totti1965
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Dear Gold Ears,
My third dongle arrived today: the JCally JM 7 – a bullseye!
I'm an iPad user and still have Lightning. I wanted an upgrade from the built-in DAC/headphone amplifier.
The first DAC was a cheap knock-off of the genuine Apple dongle.
It had a background noise, always audible at the end of a track when it faded out – €4.99 (eBay) down the drain.
The second one, last week, was the original Apple dongle: very good in the US (2 volts). Here, EU restrictions limit it to a maximum of 1 volt. Result: No audible difference compared to the iPad's headphone jack. €17, more or less wasted.
Then, two weeks ago, when I saw the AliExpress offer for the JCally JM 7 for €4.29, I couldn't resist.
Today I tried it out with Suzanne Vega's track "Tom's Diner."
Unfortunately, the JM 7 isn't really much louder or more powerful on the large Sennheiser headphones than the iPad itself.
But: somehow everything sounded a bit more airy, natural, spacious, and beautiful than when I plugged the Sennheiser headphones directly into the iPad.
I couldn't really explain the difference, since the iPad should be perfectly fine in terms of noise and distortion, according to measurements.
I always switched between headphones during the track, so the pause was only about 10 seconds. Only afterward did I realize what was happening.
The JCally JM 7 doesn't ruin the high-resolution 96 kHz original file (since it's fed digitally directly from the Lightning connector),while the iPad's built-in DAC downsamples everything to 48 kHz and destroys the sound.
So my ears can still hear the difference between 96 kHz and 48 kHz sampling rates quite well!
For €4.29, it's a fantastic upgrade!
As an Android user, you probably already have a better DAC built into your device that can handle up to 192 kHz.
But if you want to listen at really, really high volumes, I have a great recommendation for you:
JCally JM20 MAX
Besides its high-definition capabilities, it also has an insane amount of power, which is very useful when you need to lower the volume for equalizer tweaking.
It's pretty much the best (and most powerful!) mini dongle that audiosciencereview has ever tested.
As a USB-C user, you simply plug it into your smartphone.
It usually costs between €25 and €50.
Now, during Black Friday week, it's more like €18.
Highly recommended and fully comparable to desktop DACs and headphone amplifiers in the €500 to €1,000 price range!
I'm getting it on Friday.
I‘ve already ordered the Lightning adapter, which unfortunately costs just as much as the entire dongle.
Then I can really crank up the volume in December with the Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee headphones without a lot of fuss.
Best regards,
Thorsten
P.S.: Just for fun, I plugged in the original Apple dongle again.
In my opinion, it doesn't deserve its good reputation. It's actually quieter and less powerful than the JCally JM7, and what's more, the Apple dongle doesn't bypass the iPad's sample rate conversion.
That means that even with the original Apple dongle, at least on older devices, the music is downsampled to a 48 kHz sampling rate. The JCally's build quality is incredible. It looks like it's milled from solid aluminum. Beautifully braided, silver-plated cables.
Apple: cheap plastic, cheap cable – admittedly very compact and also well-made.
I still can’t believe how did the JCally Guys do the trick!
My third dongle arrived today: the JCally JM 7 – a bullseye!
I'm an iPad user and still have Lightning. I wanted an upgrade from the built-in DAC/headphone amplifier.
The first DAC was a cheap knock-off of the genuine Apple dongle.
It had a background noise, always audible at the end of a track when it faded out – €4.99 (eBay) down the drain.
The second one, last week, was the original Apple dongle: very good in the US (2 volts). Here, EU restrictions limit it to a maximum of 1 volt. Result: No audible difference compared to the iPad's headphone jack. €17, more or less wasted.
Then, two weeks ago, when I saw the AliExpress offer for the JCally JM 7 for €4.29, I couldn't resist.
Today I tried it out with Suzanne Vega's track "Tom's Diner."
Unfortunately, the JM 7 isn't really much louder or more powerful on the large Sennheiser headphones than the iPad itself.
But: somehow everything sounded a bit more airy, natural, spacious, and beautiful than when I plugged the Sennheiser headphones directly into the iPad.
I couldn't really explain the difference, since the iPad should be perfectly fine in terms of noise and distortion, according to measurements.
I always switched between headphones during the track, so the pause was only about 10 seconds. Only afterward did I realize what was happening.
The JCally JM 7 doesn't ruin the high-resolution 96 kHz original file (since it's fed digitally directly from the Lightning connector),while the iPad's built-in DAC downsamples everything to 48 kHz and destroys the sound.
So my ears can still hear the difference between 96 kHz and 48 kHz sampling rates quite well!
For €4.29, it's a fantastic upgrade!
As an Android user, you probably already have a better DAC built into your device that can handle up to 192 kHz.
But if you want to listen at really, really high volumes, I have a great recommendation for you:
JCally JM20 MAX
Besides its high-definition capabilities, it also has an insane amount of power, which is very useful when you need to lower the volume for equalizer tweaking.
It's pretty much the best (and most powerful!) mini dongle that audiosciencereview has ever tested.
As a USB-C user, you simply plug it into your smartphone.
It usually costs between €25 and €50.
Now, during Black Friday week, it's more like €18.
Highly recommended and fully comparable to desktop DACs and headphone amplifiers in the €500 to €1,000 price range!
I'm getting it on Friday.
I‘ve already ordered the Lightning adapter, which unfortunately costs just as much as the entire dongle.
Then I can really crank up the volume in December with the Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee headphones without a lot of fuss.
Best regards,
Thorsten
P.S.: Just for fun, I plugged in the original Apple dongle again.
In my opinion, it doesn't deserve its good reputation. It's actually quieter and less powerful than the JCally JM7, and what's more, the Apple dongle doesn't bypass the iPad's sample rate conversion.
That means that even with the original Apple dongle, at least on older devices, the music is downsampled to a 48 kHz sampling rate. The JCally's build quality is incredible. It looks like it's milled from solid aluminum. Beautifully braided, silver-plated cables.
Apple: cheap plastic, cheap cable – admittedly very compact and also well-made.
I still can’t believe how did the JCally Guys do the trick!
Last edited:
