Meizu Mblu Lifeme Pro Portable DAC/Amp Review

[pavuol]

Amir I have found this is an updated "Pro" version of previous model (see my previous post), maybe good to update review title.

..also some info regarding Meizu / Mblu / Lifeme "branding", well the Chinese are masters of confusion
Meizu, Meilan, mblu, lifeme and Lanchen: What is the connection between them?

 

[Robbo99999]

Natal,

I hear you. I have boxes of heat shrink tubing, so I cut a small piece and reinforce the far-too-thin wire on the Apple dongle. (Why they would choose such high gauge wire is beyond me.)

Added bonus: the red color makes it harder to lose as well as find in a tangle of earbuds!

View attachment 300553

I think they want you to buy a new one each year, and because they're so cheap people might not get upset about it!

 

[Ken Tajalli]

Use heat shrink on it. Mine has lasted now for 2 years going on 3.

Heatshrink, would make the whole thing stiff, and can damage the USB socket on the phone if tugged, rendering an expensive phone useless.
I rather go through ten flimsy dongles, that snap my phone's USB socket.

 

[mc.god]

..also some info regarding Meizu / Mblu / Lifeme "branding", well the Chinese are masters of confusion
Meizu, Meilan, mblu, lifeme and Lanchen: What is the connection between them?

Confusion for customers for sure, and totally intended. These dongles have names, form and even package 100% resembling the "real" old Meizu ones, trying to allure you to buy them on the hype that the originals had.

 

[amirm]

Amir I have found this is an updated "Pro" version of previous model (see my previous post), maybe good to update review title.

Sure, I updated it. Thanks.

 

[TheWalkman]

Heatshrink, would make the whole thing stiff, and can damage the USB socket on the phone if tugged, rendering an expensive phone useless.
I rather go through ten flimsy dongles, that snap my phone's USB socket.

Perhaps that’s what Apple had in mind: let the flimsy wire be sacrificial before doing physical damage to the Lightning Port If snagged, pulled too hard, etc.

I’m fairly careful when using the dongle (riding on an airplane, train, etc.) so my the earbud cord has more than enough slack to take any pressure off the port should I snag it accidentally.

I’ve been using these DACs for several years (and even on a stationary Rasberry Pi streamer) and I couldn’t be happier.

Don’t tell Apple, but they could me charging twice as much for them!

Sorry for the sidetrack. Back to your regularly scheduled Meizu review.

 

[Ken Tajalli]

Perhaps that’s what Apple had in mind: let the flimsy wire be sacrificial before doing physical damage to the Lightning Port If snagged, pulled too hard, etc.

I’m fairly careful when using the dongle (riding on an airplane, train, etc.) so my the earbud cord has more than enough slack to take any pressure off the port should I snag it accidentally.

I’ve been using these DACs for several years (and even on a stationary Rasberry Pi streamer) and I couldn’t be happier.

Don’t tell Apple, but they could me charging twice as much for them!

Sorry for the sidetrack. Back to your regularly scheduled Meizu review.

I think I did not relay my meaning well.
A stiff heatshrunk cable, has more of a leverage. If tugged, the extra lever effect, magnifies the effect to damage the port.
I make my own USB cables, and because of this, I make the USB-C plug (in my case), as tiny as possible, because even a tall plug, has plenty of lever effect.
See this:

By the way, I doubt, Apple makes any money on a $9 device.
They either made tens of thousands of them (or more) and now they are getting rid of them, OR, they had made some other political decisions, as to why!

 

[MCH]

This works for me, but still not ideal:

I much prefer the dongles with volume buttons and sockets both sides like the xfi amp.

 

[mc.god]

7Hz 71 dongle is much better than this.

I'd like to see it measured, always been curious about it but still can't tell if it's capable of 2v out at line level, all advertizings say just 1v at 32ohm and nothing more...

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

My iPhone dongle has lasted me several years. This is what I consciously do to keep it safe.

1 - I only keep the dongle attached to my phone when in use.

2 - I keep it in the case I keep my earbuds.

3 - I detach it from the buds’ chord every time I put it in the case.

4 - I hold the dongle by the hard plug when inserting and removing from the phone or chord.

5 - When in use, I never jam my phone in a tight pocket. If it’s in my jacket pocket, I put the phone upside down, so the weight of it isn’t resting on the dongle.

In general, the weakest and most vulnerable part of any cable is the part of the cable next to the plug. Look after that and you will extend its life.

 

[AudioSceptic]

I gave one of my dongles to my wife to use. Last a month before the cable became intermittent.

You mean the Apple one? I have to say that the cable does look too thin. I've tried the heat-shrink trick, but that makes it too stiff and it acts as a lever in the Lightning port, which not only means that it won't stay put, but also risks damaging the port. The cable on the Meizu looks *far* better.

 

[Robbo99999]

You mean the Apple one? I have to say that the cable does look too thin. I've tried the heat-shrink trick, but that makes it too stiff and it acts as a lever in the Lightning port, which not only means that it won't stay put, but also risks damaging the port. The cable on the Meizu looks *far* better.

