Portable DAC+Headphone Amp for terrace use

[Jose Hidalgo]

Hi everybody,

My wife wants to listen to our headphones outside in our terrace, with her Android smartphone as source (Xiaomi Redmi 9 Pro with MIUI 12.5).
So I've been looking for a portable DAC+Headphone Amp, for 100 €/$ max.


Requirements:

• It needs of course to be powered by the smartphone, which has a big enough battery (5000 mAh) and a USB-C connector.
• It needs to provide enough power to drive our two most difficult headphones (HD 600 and Sundara) to comfortable listening levels.
• All headphones will be EQed using Android software such as PowerAmp Equalizer or Wavelet.
  => That means that we need to account for a negative preamp between -5.5 and -7.1 dB depending on the preset.
• We only use unbalanced, not balanced.

Solutions:

• Topping DX1 (99 €) was my first idea, so I asked a couple of questions in its ASR topic. Spec-wise it's perfect. It's USB-powered and portable... but is it portable enough for a comfortable outside use? I am not so sure. Also, its cable is USB-A, not USB-C. Topping could at least provide an OTG USB-A to USB-C adapter nowadays.
  => Power: 280 mW @32 Ohm (unbalanced)
  
  
• iBasso DC03 Pro (75 €, even 64 € by searching a little ) seems like a great deal for the price. It seems to fit the bill too spec-wise, and it's much more portable than the DX1. But is it powerful enough for our HD600 and our Sundara? That is the real question.
  => Power: ~100 mW @ 32 Ohm (unbalanced)
  
  
• iBasso DC04 Pro (120 €) is a bit too expensive though. Compared to the DC03 Pro it adds balanced to the mix : it has two connectors (3.5 and 4.4mm) and it can output 280mW @ 32 Ohm (balanced). But we don't use balanced, so we'd need a good reason to buy it (or a sale below 100 € ).
  => Power: ~140 mW @ 32 Ohm I guess? (unbalanced)
  
  
• Hidizs S9 (110 €) has a nice review on ASR, but it's more expensive, so we'd need a really good reason to buy it over the others.
  => Power: 100 mW @ 32 Ohm (unbalanced)
  
  
• FiiO KA3 (90 €) is within our budget. But how would it compare to the others for the intended use?
  => Power: 130 mW @ 32 Ohm (unbalanced)
  
  
• ... other alternatives?

Bottom line:

• The DX1 delivers the best specs. Particularly in the "Power/Price" ratio (280mW for 99 €). But it's also the less portable. So we would only buy it if all others weren't powerful enough for the intended outside use. And for inside use we already have our E30/L30 stacks. For comparison, the L30 can deliver 1040 mW @ 32 Ohm. If my calculations are correct, 280 mW means -6 dB max power, and 100 mW means -10 dB max power. Am I right? (I was expecting worse...)
• So it would probably be better to buy one of the others... IF it's powerful enough for our use. Unfortunately we can't try before we buy, so...

What would you recommend in our case, and why? We're a bit lost here...

Thank you.

 

[Dunring]

I've had the DX1 and a moto g power phone and tried what your looking to do. With full size headphones like that and cutting the volume in half with a premp reduction, the DX1 will drain the battery very quickly.
My advice is do the opposite and get the Truthear Crinnacle Zero IEM for outdoor use with an Apple 3.5mm adapter. I have them and they won't drain the phone or need eq. It'll be the same outdoor convenience, and those open back models won't give any outdoor sound insulation, and the Zero will. It's just what I'd do after trying the DX1 and watching my battery meter go down as quickly as it did with a full size headset on it.

 

[rarewolf]

It needs to provide enough power to drive our two most difficult headphones (HD 600 and Sundara) to comfortable listening levels.

You’re asking for a lot of power from a smartphone. You’ve rated all dongles for 32Ohm when the HD600 is 300Ohm, and the Sundaras are not power efficient, especially if powered from SE. You’re probably much better off referencing the sound quality from these cans and asking about something efficient enough to satisfy your portability needs… and probably raising your outlook at price…

 

[Jose Hidalgo]

My advice is do the opposite and get the Truthear Crinnacle Zero IEM

I can't believe what I'm reading.
I haven't asked for a headphone recommendation or ways to save power.
Moving on.

You’ve rated all dongles for 32Ohm when the HD600 is 300Ohm

It was just to give an idea! I wasn't even forced to do that. I'm not going to post all the measurements here. FYI the DX1 is rated for ~40 mW @ 300 Ohm.

