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Fosi Audio DS2 Portable DAC & Amp Review

Rate this portable DAC & HP Amp

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 2 0.7%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 4 1.4%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 7 2.4%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 280 95.6%

  • Total voters
    293
Curious if anyone has used this with Roon, if so, what setting does Roon use for fixed volume? What cable adapters are folks using from the 4mm balanced to dual TRS or XLR plugs, assuming both pin 2 and 4 are grounds on the 4mm out?
 
Curious if anyone has used this with Roon, if so, what setting does Roon use for fixed volume? What cable adapters are folks using from the 4mm balanced to dual TRS or XLR plugs, assuming both pin 2 and 4 are grounds on the 4mm out?
Pin 2 & 4 aren't grounds. Only pin 5. I don't believe anyone has confirmed that the balanced headphone jack can be safely used for balanced line out.
 
Pin 2 & 4 aren't grounds. Only pin 5. I don't believe anyone has confirmed that the balanced headphone jack can be safely used for balanced line out.
Thanks, so for those using for dac only, with say 3.5mm to dual rca, how do you bypass the headphone amp and get fixed line level out, or is this possible?
 
Thanks, so for those using for dac only, with say 3.5mm to dual rca, how do you bypass the headphone amp and get fixed line level out, or is this possible?
You cannot bypass the built-in headphone Amp.

You can get fixed-level Line out by just not touching the volume sliders/buttons.
 
Thanks, so for those using for dac only, with say 3.5mm to dual rca, how do you bypass the headphone amp and get fixed line level out, or is this possible?
you just have to set it to max volume via it's volume buttons so that it outputs reference 2 Vrms and leave it be. Otherways you can set your external amp to a fixed volume and use the DS2 to control volume digitally.
 
A big thank you to Amir for the review. :D

The DS2 is one of our products as we make our entry into the high-performance DAC market. The DAC market is filled with many outstanding companies with which everyone is familiar. We will humbly learn from these companies as we continue to grow, and we hope to follow in their footsteps by bringing Fosi Audio’s unique touch to DACs for audiophiles worldwide. In addition to portable DACs, we’ll soon be introducing a desktop DAC as well.:cool:

To show our appreciation for the support from ASR members, we’re offering a special discount code for the DS2. You can use this code to get 20% off your DS2 purchase!;)
ASRDS220

link:
https://fosiaudio.com/products/fosi-audio-ds2-2024-dac-headphone-amplifier
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTHN2QB3
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0BJ66KJ2B
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0BJ66KJ2B
https://www.ebay.com/itm/296311456320
I have a quick question re: performance. I have a pair of HD-800s and a pair of HifiMan Model X planars. Will this device drive both of those not only with sufficient headroom but with sufficient sound quality? I know with terrestrial speakers, I sometimes find that I have not been driving them with enough power, and an amp upgrade produces a much fuller sound with more bass boost, etc. So, if I buy one of these models, can I stop worrying about that and rest assured that I am getting the best possible sound out of my headphones? Sorry if this is an obvious or foolish question-- I don't have any training re: how this stuff works, so I just have to ask people who do! Thanks a million!
 
Stupid me, I realized there was a discount code after I ordered it. Still looking forward to receiving yet another audio product. Life is short. Have fun.
$10. About the price of a cup of coffee in some cities nowadays...
 
Only for Android. And the rest of its tech specs, especially output power, clearly match the price.
More proof that the world needs an RME portable DAC/HPA...
 
Ordered from their site, discount worked, but it's a "pre-order" not shipping till October 12th. Is the case for other people (I'm in U.S.)?
 
Ordered from their site, discount worked, but it's a "pre-order" not shipping till October 12th. Is the case for other people (I'm in U.S.)?
All I see on my order from a couple days ago on the FOSI site is: Standard Shipping (5-15 days)
 
What is an RME portable DAC/HPA?
OK, back to basics it is:
(please don't feel belittled, this is a feeble attempt at humor of mine)
- RME is a brand of mostly professional audio equipment. Website: https://rme-audio.de/home.html
- Portable means it is designed to carry with or on you, and thus compact as well as powered via USB (of your soundsource, smartphone, laptop) and/or internal rechargable battery. There is no consensus on the dimensional requirements to call a device compact. I say: it should fit in a regular coat-pocket. There is no consensus on what is a normal size pocket.
- DAC is short for digital-to-analog converter. It's an electronic circuit that (simply put) converts the bitstream of a digitally stored/streamed audiofile into the corresponding analog voltage-stream, ready for: amplification!
- HPA is short for headphone amplifier. I won't go any further into that.

So to answer your question: it's all of the above in a single box. It doesn't exist. Plenty of brands produce portable DAC/HPA's, ranging in quality from abysmal to excellent, and in price from cheap to stupidly expensive. No clear correlation between those two, by the way.
RME makes good stuff. Real good. Used in professional studios around the world. It's more consumer-oriented equipment has a very dedicated following. Because their stuff is good. Also: not cheap, but overall fairly priced. A small subgroup of that following thinks that RME should just produce every device they want, because RME is supposedly the only brand doing things right. Some do not only think that, but say it out loud too. They might be right, for all I know. I'm a speaker-person. I never use a heaphone at home. I am considering it as of lately, since I listened to my neighbour's Sennheiser HD650. Expenses are on my horizon.
 
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Usually when the review is about a DAC, in a brief delay the RME band is coming explaining how much better the RME is better. For this one, RME is arriving only on page 13. Guinness book of records is validating.
 
Picked up my DS2 today. Haven't used it much, but initial impressions are quite positive. Setup was I also found one issueplug-and-play, and all sample rates from 44100–384000 fs work without issues. A sample change rate results in a fade-out + fade-in — no clicks or pops. Also tried DSD64 with foobar2000 in exclusive mode, works flawlessly. The sound is clear and neutral, and the DS2 drives my headphones without issue.

Edit: found one issue. When skipping through a track in exclusive mode, there is a discontinuity — it fades out and in, just like a sample rate change. This is true even when using SoundKeeper. Normal shared mode is fine. Will perform more tests tomorrow.
Mine arrived and sounds great, however one issue, according to the manual LED light (should) change color with different sample rate, mine stays RED whatever files it's fed, or is this an android phone problem?, i'm using Poweramp as my software player of choice.
 
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