• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Fosi Audio DS2 Portable DAC & Amp Review

Rate this portable DAC & HP Amp

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 4 1.2%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 5 1.5%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 12 3.7%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 306 93.6%

  • Total voters
    327
Yeah, no, still doing it.

It might have something to do with listening to 2 audio streams, as it only seems to do it when another app is playing audio

I'm playing a game at the same time so Window$ might be mixing 2 streams.

Also, it's not a skip, it's more like a stop and fade in, so is it continually restarting? It's not getting hot, so can't see it a thermal cut-out issue.
OK, bit more testing and it seems to be something to do with bluetooth. I'm using a PS5 DualSense controller connected via BT to the PC and skipping occurs when using that, no skipping if I disable BT or turn the controller of, turn it on and use it and skipping returns, weird!

Have a check if you're using anything BT, mouse etc.

No idea why BT would be affecting it but have seen problems with graphics stuttering using BT devices, headphones, controllers mice etc.
 
The Kuang Pai Player 3 arrived today, and despite the different implementation, it ended up using the same Savitech usb bridge than DS2 and Sonata BHD, showing the same behavior about the "ramp-up" after going in "powersave mode".
Just testing now, in Linux audio properties panel -> speakers test , clicking on "front left" you can only hear "ont left", then after 5 second clicking on "front right" you can hear "ront rght", so right channel come up a fraction earlier than left one (panning effect), both truncating the very first samples.
My complete impressions on the dongle here
https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...ed-to-cirrus-logic-cs43131.23138/post-2140861
When using KUANG PAI Player3, I noticed the following problem - if this DAC is used with KZ PR2 headphones on the balanced output, an unpleasant background sound appears, a changing high frequency, as if a frequency generator is working. At the same time, the DAC starts to heat up a lot. I did not notice such a problem with Artti t10 headphones. If you connect KZ PR2 to this DAC via the 3.5 output, there is no problem with background sound. Do you have any ideas regarding this problem? Could the low impedance of KZ PR2 (15 Ohm) be a problem? Although the impedance of Artti T10 is 16 Ohm...
 
When using KUANG PAI Player3, I noticed the following problem - if this DAC is used with KZ PR2 headphones on the balanced output, an unpleasant background sound appears, a changing high frequency, as if a frequency generator is working. At the same time, the DAC starts to heat up a lot. I did not notice such a problem with Artti t10 headphones. If you connect KZ PR2 to this DAC via the 3.5 output, there is no problem with background sound. Do you have any ideas regarding this problem? Could the low impedance of KZ PR2 (15 Ohm) be a problem? Although the impedance of Artti T10 is 16 Ohm...
Hi and welcome to ASR.
Honestly no idea about this issue, I'm using the Player 3 with Sgor Luna (Planar - 27 ohm - 96 dbmW) on the balanced output in low gain mode, never got any strange noise and the dongle never shown any sign of heating. If with Artti T10 it's ok it doesn't seems something related to impedance load, unless there is something with the PR2 sensitivity. They are rated at 94 db not specifying if dbV or dbmW, if it is dbmW (as i suspect) they are pretty similar to T10 while if it is dbV, @ 16 ohm it would equate to 75 dbmW, a pretty low sensitivity i've never seen on any other iem. But then I think the problem should be present and even worsen with unbalanced connection.

Do you use the same balanced cable also with T10? Maybe something with the 4.4 mm plug not perfectly inserted? I can say that both the headphone sockets of the Player 3 don't have a super solid feeling when plugging\unplugging the cable, they don't produce a nice click and feel somewhat "rubbery", but never had a real problem with both.
 
Hi and welcome to ASR.
Honestly no idea about this issue, I'm using the Player 3 with Sgor Luna (Planar - 27 ohm - 96 dbmW) on the balanced output in low gain mode, never got any strange noise and the dongle never shown any sign of heating. If with Artti T10 it's ok it doesn't seems something related to impedance load, unless there is something with the PR2 sensitivity. They are rated at 94 db not specifying if dbV or dbmW, if it is dbmW (as i suspect) they are pretty similar to T10 while if it is dbV, @ 16 ohm it would equate to 75 dbmW, a pretty low sensitivity i've never seen on any other iem. But then I think the problem should be present and even worsen with unbalanced connection.

Do you use the same balanced cable also with T10? Maybe something with the 4.4 mm plug not perfectly inserted? I can say that both the headphone sockets of the Player 3 don't have a super solid feeling when plugging\unplugging the cable, they don't produce a nice click and feel somewhat "rubbery", but never had a real problem with both.
Hi! I used the same cable for both PR2 and T10. I connected the DAC to a smartphone and a laptop. Everywhere in the combination of Kuang Pai Player 3 + KZ PR2 there was background sound and heating of the DAC. I read about a similar problem on another forum. But the essence of the problem was not found there.
P.S. I'm trying to connect the 4.4 plug correctly until it's fully connected.
 
