HIDIZS S8 USB-C Headphone Adapter Review

[ZolaIII]

soundstage? a DAC?

S8 & Meizu Pro are CS43131 while 9038S is guess what? (ESS9038Q2M) They are all not polite fast sharp and a bit bright so soundstage ain't huge.

 

[staticV3]

soundstage? a DAC?

All three are DAC/Amps and the Meizu in particular has often been described as sounding super narrow.

 

[bidn]

I received the Sonata HD Pro today (still waiting for the S8),
it is not Plug'n Play with Windows 7 nor with Android 10, I don't have time tonight to play with drivers nor to test it on other computers with linux or with Windows 10.
The USB C connector feels too tight (when inserting or removing) on the connector of my Note 9, I fear it might damage it.

 

[ZolaIII]

Hi soundwave,

I too used to be quite bothered by the too large and too few volume steps on Android,
until I installed this app by Samsung:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.samsung.android.soundassistant

It allows to easily and globally change the volume at a certain level,
and the Android steps (e.g. through the volume buttons) are used to fine-tune that level,
and it includes many other controls (balance, EQ), also storing settings app-wise, etc.
for me it is indispensable.

BTW my Sonata HD Pro just arrived today, and I am still waiting for my Hidi

Meh... That works on Samsung smartphones with Android 9 or later only. Sony Xperias for instance have twice as much volume steps.

 

[AlexScan]

Got my S8. Listening to it now. I’ll measure it tomorrow and report back.

Waiting for your measurements... hesitate between waiting the #9038D and buy the S8 to replace my Meizu Hifi Dac (i love this tiny thing, but in nomad use this kind of dongle was not the most appropriate for me...)

 

[vitalii427]

Waiting for your measurements... hesitate between waiting the #9038D and buy the S8 to replace my Meizu Hifi Dac (i love this tiny thing, but in nomad use this kind of dongle was not the most appropriate for me...)

I’m in progress. I don’t like very much what I see so I’ll checking it in few configurations. It doesn’t work with ASIO4ALL on Windows, so I’ve switched to Mac now.

 

[Zerohour]

I just got the Sonata HD Pro, and it sounds like its barely louder than the Apple dongle. Not trusting my ear in testing loudness though.

edit: did a rough ear test with YT vids, 20 on the Sonata is a bit louder than 30 on the Apple, so I guess its good enough for my powered speaker

any way to measure any of the dac-amp values using just a multimeter? I can do measure the impedance roughly, I think.

 

[AlexScan]

I’m in progress. I don’t like very much what I see so I’ll checking it in few configurations. It doesn’t work with ASIO4ALL on Windows, so I’ve switched to Mac now.

Ok I know amir are the same problem.

You don't have any soundcard with proprietary ASIO driver ?

 

[AlexScan]

Anything else, I think I will buy Hilidac Audirect Beam 2 ... the #9038D is too long to be released... to IVX

 

[ZolaIII]

@soundwave76 the Poweramp has costume volume steps (up to 100) if that suits you. I never really liked it.

 

[vitalii427]

Ok I know amir are the same problem.

You don't have any soundcard with proprietary ASIO driver ?

Sure I have ADI-2 Pro FS

 

[Veri]

Anything else, I think I will buy Hilidac Audirect Beam 2 ... the #9038D is too long to be released... to IVX

Maybe consider sending Amir the beam 2

 

[vitalii427]

So, here it is. My little review and measurements.

First of all I want to say that hardware volume buttons work very strangely and it annoyed me much during measurements. For example full scale sine signal with full hardware volume shows 1.897 Vrms but 1 click down sometimes shows 1.117 Vrms and sometimes 1.254 Vrms. Furthermore when I did few clicks down then few up sometimes I got 1.410 Vrms - it is 1 click before full volume. WTF?!?!?

For measurements I was using RME ADI-2 PRO FS connected to notebook running Windows 10 with official RME ASIO drivers.
I generated WAV test file with REW and played it on:
1) MacBook 12 with Audirvana player
2) Google Pixel 3 XL with HibyMusic

So far I measured only left channel.

Noise measurement performance was limited because I was using unbalanced input. I'm going to make an adapter for balanced/mono to maximize noise measurement performance next time.

Let's start with No load (DAC mode) measurements:

And just for reference:

Here S8 has 2 dB more noise but less THD than RME Phone out with comparable output level.

