Ohms HD 4.50 BTNC (which I use on the road) and HD600. RCA outputs are passive (no opamps), so matching impedance is critical. Tried also with FiiO E12A, it gives more clarity, but on expense of a tiny electric sound. An improvement in general, but not worth carrying extra box and cables. A DAC itself (if not listening loud) doesn't take a lot of power and is compatible with most of phones. This is old good stuff made of recycling components. No DSD and only 44.1/48kHz 16bit PCM, but Android is resampling everything to 48kHz if not using special players.

Any more info on this? Interesting, but typically nobsound stuff i bought was not too good and only one review from 2018

 

[sajunky]

Any more info on this? Interesting, but typically nobsound stuff i bought was not too good and only one review from 2018

There are no commercial reviews, Nobsound didn't pay for it, simply like that. This product is not even listed on the official website. It is made from recycled components, TDA1387 are not produced anymore for years, but this is highly regarded DAC chip, similar to the famous TDA1541.

A DIY community is aware of a value of this Nobsound DAC. There are number threads on the diyaudio.com website in the digital line level section dedicated to the Lee 4x and 8x TDA1387 design, a Nobsound is based on. Mostly covering a desktop version as is more DIY friendly, but when searching through these long threads, you will also find user opinion on this particular DAC. This is how I found it and I am happy. I was using it on the desktop too, before I got Audio GD R2R11, a one that gives a high-end real sound, but for a $42 there is no shame for a Nobsound.

Just a note. If you are listening mostly to the modern hip-pop/transe type music like Calving Harris, give up. Any Delta Sigma DAC should suit you better, but for the reproduction of acoustic instruments in classic, jazz, some pop/rock, this DAC is good enough to listen for hours without any sign of fatigue. You will listen to more music, I promise, highly recomended.

 

[Supremevegbeef]

There are no commercial reviews, Nobsound didn't pay for it, simply like that. This product is not even listed on the official website. It is made from recycled components, TDA1387 are not produced anymore for years, but this is highly regarded DAC chip, similar to the famous TDA1541.

A DIY community is aware of a value of this Nobsound DAC. There are number threads on the diyaudio.com website in the digital line level section dedicated to the Lee 4x and 8x TDA1387 design, a Nobsound is based on. Mostly covering a desktop version as is more DIY friendly, but when searching through these long threads, you will also find user opinion on this particular DAC. This is how I found it and I am happy. I was using it on the desktop too, before I got Audio GD R2R11, a one that gives a high-end real sound, but for a $42 there is no shame for a Nobsound.

Just a note. If you are listening mostly to the modern hip-pop/transe type music like Calving Harris, give up. Any Delta Sigma DAC should suit you better, but for the reproduction of acoustic instruments in classic, jazz, some pop/rock, this DAC is good enough to listen for hours without any sign of fatigue. You will listen to more music, I promise, highly recomended.

I will take your word for it, in fact I don't doubt you at all. I just figure it is a highly unknown device with the sparse reviews. It is really intriguing.

The iDSD Micro black edition is a great dac/amp which I think really can hang with the MOJO but I DO NOT RECOMMEND THE IDSD NANO BLACK EDITION. I have one and to my ears the FIIO E10K with an IEMatch blows it away. Maybe not "blows it away" but i really strongly feel that the FiiO comes out on top with every set of headphones I tried it on. This really surprised me.

The iDSD Nano black edition is barely any better than a Behringer USB mixer i have with headphones (IEM or full size) and that is really sad. The Nano BL actually has LESS detail and more smoothed over details in the upper mids.

 

[sajunky]

I will take your word for it, in fact I don't doubt you at all. I just figure it is a highly unknown device with the sparse reviews. It is really intriguing.

You may follow marketting trends, a big money is driving your decision, but you don't need to write this way.

 

[Supremevegbeef]

You may follow marketting trends, a big money is driving your decision, but you don't need to write this way.

I apologize as I did not mean to offend.

 

[sajunky]

I apologize as I did not mean to offend.

You didn't offend me. I was disappointed by the level of ignorance. I found it denying yourself attitude as well. I don't want to offend you on my side (I started to speak English in my middle 30's), so please understand.

A music industry went completely wrong direction many years ago. First, they wanted to produce cheap, so they started to promote sales of Delta Sigma converters. Secondly, they know that DS converters do not reproduce natural instruments well, so they said: lets start to promote music that sounds good on DS converters. It is deceiving customers, but most of young people follow this.

In the result only expensive high-end audio equipment is using R2R converters. Notable exceptions are AudioGD R2R11 (which I own) or the Airist R-2R from Massdrop, both $350, then a Denafrips Ares II with a higher price tag. But these are not portable devices.

A Nobsound 8xTDA1387 DAC/HPA is the only device I know delivering R2R sound on the road. People on the diyaudio.com forum who wrote about this DAC and gave a positive opinion are the members with outstanding reputation. This is why I couldn't hold to such kind of reaction.

 

[Supremevegbeef]

You didn't offend me. I was disappointed by the level of ignorance. I found it denying yourself attitude as well. I don't want to offend you on my side (I started to speak English in my middle 30's), so please understand.

A music industry went completely wrong direction many years ago. First, they wanted to produce cheap, so they started to promote sales of Delta Sigma converters. Secondly, they know that DS converters do not reproduce natural instruments well, so they said: lets start to promote music that sounds good on DS converters. It is deceiving customers, but most of young people follow this.

In the result only expensive high-end audio equipment is using R2R converters. Notable exceptions are AudioGD R2R11 (which I own) or the Airist R-2R from Massdrop, both $350, then a Denafrips Ares II with a higher price tag. But these are not portable devices.

A Nobsound 8xTDA1387 DAC/HPA is the only device I know delivering R2R sound on the road. People on the diyaudio.com forum who wrote about this DAC and gave a positive opinion are the members with outstanding reputation. This is why I couldn't hold to such kind of reaction.

Maybe it was a misunderstanding, I meant the product you linked is not well known to Head-Fi users - certainly i could not find much about it on head-fi. I can see it has a better following on diyaudio.

I will explain-

I have read the datasheet for TDA1387 and I was curious if it was so good, why it is not more well known, even if it's all old stock. There are few sellers for TDA1387 by itself, one seller is offering 20pcs for under $2 with free shipping!

I have to wonder if they are fake, and if not, if they are leftovers that did not pass QC long ago? And if they are fake, could they be delta sigma TSOP-8 DAC in disguise?

I just find it hard to believe if it's actually non- delta sigma, that the chips would be available for so little money.

I couldn't find out anything about Continuous Calibration besides links to a few other old Philips data sheets. Maybe it was their term for R2R? i don't know.

I also couldn't understand why I saw some TDA1387 DACs on Aliexpress with 4x TDA1387 and some with 8x. Though, it seems that one can use a single TDA1387 or run many of them in parallel.

For what its' worth, this is the cheapest price i can find - $36.99 free shipping
https://www.ebay.com/itm/L1387USB-8...HiFi-Headphone-Amplifier-DTS-AC3/323438251474

I believe you at your word and have been finding nice low prices like $30 with shipping for the TDA1387 DAC you linked. I don't think you are trying to raise my interest in a bad product. I can't understand why such a good DAC chip would be available for so little money, and from so few vendors, unless the chip is still unknown to Hi-Fi non-DIY community.