Hi! I used the same cable for both PR2 and T10. I connected the DAC to a smartphone and a laptop. Everywhere in the combination of Kuang Pai Player 3 + KZ PR2 there was background sound and heating of the DAC. I read about a similar problem on another forum. But the essence of the problem was not found there.
P.S. I'm trying to connect the 4.4 plug correctly until it's fully connected.
Well, if the same cable is used with T10 then the plug insertion question can be excluded, at this point the only thing that remains, since PR2 works well with unbalanced connection, is some kind of problem they have with balanced connections, but frankly I cannot imagine what it could be, since 2 pins connectors are compatible with balanced connections for their nature. I cannot be of help, sorry.
 
Has anyone compared the DS2 vs SK02. I have Sundara Closed-back headphones and looking for a DAC/amp for them.
 
Has anyone compared the DS2 vs SK02. I have Sundara Closed-back headphones and looking for a DAC/amp for them.

Not tried the DS2, but I have just bought a Dunu DTC480 (another 2xCS43198 clone, same as DS2), and that has zero issues driving either my Sundara Closed Back or HE400SE, even on the low gain setting.

As I think Amir has said on both this and the Tanchjim Space review, these tiny 2xCS43198 dongles are proper desktop headphone dac/amp replacements. Probably going to get another one so I have one permanently connected to my iMac, and then the other for portable use.
 
Yes, that's right, headphones balanced cables don't have sleeve pin connected, for line connection you'll have to use something like this
https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005005993835469.html
but ONLY if DS2 is confirmed to have common ground internally connected.
Ground pin was confirmed connected to USB ground.
Received one of these as a gift and it measures way better than my existing DAC, a Cambridge DacMagic (non-plus). Is there any downside of using the DS2 as a desktop DAC? Like headphone out to amp input impedance issues or something?

If not:
Seeing as this $50 portable amp at 117db SINAD outperforms most desktop DAC's under $200 wouldn't this be an excellent budget DAC recommendation?
 
Ground pin was confirmed connected to USB ground.
Received one of these as a gift and it measures way better than my existing DAC, a Cambridge DacMagic (non-plus). Is there any downside of using the DS2 as a desktop DAC? Like headphone out to amp input impedance issues or something?

If not:
Seeing as this $50 portable amp at 117db SINAD outperforms most desktop DAC's under $200 wouldn't this be an excellent budget DAC recommendation?
Hi and welcome to ASR.
No downside using the DS2 as a desktop dac, setting it's hardware volume buttons to max it will output 2 V (3.5 mm out) - 4 V (4.4 mm out) when connected to a line level input of an amp, producing respectively the 112 db and 117 db sinad you see in the first dashboards af Amir's test (600 ohm load).

Again form his review conclusions:
If you are short of space, the DS2 can easily play the role of a desktop DAC.
 
I'm brand new to DACs and high end audio but just picked up a DS2 (2024 one with Cirrus Logic CS43131) and find it works very well. No issues on my iPhone 15, my M3 MacBook Pro, nor my Windows 23H2 PC. Just plug & play on all devices. I just ordered a balanced 4.4mm cable for my Sennheiser HD 490 PRO (130 ohm) to see if any difference in sound, although the DS2 seems to drive these very well with the 3.5mm cable, far louder than I can listen to them especially on Windows.

What bitrate do you recommend I use in Windows? Currently have it set to 24bit 352800 Hz and it sounds a bit better than 24/44100. Also have you found the volume buttons on the DS2 change the sound negatively.. ie should I keep the DS2 volume at a certain level and then adjust volume in Windows instead? Higher volume on the DS2 and lower in Windows seems to sound a bit better than visa versa. And lastly, there is a QR code to download a driver in the DS2 manual.. any advantage installing this over using the default Microsoft usbaudio2.sys one?

Thanks in advance!!
 
Would love to see why FOSI still charges more for the DS1. I've got one I can send Amir if he's interested in testing it. Idk if that's normal around here or not.
 
Good day, I wanted to ask, is Fosi Audio DS2 better than Fosi Audio SK02 for desktop use (I have easy to drive headphones, like Beyer's 770 Pro X LE and Philips 9500) with Win11 PC (not laptop)? Have anyone compared them somehow?
Thank you!
 
Is it usual for dacs like this to mute the first second of audio if no audio was played for ~20 seconds.
I'm using a windows 11 pc and it is muting notification sounds sometimes.
The solution I found is to play a looped spotify song on mute forever so its not a big issue I just want to know if any one else is experiencing it
 
Is it usual for dacs like this to mute the first second of audio if no audio was played for ~20 seconds.
I'm using a windows 11 pc and it is muting notification sounds sometimes.
The solution I found is to play a looped spotify song on mute forever so its not a big issue I just want to know if any one else is experiencing it
Hi and welcome to ASR.
Yes, this is a very common behavior, many users here experienced it with DS2 and some other similar dongles and is probably due to energy saving setting in the usb bridge for mobility usage with smartphones. I can confirm it with Jcally JM20, Tempotec Sonata BHD and Kuang Pai Player 3, with small variability in the time the "standby" engages in.
 