I know about the HD 600's impedance. And I also know that the Sundara, despite its 37 Ohm impedance, is just as difficult to drive. Do you know why? Because of its poor efficiency and high current requirements. Which reminds me that I have this nice table excerpt for our headphones, which I should have checked earlier (see the "Power for S.P.L." part) :

Driving the HD 600 to 120 dB (or 114.5 dB when EQed) with a DX1 and without EQ would require 10 mW @ 300 Ohm which is 25% of the available power of the DX1.
Driving the Sundara to 120 dB (or 112.9 dB when EQed) with a DX1 and without EQ would require 40 mW @ 37 Ohm which is 15% of the available power of the DX1.
Both figures are very comparable (not to mention that we'd need 1.6 dB more for the Sundara to match the HD 600 when EQed).
Impedance is not all.

And of course my wife doesn't want to drive our headphones to 120 dB while sunbathing. Not even to 100 dB. Her needs are more reasonable. Which is why I'm starting to believe that any of the aforementioned models should do for the intended use.

Back to the actual topic I hope...

 

[rarewolf]

I can't believe what I'm reading.
I haven't asked for a headphone recommendation or ways to save power.
Moving on.


It was just to give an idea! I wasn't even forced to do that. I'm not going to post all the measurements here. FYI the DX1 is rated for ~40 mW @ 300 Ohm.

I know about the HD 600's impedance. And I also know that the Sundara, despite its 37 Ohm impedance, is just as difficult to drive. Do you know why? Because of its poor efficiency and high current requirements. Which reminds me that I have this nice table excerpt for our headphones, which I should have checked earlier (see the "Power for S.P.L." part) :

View attachment 286785
Driving the HD 600 to 120 dB (or 114.5 dB when EQed) with a DX1 and without EQ would require 10 mW @ 300 Ohm which is 25% of the available power of the DX1.
Driving the Sundara to 120 dB (or 112.9 dB when EQed) with a DX1 and without EQ would require 40 mW @ 37 Ohm which is 15% of the available power of the DX1.
Both figures are very comparable (not to mention that we'd need 1.6 dB more for the Sundara to match the HD 600 when EQed).
Impedance is not all.

And of course my wife doesn't want to drive our headphones to 120 dB while sunbathing. Not even to 100 dB. Her needs are more reasonable. Which is why I'm starting to believe that any of the aforementioned models should do for the intended use.

Back to the actual topic I hope...

There’s a difference between adequate power and driving your cans to their full potential. Given the power your wanting versus the inefficient cans you’ve got, to my own hearing, there are Bluetooth solutions that would better fit the bill…

In the grand scheme, you’re not talking about very much money… and given the variables (inefficiency, low power, portability), I doubt if anyone here can do anything but speculate as to exactly what you will hear. If you’re expecting a dongle to compare with your Topping stack, for $100, personally, I believe you’re going to be disappointed.

 

[Jose Hidalgo]

But I have NEVER said that I was expecting a dongle to fully compare with our E30/L30 stacks. That's not the point.
My wife just needs something portable that will give her enough loudness outside, with a "noticeable" quality improvement vs. her phone's 3.5mm jack, that's all.
So once again: WE ARE NOT GOING TO BUY ANY OTHER HEADPHONES. Not IEMs, not Bluetooth, nothing.
(this is why I hate Internet discussions. Because of people's own "creative" interpretations about what one has or hasn't said. It's difficult to remain calm)

I don't need speculation either. A member of this board could very well own a similar solution and confirm that indeed it provides enough power. I've found some topics on Reddit about driving a HD 600 with dongles, and people seem happy. Same thing on Head-Fi. I've opened this topic to confirm my own research, because I tend to prefer ASR. More real experts, more rational people and less audiophile fanatics.

 

[rarewolf]

But I have NEVER said that I was expecting a dongle to fully compare with our E30/L30 stacks. That's not the point.

[…]

My point is, given your budget, the decision you’ve already made, and the choices provided… you may as well choose the device based on features and not sound quality… or, take a chance—you’re talking about the least expensive …

Keep in mind that numbers are only numbers, and sensitivity and impedance measurements are only there for comparison purposes—they do not represent the entire sound spectrum.

Personally, I take the issue of portability much more seriously than you do

 

[Jimbob54]

Qudelix 5k, use it Bluetooth with Ldac codec so it's self powered (or from a small battery pack), inbuilt eq too (can import your own settings or use autoeq)

If you only want wired I'd look at the e1da 9038d. More power single ended than the 5k.

