Best cheap USB-C headphone dongles?

[staticV3]

At what volume are these figures?

With 300Ω load, it makes no difference. 1% volume and 100% volume show the same current draw at the USB port, when playing music (haven't tested full-scale sines).

 

[MCH]

That's curious, thanks for the learning.

 

[ZolaIII]

The aurvana trio. I didn't even open mine, sold them straight away for 25 euros. I think the same bundle sells in us for 60$. The dongle is great for this price

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That's not Aurvana Trio but Trio LS, huge difference. Trio is 100$ and worth every penny.

 

[MCH]

Whatever, good enough to offset 25 euros out of the 70

 

[Ashimaru]

Meizu hifi and Apple dongle are cheap and very good DAC

 

[kiwifi]

do you like it ? do you have other dac to compare it to ? thanks

I haven't measured it, but it is much better than the DAC in my phone (Umidigi Power 3) which sounds awful in comparison!

 

[aj625]

Hidizs s8 cleanest measurements so far.

 

[ohjabarn]

Meizu hifi and Apple dongle are cheap and very good DAC

Yep, The DAC bit of the Apple dongle is excellent and there is no reason to worry about it being a limiting factor. Apple dongles tend to have the ability to boost the existing sound quality and make it seem more enjoyable.

 

[Ashimaru]

Yep, The DAC bit of the Apple dongle is excellent and there is no reason to worry about it being a limiting factor. Apple dongles tend to have the ability to boost the existing sound quality and make it seem more enjoyable.

Yes, and meizu hifi is several levels above it

 

[amanieux]

Yes, and meizu hifi is several levels above it

i could not hear any difference between meizu hifi pro, apple dongle and my phone internal dac, there was only a difference with my 2009 macbook internal dac

 

[Ashimaru]

i could not hear any difference between meizu hifi pro, apple dongle and my phone internal dac, there was only a difference with my 2009 macbook internal dac

Maybe your cans not too resolved? I think your MacBook has more power, so it's easier to feel the difference

 

[amanieux]

Maybe your cans not too resolved? I think your MacBook has more power, so it's easier to feel the difference

it was very resolving planar, s12, there was also no difference with btr5 balanced output at 240mw so it was not power, more likely my untrained ear i represent the 99% average person not the 1% trained audiophile. amir says he can spot 256k mp3 vs lossless, i believe him, but i cannot

 

[Gallus780]

I have been looking for weeks and I still can't come to the right conclusion.
I am baffled and wondering between two USB dongles – CX31993 or CS43131 (I am not sure if CS46L41 is worth it, feel free to correct me). CS43131 is twice the price of CX31993 but everyone has a different opinion regarding the sound. Have you got any experience with these dongles and what would you suggest? Furthermore, could you rank them (CX31993, CS43131 and CS46L41) from worst to best and explain the difference based on your personal experience?
P.S. I am in Europe and I do not think the Apple dongle is worth it for my Android phone since the EU version is worse compared to the original.

 

[threni]

I have been looking for weeks and I still can't come to the right conclusion.
I am baffled and wondering between two USB dongles – CX31993 or CS43131 (I am not sure if CS46L41 is worth it, feel free to correct me). CS43131 is twice the price of CX31993 but everyone has a different opinion regarding the sound. Have you got any experience with these dongles and what would you suggest? Furthermore, could you rank them (CX31993, CS43131 and CS46L41) from worst to best and explain the difference based on your personal experience?
P.S. I am in Europe and I do not think the Apple dongle is worth it for my Android phone since the EU version is worse compared to the original.

I just got a US Apple A2049 USB - > 3.5mm dongle from a random eBay seller in the states. It meant paying around £21 instead of £9 due to inexplicibly high post/customs charges, but it's worth every penny.

 

[Gallus780]

I just got a US Apple A2049 USB - > 3.5mm dongle from a random eBay seller in the states. It meant paying around £21 instead of £9 due to inexplicibly high post/customs charges, but it's worth every penny.

The MU7E2AM/A the US version and MU7E2ZM/A is the EU, right?

 

[threni]

The MU7E2AM/A the US version and MU7E2ZM/A is the EU, right?

Yes and yes (I just checked my eBay and Apple order history!)

 

[Vantavimeow]

The apple dongle has fuck all power, it's like half the volume of any dongle I've tried.

The Abigail/Avani dongles endorsed by Venture Electronic kick out a surprising amount of power and feel pretty robust. I feel like the Hidiz S8 cable is begging to break just by looking at it.

5.0US $ |Venture Electronics Ve Monk Plus Earbuds Hifi Earphones - Earphones & Headphones - AliExpress

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www.aliexpress.com

You may as well grab them with a pair of Monk+ it's almost the same price.

The "Smoke no mic Abigail" / "Smoke no mic Avani" options.

 

[Gallus780]

The apple dongle has fuck all power, it's like half the volume of any dongle I've tried.

The Abigail/Avani dongles endorsed by Venture Electronic kick out a surprising amount of power and feel pretty robust. I feel like the Hidiz S8 cable is begging to break just by looking at it.

5.0US $ |Venture Electronics Ve Monk Plus Earbuds Hifi Earphones - Earphones & Headphones - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

You may as well grab them with a pair of Monk+ it's almost the same price.

The "Smoke no mic Abigail" / "Smoke no mic Avani" options.

Apart from the power, do you know anything about their sound and how would they change it? And do you mean that the Apple dongle is instantly the best choice from these 3?

 

[Vantavimeow]

Apart from the power, do you know anything about their sound and how would they change it? And do you mean that the Apple dongle is instantly the best choice from these 3?

Not at all, the apple dongle seemed pretty useless for me. Most half decent DAC chips should sound very similar these days. I was content with the Huawei/Oneplus Dongles as well. I just think the Abigail/Avani feel more likely to withstand normal usage since the cable is braided nicely as opposed to paper thin rubber like most phone dongles.

Someone did some subjective testing of a load of dongles

#donglemadness

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I prefer small single piece units as it already sucks that I have to use one in the first place and a metal box isn't going in my pocket with my phone any time soon.

 

[Inhuman]

Not at all, the apple dongle seemed pretty useless for me. Most half decent DAC chips should sound very similar these days. I was content with the Huawei/Oneplus Dongles as well. I just think the Abigail/Avani feel more likely to withstand normal usage since the cable is braided nicely as opposed to paper thin rubber like most phone dongles.

Someone did some subjective testing of a load of dongles

#donglemadness

ANNOUNCEMENT: Effective July 2023, AndyAudioVault and #donglemadness will be 100% running from YouTube only. This site will cease to exist beyond July 2023. The cost of maintaining this site is som…

andyaudiovault.com

I prefer small single piece units as it already sucks that I have to use one in the first place and a metal box isn't going in my pocket with my phone any time soon.

It's just a converter, not a dongle because no chip DAC in it!!! These phone had a build-in DAC but a decent one.

IMO, Abigal and Avani just hyped too much, nothing special, Sonata HD Pro still a best out there