Anyone actually know how effective the energy saving is? Realise this could actually be very useful when used with a mobile phone as it puts out a fair bit of power. Not so much, when connected to a computer however, I guess. . Thanks.
 
Considering there's a driver for it, you'd think it could be programmed to keep awake when connected to a computer instead of a phone.
 
Hello everyone! this is my first post after reading some reviews here and having bought the Fosi DS2 because of its technical achievements.

I can confirm the annoying ramp up (or fade in) effect: this device is the nemesis of any system of notifications, already based on this I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Based on my tests:
  • On a Dell XPS 15 9500 with Windows 11 (the company laptop) I have experienced drop outs while listening to music.
  • On my PC with Fedora 41 or a Samsung S23 (even this from my company) I haven't experienced drop outs while listening to music.
I would not recommend it at all for a Windows user, the driver from their site in my case causes even more frequent drop outs, buying this using Windows is a gamble.

On Linux you can remove the ramp up effect
(hence it can work well for notifications) doing a loopback with no sound, something like this:
pactl load-module module-null-sink sink_name=keepalive
pactl load-module module-loopback source=keepalive.monitor

With the Samsung S23 I also heard some strange electrical noise (mainly while physically moving the DAC) but for now it doesn't seem serious.

My headphones are the Sennheiser HD 599 SE and before buying the Fosi I have bought a UGREEN USB-C to jack DAC.
I have bought the Fosi out of curiosity seeing this review and because I was thinking that the UGREEN was "too cheap to be good".
Between them the UGREEN is the clear winner for my use case and setup:
  • I don't ear the difference probably because the 599 SE are really easy to drive;
  • It doesn't ramp up or drop out sounds on any of my devices;
  • It is more portable (even if I don't care too much about this, the Fosi is already "enough portable" for me);
  • It is cheaper, 10 euros vs 60 euros for the Fosi.
The only thing which is really important but I can't assess right now is the durability of both these DACs, time will tell.
The software and firmware issues with the Fosi in my opinion are a deal breaker, I will keep it but probably don't use it much.

In the end it was a waste of money for me but at least now I have some more experience about this stuff.

Thanks for reading, I hope that you find this useful!
 

Attachments

  • fosi_ugreen.jpg
    fosi_ugreen.jpg
    451.8 KB · Views: 38
Hello everyone! this is my first post after reading some reviews here and having bought the Fosi DS2 because of its technical achievements.

I can confirm the annoying ramp up (or fade in) effect: this device is the nemesis of any system of notifications, already based on this I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Based on my tests:
  • On a Dell XPS 15 9500 with Windows 11 (the company laptop) I have experienced drop outs while listening to music.
  • On my PC with Fedora 41 or a Samsung S23 (even this from my company) I haven't experienced drop outs while listening to music.
I would not recommend it at all for a Windows user, the driver from their site in my case causes even more frequent drop outs, buying this using Windows is a gamble.

On Linux you can remove the ramp up effect (hence it can work well for notifications) doing a loopback with no sound, something like this:
pactl load-module module-null-sink sink_name=keepalive
pactl load-module module-loopback source=keepalive.monitor

With the Samsung S23 I also heard some strange electrical noise (mainly while physically moving the DAC) but for now it doesn't seem serious.

My headphones are the Sennheiser HD 599 SE and before buying the Fosi I have bought a UGREEN USB-C to jack DAC.
I have bought the Fosi out of curiosity seeing this review and because I was thinking that the UGREEN was "too cheap to be good".
Between them the UGREEN is the clear winner for my use case and setup:
  • I don't ear the difference probably because the 599 SE are really easy to drive;
  • It doesn't ramp up or drop out sounds on any of my devices;
  • It is more portable (even if I don't care too much about this, the Fosi is already "enough portable" for me);
  • It is cheaper, 10 euros vs 60 euros for the Fosi.
The only thing which is really important but I can't assess right now is the durability of both these DACs, time will tell.
The software and firmware issues with the Fosi in my opinion are a deal breaker, I will keep it but probably don't use it much.

In the end it was a waste of money for me but at least now I have some more experience about this stuff.

Thanks for reading, I hope that you find this useful!
Were you using the DS2 BravoHD driver on Windows?: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2251/7913/files/DS2_2024_driver_20231128.rar?v=1718962916
I have never experienced a single dropout on my Dell Inspiron laptop running Windows 11 Pro 24H2 or my iPhone 11 running iOS 18.11
 
Were you using the DS2 BravoHD driver on Windows?: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2251/7913/files/DS2_2024_driver_20231128.rar?v=1718962916
I have never experienced a single dropout on my Dell Inspiron laptop running Windows 11 Pro 24H2 or my iPhone 11 running iOS 18.11
Yes, when I said "the driver from their site" I meant the BravoHD driver.

As said previously by another user it could be that it depends on model of the laptop, I have to say that this laptop has many issues in general and I wouldn't buy it personally.

If you are interested: I have looked better at its specifications it is a XPS 15 9530, it has a 13900H, 32 GB of RAM and a RTX4060.
 
Back
Top Bottom