To clarify, the Hidizs S9 Pro has the ESS9038Q2M DAC. I apologize for the error and confusion.

@SHARANPIYUSH22

Жыл бұрын

shannling UA2 plus vs UA3 vs hidizs s9 pro whic his better then other , please specify and reply.

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

@@SHARANPIYUSH22 I have not heard the UA2 Plus. The UA3 isn't a dongle that I have enjoyed and it will not get reviewed, it has a thin, brittle, cold sound that isn't pleasing to my ears. I highly recommend the Hidizs S9 Pro, review coming soon.

@SHARANPIYUSH22

Жыл бұрын

@@TheHonestAudiophile please review UA2 PLUS also.. my request.

@justaemptymall

Жыл бұрын

@@TheHonestAudiophileDear Dave, can I play WAV, FLAC or AIFF on the HiBy FC4? I planned to order them but now I'm unsure...

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

@@justaemptymall Yes it plays all the usual file types.

Very detailed video, I love balanced connections am using ibasso dco6 usb dac

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

Great 👍I haven't heard the iBasso DC06.

@ifebigold

Жыл бұрын

@@TheHonestAudiophile it sounds very dynamic and balanced

How would you compare them to the Periodic Audio Rhodium for Moondrop Kato ?

I just got the I Basso DC04 pro it rocks. No bells and whistles, does have an app to change gain and filters ( I like the non oversampling) I only use for iems--- it has a 100 step volume which lets you really dial in the volume you want. It sounds like a desk top amp on your phone!.

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

Cool. Thanks for the impressions.

Hey Dave - as always, very appreciative of your videos. I wanted to check with you to see if you would consider bringing in the Clarus Coda dongle style DAC. I am using it with the Meze Rai Penta and think it is really fantastic. I recently brought in the Schiit Audio Bifrost thinking it would be a huge upgrade, and while MAYBE - MAYBE slightly better, it was so close that I sent the Schiit stack back and I am sticking with the Clarus Coda. Knowing your thoughts on the Meze Rai Penta, I would love for you to hear them with the Clarus Coda to see how you would compare that sound with your many other options . Thanks!!!

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the suggestion.

Moondrop is killing it!

Si el hidizs s9 pro está un poco por detrás que dawn y fc4 en detalles¿Cómo se compara con tachjim space?de todos los Dac que mencioné cuál es más timbre realista de instrumentos y densidad de nota?y cuál es más profundo y alto en escena?

Thanks for the comparison mate. It is very helpful. Would you mind elaborating a bit more about FC4 vs UA3. (Soundstage, tonality).

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

FC4 is more natural and accurate tone and timbre. UA3 is somewhat thin sounding but has a wider stage. The FC4 is more natural sounding.

@abhik6503

Жыл бұрын

@@TheHonestAudiophile thank you very much

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

My pleasure, you're welcome.

I tried E1DA balanced. The geniality isn't in the hardware itself, which is small and noise-free, but in the TWEAK9038 APP, which makes you understand how DACs work.

Everything you had posted, I want to own... Thanks allot

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

My pleasure, you're welcome.

@squirtmph

Жыл бұрын

Thanks 🙏

Hi Dave. I have backed the tempotec variations V6 DAP via kickstarter. This is my 2nd backing after dauntless. Reviews appear to be great and I hope the product is as good as I think it is. Yet to be delivered. Is 610 mW 4.4mm balanced 4 vrms power sufficient to meet the desktop level performance for planar IEMs?

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

Interesting. 610mw is pretty good power for planar IEM, obviously not as good as a desktop setup but pretty solid.

Hey guys should i get Sennheiser hd559 or hd599

very cool

Hope you can also review Cayin's RU6

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the suggestion. If a RU6 is provided to the channel or the funds become available, I will gladly give it a listen and review.

Anyone else have power issues when fc4 connected to iPhone ? If iPhone battery at 50% or lower it stops powering the fc4.

@cliffordchan.

6 ай бұрын

I have this same issue

I need a dongle for the Z12 iem.. I'm undecided between FC4, DC04pro and maybe ka5. Any recommendation? I also need something as simple as possible to use on Android and laptop.. Not much eq and apps. Thanks

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

I've not heard the Z12, DX04 Pro or KA5, Sorry. The FC4 is one of my go to dongles.

