Best cheap USB-C headphone dongles?

[assyll]

which one is best to go from my phone to preamp ? we need only dac not a preamp for phones as we ll put a pre !

 

[inselwissen]

What's the logical next step up from the Hi-Max CB1200AU dongle with similar or better EQ functionality? Having 8 bands is great, but having more wouldn't hurt.

Looking for better audio performance and a little more output power. Also, I'm annoyed by the way the dongle cuts off Windows notifications, which I gather is a power saving thing.

Dongles are probably out of the running if I haven't missed some release. Does the TRN Black Pearl solve these issues or do I have to step up to something like the Qudelix 5k?

 

[IsaacOscar]

What's the logical next step up from the Hi-Max CB1200AU dongle with similar or better EQ functionality? Having 8 bands is great, but having more wouldn't hurt.

Looking for better audio performance and a little more output power. Also, I'm annoyed by the way the dongle cuts off Windows notifications, which I gather is a power saving thing.

Assuming the device itself has no appropriate setting, you can try disabling "USB Selective Suspend"

Spoiler: Instructions

(search for "edit power plan", then click "Change Advanced Power Settings", and look for it under "USB Settings")

Alternatively, Sound Keeper usually works for such issues.

Dongles are probably out of the running if I haven't missed some release. Does the TRN Black Pearl solve these issues or do I have to step up to something like the Qudelix 5k?

Ooh that has 20 bands. Other than only having 10-bands, the TRN Black Pearl or Fiio Melody should be fine. Unless you need lots of power...

The Neutron HiFi DAC has 40-bands (depending on sample rate), but not much power and I can't find where to buy it

 

[AndyBell]

Assuming the device itself has no appropriate setting, you can try disabling "USB Selective Suspend"

Spoiler: Instructions

(search for "edit power plan", then click "Change Advanced Power Settings", and look for it under "USB Settings")

Alternatively, Sound Keeper usually works for such issues.

Ooh that has 20 bands. Other than only having 10-bands, the TRN Black Pearl or Fiio Melody should be fine. Unless you need lots of power...

The Neutron HiFi DAC has 40-bands (depending on sample rate), but not much power and I can't find where to buy it

You can get the Neutron DAC from

Neutron HiFi DAC V1 | Portable hi-res USB DAC and Preamp with DSP (Parametric EQ, Crossfeed, .Surround, Lossless Balance, ...)

Neutron HiFi DAC V1 - portable USB DAC with DSP: 10-40-band per-channel Parametric EQ (PEQ), Crossfeed, FRC/AutoEq, Surround. 32-bit/384 kHz PCM, DSD64-DSD256.

neutronhifi.com

I have one. It has plenty of power for low impedance IEMs. It has no issues with my Sennheiser HD560s either, although the volume you consider acceptable may be different to me…

 

[IsaacOscar]

You can get the Neutron DAC from

Neutron HiFi DAC V1 | Portable hi-res USB DAC and Preamp with DSP (Parametric EQ, Crossfeed, .Surround, Lossless Balance, ...)

Neutron HiFi DAC V1 - portable USB DAC with DSP: 10-40-band per-channel Parametric EQ (PEQ), Crossfeed, FRC/AutoEq, Surround. 32-bit/384 kHz PCM, DSD64-DSD256.

neutronhifi.com

I have one. It has plenty of power for low impedance IEMs. It has no issues with my Sennheiser HD560s either, although the volume you consider acceptable may be different to me…

Thanks, I saw that page and somehow missed the red "buy" button, that is over 5 times the price of the TRN Black Pearl. If it had much more power the price would make sense.

If your happy to pay that much, the Qudelix-T71 is slightly cheaper and has more power, but is only 20-band PEQ. (It's bigger, but if your using it on a desktop computer, who cares).

Personally I've found 10-bands to be enough.
Plus you can always use software PEQ (I like hardware PEQ so I can get the same on both my phone and computer)

 

[AndyBell]

Thanks, I saw that page and somehow missed the red "buy" button, that is over 5 times the price of the TRN Black Pearl. If it had much more power the price would make sense.

If your happy to pay that much, the Qudelix-T71 is slightly cheaper and has more power, but is only 20-band PEQ. (It's bigger, but if your using it on a desktop computer, who cares).

Personally I've found 10-bands to be enough.
Plus you can always use software PEQ (I like hardware PEQ so I can get the same on both my phone and computer)

I like the Neutron DAC because I can use it to get all the DSP provided by the Neutron Player - useful when streaming from Qobuz, etc. It’s DSP is more powerful than the Qudelix, and I guess that’s where the extra cost is incurred.

The power output is sufficient for my needs, and its developer Dmitry provides great support and is happy to receive suggestions.

I have no experience with the Qudelix or its developer, but there’s plenty of good feedback on this forum.

Both are solid choices…

 

[inselwissen]

Thanks for the advice, @IsaacOscar and @AndyBell.

The Neutron HiFi DAC looks nice, but it's a little out of my price range.

I was maybe a bit too excited about having more bands, but 8 is already plenty. Probably won't be needing more than 10. Coming from the JA11, having 8 bands on the CB1200AU was a revelation, though. 5 is definitely too few not to have to make compromises.

Unfortunately, I can't change the power saving settings on my system or install any additional system-level software. I want to use the DAC at work and my work laptop is heavily locked down. But the system noise issue is not a deal breaker anyway. Most of the time, I'm either listening to music or on a call when I have my IEMs in, so I only notice it on rare occasions.

Both the Black Pearl and Melody look good on paper. What's the better buy right now? I know there's been talk about the "Cirrus hump" on here, but the information is scattered all over the forums and may not be accurate anymore. Both FiiO and TRN seem to be receptive to feedback and there's been recent firmware updates. Does anyone have a recent comparison between the two?

