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Hidizs S9 Review (Headphone Adapter)

RAledr

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Sep 12, 2021
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I believe any standard USB-C to USB-C cable works with the S9 Pro and the S9, though ironically the cable supplied with both devices is non-standard and only works one-way round. You do need an appropriate cable for connecting to the lightning port on an iPhone (or use the Camera Connection kit). Personally I’ve found the non-standard cable to be unreliable though qutie possibly I forget and plug it in the wrong way round quite often. I stick with a standard cable as used for any other device which connects to my iPad pro.
The USB-C cable works both ways for me, with the S9 Pro
 

FIOIOIO

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Oct 19, 2021
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Will S9 pro drive the HIFIMAN SUNDARA?Also are there any audible distortions ?
 

mrbungle

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Will S9 pro drive the HIFIMAN SUNDARA?Also are there any audible distortions ?
Will drive them just fine. Get a balanced cable though, especially if you need some headroom for EQ.
 

Jabinho

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Jul 11, 2021
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It would be interesting to hear what @amirm thinks about potentially a major flaw in S9 I'm experiencing with low impedance planar headphones (see my post above).
I undestod that Amirm is not going to review S9 Pro. Results were that poor.
 

Kevbaz

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I undestod that Amirm is not going to review S9 Pro. Results were that poor.
That’s a shame I thought from the specs on Hidizs website it might perform better. Where did you hear it measured bad.
 

Kevbaz

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You can easily guess my source.
Just asking as I have not seen Amirm publicly say he tested it. Maybe I missed it in a thread somewhere.
 

aatoma

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Nov 6, 2021
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Hi there, I'm new to the forum so, glad to meet you all. I bought the S9 Pro based on price and specs only, but was happy to see that the regular S9 performed so well in measurements. Now I read that there might be a large gap between S9 and S9 Pro performance, and am wondering if the regular S9 could have been a much better choice. is there a way to dig deeper? Any other source of information?
 

Kevbaz

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Hi there, I'm new to the forum so, glad to meet you all. I bought the S9 Pro based on price and specs only, but was happy to see that the regular S9 performed so well in measurements. Now I read that there might be a large gap between S9 and S9 Pro performance, and am wondering if the regular S9 could have been a much better choice. is there a way to dig deeper? Any other source of information?
I wouldn’t worry, I own a Hidizs S8 and S9 Pro.
To me both sound very good and I can’t tell any difference between them with my Sennheiser HD660s although I listen at low volume.
Other than the negative feedback mentioned above I’ve seen no evidence yet t suggest the S9 Pro has bad performance.
Kev
 

aatoma

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I wouldn’t worry, I own a Hidizs S8 and S9 Pro.
To me both sound very good and I can’t tell any difference between them with my Sennheiser HD660s although I listen at low volume.
Other than the negative feedback mentioned above I’ve seen no evidence yet t suggest the S9 Pro has bad performance.
Kev
Thanks, Kev. I'm not a golden ear and a direct comparison with a known well performing dongle is reassuring enough. Let's see if a detailed measurement pops up and settles the matter for good.
Antonio
 

hhpsl

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Sep 15, 2021
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I think the supplied cables are directional and according to a post from the manufacturer on the Amazon website, the HIDIZS logo should go into the computer and the blank cable end should go into the S9 unit. Counterintuitive if you ask me but on my MacBook Pro, it worked in the correct orientation. But still not working on my iPhone. I posted a question on the Amazon website and I was told to use the HIDIZS Lightning to USB-C cable which was an additional $24 USD and, unfortunately, out of stock. I ordered from another overseas website but it will be awhile since it will arrive. Not the product I had hoped for and not sure I've made the right decision vs. using the $9 Apple Lightning to 3.5 mm dongle.
I can confirm this was the issue with Samsung S20 FE 5G, it wasn't recognised at all. Changed the cable direction and walaa, all working now. Thanks.
 

eelpout

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Nov 9, 2021
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I wouldn’t worry, I own a Hidizs S8 and S9 Pro.
To me both sound very good and I can’t tell any difference between them with my Sennheiser HD660s although I listen at low volume.
Other than the negative feedback mentioned above I’ve seen no evidence yet t suggest the S9 Pro has bad performance.
Kev
One clear difference I'm hearing is that the S9 Pro bass is a bit "woolier" and more emphasized than the S8 in the C1 (32 Hz) range, I'm not sure which is better or more accurate to the source, but I listen to (too much!) organ music and with this they are clearly dissimilar.

(both balanced and unbalanced on the S9 Pro using Hifiman and Sennheiser cans).
 

lordhumungous

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Apr 2, 2020
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I like the S9 audio quality but I get terrible emi interference at times in various locations. At times it’s worthless to me to use it
 

MrOtto

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Nov 4, 2020
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Just found that S9 ASIO device is called "Comtrue USB Audio Device" in foobar2000, but playback is very slow to start, so is WASAPI (push) Hidizs S9". Only device starting playing normal is "WASAPI (event)" I did the firmware update of the device to fix skipping in Windows 10.

Any control panel for this device, for checking status, like Hidizs S8 had?
 

0RF30

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Just found that S9 ASIO device is called "Comtrue USB Audio Device" in foobar2000, but playback is very slow to start, so is WASAPI (push) Hidizs S9". Only device starting playing normal is "WASAPI (event)" I did the firmware update of the device to fix skipping in Windows 10.

Any control panel for this device, for checking status, like Hidizs S8 had?

No reason to use push instead of event for WASAPI (push is for old devices which doesn't support event). In fact since 1.6.7 there are no more distinct WASAPI outputs (event/push/shared), you have a built-in WASAPI support called {exclusive]. You have a S9 ASIO control pannel (double clic on Comtrue USB Audio Device under "Output" -> "ASIIO". Buffer Size and Bit Depth.

Where did you find the firmware files and tools for S9 ? Is there a way to check the version installed on S9 (never had any Windows issues with my unit, so I'm curious to check which FW version my unit is using).
 
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Leiker535

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Jul 7, 2020
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Amirms dashboard indicates 4V on balance, but following his max power measurements I got about 2V using an ohms law calculator... I want to use this bal out to feed a L50, and I wonder if it would get full power. For those of you who know better, am I doing something wrong?

1637984512917.png
 

eelpout

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Nov 9, 2021
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I found Hidizs s9 Pro does not support 512 DSD .. at least on my Roon ..
- DSD up to 256 (working)
- PCM up to 768Khz (working)
- MQA (working)

I contacted the web chat support .. they asked me to download Hiby for test but still not support DSD 512 (not) but 256 (playable) .. Is there anyone got tested or having issue like mine ..
I tested on both iPhone 12 Pro Max and PC-direct (usb-c) on Roon.

Thanks

I finally tried some DSD 64's from various sources, they ALL stutter and sputter like crazy on my S9 Pro (Foobar2000 and Audrivana). These same files play fine on my S8 and a FiiO. Crap. :(

Edit: someone mentioned the "Comtrue USB Audio Device" for ASIO so I went and found that driver. Oddly it shows up as "SXW UAD ASIO" in the device list for me, but whatever.

Hidizs sent me v1.1 firmware but it didn't help on my HP Spectre x360. I tried it on my MacBook Pro 14" and my Samsung Note 20 Ultra (USB Audio Play Pro) and guess what? It works fine. So... it's something odd with the HP. I have an S8 and some FiiO DAC's and they have no problem with DSD playback. It's some weird alchemy between the S9 Pro and the HP. :/
 
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