TANCHJIM Space Portable Headphone Adapter Review

[unpluggged]

RME you may have to raise your game...

RME does not play these games.

 

[juliangst]

iPhone compatibility is always a pain in the ass.

I've had three lightning dongle DACs without a removable cable (DDhifi, Audirect, and some random amazon dongle) and all of them failed after some time.
I also tried my moondrop dawn (which uses the same DAC chip as the Tanchjim) with the Apple camera adapter but it draws too much power.

The only one that works flawlessly and has a removable cable is the battery powered Fiio BTR5 (with fiio usb c to lightning cable).

 

[Jimbob54]

Thanks for testing, @amirm. Btw, did you by accident test it in low gain mode? Pressing the 2 volume buttons simultaneously switches between modes.

Doubtful, it defaults to high on connection. Something it love to see changed on all such dongles. Either low by default or selectable default in software.

EDIT- looking at the l7 measurements (assuming they are in high gain) the power stats look comparable to Amir's so guessing both reviews are high / default gain.

 

[nyxnyxnyx]

"As is typical for this class of devices, the software I use to communicate with them doesn't work well so I can't run all the tests". This however is a bit concerning. Does that suggest it's not class compliant? Is this really "typical" for dongles? It can have the best performances in the world, but if something is full of bugs in usage, it ends up staying in the drawer. Wondering what that really means in practice.

It's anecdotal but I can share my experience with dongles:
I used to purchase and swap/trade audio devices between 2019-2022 and dongles/ audio devices with type C connection somehow can be very inconsistent. Connection quality varies from device to device, I had a couple of dongles that sounded much quieter when plugged to an iPhone, and some dongles that weren't able to connect to certain brands of Android phone. Besides some dongles drain battery seemingly way quicker than they should, you might also encounter noise issues that are not easily identifiable. It's not just dongles but it's with some DACs that have type C connection too. I wonder if there's an untouched/unsolved compatibility issue?

It's really annoying because the most expensive dongle I've had my hands on at the time (Luxury & Precision W1) was also a bit buggy when I swapped phones to test. But I asked around here a couple times and even asked the audio shop and nobody seems to have a clear answer.

 

[BeeKay]

What exactly are we lookimg at in the opening Panther Pic photo? Two pieces? And will it work with iphone? I guess a camera adapter > USBC adapter > this unit woul do it in a slightly kludgy fashion...

Mounted mine with strong adhesive and removable tape ("Tesa Power Strips") to the adapter. Still a bit clunky but no drama.

 

[dweeeeb2]

You should be able to simply use a lightning to usb c cable:
USB C to Lightning Cable 3Pack 6FT [Apple MFi Certified] iPhone Fast Charger Cable USB-C Power Delivery Charging Cord Compatible with iPhone 14/13/12/11/XS/Max/XR/X/8/iPad, White https://amzn.asia/d/hfy7RYz

 

[PeteL]

Mounted mine with strong adhesive and removable tape ("Tesa Power Strips") to the adapter. Still a bit clunky but no drama.

Clunky indeed, but wouldn't it just work wit a lighting to USB-C cable???? What does the adapter do?

 

[sarumbear]

RME does not play these games.

Is that why they released "improved" version 2?

 

[Jimbob54]

Is that why they released "improved" version 2?

Was a better remote ;-)

 

[Elitzur–Vaidman]

What are the exact dimensions of this thing? I'm wondering if it could be modded to fit in a framework laptop expansion card.

 

[BeeKay]

Clunky indeed, but wouldn't it just work wit a lighting to USB-C cable???? What does the adapter do?

Quite hard to find these cables (other than from Apple) that really work. In fact you tend for see a lot of misleading descriptions. Bought some, all failed. Of course, there may be some, I just gave up and went the Apple way.
The "Apple USB Camera Adapter" allows USB-A and Lightning (as a power source). Large, but useful.

Also you can connect desktop DACs and drive them with Apple Music (Hi-Res too) - does not work with AirPlay as we know.

 

[respice finem]

I wonder if it would be possible (and if adapters of this kind exist) to use the balanced HP output to drive a pair of active monitors via their analog XLR input?
And, if the volume setting for the unbalanced and balanced output is stored separately?

 

[Matias]

I wonder if it would be possible (and if adapters of this kind exist) to use the balanced HP output to drive a pair of active monitors via their analog XLR input?
And, if the volume setting for the unbalanced and balanced output is stored separately?

Sure, just search for a 4.4 mm balanced to 2 x XLR cable.

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[Labjr]

Nice review! Maybe there should be a poll to choose a new brand name?

 

[renaudrenaud]

I would like to know if this thing is working on Linux.

 

[IAtaman]

I would like to know if this thing is working on Linux.

I can not imagine why an USB dongle would not work with Linux. Had you had any experience like that?

 

[unpluggged]

Is that why they released "improved" version 2?

"Version 2" of what? If you are talking about ADI-2 DAC, then it's because the AK4493 replaced the AK4490 in production, so they had to update their BOM. They do this occasionally, you know, but they don't brag about another new product each week or so that has a 0.5 dB better measured SINAD.

 

[sarumbear]

they don't brag about another new product each week or so that has a 0.5 dB better measured SINAD.

Why not? Most people like to brag that they have something great, that they achieved something even better? Besides, I do not see RME being humble or modest.

The ADI-2 DAC includes an improved SteadyClock, a fine-tuned to perfection analog circuitry, new MRC remote control, Extreme Power headphone output and a very special IEM output. It has all the bells and whistles that made the ADI-2 Pro famous, including its perfectly transparent sound signature and full DSP processing with Bass, Treble, Loudness, 5 Band Parametric EQ, Crossfeed and much more. With its simplified operation and stunning design it is the ideal center piece from home listening up to studio reference playback.

ADI-2-DAC FS - RME Audio Interfaces | Format Converters | Preamps | Network Audio & MADI Solutions

RME Audio Professional Live, Studio, Recording and Broadcast Solutions. Unrivalled Quality, Performance & Stability MADI Interfaces, Converters & Preamps.

www.rme-audio.de

 

[sarumbear]

If this almost disposable DAC is that good, I wonder how good will be their desktop unit costing almost $2K?

TANCHJIM VAST AK4497EQ Desktop DAC & Headphone Amplifier

Limited to 50PCS Globally! Please note the VAST only supports 220V power input. Description: The outer shell of VAST is the hand-assembled making of the aviation-grade aluminum alloy after precision CNC machining, and the avant-garde design of the Maya pyramid is built with sturdy lines. The...

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[johnhopfensperger]

I can not imagine why an USB dongle would not work with Linux. Had you had any experience like that?

I have an “XtremPro” that works with volume control on Windows, but the volume is basically always at 100% on Linux until it reaches 0%.