HIDIZS S8 USB-C Headphone Adapter Review

[OpiateSkittles]

Wow, very impressive. The same excellent product at half the price .
Thank you so much friends

You've probably ordered one or the other already, but I'd look at my last comment on page 22. I own the Meizu pro and Sonata HD pro and the Meizu suffers from interference over a cellular connection, rendering it only usable over wifi. I'm unable to find out if this is just a fault in my unit or if it's the same with all Meizu pros because Meizu customer service won't respond to my emails at all. On the flip side, I had an issue with a Hidizs Sonata S3, and Hidizs helped me out immediately. From my interactions with Tempotec on Aliexpress, I'd venture to say that Tempotec is as good as Hidizs with customer service. Big win for the Tempotec Sonata HD Pro. It sounds better (not by much), has a replaceable cable, and is generally 5 dollars cheaper than the Meizu.

 

[Zarniwoop]

Hi here. Ive been cruising this site for a while but never felt the need to chime in on the forum (i do enough of that on reddit and over at head fi). I own the Tempotec Sonata HD Pro and the Meizu Hifi Pro and...

...you made the right choice. They do sound similar (though I'd give the edge to the Sonata in almost all aspects) but the Meizu has one glaring problem that depends on your usage, and could actually be two problems. While it works fine over wifi, over cellular connection it suffers from bad interference that essentially renders it unusable over cellular. I am unsure of whether or not this is the case with all Hifi Pros because (problem number two) their customer service is absolutely non existant. I've sent more than one email about the issue because to send mine back to hifigo would cost nearly as much as I paid for it and, with other equipment, I just use it over wifi where it works right.

Anyway, even taking that out of the mix, I think the Tempotec is the better dongle. It appears more sturdy, has a replaceable cable, and sounds better (somehow, it also gets louder with UAPP than the Meizu, which puzzles me looking at the hardware.) In addition, again, it sounds better to my ears, with more texture and weight to the bass, and a wider stage.

Rest easy friend, you made the right call.

Thanks for the reassurance. Good to have this real-world validation from someone who has both devices.

I'm currently using my Hidizs AP80 DAP as a DAC from laptop to amp & speakers, and I'd rather not have to do that. It's an excellent DAP/DAC and I'm surprised the OP or others have not done measurements for it. Maybe they have?

 

[Lucco]

Is a Sennheiser HD-58X Jubilee + Hidizs s8 [or Tempotec Sonata HD Pro] a good set?
From what I have read about them individually, apparently they are a good deal for the price, so I would like to know if they together make a good set.

 

[Veri]

Is a Sennheiser HD-58X Jubilee + Hidizs s8 [or Tempotec Sonata HD Pro] a good set?

Yes!

 

[tobes]

Is a Sennheiser HD-58X Jubilee + Hidizs s8 [or Tempotec Sonata HD Pro] a good set?

I've got that combination and they sound great together.

 

[audioexpress]

I guess it's not MFi? That might explain why it's not selling on Amazon ...

 

[Zarniwoop]

I guess it's not MFi? That might explain why it's not selling on Amazon ...

What is MFi?

 

[Nango]

CS41431 has way more consumption of battery, this is 50mA vs ~23mA with the new Qualcomm WHS chip, so your battery should last double the listening time with newer dongles.

 

[DarrylG]

What is MFi?

It's Apple certification.

 

[thingswelostinthefire]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post, so... first of all: very interesting forum, thanks to you all for your measurements, tests, efforts and comments!

I'd like to use a Tempotec Sonata HD Pro mainly on my Ubuntu laptop: anyone tried the dongle on Linux?

Thanks again!

 

[digititus]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post, so... first of all: very interesting forum, thanks to you all for your measurements, tests, efforts and comments!

I'd like to use a Tempotec Sonata HD Pro mainly on my Ubuntu laptop: anyone tried the dongle on Linux?

Thanks again!

It works without issue.

