Meizu HIFI DAC Pro not detected as audio device

[Haggai]

Hi.
I hope this is the correct subforum for this kind of question.

I have just received my Meizu HIFI DAC Pro dongle, bought from AliExpress.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work.
I tried with both my Macbook pro laptop and with my Samsung S20 Ultra phone, and the same issue with both: The dongle is detected (even with its parameters, such as its name "Meizu HiFi DAC Headphone Amplifier PRO"), but it is not registered as an audio device and does not play audio. This happens with both host devices, even after restarts (and after resetting NVRAM on the macbook).

What should I do? Maybe the DAC is defective?

Thanks in advance,
Haggai

 

[Haggai]

btw, I have other USB DACs that are not native USB C, but with an adapter cable they work fine through the USB C ports, and are detected as "USB PnP Sound Device" on my Mac.
With the S20 Ultra, the Meizu is detected with charging mode, but when I click USB option, it wouldn't let me change the setting for "USB controlled by" from "Connected device" to "This phone", so I can't set it as a MIDI device.

 

[Veri]

Heya, simple suggestion but mine only gets connected once a headphone is plugged into it. As long as there isn't a proper "load" seen on the meizu, the device is in an inactive state.

 

[Haggai]

Thanks for the suggestion - I tried it and it doesn't work (either connect the dongle then the headphone, or first connect the headphone and then the dongle to the host).

 

[Veri]

Odd. At this point, there is a large chance the dongle is indeed defective. If you can't connect it to anything I suppose it is broken :/

 

[Haggai]

I was hoping it is a software/configuration issue.

 

[Haggai]

Update - definitely a software/configuration issue: I just managed to use the DAC with my S20 Ultra. It upgraded its firmware version just now, and after the restart I plugged the DAC with earphones and played music through it. The phone doesn't show any indication that it has an audio device plugged in, it just plays audio through the DAC.

The problem with the mac still stands, unfortunately...

 

[Veri]

I'm also on Mac. My macbook sees the meizu in the MIDI control panel and I can play music through it, but it only shows up when a headphone is inserted. it works properly for me...

 

[Haggai]

Progress!
Another two NVRAM resets resulted in a detection of the Meizu DAC audio interface.
But only the input (microphone) works ("1 ins / 0 outs")... it detects the output interface, but it is registered as "0 ins / 0 outs" (the internal speakers are "0 ins / 2 outs"), so can't be used as an output device.
I need some Apple voodoo sauce to rub on my Meizu DAC, maybe that'll help.

 

[Haggai]

Even more progress!

So, this is consistent - it's a TRS vs TRRS issue.
Headphones without microphone are detected as an output device, and I can play sound through them.
Headphones with microphone are detected wrongly (input "1 ins / 0 outs", output "0 ins / 0 outs").

This also happens with just extension cords - TRS is detected as output device, TRRS is detected as input-only device.
And I can use the TRS cord with a TRRS headphone and the headphone is still detected as an output device.

This doesn't happen with the Android phone.

@Veri , can you please test the Meizu with TRRS headphones? (do you have the PRO version?) Maybe it's not just me. Thanks!

 

[Veri]

E
@Veri , can you please test the Meizu with TRRS headphones? (do you have the PRO version?) Maybe it's not just me. Thanks!

Don't have PRO version and don't have TRRS headphone on hand

 

[Haggai]

Thanks

I would be grateful if someone else with the combination of Meizu Pro + Macbook + TRRS headphone would test if they get the same problem as mine.

 

[pleXx]

Hi, I have exactly the same problem. Using Philips Fidelio X2HR with TRRS cable on a Macbook. When I connected the 2 line cable without a mic the output is detected. But that is weird as on my OnePlus 7T works with TRRS... I will try on windows 10.

 

[Haggai]

Thanks, @pleXx , good to know I'm not the only one
Did you get to test this with Windows 10? (I would've tested it too, but I don't have USB C ports on my desktop, and the adapter I ordered has not yet been shipped...)

 

[Haggai]

I contacted Meizu customer service, who were quite responsive, and after watching a video of the problem I made at their request, this is their answer:

The new version of IOS only supports three-part form headphones and it doesn’t support the four-part form headphones. Thus, it’s not a problem with the DAC.

I don't know what to make of this answer.
Of course, the audio output of my Mac supports TRRS.
I have a USB C earphone combined with microphone that works in my Mac laptop.

Another thing - I tested the Meizu DAC on my Windows 10 PC, using a USB A - C adapter.
With TRS headphones everything went smoothly (although it took 10-20 seconds after replacing a headphone for the DAC to re-register as an audio device).
With TRRS my computer went extremely sluggish, to the point of almost not being functional at all - videos and audio files just stopped playing, and even the simplest commands like volume change or pressing a key or a mouse click took ages to register (I'm talking tens of seconds for some response from the PC). These phenomena stopped immediately after disconnecting the DAC from the computer, or simply switching to a TRS headphone in it.

So I think the Meizu HiFi Pro DAC simply cannot handle TRRS, which is unfortunate.

 

[Jimbob54]

I contacted Meizu customer service, who were quite responsive, and after watching a video of the problem I made at their request, this is their answer:

I don't know what to make of this answer.
Of course, the audio output of my Mac supports TRRS.
I have a USB C earphone combined with microphone that works in my Mac laptop.

Another thing - I tested the Meizu DAC on my Windows 10 PC, using a USB A - C adapter.
With TRS headphones everything went smoothly (although it took 10-20 seconds after replacing a headphone for the DAC to re-register as an audio device).
With TRRS my computer went extremely sluggish, to the point of almost not being functional at all - videos and audio files just stopped playing, and even the simplest commands like volume change or pressing a key or a mouse click took ages to register (I'm talking tens of seconds for some response from the PC). These phenomena stopped immediately after disconnecting the DAC from the computer, or simply switching to a TRS headphone in it.

So I think the Meizu HiFi Pro DAC simply cannot handle TRRS, which is unfortunate.

My take on their reply is exactly as you say in your concluding line. But even if they are saying IOS wont do TRRS, if their device similarly cannot handle it , even if plugged into Windows or Android, they should say so. IIRC I have tested a pair of old apple earbuds with mic and TRRS 4 band jack with the Meizu on Windows 10 PC and it recognised both the audio playback and mic as the Meizu.