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HIDIZS S8 USB-C Headphone Adapter Review

vitalii427

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vitalii427
Noise?? Why 300ohm load at 16bit that "noise" drops 4x times? )) It is distortions for sure when you'll try to use it with real 15ohm IEMs the THD will be awful.
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It is sloping downward so it isn’t level dependent. So this is called noise as I know it)
 

mshenay

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oooh! I think this is it! I've been wanting a dongle with up and down buttons [volume I imagine] and I think this will do

my OnePlus 7t Pro has no headphone jack and USB Audio Pro BitPerfect kinda needs hardware volume. The size looks about right for what I want and the measurements look spot on!! Thanks much for this
 

vitalii427

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oooh! I think this is it! I've been wanting a dongle with up and down buttons [volume I imagine] and I think this will do

my OnePlus 7t Pro has no headphone jack and USB Audio Pro BitPerfect kinda needs hardware volume. The size looks about right for what I want and the measurements look spot on!! Thanks much for this
Read the thread. @IVX insists that Meizu is much better under load
 

Zerohour

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1) Meizu produces the same 2VRMS(take a look to my screenshot above) if the load is lighter than 100ohm or so. S8 produces the same 1VRMS or about at 32ohm load. That's why Meizu non-pro has about 50mW at 32ohm, S8 about 60mW at 33ohm.
2) I didn't notice any problem with my Meizu non-pro at 44.1k tracks, if you'll give me more details I'll try to find out.
3) Meizu is better for the distortions figures in real condition i.e. when the DAC is loaded with headphones because S8, in that case, has a few times worse THD. At no-load condition(without headphone plugged in), Meizu non-pro has the same distortions as S8. That's it.
I recommend Meizu non-pro because it a few times cheaper and much more compact vs S8. However, as I can see, S8 has 2 buttons, $50 for each, and if you really need that, of course, my recommendation looks silly ;)

if only you released the 9038D already, we wouldn't have such a mess of a thread because people would be recommending that instead:D
 

typericey

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Before you spend another $100, try these EQ settings with your Samsung earphones. You can use the parametric equalizer in Neutron Player (free trial here). You might be surprised what good EQ settings can do.

Thanks, but my Samsung earphones has a USB-C tip. Anyway, I can still try the PEQ you're recommending. I hope it's non-destructive.
 

Matias

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Read the thread. @IVX insists that Meizu is much better under load
No hardware volume buttons though. Simple but this was a deal breaker for me, so I went with Hidizs S8 too.
 

bobbooo

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Thanks, but my Samsung earphones has a USB-C tip. Anyway, I can still try the PEQ you're recommending. I hope it's non-destructive.

I'm confused, I thought you said your Samsung earphones are the stock ones that came with your S8? In that case they should have the standard 3.5mm audio connection, no?
 

mshenay

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No hardware volume buttons though. Simple but this was a deal breaker for me, so I went with Hidizs S8 too.

Yea I kind need the buttons as well and honestly I'm not running anything demanding enough to need a "better under load" product. I'll be using either a E-MU Purple Heart a HD 668B or a HD 25-1 ii. All easy stuff to drive
 

ZolaIII

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Yea I kind need the buttons as well and honestly I'm not running anything demanding enough to need a "better under load" product. I'll be using either a E-MU Purple Heart a HD 668B or a HD 25-1 ii. All easy stuff to drive
Well quit honestly Superlux HD 668B ain't exactly easiest to drive (98 LSP 64 Ohm's), it's not demanding either & tad dull. Don't know about others you mentioned (HD 25-1 I do know...& HD 668B I own). Would actually more recommend Meizu Pro or TempoTec Sonata iDSD for it & even those are just enough to properly drive them (even that so, so over DSD line). As we still don't really know what's the amp on this Hidizs/TempoTec I won't recommend those.
 

typericey

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I'm confused, I thought you said your Samsung earphones are the stock ones that came with your S8? In that case they should have the standard 3.5mm audio connection, no?

I was referring to the Hidizs S8. :) My phone is a Note 10 and that's what I'll be using the Hidizs with. It's on its way to me from Aliexpress and I'll try to post my experience here when it arrives. As for earphones, 1 More Triple Driver still on my shortlist for now.
 

mshenay

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Well quit honestly Superlux HD 668B ain't exactly easiest to drive (98 LSP 64 Ohm's), it's not demanding either & tad dull. Don't know about others you mentioned (HD 25-1 I do know...& HD 668B I own). Would actually more recommend Meizu Pro or TempoTec Sonata iDSD for it & even those are just enough to properly drive them (even that so, so over DSD line). As we still don't really know what's the amp on this Hidizs/TempoTec I won't recommend those.

Huh honestly if that's the case I'm impressed with how well my 3ds does with it!

Let's ask this what are other small size hardware volume button options that maybe do better than the S8? iDSD is far tooo big
 

ZolaIII

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Huh honestly if that's the case I'm impressed with how well my 3ds does with it!

Let's ask this what are other small size hardware volume button options that maybe do better than the S8? iDSD is far tooo big
Well OPA1622 (on Meizu Pro) has enough power to drive headphones up to 80 Ohm's & SABRE9601 up to 64 Ohm's & it's better than OPA1622 regarding noise & there for to be used with sensitive EMI's. Of course that's if those amp's are properly implemented. iDSD isn't elegant but it fits the need, having it's own battery and separate power line for it it's very good designed. Size wise it's like a small phone. On the pictures is Sony XZ1 & picture is taken with N808 which is same size as DAC.
2020-01-16-1260_q1-01.jpeg

I still can't recommend neither S8 nor Sonata HD Pro as I don't know what amp is used on them. When I think about it with all power input variations over USB & other things it brings actually I can't recommend anything without it's own LiPo battery supply & those with it will probably never be small enough for your taste. Well you can't win them all.
 

bobbooo

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I was referring to the Hidizs S8. :) My phone is a Note 10 and that's what I'll be using the Hidizs with. It's on its way to me from Aliexpress and I'll try to post my experience here when it arrives. As for earphones, 1 More Triple Driver still on my shortlist for now.

Ah I see, well the Samsung USB-C earphones that came with your Note 10 are likely to have the same tuning as the ones that come with the S8/9/10, so those EQ settings I linked to should work for them if you still want to try. And if you get the 1 More Triple Driver you can try these EQ settings (the measurements were of the Lightning cable version but I would think they have the same tuning as the 3.5mm version).
 

CopperFox

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It's the same & all the three firmwares are the same.
Sonata iDSD Pro = Hidizs HD1000,
Sonata HD = Hidizs Sonata II,
Sonata HD Pro = Hidizs Sonata 8.
With minor cosmetic differences only in all three cases.

Hmm. Even if the firmware would be identical, there still can be differences in power delivery components for example - and if there is, it could cause big difference in performance as well. One would need to look inside the casing to see if the pcb and components are the same.
 

ZolaIII

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Hmm. Even if the firmware would be identical, there still can be differences in power delivery components for example - and if there is, it could cause big difference in performance as well. One would need to look inside the casing to see if the pcb and components are the same.
Means Sonata II is just a rebrand.
Read a review of sympathetic little DAP based on CS43131 balanced design yesterday. HiBy R3 Pro but for the price it doesn't earn recommendation, at least not mine.
 
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