JCALLY JM20 Headphone Dongle Review

[iGmole]

CB5100 certainly yields interesting results if you want to build your own dongle or make a custom USB-C DSP cable for headphones. The tinkerer in me has awak.. oh, 40 bucks, nevermind.

 

[CedarX]

These look

CB5100 certainly yields interesting results if you want to build your own dongle or make a custom USB-C DSP cable for headphones. The tinkerer in me has awak.. oh, 40 bucks, nevermind.

View attachment 412935

These look exactly like the modules produced by TTGK (https://www.szttgk.com/en). I suspect the TTGK modules are integrated and distributed by a bunch of OEMs--look at the "Application" section in their website.

 

[iGmole]

These look

These look exactly like the modules produced by TTGK (https://www.szttgk.com/en). I suspect the TTGK modules are integrated and distributed by a bunch of OEMs--look at the "Application" section in their website.

This is funny. I think I own some of those products.

 

[syfy]

currently using this for a track rig connected to direct injection box on live concerts. the lowest buffer settings that i can set with savitech asio is 3.0 ms buffer. no noticeable noise so far.

 

[danadam]

@Hasan Aydin posted a link to an analysis of the potential pops & clicks caused by the Class H mode often used on these CS43131 chips—don’t know about the JM20:

CS43198 and CS43131 DAC sound defects

reference-audio-analyzer.pro

I don’t think it’s a big concern for a dongle used with IEMs or easy-to-drive HPs, but it may be worth knowing.

The same procedure as in:

TANCHJIM Luna Portable HP Amp & DAC Review

I don’t really think Luna has such complicated power circuitry. It’s hard to see from the official image, but it seems to utilize RiCore RT6863D and single USB chipset. …which is quite similar setup with Moonriver 2 Ti as well. Can’t really find something fancy here. Also noticed that, for...

www.audiosciencereview.com

(Played through ALSA and captured using ADI-2 Pro FS at +13 dBu and 96 kHz sampling rate. Volume levels are: full, -6 dB, -12 dB, -18 dB. The captured files were normalized to -0.1 dBFS.)

JCally JM20:

 

[Saidera]

I like the JM20 for its simplicity and affordability. The Meizu HiFi was more expensive and featured that distinctive round window to showcase the two audio chips, while the TempoTec Sonata HD Pro was even pricier, depending on where it was purchased. For some time after 2021, it seemed that dongles kept adding more features and elaborate designs, driving up costs—even when the same CS43131 chips were being used. Not many of these were measured here, so it's great to snag a JM20 at a sale price just slightly higher than an Apple dongle.

 

[Stiffmeister]

Looks good! Deciding between this or the Apple usb c dongle. Does this Jcally JM20 work with an inline microphone cable?

 

[staticV3]

Does this Jcally JM20 work with an inline microphone cable?

You can use the earphones, but cannot make calls using the inline microphone.

 

[markanini]

Looks good! Deciding between this or the Apple usb c dongle. Does this Jcally JM20 work with an inline microphone cable?

No, get the apple dongle for that. Or if you use Android devices or reside in EU skip the Apple dongle for a CX31993 dongle such as JCally JM7.

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

Got mine a few days ago. I've been using it in the car. It's loud enough compared to a cable from the headphone jack and sounds great. Since road noise is a major issue, I'm not concerned with anything more than good enough.

 

[staticV3]

FYI, both cx31993 dongles that I own have 20-30dB lower mic gain and some 5-10dB lower mic SNR than the Apple dongle:

Recommendation for a USB Audio-interface DAC/ADC for ADC performance

using USB DAC/ADC/Audio Interface with a Raspberry Pi 4B - as a BirdNET Pi (it detects and automatically identifies birds by their song/calls) I am using a Clippy EM272 Microphone via TRS-TTRS converter...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[markanini]

FYI, both cx31993 dongles that I own have 20-30dB lower mic gain and some 5-10dB lower mic SNR than the Apple dongle:

Recommendation for a USB Audio-interface DAC/ADC for ADC performance

using USB DAC/ADC/Audio Interface with a Raspberry Pi 4B - as a BirdNET Pi (it detects and automatically identifies birds by their song/calls) I am using a Clippy EM272 Microphone via TRS-TTRS converter...

www.audiosciencereview.com

It begs the question, who is affected by that? Given that most inline mics are fairly sensitive, at least my Gate mic cable had plenty gain to spare. And, mostly used for calls where ambient noise almost always is higher than SNR. If better metrics matter, than output limited to 0.05V instead of 1V must be very bad. At least that's what you get with Apple dongle on some setups: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...le-usb-c-headphone-adapters.5541/post-2021949

 

[staticV3]

It begs the question, who is affected by that?

The sensitivity of inline headset mics can be all over the place.

If you want to make sure that the person you're calling can understand you all right, getting a dongle with plenty of gain seems like a reasonable approach.

If the difference was just 5-10dB, I wouldn't've mentioned it.

 

[markanini]

The sensitivity of inline headset mics can be all over the place.

If you want to make sure that the person you're calling can understand you all right, getting a dongle with plenty of gain seems like a reasonable approach.

If the difference was just 5-10dB, I wouldn't've mentioned it.

I've frequented a discord channel for years where CX31993 dongles are recommended regularly. No one complained about the other party not hearing them clearly in calls. On the other hand, numerous complaints about reduced output from Apple dongle when consuming content. You could say it's a discussion of theory versus practice that we are having.

 

[mc.god]

There is the JM20 Pro that @CedarX discussed some posts earlier that combines CS43131 with 2V output and an ADC for phone calls and also PEQ. Although not measured it could be a valid alternative.

 

[192kbps]

Search for CB1200AU, which also supports Walk Play.

 

[Stiffmeister]

You can use the earphones, but cannot make calls using the inline microphone.

Thanks a lot! I ordered the apple usb c dongle

 

[johnk]

Has anyone else been experiencing
connectivity issues with to the JM20? I have to unplug mine and plug it in again to get it to work (this is on a Pixel 8). I'll test it on my laptop later and see what dmesg reveals. -J

 

[iGmole]

Has anyone else been experiencing
connectivity issues with to the JM20? I have to unplug mine and plug it in again to get it to work (this is on a Pixel 8). I'll test it on my laptop later and see what dmesg reveals. -J

Near zero issues with the JM20 (or the Max). I have a Samsung Galaxy FE S20 5G. Sometimes if I unplug it by accident or brainfart and immediately reconnect it, it won't work. So after unplugging I need to wait for about 5 seconds before reconnecting will work.

My understanding is that the Pixel line is a bit troublesome with DACs, unfortunately.

 

[mc.god]

Has anyone else been experiencing
connectivity issues with to the JM20? I have to unplug mine and plug it in again to get it to work (this is on a Pixel 8). I'll test it on my laptop later and see what dmesg reveals. -J

Never used with phone, no issue with laptop but not really useful information for you since it stays still on the table.