HIDIZS S8 USB-C Headphone Adapter Review

[Veri]

Amir wrote that the s8 "The fidelity was there but not the huge bass impact " for the hd650, has anyone tried it with the hd6xx/650 with this tell me how much of a problem it is when using it? I am currently considering to buy this with the hd 6xx.

If you listen to moderate volumes there is NO problem. Amir just likes to listen loudddd.

 

[Geha]

If you listen to moderate volumes there is NO problem. Amir just likes to listen loudddd.

Thanks, I think I will buy this since the bang for buck seems to be quite good.

 

[raistlin65]

Amir wrote that the s8 "The fidelity was there but not the huge bass impact " for the hd650, has anyone tried it with the hd6xx/650 with this tell me how much of a problem it is when using it? I am currently considering to buy this with the hd 6xx.

I agree with @Veri. Don't expect to listen very loud. Don't expect to add a lot of bass boost. Or if you're listening to a Blu-ray movie, you might expect that dynamic peaks during loud special effects might have trouble getting rendered (Blu-ray has such a wide dynamic range).

But otherwise, at moderately loud volume, it provides a satisfactory listening experience.

 

[DosThou]

Had trouble playing 24/96 files on Sonata Pro with Foobar on PC. Turned out setting output to Wasapi Push fixes it.

Man this thing is just so easy to listen to compared to... some other equipment I just procured, honestly didn't expect the difference to be so contrasting. Has been taking it for granted, reminded me once again why I had no regret selling off ADI-2 and THX amp.

 

[Ghetta Cedric]

I think im going to end up returning my Sonata HD Pro. I really like it except for one issue thats going to drive me insane; the popping/clicking when audio starts and stops. I was trying to use this DAC for general PC use, so youtube, gaming, music, and while I dont originally remember having this issue, it definitely has been bad the last few days. Sigh. The price and performance are there, just this one fault.

Edit: I dont know if I should gamble on another unit. "Yannick Khong" on a facebook budget audiphile group reviewed the Sonata HD Pro, had the same issue, so he chose not to keep it, but later got another one and the issue wasnt present in the second one.

Has anyone else had the issue and gotten a second one that works without the popping?

Go power plan windows, edit power plan, find USB Selective Suspend setting set it to Disable.

 

[Zarniwoop]

Go power plan windows, edit power plan, find USB Selective Suspend setting set it to Disable.

Does nothing. There are extensive guides to eliminating audio glitching on Windows.

 

[Malis]

Here is an unboxing video in my friends Youtube channel of the Hidizs S8, if someone wants to see it. It was bought because of this review:

 

[somy]

E1DA midrange is a little forward I suppose but not too much. It's def not warm, overall a bright sound signature.

I ordered a Lotoo Paw S1, hoping it's good

Hi what do you think of Lotoo Paw S1 comparing to E1DA? I know it’s not as powerful as E1DA, but what about sound?

 

[Matpar]

Hi what do you think of Lotoo Paw S1 comparing to E1DA? I know it’s not as powerful as E1DA, but what about sound?

Hi, curious about that too, I own the S1 (and pretty happy about it btw ), are there any official measurements yet?

 

[DosThou]

Just got Tempotec BHD, won't comment on how it sounds to me subjectively other than I don't think it's worse than Sonata HD Pro/Hidizs S8. Just want to comment how its volume buttons unfortunately still have a rather large gap inbetween. It's less extreme than HD Pro like maybe around 3/4 as much gap per click in comparison but I would have liked it to be 1/3 or at least 1/2 as granular.

So if you're looking for better more granulated volume control, BHD is probably not it unfortunately. I like it better than E1DA Powerdac V2 subjectively speaking however (don't have 9038S/D).

Edit: OK, been getting consistent dropouts playing on an android phone with UAPP. Be warned, might want to wait for a new firmware or something.

 

[flvtch]

I have been following these 'dongle' DAC reviews on this thread for a few days now. Getting a bit of analysis paralysis.

Current set-up: Sony Xperia 5 ii > Source: Foobar (external stored FLAC library) and Spotify > LDAC > ES100 > Spiral Ears SE5u IEMS.

