Best cheap USB-C headphone dongles?

[staticV3]

What I’m curious about is whether anyone has done a direct comparison of SNR and THD performance between these two chips.

Here's 50mV into 16Ω:

 

[HissingFree]

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.

That's the problem with Audio, almost all of the information on Youtube and in forums is about subjective terms like "detailed" and so on.
Hissing is about the noise floor of the dongle, basically, the higher the noise floor is, the more likely your headphones will have hissing and the louder this hissing will be. As almost nobody shows noise data in reviews, the next useful parameter is some sort of standarized SNR, for example, in this website, it's common to find SNR at 50mV. The higher this number is, the better.
MAX97220 is just bad, a combo with CX31993 has been measured with an SNR @50mV of under 75db. You generally want something above 80db, but that IEM seems more sensitive than most, so aim for >85db. A CS43131 dongle will give you that, such as Jcally JM20 for example.

 

[HissingFree]

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)

I don't think Apple Dongle uses CS46L41, though, it uses a different Cirrus DAC, from what I've found it's CS46L06, just have that in mind.

 

[xd003]

I don't think Apple Dongle uses CS46L41, though, it uses a different Cirrus DAC, from what I've found it's CS46L06, just have that in mind.

I couldn’t find much detailed information, but I came across a couple of posts on ASR where users mentioned that the Apple dongle uses the CS46L41. On the other hand, some sources suggest it’s CS46L06.

There does seem to be some confusion around this. I agree it’s probably not ideal to use the Apple dongle as a baseline reference for the CS46L41. Has this specific DAC chip ever been measured independently on ASR?

The main point is that I’ve ruled out the CX31993 + MAX97220 combination due to its higher noise floor. My priority is achieving the lowest possible DNR and THD, while keeping ADC performance at an acceptable level. Other options at almost same price range available are -

1. CX31993
2. CS46L41
3. Apple Dongle (EU ver sold here) – keeping this separate from the CS46L41 just to be safe. The volume limitation has already been resolved in Android 16, and for earlier versions there are apps that can address it, so that’s not a concern.

 

[HissingFree]

I couldn’t find much detailed information, but I came across a couple of posts on ASR where users mentioned that the Apple dongle uses the CS46L41. On the other hand, some sources on the internet suggest it’s actually the Cirrus Logic 46L06-CWZR.

There does seem to be some confusion around this. I agree it’s probably not ideal to use the Apple dongle as a baseline reference for the CS46L41. Has this specific DAC chip ever been measured independently on ASR?

The main point is that I’ve ruled out the CX31993 + MAX97220 combination due to its higher noise floor. My priority is achieving the lowest possible DNR and THD, while keeping ADC performance at an acceptable level. Other options at almost same price range available are -

CX31993
CS46L41
Apple Dongle (EU ver sold here) – keeping this separate from the CS46L41 just to be safe. The volume limitation has already been resolved in Android 16, and for earlier versions there are apps that can address it, so that’s not a concern.

Why not buy both? standard CX31993 and CS46L41, they are dirt cheap honestly. Hiby D1 + most generic CX31993

 

[xd003]

Why not buy both? standard CX31993 and CS46L41, they are dirt cheap honestly. Hiby D1 + most generic CX31993

For the combined price of both, I could instead go for a CS43131, but its higher power consumption makes it less ideal for use with my Android device for driving the Kefine klean. So for now, I’m leaning towards either the standard CX31993 or the CS46L41, with the option to upgrade later to something like the Hiby FC3 solely for desktop use.

 

[wiggum]

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.

I got the JCALLY JM7 Max for $11 on sale.

• Plenty of volume on even the lowest level.
• Very good build quality.
• Punchy bass.
• Is warm to touch even if no music is being played.
• Temperature is about 10 C above ambient temperature. Checked with a thermal camera.
• Slight noise on 16 ohm IEMs though not sure 100%.
• Play/pause, volume controls work through the buttons.
• Mic recordings have an very audible white noise which is not present on Apple DAC. Can anyone verify it?

