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What is your current favorite portable phone external dac/amp?
Feb 3, 2020 at 12:55 AM Post #17 of 32
My favorite is the NextDrive Spectra X for a nuetral musical sound.
 And the E1da 9038s usb dac for a cold detail oriented tonality sound.

My YinLuMei S2 has replaced the role of the NextDrive Spectra X. Amazing musical quality with great air/treble extension; a forgiving sound. And 180mw @32 power!
 
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Feb 3, 2020 at 12:56 AM Post #18 of 32
Obviously you need to open the Q5 - which itself is quite a task as it seems to fixed with some kind of super glue. the remove / de-solder the stock OPA1642 (3 nos) and then replace / solder them with OPA2156(3nos.). The 2156 would cost around $2-$3 / each + the manual work. This would void any warranty. If you are comfortable you can DIY or any expert can do it easily.
 
Feb 3, 2020 at 12:58 AM Post #19 of 32
aramico said:
Obviously you need to open the Q5 - which itself is quite a task as it seems to fixed with some kind of super glue. the remove / de-solder the stock OPA1642 (3 nos) and then replace / solder them with OPA2156(3nos.). The 2156 would cost around $2-$3 / each + the manual work. This would void any warranty. If you are comfortable you can DIY or any expert can do it easily.
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I'd love to get it done, I don't care about warranty, but I don't know anyone that could help me out.

Is the difference quite that much?
 
Feb 3, 2020 at 1:40 AM Post #20 of 32
Yes, it is worth the change. Even I could not bring myself to do it. My friend.helped me out though. I am no more thinking about selling them. In fact any local electronic repair guys could do it.
 
Feb 7, 2020 at 3:45 PM Post #22 of 32
recca said:
I currently have an iFi xDSD and really like it. Tidal HiFi and MQA both sound great on it. I’m getting a Topping MX4 to compare it with soon.

Additionally I have a Centrance DacPort and it still sounds really good. Not sure if it’s the AKM DAC or the class A output stage but it is super easy to listen to. The BlueDac might be worth a look.
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For those interested (OP posted 2 month ago), the CEntrance DACportable and BlueDAC are both great with my iPhone Xs Max and now my 11 Pro Max and camera connection kit. Also, www.PenonAudio.com makes a lightning to USB decoder cable that you don't need a CCK, although my previous cable broke with either IOS 12 or 13, and so the new cable might break with iOS 14 update in the future. But they are a little too big to just let hang off the lightning port and walk around listening, and so I was using a soft furry patch of velcro on my phone case and the stiff barbed side of the velcro on the amps, to stick them together when listening.

The BlueDAC can ditch the camera connection kit, and does an excellent job of taking AAC bluetooth from the iPhone and upsampling it to hi-res while removing jitter, so that you can leave the phone in your pocket while listening, or put the amp in your pocket and carry the phone while listening. I mostly use it as a Bluetooth DAC/amp. It sounds fantastic with a wide variety of headphones, especially my Westone W80 on a Westone balanced 2.5mm thin Litz silver cable, as well as with my ES60 with 2.5mm balanced Moon-Audio Silver dragon cable. The HiFiMan Edition-X V2 sound fantastic on this as well.

I also just reviewed the NuPrime Audio Hi-mDAC, which is about 1/3 or 1/4 the size of the DACportable and a fraction of the weight, and it works with iPhone as well, for only $129 (they will be offering 20% off during CanJam NYC Feb 15-16 this month). It also doesn't have a battery that you need to charge like with the DACportable or BlueDAC.

It's a slightly less warm and more spacious sounding DAC/amp than the CEntrance products, but is a perfect match for my Westone IEM (W1, W40, W60, W80). It actually has just as massive of a bass presence with the Cerene dB and V-MODA Crossfade portable headphones as the CEntrance amps, so it sounds better with my HE-600 or HE-560 full-size headphones than it does with a portable over-the-ear headphone. It also better with any IEM.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/rev...uter-and-mobile-devices.924951/#post-15456238
 
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Feb 20, 2020 at 5:23 PM Post #23 of 32
I can't say if it's my favorite since a better one is under way (E1DA 9038s) but I just received the Tempotec Sonata HD pro and it's a definitive improvement over the 3 DAC cable adapters I have that purportedly also could handle 24/96 (not that I could see in Hiby). It's exactly the same as the Hidisz S8 only in a bit more plain box (I do like the + and - buttons you can feel) with the firmware that I'd have chosen anyway (music only) and it does handle native DSD. I think it comes a lot closer to my big rig DAC. Very neutral, detailed and more power than the phone or dongles. I think it's a steal @€40, half the price of the Hidisz.

I needed to give it some more time and now with the Takstar HF 580, the reason why I bought it, to get a little more juice and clarity without having to mod it with a balanced cable (for the E1DA) and I am satisfied. It sounds great, awesome for a very mobile solution, and now it goes loud enough not to want 'just a little more'. It does tend to sound a little strained when at full power so I take it down 1 notch. That's still so loud I better not listen for over an hour so as not to damage my hearing. With DSD you can hear HR material is clearly superior to Redbook 16/44.
 
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Feb 21, 2020 at 2:39 AM Post #24 of 32
brainchill said:
The title says it all ... I'm looking for a good combo to work with an android or iPhone device to replace the dac/amp in an iPhone XS max ...
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As above, I just reviewed the tiny little Nuprime Audio Hi-mDAC which works with the iPhone camera connection kit and does a better job than the iPhone lightning adapter cable, and it also works with android, Mac, and PC.

I tested some additional headphones with it, and added my impressions to my review. So far I've spent a lot of time in the past 2 weeks listening to my HiFiMan Edition-X V2 and V-Moda XS, after the initial review. I am really enjoying this.

https://nuprimeaudio.com/product/hi-mdac/?v=7516fd43adaa
 
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Feb 21, 2020 at 5:50 PM Post #25 of 32
The Monolith THX AAA Portal DAC/Amp is my favorite for music. If your budget is limited and/or you want a USB dongle that is powered by your phone, check out the Monolith USB DAC.
 
Mar 17, 2020 at 12:10 PM Post #27 of 32
I like my Audioquest DragonFly Cobalt. Now, I use it for a desktop also! But, with the desktop I use an iFi Audio iPurifier3 and an iSilencer. Now, iFi is coming out with an iSilencer+. The Plus (+) is supposed to be quite alot better--It won't effect the dynamics. As it is, the Cobalt is manificent. My iDSD Micro Black Label gets no play time anymore. I use the Cobalt with efficient headphones of course. It does OK with my 20ohm Edition XX headphones in terms of volume but it doesn't sound as good as the iDSD BL. My 1MORE headphones sound just as good if not better than my iDSD BL.

IMG_0847.JPG
 
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Apr 3, 2020 at 10:20 PM Post #30 of 32
iFi Micro BL or Nano BL are very very good if you like smooth detail and a versatile mobile setup. Micro is a powerhouse and will work with almost everything. If you're into boosted sub-bass, there is a feature for an additional boost in the low end.

It serves as both a portable dac/amp for me, as well as a dac for my THX 789... So great portable and desktop usage.
 
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