Fosi Audio DS2 Portable DAC & Amp Review

[bt3]

Really wanted to purchase Fosi Audio’s affordable DS2 (latest version) dongle.
Fosi will not ship to USPS PO Boxes.
My mailbox was destroyed twice.
No plans to install mailbox number three.
Had to acquire a USPS POB, and they aren’t cheap these days.
Can’t have my mail scattered along the ground again.
Not all us seniors have a circle of friends left to help.
Spouses pass, friends pass..that’s just how life goes.
I was in ICU months ago and survived close call.
We all must help each other best we can.
Fosi Audio. Find a work around. I want to purchase.
Thank you.

​

 

[alexanderino]

Sadly not working on amazon.com.au:
View attachment 393048

Update: the code didn't work on my PC (Opera and Firefox browsers), but applied successfully when using Firefox on Android. After this, I completed the purchase on the PC where the price was now AUD 79.99. Strange, but the workaround works.

 

[Gyosa1]

Sold out on Amazon US …

Bk

 

[Emlin]

Sadly not working on amazon.com.au:
View attachment 393048

Same in the UK. And the 10% code on Amazon has disappeared as well.

Bad show!

 

[beeface]

My mailbox was destroyed twice.

!!!

Why? How?

 

[Gyosa1]

Got one via the ebay link posted by Fosi … coupon worked .

Bk

 

[Brian Hall]

My mailbox was destroyed twice.
No plans to install mailbox number three.
Had to acquire a USPS POB, and they aren’t cheap these days.
Can’t have my mail scattered along the ground again.

I "lost" a few mailboxes and then got one of these. No issues since. Nice steel. Someone tried to hit it with a baseball bat. Part of the bat was left behind.
Also found a big truck mirror on the ground beside it. Have it mounted on a square steel post with rebar through the base 3 feet into the ground and embedded in a lot of concrete. Got it in 2014 and it is still standing.

 

[amirm]

I "lost" a few mailboxes and then got one of these.

Same one I bought. They broke the post but no damage to the mailbox itself. Definitely recommended.

 

[Chuck S]

Don’t know what it is, but I just have a hard time resisting small shiny things that work really well and cost $50. Now I’m going to need some new IEMs to go with all these dongles.

 

[Somafunk]

Lightning to USB-C works as it should?

It “could” work if you use an apple certified OTG audio pass through cable or use the apple camera adapter dongle due to how apple deal with audio through the lightning port, but as your battery discharges or you increase the volume it may reach a level that can not output enough current to supply the DS2 with a suitable signal which will lead to audible artefacts then eventually no signal to iem’s/headphones. If this happens you can unplug the device and plug back in, this “usually” works fine.

DDhifi Apple certified OTG cable here but its pricey, you may be better off buying something such as as this with lightning connector for 3.5mm jacks or this one if you have 4.4mm balanced jacks , there are cheaper options available on the ddhifi page

Or check out Audio Masterclass page below as he goes through it as well.

 

[shuppatsu]

Have it mounted on a square steel post with rebar through the base 3 feet into the ground and embedded in a lot of concrete.

This guy mailboxes!

 

[Cadillacofminds]

I'm real ignorant so no one laugh, the gain on the amp is high level right (to drive high impedance headphones), does this mean it's less efficient driving lower impedance devices, it'll drain your battery more than if you were using that Sonata dongle that seems less maximized for high impedance phones?

 

[Kimbrough Xu]

How do I enter the promotional code on Amazon?
What is the difference between the DS2 and the DS1?
The DS1 on Amazon Italy has a €10 discount coupon.

P.S. On Amazon Italy the discount code for DS2 is not valid.

P.P.S. DS2 69,99€ vs. DS1 79,99€

View attachment 393071View attachment 393072

They have different DAC chip, the DS1 adopts ESS9083, I have one for my DT880, the sound is great.

 

[blodsbror]

I have a Macbook Pro M3 with improved output power. It's really hard to find measurements on it, but if the Fosi can provide some more headroom - it's a no brainer.

 

[Cadillacofminds]

AAh, shouldn't have used that slang, 'phones
When driving low impedance IEMs, will this drain your phone battery faster than dongles that aren't optimized for driving high impedance headphones?

 

[amirm]

AAh, shouldn't have used that slang, 'phones
When driving low impedance IEMs, will this drain your phone battery faster than dongles that aren't optimized for driving high impedance headphones?

The impedance is not going to make a difference. Sensitivity will. I show that in my IEM measurements:

 

[Fosi Audio]

Really wanted to purchase Fosi Audio’s affordable DS2 (latest version) dongle.
Fosi will not ship to USPS PO Boxes.
My mailbox was destroyed twice.
No plans to install mailbox number three.
Had to acquire a USPS POB, and they aren’t cheap these days.
Can’t have my mail scattered along the ground again.
Not all us seniors have a circle of friends left to help.
Spouses pass, friends pass..that’s just how life goes.
I was in ICU months ago and survived close call.
We all must help each other best we can.
Fosi Audio. Find a work around. I want to purchase.
Thank you.

​

Hi friend, we can ship the package to a USPS PO Box. Please contact our team [email protected] and we'll help you sort it out.

 

[Hasan Aydin]

I will measure it next week with my AP to see how much of that purported THD+N loss quoted in a former post is actually present. I suspect nearly none, based on Amir's measurements. Fosi might use an additional driver to keep the DAC chips more clean at lower impedances...

I wonder if its linear phase or a minimum phase?

It's the regular fast roll-off filter built into every cs43131 chip:
View attachment 393107

 

[amirm]

I will measure it next week with my AP to see how much of that purported THD+N loss quoted in a former post is actually present. I suspect nearly none, based on Amir's measurements. Fosi might use an additional driver to keep the DAC chips more clean at lower impedances...

You probably know this but just in case, you can't use AP as the source for this device using ASIO4ALL. It will distort the bitstream. My non-sweep measurements were performed using Roon player with the test signal in exclusive mode to get around this. All USB audio devices in this class do the same thing.

 

[Esprit]

They have different DAC chip, the DS1 adopts ESS9083, I have one for my DT880, the sound is great.

So is it better?