Need a new and durable USB C dongle DAC/AMP for flying

[agiletiger]

Two of my dongles have gotten pretty beat up from travel - 75 flights already year to date. I know that the simplest solution is to just buy multiple Apple dongles. A few months ago, I got the JCally JM20 Max and fell in love with it - the extra volume boost made my listening so much more enjoyable. What sucks is that after a wet short amount of time, if the dongle gets jostled ever so slightly, the sound disconnects. I’m getting sick of constantly unplugging and plugging in the dongle. So I’m basically looking for a replacement for the JCally JM20 Max that’s much more durable.

 

[rcstevensonaz]

... [T]he extra volume boost made my listening so much more enjoyable.

I have tinnitus; so does my wife. We both trace it to listening to music on international flights ... despite using over the ear headphones with active noise cancellation. We can't prove it; but both us independently believe that was the cause. And I massively regret that period of time when I switched away from my Etymotic IEMs to a blue-tooth powered ANC over-the-ear phones.

My very strong recommendation:

• Get a pair of in-ear headphones with the highest rating for blocking noise (e.g., Etymotic ER2SE); and I would use the flange rubber tips instead of foam since that provides greater noise reduction
• Use those anytime you listen to anything on an airplane

I am not an expert on acoustic sound pressure, but I believe that a good IEM will sound louder (since so much closer to the ear drum) with much less sound pressure to start with. And better since the passive noise reduction already blocks out nearly all of the background noise, so a vastly lower noise floor to overcome.

And with that, the stock USB-C to 3.5 mm headphone dongle from Apple or Samsung will be far more than loud enough (as will any other dongle). So now, focus on quality rather than the need for being loud enough to sound good on an airplane... and loud enough to help lead to permanent tinnitus.

 

[agiletiger]

I have tinnitus; so does my wife. We both trace it to listening to music on international flights ... despite using over the ear headphones with active noise cancellation. We can't prove it; but both us independently believe that was the cause. And I massively regret that period of time when I switched away from my Etymotic IEMs to a blue-tooth powered ANC over-the-ear phones.

My very strong recommendation:

• Get a pair of in-ear headphones with the highest rating for blocking noise (e.g., Etymotic ER2SE); and I would use the flange rubber tips instead of foam since that provides greater noise reduction
• Use those anytime you listen to anything on an airplane

I am not an expert on acoustic sound pressure, but I believe that a good IEM will sound louder (since so much closer to the ear drum) with much less sound pressure to start with. And better since the passive noise reduction already blocks out nearly all of the background noise, so a vastly lower noise floor to overcome.

And with that, the stock USB-C to 3.5 mm headphone dongle from Apple or Samsung will be far more than loud enough (as will any other dongle). So now, focus on quality rather than the need for being loud enough to sound good on an airplane... and loud enough to help lead to permanent tinnitus.

I’ve had tinnitus in my left ear long before I switched to IEM’s. If I had to guess, it was from working in a factory for years - even with ear protection. Happened well before my road warrior days. I am already using IEM’s: Topping Hané. Love it. I was ok with the Apple dongle but the JM20 Max spoiled me. I know exactly where my hearing loss lies - 4khz. I listen to mostly classical so we’re talking piccolo, high violin and overtones. I have a Bose QC45 which I finally stopped listening to because music did not sound good on it. I am more than happy dealing with the hassles of wires going forward.

 

[ShadowBoxer]

Fosi DS2 is too big? (cable is outboard of the DAC in case it gets damaged).

Or TRN Black Pearl. (similar size)

 

[agiletiger]

Fosi DS2 is too big? (cable is outboard of the DAC in case it gets damaged).

Or TRN Black Pearl. (similar size)

Will these easily fit in my pocket along with my iPhone?

 

[ZolaIII]

A CS43131 of your choice with separate replaceable USB cable and bunch of them. If Apple dongle has enough power to your needs and you find it cheaper then first solution then bunch of those. If it's Android phone and you don't mind hustle of additional adjustment of LDAC codec (96 KHz, 24 bit high) then BT dongle still based on CS43131 DAC might be a better solution. They start at about 50$ and with small power bank easily can last even longest flight (8~10 h on their own and 100+ even with small one attached to them). Why? Well USB port dosent only get bricked on mail connector but sooner or later also on the phone female port side. Sorry about your tinnitus and hearing loss, try to compensate and autended it at least partially with PEQ/GEQ. Wavelet can do it with additional GEK for free on Android along with big base of headphone presets for Harman targets and it's not that hard to bake samy costume ones (with Auto-EQ) and future adopt them (by hand in text editor).

