Whats cheaper and better then the Dragonfly red?

[lostone98]

I been looking at the Hidizs S9PRO, Are they any good? I got a dragonfly but i'm uncertain to keep it, I have a old android phone and the audio cuts out when I open a app up. What are better performer then the dragonfly?

 

[apson]

I'm a big fan of the E1DA 9038D (or whatever the 3.5mm version is called) but I can no longer seem to find them on Amazon here in the US which has become problematic because I recommend this thing to everyone I meet who likes music. I'm assuming it's still being made? @IVX is it? I needed a very specific OTG cable for my iPhone 12.

 

[ZolaIII]

Pretty much anything is better than Dragonfly Red but I am not sure that will resolve your problem if it's on a phone side. If you don't intend to drive anything serious take a look at good old TempoTec Sonata HD Pro. What apps and how are you using the DAC?

 

[abdo123]

The Qudelix 5K is better than the Dragon Fly Red

 

[lostone98]

Pretty much anything is better than Dragonfly Red but I am not sure that will resolve your problem if it's on a phone side. If you don't intend to drive anything serious take a look at good old TempoTec Sonata HD Pro. What apps and how are you using the DAC?

Just TIDAL.

 

[Jimbob54]

As has been said, might not be the Dragonfly's fault for the cut outs but plenty of dongles are better and cheaper

Audio Electronics Review and Measurements Index

Master table and index of all audio equipment reviews and measurements.

www.audiosciencereview.com

Filter type as "headphone amp- dongle" and "DAC -thumbdrive" then sort by recommended . I would look at things reviewed 2021 or 2020- not much before that.

All other items previously mentioned are worth a look.

 

[ZolaIII]

Just TIDAL.

Without UAPP or any player which can do a bit perfect and UA 2.0? First try those and by the way how old is that phone?

 

[Xombul]

Meizu hi-fi Dac, pro Version

 

[Jimbob54]

Meizu hi-fi Dac, pro Version

Unobtanium now

 

[bravomail]

Try Apple USB dongle, E1DA 9038D, Audioengine D3

MEASUREMENTS: Audioengine D3 USB DAC / Headphone Amp Reviewed.

A blog for audiophiles about more objective topics. Measurements of audio gear. Reasonable, realistic, no snakeoil assessment of sound, and equipment.

archimago.blogspot.com

 

[lostone98]

Without UAPP or any player which can do a bit perfect and UA 2.0? First try those and by the way how old is that phone?

Its a Galaxy A40 2019, Will get a new one next year.

 

[ZolaIII]

@lostone98 that's not all that old. Try with some of the players which use its own USB audio 2.0 driver tho with Tidal you will pretty much get stuck to UAPP (paid). You can obtain very limited try version (30 seconds of reproduction as I recall) from their website.

 

[lostone98]

I'm a big fan of the E1DA 9038D (or whatever the 3.5mm version is called) but I can no longer seem to find them on Amazon here in the US which has become problematic because I recommend this thing to everyone I meet who likes music. I'm assuming it's still being made? @IVX is it? I needed a very specific OTG cable for my iPhone 12.

I cant find them in the UK for a good price.

 

[Jimbob54]

I cant find them in the UK for a good price.

Ive imported all my E1DA products from their Aliexpress store - quick and a good price https://www.aliexpress.com/store/5142044

 

[EB1000]

S9 Pro is great and Roon compatible, but I would not buy it from aliexpress berceuse it's most likely a Chinese/Russian clone. Get it directly from the official site. They ship worldwide.

 

[lostone98]

Ive imported all my E1DA products from their Aliexpress store - quick and a good price https://www.aliexpress.com/store/5142044

Going to wait till they got the E1DA 9038D in stock.

 

[ZolaIII]

S9 Pro is great and Roon compatible, but I would not buy it from aliexpress berceuse it's most likely a Chinese/Russian clone. Get it directly from the official site. They ship worldwide.

Would you care to elaborate which Hidizs device is Chinese clone?

 

[julian_hughes]

I been looking at the Hidizs S9PRO, Are they any good? I got a dragonfly but i'm uncertain to keep it, I have a old android phone and the audio cuts out when I open a app up. What are better performer then the dragonfly?

The killer feature of the dragonfly dongles is their extraordinarily low power consumption, both at idle and when working. Of course this doesn't make for sexy marketing so they make up spurious claims about sound quality and technical prowess and promote them that way instead. I think if you are used to a dragonfly dongle paired with a smartphone then you will get a truly horrible surprise when you try many competing products and notice the impact on your battery life. This is really worth looking into! If manufacturers decline to specify power consumption then avoid. And if it's in 100s of mA, as is often the case, then, again, avoid. A year ago I bought a Musiland MU1 dongle on the strength of Amir's review, its ~1ohm output impedance, and also on its very modest power consumption. I used it trouble free for the year, it's very good. Recently I upgraded to a Musiland MU2 Mk III which has tiny power consumption, in line volume control, in line voltage control (up to 1.7v so does a reasonable job of powering everything from the most sensitive IEM up to full size headphones) and supports DSD. It's really worth a look.

edit: I corrected "100s of mW" to "100s of Ma".

 

[ZolaIII]

Dear @julian_hughes the ES9018K2M and it's belonging ES amp (that's severely crippled in both Red and Purple) are far from more newer ones regarding efficiency. As much as I remember Meizu non pro whose most power efficient (they are discounted) last time they did checking around hire.

 

[EB1000]

Would you care to elaborate which Hidizs device is Chinese clone?

I don't know, but I once bought the E1DA PowerDAC v2 from Aliexpress and got a fake PowerDAC v2.1 that kept on losing usb connections. I've tried to contacted the official website, but it did not accept the entered serial number, saying it's not a valid serial...