Thanks for details in the audio Could you please let me know which in your opinion is better,FiiO KA 1 or Moondrop Dawn ? Just one word would suffice Thanks a lot 🙏🙏🙏

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

Sorry, haven't heard the Fiio KA1.

@rajlovinglife

Жыл бұрын

Go for fiio KA3... Fiio makes great dac /amp..

Please 🙏🏻 why did you ranked the ua3 for the last option? Compared to the Hiby Fc4. I’m a freaky person who like to listen 🎧 to all kind of music 🎵 which? One should I choose? And go for on purchase?

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

UA3 is a bright and brittle sound to my ears. Also it has a clunky user interface and app that can be used. Overall I find the FC4 to sound more natural and accurate and user friendly, plug n play. I listen to all sorts of music as well.

can you please recommend a dongle with type-c in to my android and the other end has aux as well as type-c both to connect to my 2 microphones? thanks

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

Sorry I have no knowledge of such a dongle.

Using Moondrop kato atm, which one would be better to grab Moondrop dawn or Periodic Audio Rhodium?

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

I like both paired with the Kato but I reach for the Rhodium more often.

Hi Dave I have a question, the dawn have a 3.5 version does it has less power than 4.4 in other word would it will struggle with planar IEM s

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

Less power doesn't bode well for driving planar IEM properly.

Btr5 and btr7 are my go to.

I bought all of these to try out myself. The S9 Pro is best, hands down on all headphones. It's so much more powerful than the others and the sound is so clean. Just drop the replay gain down 1 or 2 decibels.

@TheHonestAudiophile

7 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoy the S9 Pro. Thanks for watching and commenting.

Can the moondrop dawn drive s12 planar iems?

@TheHonestAudiophile

5 ай бұрын

Dawn 4.4 is the only version I've heard and yes it can.

I use my fiio btr 5 as a dongle and it works great for easy to drive Headphones but my favorite Headphones require at least a watt and I'm unlikely to find a dongle to come close to that so there is no upgrade path that makes sense for me

@juanblanco7898

Жыл бұрын

Topping G5 is the answer, brother.

Does the Moondrop Dawn pair well with the TINHIFI P1 MAX?

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

I've only heard the Dawn 4.4 and it's a good pairing for a dongle.

Thank you for review. I just wonder, can Hiby FC4 drive Sennheiser hd600? I am planning to use it with hd600 and Hifiman HE4XX and want to know if that little dude can power them.

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

I'd run both of those balanced with FC4, not the best option but it can do it. I recommend a desktop amp for those to get best experience.

@myolgiden

Жыл бұрын

@@TheHonestAudiophile Thank you for honest reply. I have 4.4mm balanced cables for both of them, and want to get some clean, wide stage when I listening to music on my phone. Now with your reply I think I can get somewhat fair experience with FC4.

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

@@myolgiden Look forward to hearing your impressions.

@myolgiden

Жыл бұрын

@@TheHonestAudiophile I will update and write here my impressions. Thanks again.

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

My pleasure, you're welcome.

Tx for your honest review Dave as always, you rule! Actually i am finding myself very comfortable with the Fiio BTR5 2021. I also waiting for a delivery of an LG G8s which i have found on a local second end online shop. A spectacular price that it was impossible not to be tempted to buy just for the Quad DAC alone which is more worthy than the 80€ that I've paid! Also i consider to attach the BTR5 to the LG and see what happens, just 4 fun! I ll let, you folks, to know how and if the daisy chain worked or was just a fantasy of mine, lol.. About dongle nowadays (Nov 2022) there are even more amazing full capable of Hifi High Res same as desktop dacs amps at a fraction of size. Why purchase a big dac if you can have a pocket size for the sake overall results? Innit? Look at the DD Ddhifi new dac specs! Really outstanding dongle dac and dragonflies and Mojo are going to get reached, fully, soon...