I am torn between the Hidizs S8 (or Temptoec SHD Pro, knowing what we know about these DACs being = ) and the E1DA 9038D. I am conscious of the 9038D being too powerful for the IEMs but note that there is an IEM mode and seen a few other reviews.

Has anyone agonised over the above or can impart any wisdom? Will my IEMs be fine with the 9038 or better off with a less powerful dongle set up? I suspect I'll be fine with any of the above but any insight or discussion is welcome.

Thanks

 

[half_dog]

Hi guys, I've just got a Sonata HD PRO and after installing its driver, tried to do some measurements using an US-366 audio interface (RCA intput, Zin = 15kohm) and I can't get an output voltage over 1Vrms (checked with a multimeter playing a 60Hz sine wave). Am I doing anything wrong? I've already tried to connected the 3.5mm first in Sonata, than RCA at US-366 at last the USB cable, the reverse of this and nothing until now. Playing a 1kHz tone using Foobar ASIO mode I'm getting something around -87dbFS - for comparation KTB saturates US-366 inputs with 2.2Vrms output. I connected it to a L30 and the signal stills very low even at maximum volume. It is working okay when driving a 32 ohm headphone...

 

[ziege159]

Hi, i just purchased the sonata hd pro yesterday and i notice there're clicking sound when i change songs, i flash the lastest firmware 3.0 and installed the driver (audio CPL doesn't recognize the device at all) i saw some people has the same problem like me but it seem like it can't be fixed?

 

[octaviansan1]

I have the same problem.
Im using it with a topping a30 and it pops when i pause music or play.

Any tips ?

 

[ziege159]

I have the same problem.
Im using it with a topping a30 and it pops when i pause music or play.

Any tips ?

seem like Amir and his fans only go crazy about specs and measurements but forget about the most important factor of a product: it needs to work properly.

 

[Jimbob54]

seem like Amir and his fans only go crazy about specs and measurements but forget about the most important factor of a product: it needs to work properly. Enough of those Amir bs, no wonder why he was trashed out by every audio community on discord

Every one on discord? I'm not sure how he sleeps at night.

 

[L5730]

Interesting video showing HIDIZS S8 unboxing. The same cables are included with the Tempotec OEM version. I think I prefer the Tempotec package, a metal tin with foam lining, and a thin card box. Yeah, doesn't go so well as a retail ready package to display in shops, but I'd rather have the tin and chuck 2 elastic bands around for travels. Looks to be a fingerprint magnet, which the Tempotec isn't.

OK, for me, I had problems of clicks and dropouts on Win10 1809. Once the driver was installed these problems went away. It's been fine since.
I've updated Windows 10 to 1909, didn't need to update the Tempotec driver and everything is still playing absolutely fine.

On Win7 Pro 32bit there was clicking and glitching too, but I've had this problem with a Topping D10 (although a lot less frequently) on that little Atom n2600 machine. So, not really conclusive.

Oh, and follow up on temperatures. I don't know where I pulled 25°C from. I think I just had a cold drink in my hand and it felt warm (as did the metal PC case) compared to my hand. This little DAC/amp has not gotten warm at all here. It always feels like I'm touching cold or cold-ish metal.

 

[octaviansan1]

I have the latest windows + updates.
I'll try the S8 driver .

Anyone here who use it as a dedicated dac 3.5mm->rca to AMP ?
If so, what drivers and firmware do you use.

 

[Matias]

Wow brilliant 2nd post on ASR. Welcome aboard.

1. Amir tested the Hidizs S8, not the TempoTec Sonata HD Pro. They may be the same under the hood but possibly different firmwares, which impact functionality, as

2. I have the Hidizs S8 and no popping problems.

3. Amir also tests functionality as can be seen in many of his reviews.

4. Who the f* cares about what they say on Discord?

5. Or maybe the user got a bad unit (or batch) which is different from what was tested? Don't be so quick to bash what other people put effort in sharing for free to you.

 

[virtua]

I have the TempoTec Sonata HD Pro which I ordered from Amazon, and its had no popping problems with either my Android phone or PC, it's on the firmware it came with.