 

[Jose Hidalgo]

Thanks Jimbo. Yes, we're about wired. We're both done with Bluetooth. Just too much hassle.
On paper the e1da sounds nice, since it can provide up to 180mW @ 32 Ohm and 20 mW @ 300 Ohm.
However it's said to pick up 2G/4G/5G interference and it's not recommended for smartphone use.
Amir didn't mention that in his review, so I don't know what to think.

 

[Jimbob54]

Thanks Jimbo. Yes, we're about wired. We're both done with Bluetooth. Just too much hassle.
On paper the e1da sounds nice, since it can provide up to 180mW @ 32 Ohm and 20 mW @ 300 Ohm.
However it's said to pick up 2G/4G/5G interference and it's not recommended for smartphone use.
Amir didn't mention that in his review, so I don't know what to think.

I think the cellphone thing depends on country /region/network. Never had any issue in the UK. Plus they are a couple of generations in now

 

[Zim]

Ditto on Jimbob's recommendation. Qudelix or the E1DA should be sufficient.

 

[Jimbob54]

Thanks Jimbo. Yes, we're about wired. We're both done with Bluetooth. Just too much hassle.
On paper the e1da sounds nice, since it can provide up to 180mW @ 32 Ohm and 20 mW @ 300 Ohm.
However it's said to pick up 2G/4G/5G interference and it's not recommended for smartphone use.
Amir didn't mention that in his review, so I don't know what to think.

Oh, the Q5K can of course be run wired. But then of course you can't run it from a battery pack. Has own internal battery though.

Amir's listening findings with hp similar to yours was interesting. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...qudelix-5k-bluetooth-dac-headphone-amp.17386/

 

[Jose Hidalgo]

My instinct (and my wife's taste) is telling me to lean towards the iBasso DC03 Pro.

Recent measurements by an ASR member look pretty good: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s/quick-measurement-of-ibasso-dc03-pro.44595/

Here are some reviews from Head-Fi - all pros, no cons: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/ibasso-dc03-pro.26129/reviews
Most importantly, one of the reviewers had it drive a HD 660S without issues (not EQed though I guess).
I've found a similar review on Amazon about a HD 650. No problems either.

As if it weren't enough, this other review states this:

On top of that, the power supply gets a completely redesigned synchronous DC-DC converter, feeding a Texas Instruments Low-Noise Charge Pump Plus LDO, which minimizes power consumption. Long story short, the iBasso DC03PRO drags half less power than other DAC and outputs more current.

As confirmed by Head-Fi reviews:

The device is powered by a smartphone / tablet battery, but it does not suffer from “gluttony”, so you should not worry about increased battery discharge on your phone.

All that for 64 € (probably a promotional price to empty the stocks because the balanced DC04 Pro is available now), it looks like a clear "Go" for me.

 

[Jose Hidalgo]

Of course, my reasoning would be different in the case of balanced

But all our equipment (headphone amplifiers and headphone cables) is unbalanced, and that's a deliberate choice from the start. We don't want/need balanced. There's an ASR topic where that was discussed back in time. We are happy with what we have, and we don't need more, so I don't think we'll be switching to balanced in the future.

I will report once we have made our choice (we haven't passed the order yet, so everything is still possible) and received the product, so I can confirm exactly how it works with our equipment.

 

[Jose Hidalgo]

Our L30 amps are unbalanced anyway, so the only use for balanced would be for my wife (current topic), if she got a balanced dongle of course.
But I don't think she'll ever need that, because her outside listening is relaxed and within reasonable sound levels. Honestly I don't think she ever goes louder than 90 dB.

Not to mention that it would be a hassle:

• Some of our headphones may have balanced cables, but other don't
• We would need 3.5mm to (2.5mm or 4.4mm) adapters, which aren't necessarily cheap

All that to get more power only when using the dongle, when the dongle itself will probably deliver more than enough power in unbalanced mode.
So no, I don't think it's worth it.

 

[rarewolf]

Of course, my reasoning would be different in the case of balanced

But all our equipment (headphone amplifiers and headphone cables) is unbalanced, …

Any decoding and amplification of digital data delivered via USB can begin again as balanced analog… for example, smartphone-to-DAC/Amp dongle.

Not all implementations of balanced will double the voltage relative to SE, but do check, it could help (… and help with draining your smartphone more quickly…)