Powerful Dongle DAC with Mic In

[Thiuda]

I own the x-fi amp and have recomended it here zillions of times. Has 10 band eq and decent physical volume buttons. I have never used it with a mic though (i didn't even know it is possible).
Often can be bought bundled with some creative earbuds for 70 eur in eu and i think 60usd in us.

Back to topic...

I ordered the x-fi AMP yesterday for 66$, I think that is a bargain for:

• Solid Alumium design
• Physical Buttons
• Seperate volume control
• 19mW @ 300Ohm
• 121mW @ 33Ohm
• 101db Sinad
• Mic in
• Build in EQ (10band)
• X-Fi Surround for Movies and Games

I Hope it performs as i anticipate, lets see....

 

[MCH]

Back to topic...

I ordered the x-fi AMP yesterday for 66$, I think that is a bargain for:

• Solid Alumium design
• Physical Buttons
• Seperate volume control
• 19mW @ 300Ohm
• 121mW @ 33Ohm
• 101db Sinad

I Hope it performs as i anticipate, lets see....

I hope you enjoy it. What i find rather unique is the built in eq, but i understand you might not need it.

 

[ZolaIII]

While X-Fi dongle checks all bells you really won't find a unbalanced dongle like USB device that will be able to provide enough power to drive hi impedance can's for simple reason that USB out on the phones won't be able to provide them with enough power to start with. If you don't insist on dongle see how SBX G6 fit's your needs (ADC is just basic but enough for chat and such and it won't work from phone as power source). If you insist on both portable and unbalanced you will have to use flask alike battery powered amp and if you want you can try with balanced one's. My advice is use portable lo to mid impedance hedaphones on the go to start with.

 

[staticV3]

High impedance ≠ hard to drive.
High impedance + low sensitivity = hard to drive.
My 300Ω HD600 gets more than loud enough with even the 0.5Vrms EU Apple dongle.

 

[Thiuda]

I hope you enjoy it. What i find rather unique is the built in eq, but i understand you might not need it.

Thanks, I might use it for slight adjustments, i am not against EQing in general.
I added this to the list for people searching something similar in the future.

While X-Fi dongle checks all bells you really won't find a unbalanced dongle like USB device that will be able to provide enough power to drive hi impedance can's for simple reason that USB out on the phones won't be able to provide them with enough power to start with. If you don't insist on dongle see how SBX G6 fit's your needs (ADC is just basic but enough for chat and such and it won't work from phone as power source). If you insist on both portable and unbalanced you will have to use flask alike battery powered amp and if you want you can try with balanced one's. My advice is use portable lo to mid impedance hedaphones on the go to start with.

Most of the dongle DACs will provide 14mW @300Ohm, thats not enough to power some of my cans and i like to have some headroom on top.
But the Creative X-Fi Amp will output 19mW @300Ohm, therefore i am optimistic.

If it´s not sufficient i still can go down the Qudelix-5K route with 23mW @300Ohm.
Despite the lower Sinad, worse Button layout, and higher Total Harmonic Distortion.

 

[ZolaIII]

Thanks, I might use it for slight adjustments, i am not against EQing in general.
I added this to the list for people searching something similar in the future.



Most of the dongle DACs will provide 14mW @300Ohm, thats not enough to power some of my cans and i like to have some headroom on top.
But the Creative X-Fi Amp will put out 19mW @300Ohm, therefore i am optimistic.

If it´s not sufficient i still can go down the Qudelix-5K route with 23mW @300Ohm.
Despite the lower Sinad, worse Button layout, and higher Total Harmonic Distortion.

If you need additional flask alike battery powered amp see if you can find Topping NX3S (I know it's not very convenient but nothing is).

 

[staticV3]

@Thiuda
The Qudelix 5K can only provide 2Vrms max via its 3.5mm headphone port:

Qudelix themselves confirm this:

Link

2.0Vrms @300Ω = 13.33mW

My own SXFI Amp does 2.64Vrms at 300Ω -> 23.2mW.
That means that it is a little over 2dB louder than the 5K when using 3.5mm unbalanced. That is about 16% more loudness.

If you're forced to use 3.5mm Unbal, then you would actually lose volume going from the SXFI to the 5K.
Going from the SXFI to the 5K's 2.5mm Bal port however would be a 3.6dB or 28% increase in loudness.

 

[Thiuda]

Hello,

i now had the Creative SXFi Amp and the THX Onyx here over the weekend.
Both get plenty loud with inefficient lower impedance Cans like modded T50RPs.
The Creative has a little bit more power with high impedance Cans, i wish the Onyx had this too, it is borderline (No Headroom).

Sadly in comparison the Creative SXFi Dongle sound a little compressed (in the matter of space).
On several recordings with multiple layers of sound and instrumentation it sounded agitated, listening is rather stressful.
The separation is not as wide and clean as the THX Onyx, on less complex recordings it is not that striking though.


No i did no scientific blind testing, but my basic setting for this devices was fairly unbiased.
I even let my wife listen to both dongles, to get a second opinion, so to say "non-partisan"
She couldn't find the terminology, but she said the SXFI sounded uneasy in comparison and she couldn't grasp some of the background instruments as clearly.

The XFi Spacial Sound is unusable for music, a nice gimmick for Films, but i dislike the strong reverb.
Build is good and i really like the physical buttons, this would have been a bargain at 60€.
I had a strange problem with TRRS Headphones, some times the SXFi would not play until unplugging and replugging the headphone.