 

[Smokingpacman]

How does the S8 compare to the E30? I just bought an E30 and right after doing so, I see this review. I'm scared that I may have spent more money than I needed to. I only use USB for audio and I run the output into a JDS Atom to drive a HD58X and it seems the S8 delivers fantastic audio, so I don't see the E30 having too many advantages (in my case) over the S8.

 

[Veri]

How does the S8 compare to the E30? I just bought an E30 and right after doing so, I see this review. I'm scared that I may have spent more money than I needed to. I only use USB for audio and I run the output into a JDS Atom to drive a HD58X and it seems the S8 delivers fantastic audio, so I don't see the E30 having too many advantages (in my case) over the S8.

The E30 has more inputs, a screen.. It should also be more resistant against noise and power pollution over USB which can sometimes be an issue with dongles. other than that, the hidisz is very good in its own class.
If the S8 is ~$80 and the E30 ~$120 I reckon the E30 as a desktop DAC is still worth the price difference. Far more reliable, better resale value, ...

 

[Smokingpacman]

The E30 has more inputs, a screen.. It should also be more resistant against noise and power pollution over USB which can sometimes be an issue with dongles. other than that, the hidisz is very good in its own class.
If the S8 is ~$80 and the E30 ~$120 I reckon the E30 as a desktop DAC is still worth the price difference. Far more reliable, better resale value, ...

Thanks I guess I'll end up buying both haha

 

[Veri]

Thanks I guess I'll end up buying both haha

LOL yeah that works

 

[Zarniwoop]

My Sonata HD Pro arrived and sadly is unusable on my laptop. Non-stop glitch, crackle, pop, drop-out fest. Tried everything: setting buffers to max, latency monitor, disabling anything I could in device manager, running barebones services, different USB sockets and hubs, different USB leads, Tempotech ASIO driver, ASIO4ALL, DS driver, WASAPI, Foobar, Groove Music, 16-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit output, etc, etc. It works perfectly fine connected to phone or DAP, and sounds great, so I'm guessing the device itself is fine, just bad synergy with my laptop (HP ENVY Ryzen 2500U). Playback is perfect on this laptop with Topping D10, and Hidizs AP80 in DAC mode. Have yet to test the Sonata on another PC.

 

[Asylum Seeker]

My Sonata HD Pro arrived and sadly is unusable on my laptop. Non-stop glitch, crackle, pop, drop-out fest. Tried everything, latency monitor, disabling anything I could in device manager, running barebones services, different USB sockets and hubs, different USB leads, Tempotech ASIO driver, ASIO4ALL, DS driver, WASAPI, Foobar, Groove Music, 16-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit output, etc, etc. It works perfectly fine connected to phone or DAP, and sounds great, so I'm guessing the device itself is fine, just bad synergy with my laptop (HP ENVY Ryzen 2500U). Have yet to test on another PC.

So, with a PC nothing but cacophony, unusable, but with smartphone Plug-and-Play and smooth as butter?

 

[Zarniwoop]

So, with a PC nothing but cacophony, unusable, but with smartphone Plug-and-Play and smooth as butter?

Yep. Works fine on Android phone with Poweramp and Hiby Player. Not a single glitch. Strange this is not reported by anyone else on PC. I'll know if it's my laptop when I get a chance to test on another PC. It's a shame as I only wanted it for a lightweight travel DAC with laptop. And other DACs work perfectly with the same machine.

 

[Asylum Seeker]

Yep. Works fine on Android phone with Poweramp and Hiby Player. Not a single glitch. Strange this is not reported by anyone else on PC. I'll know if it's my laptop when I get a chance to test on another PC. It's a shame as I only wanted it for a lightweight travel DAC with laptop. And other DACs work perfectly with the same machine.

That's what I thought. Thanks.

 

[Zarniwoop]

After further testing it seems the glitching only happens when laptop is plugged into mains. On battery it's perfect. Will test plugged into other mains outlets.

[edit] Tested plugged into several other mains sockets and the glitchfest remains. Head scratching at this point.