I thought I would create a thread to discuss the Megatron from VE for those that have it already or for those looking for experiences of others with the product. I purchased it as the pre-orders went out at the price of $50. I believe Venture Electronics are dealing with a supply shortage currently. Indications are that this might ease towards the end of the year.
Specifications:
ESS Sabre ES9018K2
Custom Amp module
303mW@33Ω 4.7 Vrms
4.4mm & 2.5mm BAL, 3.5mm SE
3.5mm AUX LO
This 'mega-dongle' has a small form factor and a large power output and has been created with high impedance earbuds in mind but also does a great job driving low sensitivity IEMs / headphones. From my brief time with the Megatron it has a very organic, warm tone and great detail retreival. Technicalities are good but imaging is not as well rendered as with my most recent acquisition, the Cayin RU6. Battery life/power draw seems to be lasting between 5-6hours from my Samsung Note 9 (4000mAh), similar to the RU6, but at least with my device (and some people have encountered issues here) I am able to pass through charge either from the mains or a portable powerbank to keep the phone alive much longer on-the-go.
This drives my high impedance (150ohm / 300ohm) buds with ease. What was a welcome surprise is how it pairs with low sensitivity IEMs like the Final E range and my ER4B. The ER4B (I have a Chinese reproduction of this) having 1 BA typically produces a very coarse, incisive tone with a slightly quicker decay than I feel is natural on string instruments. The Megatron gives it a more natural decay without loss of detail. In terms of pairing because of this effect on overall tonality I would say this pairs exceptionally well with brighter or more neutral sets to provide a more analogue sound with softer edges. To have this power on the go in a small form factor really sits fills a niche that my DAP and RU6 struggled to.
With lower impedance sets less than about 60ohms or greater than about 95dB sensitivity you will quite easily encounter noise and/or have next to no room to play with the volume so bare that in mind.
For $50 (price is expected to rise in due course) this is proving to be one of the best purchases I've made especially being a lover of earbuds that have proved otherwise hard to drive on-the-go.
I'd also highly recommend checking out the review by @OspreyAndy of the Megatron compared to the other dongles on offer. This links to the Venture Electronic Facebook group so may not be visible to all. He does a great job of capturing the salient features of this device and how musical it is - hopefully he is happy to repost his review here at some point.
Look forward to hearing how people are getting on!
Specifications:
ESS Sabre ES9018K2
Custom Amp module
303mW@33Ω 4.7 Vrms
4.4mm & 2.5mm BAL, 3.5mm SE
3.5mm AUX LO
This 'mega-dongle' has a small form factor and a large power output and has been created with high impedance earbuds in mind but also does a great job driving low sensitivity IEMs / headphones. From my brief time with the Megatron it has a very organic, warm tone and great detail retreival. Technicalities are good but imaging is not as well rendered as with my most recent acquisition, the Cayin RU6. Battery life/power draw seems to be lasting between 5-6hours from my Samsung Note 9 (4000mAh), similar to the RU6, but at least with my device (and some people have encountered issues here) I am able to pass through charge either from the mains or a portable powerbank to keep the phone alive much longer on-the-go.
This drives my high impedance (150ohm / 300ohm) buds with ease. What was a welcome surprise is how it pairs with low sensitivity IEMs like the Final E range and my ER4B. The ER4B (I have a Chinese reproduction of this) having 1 BA typically produces a very coarse, incisive tone with a slightly quicker decay than I feel is natural on string instruments. The Megatron gives it a more natural decay without loss of detail. In terms of pairing because of this effect on overall tonality I would say this pairs exceptionally well with brighter or more neutral sets to provide a more analogue sound with softer edges. To have this power on the go in a small form factor really sits fills a niche that my DAP and RU6 struggled to.
With lower impedance sets less than about 60ohms or greater than about 95dB sensitivity you will quite easily encounter noise and/or have next to no room to play with the volume so bare that in mind.
For $50 (price is expected to rise in due course) this is proving to be one of the best purchases I've made especially being a lover of earbuds that have proved otherwise hard to drive on-the-go.
I'd also highly recommend checking out the review by @OspreyAndy of the Megatron compared to the other dongles on offer. This links to the Venture Electronic Facebook group so may not be visible to all. He does a great job of capturing the salient features of this device and how musical it is - hopefully he is happy to repost his review here at some point.
Look forward to hearing how people are getting on!
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