Suggestion on budget "thumb" DAC/AMP for laptop

[uzapuca]

Hi guys,
Would you help out with some suggestion on a budget portable DAC/AMP for laptop? I will mostly listen with IEMs like Shure or KZ headphones. I would like to move in a budget from U$D 50 to 100 max. Something to take to work everyday.

I have read some reviews for the XTreme Pro
https://www.newegg.com/p/2GA-003S-00001?cm_re=xtrempro-_-9SIAGP07AA3617-_-Product

Dragonfly Red is out of budget but maybe there are some good deals in the middle that can fill the spot. Some FIIO model perhaps? there are some many of them than tends to be confusing.

Thanks for your help and ideas.

Cheers,

 

[twsecrest]

FiiO K-1 ($40) should be drive IEMs.

 

[uzapuca]

FiiO K-1 ($40) should be drive IEMs.

Have you tried or used? I did a google search and What Hi-Fi just killed, hehe. It says "Doesn’t improve sound quality – quite the opposite, in fact"

https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/fiio-k1

 

[twsecrest]

Have you tried or used? I did a google search and What Hi-Fi just killed, hehe. It says "Doesn’t improve sound quality – quite the opposite, in fact"

The FiiO K1 was the best low cost option, for $100, you could get the FiiO K3.

 

[DosThou]

raise your budget a bit more and you'd have these two very good options:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...w-and-measurements-of-sound-blasterx-g6.7016/

or

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...asurements-of-musiland-mu2-plus-dac-amp.6964/

first one is much easier to get and probably pair better with more devices that doesn't support UAC 2.0 though. edit: oops, I guess G6 is a bit too big for your requirements?

 

[uzapuca]

The FiiO K1 was the best low cost option, for $100, you could get the FiiO K3.

Thanks for the idea Twsecrest!
I will check more review on the FiiO K3. ;-) it does look quite portable and powerful for its size.

 

[uzapuca]

raise your budget a bit more and you'd have these two very good options:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...w-and-measurements-of-sound-blasterx-g6.7016/

or

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...asurements-of-musiland-mu2-plus-dac-amp.6964/

first one is much easier to get and probably pair better with more devices that doesn't support UAC 2.0 though. edit: oops, I guess G6 is a bit too big for your requirements?

Thanks for the data DosThou!
The Sound BlasterX G6 seems nice, but for $150 it is a bit too much considering my desktop setup will be Atom and OL Dac coming soon.

The Musiland sounds interesting. A concerning issue is the dongle cable which seems to be attached internally to the thumb drive. If you break the cable no more amp, i guess.

I just saw a Z Review and he was suggesting the Micca OriGen as the best price per pound combination all in one set for a U$S 100. Maybe is a bit too bulky for a portable convenience. What do you think?

 

[dc655321]

Dragonfly Red is out of budget but maybe there are some good deals in the middle that can fill the spot.

Similar to the Dragonfly Red, but better performing and 1/2 the price (or less), is the SMSL iDEA.
IMO, a great little device. It has been measured several times on this site and others.

 

[DosThou]

Thanks for the data DosThou!
The Sound BlasterX G6 seems nice, but for $150 it is a bit too much considering my desktop setup will be Atom and OL Dac coming soon.

The Musiland sounds interesting. A concerning issue is the dongle cable which seems to be attached internally to the thumb drive. If you break the cable no more amp, i guess.

I just saw a Z Review and he was suggesting the Micca OriGen as the best price per pound combination all in one set for a U$S 100. Maybe is a bit too bulky for a portable convenience. What do you think?

Well MU2 Plus is only $20 less than G6 so that's out of question regardless. And yeah, the cable issue is real.

I do not recommend OriGen based on Amirm's findings... https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...measurements-of-micca-origen-g2-dac-amp.4805/

You could also opt for Fiio BTR3, which can function as either a bluetooth receiver or a stand alone DAC. Been hearing good things from people who got one in my local circle, but no measurements exist as far as I'm aware.

 

[andreasmaaan]

IIRC isn't the Apple USB-C dongle just about the best-performing DAC that would fit the bill?

 

[Veri]

IIRC isn't the Apple USB-C dongle just about the best-performing DAC that would fit the bill?

This does seem like the easiest solution, and if the cable gets worn $9 will get you another one.
Especially if IEMs are the main use case, this will fit the bill perfectly.

