Most power-efficient USB-C-to-3.5mm dongle?

[bigdoinks]

Hi, I know a lot of talk on here is regarding getting the best possible audio fidelity but I am not an audiophile at all and am solely interested in finding whatever USB-C-to-3.5mm dongle will use the least of my iPad’s battery?

I’ve seen lots of thorough analysis on here but being a complete novice I cannot comprehend a lot of the information and was just hoping for some guidance. Is there any definitive data that says for instance whether the Google Pixel adapter uses more or less power than the Apple one?

Thanks all

 

[johnp98]

I am also interested in this. What would be the best "bang for your buck" dongle for mobile use and could it work for iOS and USB-C?

 

[TchErNoB]

I put the helm audio bolt on my list but I might not be up to date

 

[solderdude]

Hi, I know a lot of talk on here is regarding getting the best possible audio fidelity but I am not an audiophile at all and am solely interested in finding whatever USB-C-to-3.5mm dongle will use the least of my iPad’s battery?

I’ve seen lots of thorough analysis on here but being a complete novice I cannot comprehend a lot of the information and was just hoping for some guidance. Is there any definitive data that says for instance whether the Google Pixel adapter uses more or less power than the Apple one?

Welcome...

Amir does not measure current draw of DAC's so alas you won't find any answers here.
I don't know of anyone (aside from IVX) who measures drawn current from dongles. In IVX's case he wanted to see the maximum that can be drawn without any issues.

My son has a Samsung dongle.
I will try to measure the current and post it here but that will serve little use because you need to compare currents.

 

[Beershaun]

Welcome...

Amir does not measure current draw of DAC's so alas you won't find any answers here.
I don't know of anyone (aside from IVX) who measures drawn current from dongles. In IVX's case he wanted to see the maximum that can be drawn without any issues.

My son has a Samsung dongle.
I will try to measure the current and post it here but that will serve little use because you need to compare currents.

Would amplifier power be a proxy for battery drain?
Should the OP look for amplifiers that are in the lower power range?

 

[solderdude]

Most likely the biggest draw will be from the digital parts as that is constant even in the absence of any music.
Assuming a headphone being played at normal levels will draw about 1mW on average means about 1mA (5mW) of the total current draw will be from headphones.

 

[Bullwinkle J Moose]

Get a battery powered USB DAC

I use a Fiio BTR3K as both a bluetooth receiver, AND a hard wired driverless USB DAC

 

[solderdude]

I checked and with a low impedance headphone running loud the drawn current remains below 10mA (smallest level the meter has).
The Samsung dongle is advertised to have a current draw that is so low that battery drainage does not increase.
Isn't a bad sounding dongle either + cheap.

 

[Saidera]

I would assume the Apple dongle, with its 24/48 limited CS46L06, has very low power requirements, but it can drain a phone significantly if it's kept connected overnight.

 

[staticV3]

The Meizu HiFi is a great contender imo.
230mW while playing music and it automatically goes into standby, at which point the power consumption drops to just 9mW.

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