Next 35 Ohm load measurements:

Here S8 clips at Full Volume. That is about 100 mW power.

Just 1 Click down we have much better THD -103.8 dB but noticeably less volume.

So the last one I did with full hardware volume and software volume at -1.2 dB:

Here we have about 63 mW of power without clipping and at least -107 dB noise.

That's it. I'll share my listening experience later. Your questions are welcome.


EDIT: I've changed 3rd picture with RME loopback No Load (was 35 Ohm load)

 

[Veri]

So, here it is. My little review and measurements.

First of all I want to say that hardware volume buttons work very strangely and it annoyed me much during measurements. For example full scale sine signal with full hardware volume shows 1.897 Vrms but 1 click down sometimes shows 1.117 Vrms and sometimes 1.254 Vrms. Furthermore when I did few clicks down then few up sometimes I got 1.410 Vrms - it is 1 click before full volume. WTF?!?!?

For measurements I was using RME ADI-2 PRO FS connected to notebook running Windows 10 with official RME ASIO drivers.
I generated WAV test file with REW and played it on:
1) MacBook 12 with Audirvana player
2) Google Pixel 3 XL with HibyMusic

So far I measured only left channel.

Noise measurement performance was limited because I was using unbalanced input. I'm going to make an adapter for balanced/mono to maximize noise measurement performance next time.

Let's start with No load (DAC mode) measurements:
View attachment 47180
View attachment 47181
And just for reference:
View attachment 47182
So what we have here is same -108 dB noise level but S8 THD a bit better than RME Phone out with comparable output level.

Next 35 Ohm load measurements:
View attachment 47184
View attachment 47186
Here S8 clips at Full Volume. That is about 100 mW power.

View attachment 47194
View attachment 47195
Just 1 Click down we have much better THD -103.8 dB but noticeably less volume.

So the last one I did with full hardware volume and software volume at -1.2 dB:
View attachment 47199
Here we have about 63 mW of power without clipping and at least -107 dB noise.

That's it. I'll share my listening experience later. Your questions are welcome.

Thanks for measuring! Hmm, any chance of adding your MacBook's own output as well? Would be curious to see how good it is
Cheers

 

[digititus]

I just got the Sonata HD Pro, and it sounds like its barely louder than the Apple dongle. Not trusting my ear in testing loudness though.

edit: did a rough ear test with YT vids, 20 on the Sonata is a bit louder than 30 on the Apple, so I guess its good enough for my powered speaker

any way to measure any of the dac-amp values using just a multimeter? I can do measure the impedance roughly, I think.

Android or Apple? Android 9 has volume limitation which you can get around by using apps like UAPP

 

[vitalii427]

Android or Apple? Android 9 has volume limitation which you can get around by using apps like UAPP

HiByMusic is free and also bit perfect with USB, but software volume disabled

 

[digititus]

HiByMusic is free and also bit perfect with USB, but software volume disabled

Yes, there are a number of apps that can do this. However, UAPP allows you to do it systemwide, so apps like Spotify can also take advantage of the extra volume which Google decided you shouldn't have from your USB DAC/Amp full potential.

 

[vitalii427]

Yes, there are a number of apps that can do this. However, UAPP allows you to do it systemwide, so apps like Spotify can also take advantage of the extra volume which Google decided you shouldn't have from your USB DAC/Amp full potential.

Didn’t know that. Is it work systemwide without root?

 

[digititus]

Didn’t know that. Is it work systemwide without root?

Yes, but you may need to reset after every boot. I have one rooted and one un-rooted device. Both work the same way.

 

[tifune]

Let's start with No load (DAC mode) measurements:

This part confuses me - in my case, I'm looking for something extremely simple for my HTPC: USB to Neumann KH120 (balanced preferred). That's really it, no BT/coax/optical. (I got a 9038S but Ivan does not recommend amping it due to a few customers blowing out the unit)

How does one achieve a 'no load' scenario in the real world? Keeping the DAC volume low and letting the amp do the work? I'm not opposed to spending extra on a D90, Soncoz, etc. but given real-world audibility constraints (my room has no treatments, for example) it seems like a waste of $ for the moment. I use app-based volume control, it's just more convenient and I can't tell the difference vs. every desktop DAC I've tried (Benchmark, Oppo)

Thank you!