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

It is true that dongles are advancing quickly and are becoming more competitive to desktop. BUT they still are limited with output stages and opamps and other internal capabilities that desktop offer. Depending on your usage and what you seek sonically a dongle can take you there. In my personal experience, a dongle is just a dongle and is still for portable use; they are still limited in what they offer sonically for me.

@trocadero1965

Жыл бұрын

@@TheHonestAudiophile I just use iems,only, for practical reason neither, now by LG g8s (no quad DAC, though, i thought it had but nope..) and independent operation Opamps are now available on many new dongle beasts.

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

Unless the IEM is hard to drive, like planars, a dongle will be plenty for your usage.

@trocadero1965

Жыл бұрын

@@TheHonestAudiophile change of plans.. Got a Earmen Sparrow with 40% discount at Amazon and with the BTR5 my S12 and Tin P1 Plus i think will be OK.... Or they will require more juice? IT seems so, but don't know any other options with a major powered Dac /amp as far as i modestly know...

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

Look forward to hearing your impressions

Hiby fc3 vs moondrop dawn pro Which should i get? Which is better?

@TheHonestAudiophile

2 ай бұрын

Sorry haven't heard the Dawn Pro

hi dave, just wanna ask something.. have u tried listening apple music or spotify with dongle? is there any differences in term of sounds? cz i feel like im only getting more power instead of sound changing.. in uapp, hiby or tidal i can feel the difference but not spotify or apple music

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

I am not an apple product user. As for Spotify, I do not use Spotify because in my past experiences with them, they are the lesser quality sounding of streaming services. I use Tidal and Amazon because both of them sound significantly better than Spotify and other services in my humble opinion.

periodic audio rhodium or Spectra X or dawn 🤔 with is the best regardless of price difference and my Maine iem is blessing 2

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

I'd rank them like this: Rhodium Dawn Spectra X

Hi sir. I just ordered earbuds that are 180ohm. Recommendation? Thanks.

@TheHonestAudiophile

7 ай бұрын

Dongles won't power 180ohm earphones well. You're going to need a balanced output dongle like the Hidizs S9 Pro, S9 Pro Plus or Hiby FC4. But you'll get a better performance with a small desktop amp instead.

@denislemieux7294

7 ай бұрын

@@TheHonestAudiophile Thsnk you.

@TheHonestAudiophile

7 ай бұрын

@denislemieux7294 my pleasure, you're welcome

Can you just buy balanced mini dac and plug it to normal earphones like you do with other dac's, or you need special earphones or cable or what sir?

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

In order to use a balanced output you would need a balanced cable.

@damnbrosky

Жыл бұрын

@@TheHonestAudiophile thank you

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

My pleasure, you're welcome.

The default audio driver for Android makes everything sound reverberated and it makes symbols sound hissy no matter what. Local music with a player that supports it's own driver is fantastic but if I wanna stream music I'm sol. You're better off getting a decent dap instead.

👍👍

How does the fc4 ? Playing through the sensitive iems ?

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

I have had no issues with hissing when using the FC4 with sensitive IEM.

@redamoutahir7057

Жыл бұрын

@@TheHonestAudiophile please please could you help ME to hear a DSD FORMAT OF THE DAC/AMP It’s here with now! It has just arrived to me yesterday … I’d like to listen 🎧 to MQA file ( magenta> Purple 🟣) as well please help me ? Which sample rates do I have to choose from my pc/ laptop 💻 Otherwise to 🔥🔥get ⚡️the 💣 max⚡️ out 🧨 of 🔥it 💥 🚀🚀🚀🚀

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

To listen to MQA on a dongle, you'll need to use the USB Audio Player app. On PC/laptop you'd need to update your audio settings to replay in the highest capable bit rates. This also will be dependent on your DAC output abilities.

@redamoutahir7057

Жыл бұрын

@@TheHonestAudiophile please would you clarify with more details so I can understand how it works properly

Which Planar IEM's are you referring to when you mention the Dawn not driving them properly. Of all the planar iem reviews seen to date, none mention needing more than 230mw?

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

All planar IEM that I've reviewed have improved sonically with a desktop setup. As mentioned in the video, the Hiby FC4 is adequate and the best dongle for a planar IEM.