 

[ShadowBoxer]

Will these easily fit in my pocket along with my iPhone?

Size of an original thumb drive so depends on the pocket.

 

[Human Bass]

I really like my Moondrop Echo B.

 

[MCH]

with separate replaceable USB cable

i think this is the secret for durability. For instance the soundblaster xfi amp, no fixed cable in the unit, if one breaks, just replace it. Extra plus: actual volume buttons. minus: power consumption.

 

[ZolaIII]

i think this is the secret for durability. For instance the soundblaster xfi amp, no fixed cable in the unit, if one breaks, just replace it. Extra plus: actual volume buttons. minus: power consumption.

It's weakest part always and when you can and it's easy to replace it's not much of a problem, works for all things.

 

[Timcognito]

Upper left > Review Index >Audio Electronics in banner > type dongle in Search box. Read all comments of interesting ones. Come back with questions as there so many good ones. Not trying to be flippant

 

[Somafunk]

My Hiby D1 dongle is decent, or so I consider as it has volume buttons that offer many more volume steps rather than the usual iPhone/ipad volume steps, it only has 65mw output but can power all my iem’s/headphone in signature below with ease. Seems to have a very secure braide cable and good strain relief. Another bonus is it does not drain much battery

HiBy Digital D1

The HiBy Digital D1 is a miniature USB audio dongle that may be connected to smartphones and computers alike! Best match: HiBy Digital D1 + HiBy Yves 6mm Micro-dynamic Ti-plated HiFi Earphones

store.hiby.com

 

[agiletiger]

View attachment 466446

Upper left > Review Index >Audio Electronics in banner > type dongle in Search box. Read all comments of interesting ones. Come back with questions as there so many good ones. Not trying to be flippant

Well others answered my question more than adequately. I still looked at the list and…came to the same choice? ‍

 

[Timcognito]

Well others answered my question more than adequately. I still looked at the list and…came to the same choice? ‍

Great news. But my point restated; some of us are settled on are their choice on particular device and no longer look at posts on that topic, as they once did so there is plethora of information in those other reviews. Also things that were very popular three years ago may still make one very happy to recommend it but now can be found with better performance, more features at a lower price. So by sorting reviews one may find that what they seeking is available with more for less with better features as Amir only tests the I/O with little subjective observation.

 

[Mr. Reeee]

Two of my dongles have gotten pretty beat up from travel - 75 flights already year to date. I know that the simplest solution is to just buy multiple Apple dongles. A few months ago, I got the JCally JM20 Max and fell in love with it - the extra volume boost made my listening so much more enjoyable. What sucks is that after a wet short amount of time, if the dongle gets jostled ever so slightly, the sound disconnects. I’m getting sick of constantly unplugging and plugging in the dongle. So I’m basically looking for a replacement for the JCally JM20 Max that’s much more durable.

75 flights! Wow!
My wife and I do 5 or 6 long distance flights per year and that seems excessive.

Like rcstevensonaz, I’ve been using Etymōtic ER4 series IEMs for years! Currently ER4SR.
Not a fan of over-ear headphone for lengthy listening sessions and I’m a bit suspicious of noise cancelling ‘phones and how it may affect hearing.

Recently, I replaced the standard Etymōtic eartips with Comply memory foam tips.
Not only are they MUCH more comfortable, but they seem to isolate a bit more and definitely improve the sound.

I got a $30 FiiO DAC and like it, but the cord frayed after 2 round trip flights to Europe, so I just picked up an iFi Audio Go Link Max Amp/DAC.

Testing at my Mac, it sounds better that the FiiO DAC, but not as good as my Chord Mojo 2 (which I only use connected to my Mac).
The FiiO also heated up on an 8 hour flight and ripped through my iPhone 16 Pro battery, so I got a USB-C “Y” adaptor that allows for listening and charging simultaneously. Hopefully, that will solve all any annoyances.

Will field test again when I head to Europe again in a couple months.

​

 

[rcstevensonaz]

Like @rcstevensonaz, I’ve been using Etymōtic ER4 series IEMs for years! Currently ER4SR.

I'm currently using using the Etymotic ER2SE Studio Edition Earphone for airplane travel. And I have an Apple USB-C dongle permanently attached to those headphones — where both the headphones and the attached dongle are stored together in the little Etymotic pouch, which lives in my travel backpack so it is always with me when I travel.

However, this does not solve the OP's issue since the Etymotic IEMs needs a USB-C dongle... which was the OP's original question.