What about wrapping some insulating sticky tape around it, would look awful, but maybe functionally better re less stiffness. Maybe additionally you could wrap just the joins near the connectors, in fact with shrink wrap it might be better to just wrap the bits around the connectors & leave the middle bare, but I'm thinking that wouldn't shrink tight enough against the thin wire, but it would probably at least stop sharp bends happening near the point of the connector, but instead the sharp bend would happen in the middle, so probably no better. I don't know if you can get different thicknesses of shrink wrap, probably best to choose the thinnest to retain flexibility whilst just offering a little more support - in which case shrink wrapping the whole thing.

 

[AudioSceptic]

What about wrapping some insulating sticky tape around it, would look awful, but maybe functionally better re less stiffness. Maybe additionally you could wrap just the joins near the connectors, in fact with shrink wrap it might be better to just wrap the bits around the connectors & leave the middle bare, but I'm thinking that wouldn't shrink tight enough against the thin wire, but it would probably at least stop sharp bends happening near the point of the connector, but instead the sharp bend would happen in the middle, so probably no better. I don't know if you can get different thicknesses of shrink wrap, probably best to choose the thinnest to retain flexibility whilst just offering a little more support - in which case shrink wrapping the whole thing.

I agree, there's probably some optimum sort of wrap, but TBH I'm not going to bother now. I got some Sony WF-1000XM4 BT earphones and they sound surprisingly good, and all without wires. I just hope they keep working!

 

[multiformous]

Does this crackle and autoplay when connecting an IEM/headphone? I've tried three CX31993-based dongles (Abigail, JCally JM6, and generic CX-Pro) and they all crackle when pluggin something into them, and they autoplay music or bring up google assistant on Android. Apple, Samsung, and old Meizi HiFi dongles don't exhibit this behaviour.

 

[kencreten]

Not bad for $22. Low on output power, but... I wonder what my much loved Kyocera stereo mini tape player (with Metal tape capability and balance control!) back in the day would put out, at maybe 6db of dynamic range.

 

[jasonhanjk]

I'd like to see it measured, always been curious about it but still can't tell if it's capable of 2v out at line level, all advertizings say just 1v at 32ohm and nothing more...

I think I found the perfect USB C headphone dongle...

I have an AK4377 EVK which I already lost it. As long as it can drive 32 ohm to my requirement, then I am very happy. Able to drive 16 ohm properly is a big plus. Above 2uV noise can be heard with low impedance high sensitivity iem, that's is why I spec thd+n 0.001% at 1mW 32 ohm. If you want...

audiosciencereview.com

It's not possible to get 2Vrms. Rest assure this dac amp can drive 8 ohm.

 

[mc.god]

I think I found the perfect USB C headphone dongle...

I have an AK4377 EVK which I already lost it. As long as it can drive 32 ohm to my requirement, then I am very happy. Able to drive 16 ohm properly is a big plus. Above 2uV noise can be heard with low impedance high sensitivity iem, that's is why I spec thd+n 0.001% at 1mW 32 ohm. If you want...

audiosciencereview.com

It's not possible to get 2Vrms. Rest assure this dac amp can drive 8 ohm.

Thank you for confirmation, so for me is a no go since I don't use the dongle "as is" but primarily as a dac for my notebook, going into a Sabaj A10h amp. I have a Ugreen HiFi, just curious about good alterntives in case it fails sometimes.

 

[BillG]

Does this crackle and autoplay when connecting an IEM/headphone? I've tried three CX31993-based dongles (Abigail, JCally JM6, and generic CX-Pro) and they all crackle when pluggin something into them, and they autoplay music or bring up google assistant on Android. Apple, Samsung, and old Meizi HiFi dongles don't exhibit this behaviour.

I suspect there might be a compatability issue with either your phone, your iems/headphones, or both.

I own a Jcally JM6 Pro, which is essentially the JM6 with an additional amplification chip, the MAX97220 to be precise, and it exhibits none of the behavior you've mentioned.

I'm using with a Xiaomi 11T running Android 13, and a variety of different IEMs, and have never experienced any odd behavior.

 

[multiformous]

I suspect there might be a compatability issue with either your phone, your iems/headphones, or both.

I own a Jcally JM6 Pro, which is essentially the JM6 with an additional amplification chip, the MAX97220 to be precise, and it exhibits none of the behavior you've mentioned.

I'm using with a Xiaomi 11T running Android 13, and a variety of different IEMs, and have never experienced any odd behavior.

All three CX-based dongles I have crackle when plugging something in on two different Android phones (versions 10 and 13) and my Windows 10 PC. And they either autoplay music when connecting if a music player is open or bring up Google assistant (obviously not on the Windows PC).

 

[Ismapics]

Heatshrink, would make the whole thing stiff, and can damage the USB socket on the phone if tugged, rendering an expensive phone useless.
I rather go through ten flimsy dongles, that snap my phone's USB socket.

Have not had any problems with an iPhone 11 bought in 2020 and using 2 dongles one in my bag another in my desk, both heat shrink , no problems to report on either end. BTW not that stiff at all, they bend fine.