Favorite dongles? Can be an old one of course but I mean which ones say four or five Do you think are the best ones out there now?

@TheHonestAudiophile

9 ай бұрын

Periodic Audio Rhodium Hiby FC4 Hiby FC4 Hidizs XO AudioEngine DAC3 Tanchjim Space Shanling Audio UA1 Plus

@Truthtalks86

9 ай бұрын

@@TheHonestAudiophile thank you. You mentioned one of them twice Did you mean the hiby FC-6 by chance

@TheHonestAudiophile

9 ай бұрын

@ritaauton3006 FC3 and FC4 Haven't heard FC6

@Truthtalks86

9 ай бұрын

@@TheHonestAudiophile oh. Haha. I was guessing because you put the Hiby FC-4 twice

@TheHonestAudiophile

9 ай бұрын

@ritaauton3006 yeah I'd love to to hear the FC6

How is dawn compared to E44?

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

Sorry I haven't heard the E44.

How about the Lotoo Paw S1/S2?

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

Sorry haven't heard those. Thanks for the suggestion.

what is the cheapest desktop dac you recommend that will outperform the dawn dongle for a planar iem ? thanks

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

Geshelli Lab J2 and Aune X1s GT are the cheapest DAC or DAC/Amp desktops that I recommend. I recommend you check out my tier list rankings for more insight: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nRHnsP_4vLg9DlD9kwJ6gQuEQFqhTR0lnrkxXo3AMG8/edit?usp=sharing

Hopefully next time you can review E1DA 9038S Gen 3 as well.

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the suggestion.

Hello for SEnnheiser HD600 would you get Hiby FC4 or Shanling UA3 or which one please do u think is the best :)))

@TheHonestAudiophile

9 ай бұрын

Dongles don't have enough power to bring the HD600 to it's potential.

@pozitivczmusic

9 ай бұрын

@@TheHonestAudiophile so you would reccomend a table amplifier? and please which one? :)

@TheHonestAudiophile

9 ай бұрын

Yes. Aune X1s GT JDS Labs Atom Plus DAC and Amp stack Here's a link to my gear ranking list, please read ranking grade tab first. docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nRHnsP_4vLg9DlD9kwJ6gQuEQFqhTR0lnrkxXo3AMG8/edit?usp=drivesdk

Are you sure about AKM chip in Hidisz S9 pro? ESS ES9038Q2M maybe?

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

YES I had a slip of the tongue. See pinned comment.

Correction.......S9 pro using ESS9038Q2M DAC.

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

Correct, thanks for information and pointing out the error.

I think Xduoo link 2 bal is underrated 😅. It is a real value for money product interms of audio😎

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

I have heard the single ended version of the Link 2 and like it a lot. I will look into the Link 2 balanced, thanks for the suggestion.

@user-df3pz2xt4c

Жыл бұрын

@@TheHonestAudiophile it's a completely different thing, you will not regret

@lantern054

Жыл бұрын

@@TheHonestAudiophile If ur gonna review 🙌👍. But it is really good for sure👌

@MisterRhul

Жыл бұрын

Do you know how it compare to Hiby FC4?

Or you use Android and want to not use the Android sound system (whether that matters with the other equipment or your ears is another discussion).

I bought moondrop dawn 3.5 and i'm not sure what is your chain but the dawn is clearly too mid/high centric.. Also left-right is not balanced and there is no soundstage width or depth.. kinda fell dupe now.. another bad chinese product in my opinion.. cirrus logic dac chips should be doing better than this

@TheHonestAudiophile

Жыл бұрын

Sounds like you have a broken unit. You should return it if you're not happy with the purchase.

Not all USB-C are the same. I choose only Motorola when it comes to change my phone because of this. Those phones that have video out from USB-C are able to shill out more current other than speed. And this is good for our dongles. Motorola is known as well to be the best phone when it comes to signal reception.

@human9458

Жыл бұрын

Wow, I didn't know Motorola is that capable. Will consider them as my replacement phone next year. Thank you

@roleasahuman

Жыл бұрын

You mean, USB type C 3.2?

My wife got mad when I started taking about my dongle. 🤔