Dongle DAC not requiring driver on Windows 10

[jkuc003]

Hi all, two questions here -

I'm after a DAC/amp which can run my DCA Aeon Closed RT's from my work computer, unfortunately IT will not permit any drivers to be installed.

Alternatively if I can run it from my Samsung phone whilst simultaneously charging that would be fine. I see you can purchase this Y splitter from E1DA, does anyone know if this will allow my phone to charge whilst listening through the DAC? Or would it at least power the DAC so my phone battery isn't drained too quickly throughout the day? Either option is fine.

I think I prefer the Hidizs S9 Pro over the E1DA but am concerned at how much power it uses. I listen at relatively quiet levels in the office so may not be a concern.

Any direction would be much appreciated.

Further to this, I caught a thread where apparently the standard Dummer cable from DCA is 4 core down to the connector, meaning in theory I would be able to swap out the single ended connector for a balanced 2.5mm/4.4mm TRRS, has anyone done this before - before I go cutting off the factory connector?

 

[somebodyelse]

If your phone supports USB Power Delivery (PD) you should be able to use it with a PD-compatible USB hub to power both the phone and DAC while listening.

 

[Deleted member 46664]

Hi all, two questions here -

I'm after a DAC/amp which can run my DCA Aeon Closed RT's from my work computer, unfortunately IT will not permit any drivers to be installed.

This sounds like a pretty simple problem ...

First ... can you just plug your headphones directly into the computer?

If you need to go external, instead of buying a computer interface from an audio company, take a look at audio interfaces from a computer company. The difference is that most "external sound cards" don't need drivers, they will plug and play into Windows and the drivers are actually in the dongles. Thus no drivers installed on work computers.

If you don't need 3 buckets of LOUD... A couple of my friends have had good luck with these UGREEN Dongles (Don't let the price fool you, they're inexpensive because of simple design, not corner cutting)

 

[staticV3]

I see you can purchase this Y splitter from E1DA, does anyone know if this will allow my phone to charge whilst listening through the DAC?

That Y-splitter allows you to power the DAC with an external power supply, like a powerbank. That way the DAC will not discharge your phone's battery.

If you want to charge your phone while using a DAC, then you can do that using a USB hub with Power Delivery pass-through like this.
I did a bunch of testing with that hub, which you can find here.
In case you can't find that specific hub on sale anymore, there are a few clones around, which use basically the same internals.

I think I prefer the Hidizs S9 Pro over the E1DA but am concerned at how much power it uses.

Unfortunately the only measurements we have of the S9 Pro are some rudimentary scope graphs made by hiendportable.
Turn that into a max Vrms vs Load graph and you get this.
As you can see, it appears that for high loads, there is zero advantage to using the S9 Pro's 2.5mm balanced headphone output.
For reference, at 13Ω the 9038S can do 2.9Vrms at 1% THD+N. In terms of perceived loudness, it will be 75% louder than the S9 Pro.

Regarding power consumption, here are all my dongles:

Unfortunately I don't know where the S9 Pro would slot into this graph.

in theory I would be able to swap out the single ended connector for a balanced 2.5mm/4.4mm TRRS, has anyone done this before - before I go cutting off the factory connector?

Not with DCA's Dummer cable, but I've done this mod with other stock 3.5mm cables.

 

[jkuc003]

That Y-splitter allows you to power the DAC with an external power supply, like a powerbank. That way the DAC will not discharge your phone's battery.

If you want to charge your phone while using a DAC, then you can do that using a USB hub with Power Delivery pass-through like this.
I did a bunch of testing with that hub, which you can find here.
In case you can't find that specific hub on sale anymore, there are a few clones around, which use basically the same internals.


Unfortunately the only measurements we have of the S9 Pro are some rudimentary scope graphs made by hiendportable.
Turn that into a max Vrms vs Load graph and you get this.
As you can see, it appears that for high loads, there is zero advantage to using the S9 Pro's 2.5mm balanced headphone output.
For reference, at 13Ω the 9038S can do 2.9Vrms at 1% THD+N. In terms of perceived loudness, it will be 75% louder than the S9 Pro.

Regarding power consumption, here are all my dongles:
View attachment 207141
Unfortunately I don't know where the S9 Pro would slot into this graph.


Not with DCA's Dummer cable, but I've done this mod with other stock 3.5mm cables.

Excellent info, thanks heaps!

I had seen that load graph and was hoping you may be around to give me some direction. Sounds like the E1DA 9038S may be the way to go, I can live with the splitter only powering the DAC.

Hopefully it's no problem installing a 2.5mm trrs on the end of the dummer, looks like this person managed it but theirs looks to be the sleeved version of the cable which is potentially different to those which currently come with the Aeons. Still waiting on a response from DCA. Once I hear back I'll make an order for the 9038S.