I'm an urban commuter living in the States (Chicago), so portability and durability is key. I'm upgrading from a (broken) Sonata HD, that I'm using with a Pixel 3XL and 1More Triple Driver IEMs. However, I am having a hard time getting my hands on this (got a fraud alert from Aliexpress and didn't feel comfortable giving them additional financial info; also explored a site called Giztop that seems suspicious). Is there a reputable option anyone in could recommend for ordering from the US?
My backup option is the iBasso DC02 - would this have sufficient power for my setup? I know it wasn't recommended, but wasn't sure if that was because it was underpowered for higher-end headphones. I bought a $9 Apple dongle but, as these forums warned, it wasn't powerful enough on Android.
The DC02 supposedly doesn't sound very good and seeing how the superior DC01 performed in Amir's measuring suite, I would avoid both of them.
As for durability, you will always lose out compared to an integrated headphone jack when going with a dongle. The ones with a fixed cable (Meizu) are bound to develop a loose contact and the ones with a removable one (9038S, S8) will probably have their USB port worn out at some point. That being said, the two best options I see are to either get a cheap dongle like the one from Apple or Meizu and replace it once it breaks, or get one with a removable cable, permanently affix the cable with tape, rubber bands, or similar in order to protect the USB jack, and just replace the cable once it breaks.
PS: You should avoid the 9038S as it can't be used while using cellular because of horrible EMI noise. The 9038D would be ideal, but that one has yet to come out.
PPS: I have bought the S8 and will compare it extensively to the Meizu Pro and the 9038S once it's here.