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Hidizs S9 PRO Measurements (DAC Dongle)

JanesJr1

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I'd like to listen to my Sennheiser HD660S from my phone with a dongle, preferably balanced. So I'm having doubts between this S9 Pro and the E1DA 9038Sg3.

What are the benefits between one another..? To me a benefit is with the S9 Pro is that I can listen to unbalanced headphones too.

PS. Can anyone reccomend me a nice working 2,5 to 4,4 mm cable/adapter?
I own both the 9038s G3 and the S9 Pro. Both are good, generally. In my case, I have occasional problems with the 9038 with it stopping and not re-starting for an unpredictable period. I have no idea why this occurs; it seems like a weird circuit-protection reaction or perhaps just a gremlin in my personal set up. I also have a subjective response that whenever I switch between the S9 Pro and the 9038s, the 9038 sounds "darker" or more closed in and the S9 more "open". I again have no idea why this should be, but I notice it every time I switch, even when I'm not even thinking about SQ at all. YMMV. Others have given 9038s good grades, but I have had a mixed experience. I still pull the 9038s out now and then but the S9 Pro is my standby: always works, flexible SE/Bal configuration, drives low impedance/high current DCA Noire headphones really well. I'm an S9 Pro fanboy by now.
 
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Can the S9 PRO Output both 3.5 and 2.5 simultaneously? Meaning If I have two things plug into it, I would get sound out of both ports?
 
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Howie Dern

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The SE and balanced sockets are pretty close together (~5 mm center-to center) so, at least for the connectors I have, when one is being used there is no way to insert the other plug.
 

formdissolve

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These are $60 on their store as of Oct 2023

 

delta76

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Received mine today, they can certainly drive Zero Red to deafening level. So much more power than the Apple USB C dongle.
Now only if I can find an usb c OTG
 

mlloyd1

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I was going to mention they're on sale too!
I bought one after reading about them here at ASR and have been VERY happy with it.
Get one - you will be, too!
 

87BCE

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I had been waiting for black friday/cyber monday sales in hopes of finding a cheap iBasso DC04 Pro, but I just saw the S9 pro is on sale. It's not my first pick for a dongle dac, but it's looking like a solid option at this price.

Does anyone here use the S9 pro with multiple platforms? It is important for me to be able to use it on both Android and iOS mobile devices, so I'll be picking up the bundle with the LT02 lightning cable. I've seen a few reports of problems with iOS devices, but I'm assuming it's from using an inappropriate cable.
 

Wicky

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I had been waiting for black friday/cyber monday sales in hopes of finding a cheap iBasso DC04 Pro, but I just saw the S9 pro is on sale. It's not my first pick for a dongle dac, but it's looking like a solid option at this price.

Does anyone here use the S9 pro with multiple platforms? It is important for me to be able to use it on both Android and iOS mobile devices, so I'll be picking up the bundle with the LT02 lightning cable. I've seen a few reports of problems with iOS devices, but I'm assuming it's from using an inappropriate cable.
I have S9 (not pro), essentially the same device, just different chip (AKM vs ESS) as I understand.
Works fine for me on iOS (with lightning adaptor), MacOS, and Windows 11. Not tried it on Android devices
 

87BCE

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Thank you for your reply, that is helpful. I am not concerned so much about Android compatibility as iOS. Are you using a third-party lightning adaptor ? Or is it the one that Hidizs makes (LT01 and T02) ?
 
OP
VintageFlanker

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These are $60 on their store as of Oct 2023

For the record: the S9 Pro will be soon replaced by the S9 Pro Plus.
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Hidizs proposed to send me a sample for review, that will be published later (I mean: later ) this month.
 
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Wicky

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Thank you for your reply, that is helpful. I am not concerned so much about Android compatibility as iOS. Are you using a third-party lightning adaptor ? Or is it the one that Hidizs makes (LT01 and T02) ?
I purchased the adaptor Hidizs provided in their bundle with the S9, no problems with it in my experience.
 

Bernard23

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For the record: the S9 Pro will be soon replaced by the S9 Pro Plus.
View attachment 324439View attachment 324440View attachment 324441

Hidizs proposed to send me a sample for review, that will be published later (I mean: later ) this month.
I was about to press buy now on Amazon UK for the S9 Pro for £79 delivered, but just ran a quick google shopping search on my desktop (been using mobile all morning babysitting our new cockerpoo pup) and I spotted a 50% off direct from Hidizs, which was under £50GBP and includes free shipping. Even better, the pro plus is only $10 more so £8 or so, so it fell into my basket and completed the deal.
I now have three options to choose from: LG V50 dedicated to music, a Truthear Shio and this.
 

OK1

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Anyway, the THD+N looks too high for that price tag IMO. Meizu HiFi DAC is better for $13 ;)
The challenge with reading this in December 2023 is, where can I find the Meizu Hifi DAC, for anywhere near that price or price differential?

The pace of development of new DACs/Headphone Amps is, in my opinion incredibly rapid, and the duration when these devices remain widely available is also short. Once out of production, the price rockets up like anything which is in short supply.

The measurements on ASR.com and by Julian Krause on youtube, have been really really eye opening, and given enough time to understand what all of it means, very good foundations for deciding on what to buy.

I'm usually more interested in the audio interface end of things, cos as well as listening to music/audio, am also interested in recording in a home studio. In the home studio market, these devices, with the exception of AD/DA component changes occasioned by the supply challenges of Asahi, devices typically remain available for at least 4 years, typically more, so one has plenty of time after reading/viewing a review to buy the item.

