Y cable for Smartphone + DAC + charging?
Feb 16, 2015 at 7:35 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 13

PinkyPowers

Reviewer: The Headphone List
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Greetings,
 
I am new, as you can see. Been finding these forums quite helpful of late, but now I have a question I can't seem to find an answer to upon searching.
 
I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 (SPH-L720). Just yesterday my DragonFly 1.2 USB DAC arrived, along with the micro USB to USB adapter I ordered along with it. Everything works splendidly. The sound from my Klipsch Image X7i plugged into the DragonFly is unbelievable! This forum is in part to thank for that purchase. So thank you.
 
Today arrived my Y cable solution for simultaneous charging and DAC enjoyment.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009YPYORM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
It does not work, however. Not with my Galaxy charger/cable. I mean, everything plugs in well enough, but my phone does not charge.
 
I believe I need one with the male micro USB at the crux of the Y cable. Will this work? Can it work? Also, do you have any cable suggestions? I can't seem to find that specific setup anywhere.
 
Thank you for your time,
 
PinkyPowers
 
Feb 17, 2015 at 7:38 PM Post #2 of 13
On eBay I found something I think will work. But it ships from China, and will takes weeks to get here.
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/181646894605?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
 
Does anyone know of a US based seller for cables in this orientation?
 
Feb 18, 2015 at 8:22 PM Post #3 of 13
I may have to go with a USB Hub type cable.
 
I've done some research, and it looked like most existing cable configurations are not wired to sent any power to the Smartphone. Probably because so few of the older models could do simultaneous charging and USB data exchange.
 
The S4 does this, I am told. But you need a bloody cable first.
 
Is there no one on these forums who knows about this sort of thing?
 
Feb 19, 2015 at 8:30 PM Post #4 of 13
Today at work I used that Micro USB Host OTG splitter cable I linked in my first post. It is meant to power not the phone, but whichever USB device I have connected to my phone.
 
Not what I wanted, but not a bad solution, come to think of it. If it keeps my phone from draining so fast, it's almost as good as being able to charge her while using the DAC.
 
I think it worked... sort of. I think my battery drained slower than before. But not nearly slow enough. If it was working at all, it only shared the power load of the DAC, instead of taking it over.
 
All in all, I was disappointed in the outcome.
 
Feb 19, 2015 at 10:31 PM Post #5 of 13
I think you're just beating your head against a wall. Is bypassing the S4 DAC really worth all this hassle compared to just using a portable amp on the S4 headphone jack?
 
Feb 20, 2015 at 12:00 AM Post #6 of 13
I pretty much threw in the towel on the phone+DAC thing and bought a DAP due to these kinds of issues that aren't really being addressed with products that work. Google and Apple aren't too interested in serving the audiophile community and you have to use a shotgun approach and order a bag of cables until you can put together a plate of spaghetti that works with your phone and DAC. I tried using my Galaxy S3 and Stoner Acoustics UD120 but it really needs a powered bus to work consistently and I got tired of unplugging/plugging it in 20 times before the phone would recognize the DAC. I use an iPhone6 as my phone but I have the GS3 and I wanted to use it as a DAP due to it's other features and streaming capabilities. The bottom line here is you are probably only going to find useful cables from vendors in China. Shipping takes forever so you better order several different ones and cross your fingers. Or you could hit up mouser.com or similar and break out your soldering iron and brew up something custom, which is what I determined would be the only acceptable solution to avoid a mess of cables in my pocket. A custom cable is the way to go but I have no time to do this so I went with a DAP. My UD120 works fine with my tablets and their larger batteries and for pocket portable use I have my DAP and in a pinch I can plug straight into my phone or whip out the old Clip+. 
 
TL;DR - Either make a custom battery cable solution or buy a DAP.
 
Feb 20, 2015 at 10:43 AM Post #7 of 13
I think you're just beating your head against a wall. Is bypassing the S4 DAC really worth all this hassle compared to just using a portable amp on the S4 headphone jack?

 


That is a disquieting sentiment from someone on the Head-Fi forums.

For impossibly superior audio? Yes. The hassle is worth it. Especially since it's really not much of a hassle. I can run my Galaxy > OTG > DragonFly setup all day at work, with a recharge during lunch. It's not a big deal. But I'm always looking for a better solution.

And I may have found one.

There is a company called Valarm, that makes a USB sensor and Android App so your phone can take environmental readings constantly. They have a custom y splitter for use with the sensor and charging your phone simultaneously. Exactly what I'm looking for. I asked them about it for my own needs, and they seem to think it will work. I'll let you know when the cable arrives. Probably won't be until late next week.

I'd give you a link, but I am harshly penalized every time I do that. You can Google Valarm and find this for yourself.
 
Feb 20, 2015 at 11:08 AM Post #8 of 13
I am an unabashedly vocal critic of spending money for marginally superior sound. Someone has to be the voice of reason... :p

I don't hang-out in the equipment forums because I don't like to read about people chasing what I believe are insignificant differences. It's just my opinion that bypassing the DAC is less significant than having the proper amplification needed to drive your chosen headphones. If your set-up works for you, great!

:beerchug:
 
Feb 20, 2015 at 12:03 PM Post #9 of 13
I am an unabashedly vocal critic of spending money for marginally superior sound. Someone has to be the voice of reason...
tongue.gif




I don't hang-out in the equipment forums because I don't like to read about people chasing what I believe are insignificant differences. It's just my opinion that bypassing the DAC is less significant than having the proper amplification needed to drive your chosen headphones. If your set-up works for you, great!



beerchug.gif

 


I'm using IEMs. Klipsch Image X7i. No need for amping. But the improvement in sound quality of bypassing the S4's internal DAC is beyond expression.
 
Feb 24, 2015 at 8:14 AM Post #10 of 13
I think you're just beating your head against a wall. Is bypassing the S4 DAC really worth all this hassle compared to just using a portable amp on the S4 headphone jack?

 




That is a disquieting sentiment from someone on the Head-Fi forums.



For impossibly superior audio? Yes. The hassle is worth it. Especially since it's really not much of a hassle. I can run my Galaxy > OTG > DragonFly setup all day at work, with a recharge during lunch. It's not a big deal. But I'm always looking for a better solution.



And I may have found one.



There is a company called Valarm, that makes a USB sensor and Android App so your phone can take environmental readings constantly. They have a custom y splitter for use with the sensor and charging your phone simultaneously. Exactly what I'm looking for. I asked them about it for my own needs, and they seem to think it will work. I'll let you know when the cable arrives. Probably won't be until late next week.



I'd give you a link, but I am harshly penalized every time I do that. You can Google Valarm and find this for yourself.

 


The cable works! On top of charging my phone, it also feeds some power to the DragonFly itself.

Very happy. I'll be testing it more thoroughly today, here at work.
 
Feb 24, 2015 at 9:38 PM Post #11 of 13
I drained my phone down to about 17% today, and switched to the splitter cable from Valarm. As I mentioned before, it powers both the DAC and charges the phone. The DragonFly lit up before I added my Galaxy to the network. Also, the S4 interpreted this configuration as being sat in a Docking Station... which is new.
 
The phone charges slowly whilst using the DAC, as is to be expected. But it's getting enough power to charge, and that's all I wanted.
 
Delighted to have this sorted finally. $10 + shipping. Not bad at all.
beerchug.gif
 
 
Feb 26, 2015 at 9:37 PM Post #13 of 13
It is NOT the one from eBay.
 
It is from this site:
http://shop.valarm.net/products/micro-usb-host-otg-y-cable-with-micro-usb-power-for-samsung
 

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