 

[uzapuca]

Similar to the Dragonfly Red, but better performing and 1/2 the price (or less), is the SMSL iDEA.
IMO, a great little device. It has been measured several times on this site and others.

Thanks for the interesting info on the SMSL IDEA!
I just found out it has the same chip that Marantz use in some of their high-end amplifier series. So that looks good indeed.
Just curious, do you know where is reliable place to get it? Amazon or Ali Express? Ali Express has some many different vendors that cannot tell which might have a good seller reputation.

 

[uzapuca]

Well MU2 Plus is only $20 less than G6 so that's out of question regardless. And yeah, the cable issue is real.

I do not recommend OriGen based on Amirm's findings... https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...measurements-of-micca-origen-g2-dac-amp.4805/

You could also opt for Fiio BTR3, which can function as either a bluetooth receiver or a stand alone DAC. Been hearing good things from people who got one in my local circle, but no measurements exist as far as I'm aware.

Thanks for the good data DosThou,
Good point on the OriGen. Z reviews sound very convincing at times that it is easy to get carried away...he...he.
Never heard of the FiiO BTR3. I will take a look online. Is it new that has no measurement yet?

 

[uzapuca]

IIRC isn't the Apple USB-C dongle just about the best-performing DAC that would fit the bill?

Thanks for you suggestion Andreas,
Sorry that your reply went over my head and i guess i did not understand the idea. You meant that the Apple USB-C dongle works as DAC/AMP?

 

[andreasmaaan]

Thanks for you suggestion Andreas,
Sorry that your reply went over my head and i guess i did not understand the idea. You meant that the Apple USB-C dongle works as DAC/AMP?

Exactly It's performance is as good as anything measured here costing under $100, and it has low output impedance which makes it very suitable for IEMs. What it doesn't have is a volume control, which means you'd need to control volume with software. There's nothing wrong with this however (arguably it's the best way to control volume from a fidelity perspective, with a few caveats depending on the software and the IEMs).

The SMSL Idea measures equally well though and also has very low output impedance. You couldn't go wrong with either IMHO. I bought the Apple dongle because it was cheaper and easier to find where I am. It needs a USB-C adaptor to plug into a laptop; I bought one for a few euros from an electronics store.

 

[uzapuca]

Thanks again for your info Andreas,

I thought the Apple dongle was just a plain connector without any pre or amplifier features. Everyday, you learn something new, i guess...haha. As you can see i am very new to all audio issues. I thought the iPhone or Macbook Pro sound card were considerably poor quality because of space issues so that i why i needed an external pre / amplifier to improve the quality of sound to a good solution.

Just curious, what is your usual setup regarding portable and desktop?

 

[andreasmaaan]

Thanks again for your info Andreas,

I thought the Apple dongle was just a plain connector without any pre or amplifier features. Everyday, you learn something new, i guess...haha. As you can see i am very new to all audio issues. I thought the iPhone or Macbook Pro sound card were considerably poor quality because of space issues so that i why i needed an external pre / amplifier to improve the quality of sound to a good solution.

Just curious, what is your usual setup regarding portable and desktop?

I have the Apple dongle which I use for my laptop and headphones/IEMs. I run Equalizer APO to correct the frequency response of my headphones.

Then I also have an RME Adi-2 DAC that was in the home system (which is out of action at the moment), and a MOTU Ultralite that I use in the studio and for loudspeaker measurements.

All three sound perfectly transparent to my ears.

 

[daftcombo]

Note that a 9$ device and a 1.100$ device provide the same sound quality. The second one has a volume knob though.

 

[uzapuca]

I have the Apple dongle which I use for my laptop and headphones/IEMs. I run Equalizer APO to correct the frequency response of my headphones.

Then I also have an RME Adi-2 DAC that was in the home system (which is out of action at the moment), and a MOTU Ultralite that I use in the studio and for loudspeaker measurements.

All three sound perfectly transparent to my ears.

Thanks for the good insight Andreas!
You seem to know your stuff. So are we naive for getting a portable DAC / Amp for IEMS and a Macbook Pro? I mean if can later fix the sound with VOX EQ could i tell the difference with or without an Amp?

 

[uzapuca]

Note that a 9$ device and a 1.100$ device provide the same sound quality. The second one has a volume knob though.

That sound like Spinal Tap "...this one has 11"