Best cheap USB-C headphone dongles?

[HissingFree]

I tried Jcally JM6 Pro again, to see if there is crackling with sensitive IEMs, and what I see is much less crackling compared to JM11 (with stock or JA11 firmware), but obviously with horrendous hissing because of the very high noise floor thanks to MAX97220 opamp. But there is still some crackling, just like 5 times less crackling and much less frequent in that polarity test and almost non present in the windows sound test (audio panel control). Unless MAX97220 also contributes to this crackling, this is probably how JM7 Max will fare.

 

[Westsounds]

Fiio K11, awesome power for something that is just a USB plug and a 3.5 jack basically, and it's simplicity is welcome. I was going to buy a fancy R2R dongle but discovered the K11 and glad I did. The sound is more than good enough and I'm surprised with its power. I haven't had any bugs or glitches with mine .

 

[mc.god]

Fiio K11, awesome power for something that is just a USB plug and a 3.5 jack basically, and it's simplicity is welcome. I was going to buy a fancy R2R dongle but discovered the K11 and glad I did. The sound is more than good enough and I'm surprised with its power. I haven't had any bugs or glitches with mine .

I assume you are talking about KA11 since K11 is a desktop dac\amp.

 

[Westsounds]

I assume you are talking about KA11 since K11 is a desktop dac\amp.

Yes typo sorry. The KA11 is a fantastic piece of equipment, and a very small one.

 

[HissingFree]

Yes typo sorry. The KA11 is a fantastic piece of equipment, and a very small one.

Yeah, it's also very similar to Jcally JM20 Max and Shanling UA Mini, it's the same combination of CS43131 + SGM8262, a killer combination in terms of the whole package of sonic performance + power. The only concerns are heating and longevity.

 

[jkim]

So, as of now, what are the best cheap USB headphone dongles that have output > 1 Vrms?

Since we're talking about the best "cheap" dongles, even a few dollars should matter. And onboard PEQ is not a must-have feature. DRE artifacts or any other performance issue should not be present.

Looking at the very current market offerings, these come into sight:

• TRN Black Pearl (with new firmware): $33.29 at AliExpress (BrightAudio)
• FiiO Melody (with new firmware): $39.99 at Amazon.com
• JCally JM20 Max (not completely free of DRE distortion, though): $21.15 at AliExpress (CKLewis Audio)
• JCally JM20 (not completely free of DRE distortion): $18.97 at AliExpress (CKLewis Audio)
• Hidizs SD2: $31.99 (w/ coupon) at Amazon.com
• Hiby FC3 (no display): $23.02 at AliExpress (Hiby Official Store)

In particular, the Hiby FC3 is priced very nicely for now. If it measures same as the FC3 w/ display, it will make a very nice, no-frills USB dongle.
EDIT. The FC3 can be one of a kind with respect to

• Price < $25
• No DRE-induced distortion
• Low noise for a dongle with a unity gain buffer (only behind the state-of-the-art, top-of-the-line DACs with over 120 dB SINAD)
• Relatively low power consumption and low heat thanks to integrated chip design (e.g., lower than op-amp design like the JM20 Max)

Any other dongles that I've missed?

 

[HissingFree]

FC3 is good no doubt, mainly for the no DRE artifacts. That being said, it is still somewhat limited at 32 ohms, "only" around 60 mW of power. 50 mV performance seems fairly similar to CS43131 with DRE off in devices with updated firmware. So really, we are a firmware away from having a better dongle in JM20 Max or the FiiO counterpart, we just need FiiO to update KA11 to disable DRE.

 

[mc.god]

In particular, the Hiby FC3 is priced very nicely for now. If it measures same as the FC3 w/ display, it will make a very nice, no-frills USB dongle.

Here are some measurements of vanilla FC3, but honestly I never learned how to interpret them

MiniHype – HiBy FC3, HypetheSonics

HiBy FC3 miniHype Every now and then an audio device comes along whose sonics are so good it deserves a little bit of hype - a miniHype, if you will.

www.hypethesonics.com

 

[jkim]

FC3 is good no doubt, mainly for the no DRE artifacts. That being said, it is still somewhat limited at 32 ohms, "only" around 60 mW of power. 50 mV performance seems fairly similar to CS43131 with DRE off in devices with updated firmware. So really, we are a firmware away from having a better dongle in JM20 Max or the FiiO counterpart, we just need FiiO to update KA11 to disable DRE.

See my edit in the post. It can still be one of a kind. As for the output power, its performance from the ES9281Pro chip, is essentially the same as any other DAC chips with an integrated headphone buffer, like the ES9218P/ES9219C (Qudelix 5K 3.5mm out or Neutron HiFi DAC V1) and CS43131 (JCally JM20), which I all measured myself in the same condition. They all output around 62 to 65 mW (1.41 to 1.44 Vrms) into 32 Ohm. But that's with a very strict distortion standard. If we relax it (distortion is not perceived sensitively), 80 mW (1.6 Vrms) shouldn't be a problem

 

[jkim]

Here are some measurements of vanilla FC3, but honestly I never learned how to interpret them

MiniHype – HiBy FC3, HypetheSonics

HiBy FC3 miniHype Every now and then an audio device comes along whose sonics are so good it deserves a little bit of hype - a miniHype, if you will.

www.hypethesonics.com

I won't even bother to interpret the data...

 

[jose_user]

So, as of now, what are the best cheap USB headphone dongles that have output > 1 Vrms?

Since we're talking about the best "cheap" dongles, even a few dollars should matter. And onboard PEQ is not a must-have feature. DRE artifacts or any other performance issue should not be present.