My vote is for the Apple dongle if you have a friend who can bring or ship you one (or a few) from outside the EU.

[On a side note, I think the foam tips have less noise reduction than the tri-tips. So personally, I've avoided those. However, @JohnYang1997 (a few years ago) spoke very highly of the audio quality of the ER2 with foam tips.]

 

[Mr. Reeee]

I'm currently using using the Etymotic ER2SE Studio Edition Earphone for airplane travel. And I have an Apple USB-C dongle permanently attached to those headphones — where both the headphones and the attached dongle are stored together in the little Etymotic pouch, which lives in my travel backpack so it is always with me when I travel.

However, this does not solve the OP's issue since the Etymotic IEMs needs a USB-C dongle... which was the OP's original question.

My vote is for the Apple dongle if you have a friend who can bring or ship you one (or a few) from outside the EU.

The Apple dongles are fine. They're cheap and work. Have used those forever.

[On a side note, I think the foam tips have less noise reduction than the tri-tips. So personally, I've avoided those. However, @JohnYang1997 (a few years ago) spoke very highly of the audio quality of the ER2 with foam tips.]

Are you thinking of the standard Etymōtic foam tips? They look horrible, so I never tried them.

The Etymōtic tips I always found uncomfortable and I've been using them since I think the lat 90s.
The doubles are somewhat better than the triples.

The Comply tips are memory foam, so they're completely different from the lousy Ety foam tips.
Initially, I got some for my Apple AirPods Pro which I could never get to not fall out of my ears.
Not only do they stay in my ears, but actually sound a bit better, so I decided to try them with my ER4SRs.

I can use them for an entire 8 - 9 hour plane trip and barely notice them!
They're worth trying!

https://www.amazon.com/Designed-NuForce-ISOtunes-Etymotic-Research/dp/B008PF0YD0/ref=sr_1_4_pp?crid=2YMLEZQTOVQO3&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.EuW-NbPeP9PSa7afHvYKG1bc-5lU8YQ9fBruwCE911o0VBsWK8Zi_MfHggD-JNgWLi8jTTq-24_UZ3RJfFO3LD5Gp2azc2ae-zPPvmydQIpbp_FB2m4BYsFQG90D49KpdBdaO1mISZJ3gP_Dg843k-i9Dlrmu3vvjDdD2w_cxM_D4c84aftc9N3onhGvYfWft9FWvMZiRZVujIqNXlKmDiNOD-TMInCrIdnFn9CvpU0.RSuxfa7-Z4b__rqu60lqxypRf3aC4RGPcHBZUd1nHpQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=comply%2Bfoam%2Btips&qid=1769451403&sprefix=comply%2Caps%2C160&sr=8-4&th=1

 

[rcstevensonaz]

The Apple dongles are fine. They're cheap and work. Have used those forever.

According to OP, Apple dongles sold in the EU are mandated to put out less power than those available in the USA and elsewhere. So for OP's use case, the EU version of the Apple dongle are not fine.

Not only do they stay in my ears, but actually sound a bit better, so I decided to try them with my ER4SRs.

Foam tips sounding better on Etymotic IEMs is consistent with @JohnYang1997's posted experience as well. I personally choose the higher level of noise reduction, even if it is less comfortable and it means missing out on that last bit of audio quality. However, this is entirely off-topic of the OP's post, which was about finding a dongle (not about IEMs).

 

[Mr. Reeee]

According to OP, Apple dongles sold in the EU are mandated to put out less power than those available in the USA and elsewhere. So for OP's use case, the EU version of the Apple dongle are not fine.

OK, that's the first time I heard that about different dongle power output. Good to know!
Is the volume level dramatically different with the EU version vs. the US version?

I guess Googling for a USB-C dongle with higher output would be the next step.

Foam tips sounding better on Etymotic IEMs is consistent with @JohnYang1997's posted experience as well. I personally choose the higher level of noise reduction, even if it is less comfortable and it means missing out on that last bit of audio quality. o

To me, it seems like the Comply tips have more noise reduction and better sound than either of Etymōtic tips.
They’re a lot more comfortable, especially for long listening sessions.
I prefer the Etymōtic double eartips to the triple tips.

However, this is entirely off-topic of the OP's post, which was about finding a dongle (not about IEMs).

Welcome to the internet, eh?

 

[jazbrokr]

FIIO QX13. Magnetically sticks to the iPad or phone case. Huge power and great DAC. It is small and light, but bigger than a dac where it is in the dongle. Magnitudes better though.