Any danger with portable DAC/AMPs/Dongles for Phone batteries?

[bluebrrypii]

Ever since my iPhone 11 battery exploded while using ddHifi's 4.4mm dac/amp dongle (ddHifi TC44B), I've been extremely cautious of portable DAC/AMPs that don't have their own battery source.
Apple technicians had also assessed the damage and said it was due to third party accessory use.
At the time, my guess was the 4.4mm output was drawing more power from the iphone than what the iphone battery was rated for.

I would like to start using portable DAC/AMPs again, since there are so many nice ones coming out these days.

Are there any scientific/technical way to determine if they are safe for the battery life? (Meaning, even if my battery doesn't explode, I also don't want to shorten its overall lifespan either).
With modern portable USB-C dac/amps now pushing out +600mW output and even tube-amp dac/amps, I wonder if they aren't drawing out too much power from the phone's battery

 

[amirm]

Apple technicians had also assessed the damage and said it was due to third party accessory use.

That's pure nonsense. The iPhone has its own power management and it is its responsibility to limit current. No way should its battery fail due to any device plugged into it.

 

[amirm]

With modern portable USB-C dac/amps now pushing out +600mW output and even tube-amp dac/amps, I wonder if they aren't drawing out too much power from the phone's battery

I haven't seen anything that powerful. But if they are within USB spec, the source device must be able to power them. Now, how long your battery lasts, is another matter.

 

[yofi]

At work I keep a FiiO BTR15, and Beyerdynamic DT 990 250 ohm. A few months ago the FiiO was plugged into my iPhone 16e and set to high gain. The phone stopped feeding signal to the FiiO and a prompt stated that a third party accessory was drawing too much power.

Haven’t been able to replicate it since, but it was interesting that the iPhone prompted me to knock it off, whatever it was that was happening.

I worked front line retail/service for mobile devices for a long time. Never overshare what caused a device to fail. The culture was to find any reason why damage or failure could be attributed to user error and tell the end user to pay up or buy a new device.

 

[Joe0429]

That’s total BS.
Short-circuit and over-discharge current protection are core functions of a BMS.
There shouldn't be any safety risks even with a direct short; if there are, you won't even qualify for the safety certification labels.

 

[OldTimer]

Did you use it while charging? No wonder, it exploded.

 

[Morla]

Did you use it while charging? No wonder, it exploded.

Doubt.

 

[VintageFlanker]

With modern portable USB-C dac/amps now pushing out +600mW output and even tube-amp dac/amps, I wonder if they aren't drawing out too much power from the phone's battery

Depends what you call two much.

I remember the Hidizs S9 Pro at fixed output (4.2Vrms balanced) being able to drink 100% of my Pixel 5 & 7's battery in about 9 hours. That against about 30-40H of battery life on a relugar basis.

 

[anonyless]

i have FiiO KA5 connected permanently (i don't have physical access at all to the FiiO at all) in my car to Mosconi audio processor by coax cable for over 2 and a half years now. never had any issue with my OnePlus 8 (5 years old+ ) Android phone feeding it , never saw any warning message saying it's drawing too much power or anything like that.

 

[Joe0429]

Did you use it while charging? No wonder, it exploded.

I always use a USB-C hub at work to charge my phone while using a DAC for music.
As long as you’re using the original battery and a certified charger, you’re not liable if the battery explodes.

Are there any scientific/technical way to determine if they are safe for the battery life? (Meaning, even if my battery doesn't explode, I also don't want to shorten its overall lifespan either).
With modern portable USB-C dac/amps now pushing out +600mW output and even tube-amp dac/amps, I wonder if they aren't drawing out too much power from the phone's battery

When it comes to battery life, it’s more about your overall habits anyway. A DAC is nothing compared to high-drain apps that actually heat up your phone.
Even though I’m a BMS engineer and I know what wears down a battery, I don’t think you should limit yourself just to baby the battery of a consumer product.
If the battery health drops, just go back to the store and get it replaced.

 

[Somafunk]

I would like to start using portable DAC/AMPs again, since there are so many nice ones coming out these days.

Are there any scientific/technical way to determine if they are safe for the battery life? (Meaning, even if my battery doesn't explode, I also don't want to shorten its overall lifespan either).
With modern portable USB-C dac/amps now pushing out +600mW output and even tube-amp dac/amps, I wonder if they aren't drawing out too much power from the phone's battery

Just buy something that has a sensible max mW output, anything over 60mW for iem/average mobile headphone use is just for the number crunchers interested in useless power

all my opinion of course but don't bother trying to change my mind, not interested