 

[mc.god]

With my vanilla CX31993 dongles i get no hissing with veryv sensitive iem that instead give hissing with CB1200 dongles and laptop integrated audio.

 

[HissingFree]

I got the JCALLY JM7 Max for $11 on sale.

• Plenty of volume on even the lowest level.
• Very good build quality.
• Punchy bass.
• Is warm to touch even if no music is being played.
• Temperature is about 10 C above ambient temperature. Checked with a thermal camera.
• Slight noise on 16 ohm IEMs though not sure 100%.
• Play/pause, volume controls work through the buttons.
• Mic recordings have an very audible white noise which is not present on Apple DAC. Can anyone verify it?

What is the name of the 16 ohm iem exactly?

 

[Brass_Tympanum]

That's the problem with Audio, almost all of the information on Youtube and in forums is about subjective terms like "detailed" and so on.
Hissing is about the noise floor of the dongle, basically, the higher the noise floor is, the more likely your headphones will have hissing and the louder this hissing will be. As almost nobody shows noise data in reviews, the next useful parameter is some sort of standarized SNR, for example, in this website, it's common to find SNR at 50mV. The higher this number is, the better.
MAX97220 is just bad, a combo with CX31993 has been measured with an SNR @50mV of under 75db. You generally want something above 80db, but that IEM seems more sensitive than most, so aim for >85db. A CS43131 dongle will give you that, such as Jcally JM20 for example.

Thank you so much for your response, I see that the standard Jcally JM20 does not have mic support, which I need for my in-line mic. Fortunately, the Pro version does offer mic support, which is great. I will be looking for a CS43131 DAC, the most reasonably priced I can find. I'll update on my results whenever I get my hands on it.

 

[wiggum]

What is the name of the 16 ohm iem exactly?

Fiio JD3 (Silver)

 

[Brass_Tympanum]

I decided on the Tanchjim Stargate II, as it has a very high SNR of 127.4 dB and the included DSP + mic support. It's pretty expensive, like almost twice the cost of my IEMs, but I will have no problem once I upgrade in the future. Anyone else try this one? How's the durability?

 

[jkim]

I decided on the Tanchjim Stargate II, as it has a very high SNR of 127.4 dB and the included DSP + mic support. It's pretty expensive, like almost twice the cost of my IEMs, but I will have no problem once I upgrade in the future. Anyone else try this one? How's the durability?

That very high SNR is achieved in exchange for peculiar digital distortion. See this review for more detail. You can turn off DRE, the cause of the distortion, by choosing its NOS mode. However, ideally, firmware should provide an option for disabling DRE with a standard reconstruction filter in place. See this recommendation.

If I were you, I would choose one of the following (w/ mic support):

• TRN Black Pearl (with new firmware): $33.29 at AliExpress (BrightAudio)
• FiiO Melody (with new firmware): $39.99 at Amazon.com
• Hiby FC3 (no display): $23.02 at AliExpress (Hiby Official Store)

 

[Brass_Tympanum]

That very high SNR is achieved in exchange for peculiar digital distortion. See this review for more detail. You can turn off DRE, the cause of the distortion, by choosing its NOS mode. However, ideally, firmware should provide an option for disabling DRE with a standard reconstruction filter in place. See this recommendation.

If I were you, I would choose one of the following (w/ mic support):

• TRN Black Pearl (with new firmware): $33.29 at AliExpress (BrightAudio)
• FiiO Melody (with new firmware): $39.99 at Amazon.com
• Hiby FC3 (no display): $23.02 at AliExpress (Hiby Official Store)

Wow! What an in-depth and detailed review! Thank you so much for these contributions to the forum, this thread and your posts are exactly what I've been looking for and wasn't able to find anywhere else

Edit: I was thinking about the TRN Black Pearl but didn't want to have something with added bulk to carry around and liked the portability of a dongle. Seeing what you have mentioned in that post, and also the fact that the Black Pearl has a detachable cable I'll be able to replace in case anything happens has me feeling pretty strong about it. It's also much cheaper than the current amazon price of $44.99 for the Stargate II. Safe to say I'll go for this. Thank you again!