 

[IsaacOscar]

Thanks for the advice, @IsaacOscar and @AndyBell.

The Neutron HiFi DAC looks nice, but it's a little out of my price range.

Fair enough, I wouldn't get it either unless I knew I needed all those bands...

Unfortunately, I can't change the power saving settings on my system or install any additional system-level software. I want to use the DAC at work and my work laptop is heavily locked down. But the system noise issue is not a deal breaker anyway. Most of the time, I'm either listening to music or on a call when I have my IEMs in, so I only notice it on rare occasions.

Hmm, people have reported this issue with both the black pearl and melody, so I think it's an OS thing. You could try just constantly playing a silent file (e.g. in a new tab on your Web browser?).

Both the Black Pearl and Melody look good on paper. What's the better buy right now? I know there's been talk about the "Cirrus hump" on here, but the information is scattered all over the forums and may not be accurate anymore.

Both devices have fixed this with a firmware update, so don't worry about it.

Both FiiO and TRN seem to be receptive to feedback and there's been recent firmware updates. Does anyone have a recent comparison between the two?

Apparently they are basically the same, except the Melody (which I have) is smaller:

The software for customising the PEQ is different between the two, so seeing someone compare these would be interesting (The Fiio software has some annoying bugs, and you need an Android phone to change the settings)

There was an issue with people getting sent a version of the black pearl with less features, but that has apparently been fixed.

 

[inselwissen]

If it basically comes down to software, I'm leaning towards the TRN. Never had any problems with the Walkplay Android and browser apps, while I've had some annoying issues using FiiO's app.

Thanks so much, this was really helpful!

 

[HissingFree]

Do any of the "cheaper" dongles out there, such as TRN Black Pearl, also support left/right eq? I think this is always an underrated aspect, as I always find equalizing left/right frequencies of my headphones and IEMs with Equalizer APO.

 

[IsaacOscar]

Do any of the "cheaper" dongles out there, such as TRN Black Pearl, also support left/right eq? I think this is always an underrated aspect, as I always find equalizing left/right frequencies of my headphones and IEMs with Equalizer APO.

I can't speak for the black pearl, but Fiio products (including the Melody) dont support this. There is a channel balance option though (to make one ear louder than the other).

 

[inselwissen]

I ordered a TRN Black Pearl from Amazon and it died within five minutes. Maybe it's a fluke but that doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

I'll get a replacement either way. Sure am glad I didn't order via Aliexpress.

 

[fws]

I ordered a TRN Black Pearl from Amazon and it died within five minutes. Maybe it's a fluke but that doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

I'll get a replacement either way. Sure am glad I didn't order via Aliexpress.

TRN recently pulled a bait and switch on TRN Black Pearl, and sends out what they call "new revision' or "low price version" now. It lacks Walkplay support/EQ, and even mic support doesn't seem to work. You will find some posts about how to spot differences at the recent pages of the appropriate topic

Review of TRN Black Pearl: Portable USB DAC & Headphone Amp with 10-band PEQ

Important Update (8/16/25) WalkPlay/TTGK is another company reacting to the issue of DRE-induced distortion associated with the CS431xx chips! A new firmware release for the TRN Black Pearl changed a key parameter related to DRE operation. With this firmware installed, the Black Pearl does not...

www.audiosciencereview.com

The good part is, some people still got the old one from Amazon, while the new ones were purchased from AliExpress and shipped from China. It was only after being pressured by customers (and a bunch of returns) that TRN even admitted there is a new revision, and they call the old one specifically "TRN Black Pearl Original" now.

 

[inselwissen]

TRN recently pulled a bait and switch on TRN Black Pearl, and sends out what they call "new revision' or "low price version" now. It lacks Walkplay support/EQ, and even mic support doesn't seem to work. You will find some posts about how to spot differences at the recent pages of the appropriate topic

Review of TRN Black Pearl: Portable USB DAC & Headphone Amp with 10-band PEQ

Important Update (8/16/25) WalkPlay/TTGK is another company reacting to the issue of DRE-induced distortion associated with the CS431xx chips! A new firmware release for the TRN Black Pearl changed a key parameter related to DRE operation. With this firmware installed, the Black Pearl does not...

www.audiosciencereview.com

The good part is, some people still got the old one from Amazon, while the new ones were purchased from AliExpress and shipped from China. It was only after being pressured by customers (and a bunch of returns) that TRN even admitted there is a new revision, and they call the old one specifically "TRN Black Pearl Original" now.

That sounds extremely dodgy.

I'll avoid TRN altogether and just look for a good deal on a used Qudelix 5K.

 

[IsaacOscar]

That sounds extremely dodgy.

I'll avoid TRN altogether and just look for a good deal on a used Qudelix 5K.

Or get a Fiio Melody. It's basically the same thing as the TRN Black Pearl, but from a different company and with different software.

 

[inselwissen]

Or get a Fiio Melody. It's basically the same thing as the TRN Black Pearl, but from a different company and with different software.

I didn't have great success with the FiiO software so far.

 

[IsaacOscar]

I didn't have great success with the FiiO software so far.

Oh woops, we've already had this conversation!

 

[inselwissen]

Oh woops, we've already had this conversation!

No worries!

 

[MCH]

Hey folks, does anyone have the datasheet or even brief datasheet of the CB1200AU?

 

[IsaacOscar]

No worries!

FYI @Jeromeof has created some software called devicePEQ that allegedly lets you control the PEQ functionality of various devices (including the Melody), I'll give it a go tomorrow and see if it's any better than fiiocontrol.fiio.com.