For now the Onyx may stays...

 

[Thiuda]

@staticV3
You have been right about the Qudelix output power.


Today i tested the Qudelix of a colleague for a little while against the Onyx.
First of all i really like the Build, the metal clamp and form factor works.
It is considerably less powerful with low impedance Cans (Single ended), i will have to try high impedance tomorrow.

Sound wise i can only give first impressions after quick volume matching.
The Onyx seems to have a slightly larger sound stage and spatial effects (eg. Yosi Horikawa) are more convincing.
There was more clarity with the Onyx, some details had been a little easier to perceive.
I had the feeling the Qudelix didn't like to get pushed to hard, i did not try balanced though.


But i really liked the Qudelix and the idea of walking around with the headphones, it have to admit is a nice package.
Now i am thinking about trying the iFi GO blu, it seems to be the most powerful BT unit...
But i did not read a lot of praise for iFi here and i doubt there is a battery saving mod like with the Qudelix.

 

[Thiuda]

With high impedance Headphones the Qudelix works nearly as good as the Onyx, i dont have to push it as hard.

I have to say the convenience of walking around with a BT Dongle is tempting.
The App is fantastic, even without heavy PEQ usage the app is a great piece of software.
This little device is growing on me.

I will do some more listening...

 

[Thiuda]

Even though the Onyx is slightly better in detail and soundstage (unbalanced) I just ordered the Qudelix 5k.
It is just too convenient to not own one...


Now I am shopping for balanced cables...
Thanks for the nice discussion and suggestions

 

[Vik]

Now i am thinking about trying the iFi GO blu, it seems to be the most powerful BT unit...

Yes, the Go Blu doesn't have a mic input AFAIK, but it has a mic. And there are many positive reviews out there.

 

[Thiuda]

Yes, the Go Blu doesn't have a mic input AFAIK, but it has a mic. And there are many positive reviews out there.

The GO Blu has multiple issues which are a dealbreaker for me.

There is no companion App for Setup. Therefore there is also no option to check the Battery or activate a battery safe mode.
I read about multiple Users with Battery failure all across the different platforms.
This device is not recommended for desktop use.

The GO Blu has very loud background noise with low impedance / high sensitivity headphones.

The BT reception is worse compared to Qudelix/Fiio, not my main concern, but worth mentioning.

 

[Vik]

Hi again, I know there are reported issues with the GO Blu, but I seem to find negative comments about a lot of DACamps which by others are reported as brilliant. I haven't tried it yet, but I consider doing it to check if the issues that have been mentioned still are there – and if I do, and it sounds great, I'll probably keep it. (I already have an RME Babyface Pro and a small Msckie mixer for desktop/other use.)
With so many 5 star reviews and 75% of the buyers on Amazon give it top score, it can't be as uesless as some claim it is – at least not for everybody. But thanks for the overview of what you have found. I'll read more about it.

 

[staticV3]

Resolve did a great review of a few Bluetooth adapters:

 

[Thiuda]

With so many 5 star reviews and 75% of the buyers on Amazon give it top score, it can't be as uesless as some claim it is – at least not for everybody. But thanks for the overview of what you have found. I'll read more about it.

Sure you will find negative ratings for every product.
I don’t think the GO Blu is bad, but without saving mode for the battery I would not recommend to use this plugged in all the time.

I want to use the device a lot plugged into my work notebook, therefore the GO Blu was ruled out.


Seeing the Measurements of other iFi devices here I am not sure the GO Blu will measure any better then the Qudelix.

In comparison to the Onyx the subjective quality of the Qudelix was good, a little less soundstage and detail, a tad warmer then the Onyx (which can give the impression of less detail also).
Overall very good, no noise, absolutely silent even with very efficient headphones.

 

[michty_me]

Hi everyone, A little unsure if I should have started a new thread or not but my needs are basically the same as the OP.

I currently have a Soundblaster G3 in my laptop bag and use it mostly with HD560S and occassionally K702. However I've been using my Asgard 3+Modius on my desktop for a number of months. I've just gone away with work and unpacked the laptop with G3 but now everything just sounds a bit flat and cramped, No detail really and struggling to pick out things I could.
That and the G3 has started crackling and popping so I'm on the hunt for a new portable Amp/Dac that may help me achieve a bit more audio quality. I don't think the power capabilities they claim are true with it.

I've been looking at and recommended the following:

Qudelix 5K - May be harder to come by in the UK.
THX Oynx as OP mentioned it - Looks rather interesting..
SXFI as it is reduced to £39 currently new. What puts me off another creative product was that sound just felt more enclosed and harder to distinguish between cues.

Any others worth considering?

My requirements are portable via USB-C, Mic in and under £100 (Maybe under £150 at a push) that's basically it.

 

[ZolaIII]

@michty_me do you intend to use it with laptop and such only (not with phones and tablets)?
It will seam corny but re consider SBX G6 with all Creative inconveniences regarding drivers and rather bad ADC not good for anything more than in game chat or conversation. Unfortunately I can't find it good priced in the UK right now.

 

[michty_me]

@michty_me do you intend to use it with laptop and such only (not with phones and tablets)?
It will seam corny but re consider SBX G6 with all Creative inconveniences regarding drivers and rather bad ADC not good for anything more than in game chat or conversation. Unfortunately I can't find it good priced in the UK right now.

Thanks, I did have a G6 which mostly worked. I just thought I may try something different really.