 

[jkim]

Wow! What an in-depth and detailed review! Thank you so much for these contributions to the forum, this thread and your posts are exactly what I've been looking for and wasn't able to find anywhere else

Edit: I was thinking about the TRN Black Pearl but didn't want to have something with added bulk to carry around and liked the portability of a dongle. Seeing what you have mentioned in that post, and also the fact that the Black Pearl has a detachable cable I'll be able to replace in case anything happens has me feeling pretty strong about it. It's also much cheaper than the current amazon price of $44.99 for the Stargate II. Safe to say I'll go for this. Thank you again!

You may also consider the FiiO Melody. It has an advantage in its form factor with much lower weight and slightly smaller size, if you want to carry it around often.

 

[HissingFree]

Jcally JM7 Max reviewed:

List of reports for Jcally JM7MAX - Reference Audio Analyzer

Links to summary reports for JM7MAX and pages for comparison with other devices

reference-audio-analyzer.pro

Noise floor is much lower than other cheap options like CB1200AU, CX31993+MAX97220, etc (but still higher than CS43131). Almost 2V even at 32 ohms. Jitter still looks the same as other CX31993 tested devices.

Now I only miss CS46L41 testing. I understand people dislike the Cirrus Hump so much lately, but CS46L41 could be very good in the very cheap price range, if it isn't worse than Apple Dongle's CS46L06 dac, which there is a high chance it's not, without the whole Vrms reduction BS.

 

[gabo4au]

Came across this thread because it's what I was looking for.

I have a Fosi DS2. which is great for more critical listening. I use that term lightly as I would do actual critical headphone listening on my laptop with my RME interface and full headphones. But for relatively critical listening using my phone and earbuds, the Fosi is pretty good.

But there are also many times where I just want more casual listening and with phones no longer having headphone interfaces, I wanted something cheap. Something I could leave in the car, use while working out, leave next to my drum kit for in ear practicing, etc. etc. Basically something that I would leave with each headphone set, so I could just plug it into my phone and go.

After reading a lot here, I looked at a number of the recommendations.. Most of the recommended ones came in anywhere from $15 to about $40. All higher than I wanted to pay for a "throw down" cheap interface.

So I took a chance, well not that big of a chance, on a brand called "Lertosen" off amazon. They sold a pair of these things for $5.99! I figured they would be unusable, but it was only $5.99 so why not give it a try. Turns out, at least on my Android OnePlus 13R phone, they worked pretty good. Yea, not the greatest noise floor, but good enough for all the things I wanted them for.

They worked so well, I ordered a 2nd pair. Now for around $12 + tax, I have 4 of these things and can leave them in all the places I need to plug in a cheap pair of buds. And I don't have to worry about losing them, damaging them, or whatever. Cheap enough to grab a couple more should I need them. YMMV...

 

[Koenjer]

I recently discovered this threat. I want to select a dongle for FM/MPX output. This means a flat frequency and phase response up to +/- 70 kHz. Which dongle is currently best for this? I want the quality to be as high as possible.

 

[gabo4au]

I recently discovered this threat. I want to select a dongle for FM/MPX output. This means a flat frequency and phase response up to +/- 70 kHz. Which dongle is currently best for this? I want the quality to be as high as possible.

Probably should start a different thread. This thread is for "cheap USB-C headphone dongles." Your application doesn't seem to be for headphones and if you're looking for flat to 70Khz with "quality as high as possible," it's also not going to be cheap. My understanding is that what you're looking for is typically used to connect your radio studio to your transmitter...

 

[benasocj]

Since Hi-Max CB1200AU and Grave Audio DA06 (CX31993) have been recommended in this thread I wanted to ask if someone (maybe @mc.god since you own both) could please make a comment about the ADC (line-in) quality since I plan to use the dongle mainly for phone calls which should be of fairly good quality.

That would be appreciated .