As I have been shortlisting which premium-but-budget headphone amp/dac to purchase, I read the reviews with excitement and the anticlimax comes when I search for the damn product, and its not readily available in Europe/UK..

So I ask, I'm looking for :

i. a good quality dongle headphone amp/dac, reliable durable, will last long, and sound amazingly good.
ii. for use with both low impedance ear buds, all the way to something like the AKG K702, and also able to deliver enough oomph to a Sennheiser HD 600 or HD 650.
iii. ASIO drivers would be a bonus. At the very minimum - full support for WASAPI is compulsory, would prefer a device that had audio drivers for Windows 10, rather than fallback to some unpredictable in-built drivers in the operating system, that are supervised by Microsoft.

1. What's are the currently widely available options, if I do not need a balanced output, i.e I'm ok with unbalanced.

2. What's are the currently widely available options, if I might need both a balanced as well as an unbalanced output.

3. Newbie question. Can the balanced and unbalanced outputs also be used to send audio to sets of active speakers? All the while, my mind has been focussing on headphones. For the balanced outputs, would this be akin to the professional line level +4dBu outputs on professional audio gear.

4. Newbie question. Some professional audio interfaces output as much as +18dBu, so would a dongle with a maximum balanced output of +4dBu or thereabouts, be less loud.
 

staticV3

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2. What's are the currently widely available options, if I might need both a balanced as well as an unbalanced output.
Moondrop Dawn Pro, Truthear Shio, Tanchjim Space, Tempotec Sonata BHD Pro

3. Newbie question. Can the balanced and unbalanced outputs also be used to send audio to sets of active speakers?
Unbalanced 3.5mm headphone outputs can always be used to connect to both unbalanced and balanced inputs on external devices.
(Connecting to balanced inputs is always better as you can benefit from their CMRR even with 3.5mm or RCA sources.)

With balanced outputs, it gets a bit tricky. Only 4.4mm Pentaconn is physically capable of replacing conventional TRS or XLR Balanced Line outputs as it has enough pins for Stereo differential output and GND.

The thing is: that GND connection is useless for headphones and so with these dongles designed for headphones, manufacturers may choose to only implement the differential output and leave the GND pin disconnected.

That GND connection however is important for safety when connecting two mains-powered devices to each other (like a PC to active speakers).

Whether the 4.4mm Pentaconn out has proper GND is basically never disclosed on a dongle's spec sheet or user manual, so you'd have to ask their customer support to make sure.

4. Newbie question. Some professional audio interfaces output as much as +18dBu, so would a dongle with a maximum balanced output of +4dBu or thereabouts, be less loud.
Most dongles will output 4.0Vrms via 4.4mm.
That's 12dBV or 14.25dBu.
 
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OK1

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I was about to press buy now on Amazon UK for the S9 Pro for £79 delivered, but just ran a quick google shopping search on my desktop (been using mobile all morning babysitting our new cockerpoo pup) and I spotted a 50% off direct from Hidizs, which was under £50GBP and includes free shipping. Even better, the pro plus is only $10 more so £8 or so, so it fell into my basket and completed the deal.
I now have three options to choose from: LG V50 dedicated to music, a Truthear Shio and this.
Hi Bernard,

I'm also in the UK. (Wales)

Questions.

1. Which item did you order, the Hidizs S9 Pro or the Hidizs s9 Pro Plus Martha?
2. Is the Hidizs S9 Pro Plus Martha - shipping now?
3. If you order from Hidizs direct - are there any additional import/customs charges that you would have to pay when it arrives in the UK?
4. Should there be any issues with the device and need to return it, would you then have to send it back international rather than ship to a local UK address?
 

OK1

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Most dongles will output 4.0Vrms via 4.4mm.
That's 12dBV or 14.25dBu.
Thanks, and Thanks. this is really important for me to understand. Thanks.
 

OK1

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Moondrop Dawn Pro, Truthear Shio, Tanchjim Space, Tempotec Sonata BHD Pro
Thanks a million. This has really helped trim down my search list.

Would there be any reason to exclude the Hidizs S9 Pro or Hidizs S9 Pro Plus (the recently announced replacement), from the short list?
 

staticV3

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Would there be any reason to exclude the Hidizs S9 Pro or Hidizs S9 Pro Plus (the recently announced replacement), from the short list?
The S9 Pro uses 2.5mm TRRS for balanced output, so proper balanced Line out to active monitors etc is not possible.

The S9 Pro Plus has 4.4mm, but there are neither manufacturer provided measurements, nor ones from the community.

And since it uses a 9038Q2M DAC chip, which needs good PCB design to perform well, I would want to see those measurements first

The ones I listed all use the CS43131 DAC chip, which is very easy to implement and performs well in basically every device.
 

OK1

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The ones I listed all use the CS43131 DAC chip, which is very easy to implement and performs well in basically every device.
Thanks - Highly appreciated, you've been a huge help.
 

Bernard23

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Hi Bernard,

I'm also in the UK. (Wales)

Questions.

1. Which item did you order, the Hidizs S9 Pro or the Hidizs s9 Pro Plus Martha?
2. Is the Hidizs S9 Pro Plus Martha - shipping now?
3. If you order from Hidizs direct - are there any additional import/customs charges that you would have to pay when it arrives in the UK?
4. Should there be any issues with the device and need to return it, would you then have to send it back international rather than ship to a local UK address?
In which case, Prynhawn da (I'm in S W wales)

1. Martha
2. Yes, though the price has increased from $69 to $79
3. None that I know of.
4. Presumably.

I also have a Truthear Shio, but even on BAL it's not really powerful enough to drive my Truthear zero red IEMs. I don't think the Martha will either based on the specs.
 
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