Looking at the very current market offerings, these come into sight:

• TRN Black Pearl (with new firmware): $33.29 at AliExpress (BrightAudio)
• FiiO Melody (with new firmware): $39.99 at Amazon.com
• JCally JM20 Max (not completely free of DRE distortion, though): $21.15 at AliExpress (CKLewis Audio)
• JCally JM20 (not completely free of DRE distortion): $18.97 at AliExpress (CKLewis Audio)
• Hidizs SD2: $31.99 (w/ coupon) at Amazon.com
• Hiby FC3 (no display): $23.02 at AliExpress (Hiby Official Store)

In particular, the Hiby FC3 is priced very nicely for now. If it measures same as the FC3 w/ display, it will make a very nice, no-frills USB dongle.
EDIT. The FC3 can be one of a kind with respect to

• Price < $25
• No DRE-induced distortion
• Low noise for a dongle with a unity gain buffer (only behind the state-of-the-art, top-of-the-line DACs with over 120 dB SINAD)
• Relatively low power consumption and low heat thanks to integrated chip design (e.g., lower than op-amp design like the JM20 Max)

Any other dongles that I've missed?

Hello Jkim.

(edited, I have just realized I did not read it's about dongles which can provide more than 1v)

What about the Hiby Digital D1? It costs only €11 and has physical volume control buttons. --> it's less than 1v, so it's not a option... sorry.

Jcally JM7 (8€) --> it's less than 1v, so it's not a option...

Jcally JM7-Max (11€) seem like a good choice, don't they?

Please, bear in mind I'm not an expert.

 

[HissingFree]

Hello Jkim.

(edited, I have just realized I did not read it's about dongles which can provide more than 1v)

What about the Hiby Digital D1? It costs only €11 and has physical volume control buttons. --> it's less than 1v, so it's not a option... sorry.

Jcally JM7 (8€) --> it's less than 1v, so it's not a option...

Jcally JM7-Max (11€) seem like a good choice, don't they?

Please, bear in mind I'm not an expert.

No one has tested it properly yet, that's why it's hard to recommend it. In theory, it should have CX31993 measurements but with much more power. So you should get a decent noise floor compared to other cheap dongle dacs like CX31993 + MAX97200 combo or CB1200AU or KT02H20 without DRE. But CX31993 has very weird and mediocre jitter for example, in theory it clears the lenient threshold audibility, but barely. It also probably still crackles in some tests, should be tested.
For 10€ or less, I don't think there is anything better, though.

 

[xd003]

Hi, I’m new to DACs and trying to understand their battery impact. Specifically, I want to know how the CS43131 compares to the CX31993 in terms of power consumption when used with a phone. I haven’t been able to find reliable information so far.

 

[HissingFree]

Hi, I’m new to DACs and trying to understand their battery impact. Specifically, I want to know how the CS43131 compares to the CX31993 in terms of power consumption when used with a phone. I haven’t been able to find reliable information so far.

CX31993 has much lower battery drain from what I've seen tested by some members here.

 

[staticV3]

Hi, I’m new to DACs and trying to understand their battery impact. Specifically, I want to know how the CS43131 compares to the CX31993 in terms of power consumption when used with a phone. I haven’t been able to find reliable information so far.

Here's the data I gathered:

 

[Michou]

Yes typo sorry. The KA11 is a fantastic piece of equipment, and a very small one.

Indeed, it’s a fantastic and quite powerful small DAC dongle. However, two out of the three I purchased failed within the first couple of hours, so reliability is definitely a concern. Even the one that still works needs to be reinserted occasionally to properly connect and initialize. Heat buildup is an issue, and the power draw is considerably higher compared to the Hiby FC3 (which includes a display) and Fiio’s own Jade JA11, both of which also allow microphone input, unlike the KA11, as well as several other comparable dongles.

 

[Krusty09]

I got the fosi ds2 with the jbl iem that Anmir reviewd here and it's been great . Plenty of clean power.

 

[Westsounds]

Indeed, it’s a fantastic and quite powerful small DAC dongle. However, two out of the three I purchased failed within the first couple of hours, so reliability is definitely a concern. Even the one that still works needs to be reinserted occasionally to properly connect and initialize. Heat buildup is an issue, and the power draw is considerably higher compared to the Hiby FC3 (which includes a display) and Fiio’s own Jade JA11, both of which also allow microphone input, unlike the KA11, as well as several other comparable dongles.

I'm amazed at how powerful this dongle is, its not even a dongle, its more like an adaptor, its amazing how they do it. Obviously at the expense of some reliability issues it seems though. It sounds really good too.

 

[xd003]

Here's the data I gathered:
View attachment 479849

Thanks, this has been really helpful. While looking into it, I found that the Apple dongle uses the CS46L41, which like the CX31993 has fairly low power consumption. What I’m curious about is whether anyone has done a direct comparison of SNR and THD performance between these two chips. The CS46L41 doesn’t seem to get much discussion, here I can get a DAC with it for the same price as one with the CX31993 (Non apple so better build + without power limitation)

 

[Brass_Tympanum]

I made an account after reading through all the posts on this thread. I'm brand new to all this and was looking for ways to remove the hissing caused by my QKZ HBBs when plugged into my gaming laptop's 3.5mm jack. I decided to buy the JM6 Pro, without thinking much about it as that's what I saw recommended on several YouTube videos and some reddit posts. The MAX97200 op-amp increased the hissing by like 60% and also introduced a very obnoxious crackling and popping before and after any sound was transmitted, which made things like discord calls and some applications ridiculously obnoxious.

I was just wondering if anyone has similar IEMs and has perhaps found any dongles that are compatible with such sensitive IEMs like the QKZ HBBs, I've been searching around the internet for a couple hours now and it seems all the information out there is completely subjective and unreliable. I'm almost coming to the conclusion that this is something no one really knows how to fix. Alas, I am just a newbie when it comes to this whole thing.