iem DAC/AMP options if you don't like DAP's, ieMatch or the 789/ieMagni

I'm so happy with JVC FA-FWX1 playing 90s Mortal Combat Movie OST via Modi MB > IEMagni.

Or maybe I have really shit taste as of late. Or maybe I'm happy with what I go. Pretty happy with the Shanling UP4 with only DD IEMs. Still haven't found a portable BT/Amp that can do BA IEMs enough. Then again, I still have shit taste.

 

Though kinda old the Geek Out V2 still sounds good and comparable to many modern day dac amps, unfortunately LH labs isn’t there anymore and getting used is the only option.

 

The Geek Out V2 hisses with sensitive IEMs.

 

The Centrance lineup looks pretty good for this purpose.

 

I think everyone is underestimating the segment of the market that use iems all the time and just want them to sound better out of their iPhone. I think that's a huge number of people. A lot of people who aren't even that into headphones but just use iems on the go or at home sometimes. iems are super popular. And I don't think it's all the same type who own big amps and full size headphones.

the Dethronray is super expensive and I have no idea how it sounds or if it's quiet with iems.

There's also the new R-2R dongle coming out by Cayin which I think I'm going to get even though I think it might be a gimmick. f**k op amps!

 

For what it's worth, I ordered the RU6 (the R2R dongle) from MusicTeck and got it yesterday. Work travel is picking up again, didn't want a DAP but wanted a 'better' dongle than I was using. I enjoy the R2R sound so this caught my eye.....expected it to be a novelty really; found a thread (I think Head-Fi, was Googling if there were any reviews yet) where a Cayin rep. was admirably candid about how it came together and what he thought worked out and what didn't. $250...took a flyer.

I'm way, way over my skis trying to talk turkey to this group on IEM's. I was using a Hiby FC3 (ESS-based dongle dac/amp) on my Samsung Android w/Dusk's. That's the deep end of my time with IEM's up to now. I can say objectively it crushes the Hiby. Orders of magnitude better in any area you could questions....immediately noticeable. Plenty of dongle-controlled volume headroom, set on low gain . In the NOS mode primarily......tone is touch warm, touch thick/wet. Most other Cayin tones I've heard have been warmer/brighter than this.

Do my ears think I'm listening to my Bifrost 2? Hell no. My best comparison is it's like I hooked my phone up to a thicker version of my Geshelli J2 Dac. There's nice layering, nice tone (not fizzy/thin on percussion)....treble a little etched but I'm betting that will smooth out with some more burn time. Trying it out with a USB/PC source....I think the extra juice it can draw does bloom the sound up a notch or two. I wish I could share a better A-B against other top-market options....I just don't have that experience/would be talking out my ass trying to expand the above. Best I can sum as a desktop/headphone-primary guy:

• Crushes the 3-4 lower price dongles I've used to this point, up to Hiby FC3 (which is a $70 dongle, so I hoped that would be the case).

• For me, an enjoyable touch o' warm/thick tone. Not too warm....kind of like decent DS meets a bit of thicc. Good separation/layering.

• Does not trick me into thinking I'm getting what I can get out of mid-fi desktop equipment in terms of stage and dynamics. It's nice, but it feels like the design wants just a bit more juice than smartphones will allow to really let this bloom into something special (stage/dynamics wise....doesn't sound anemic, just that there is another gear phones may not push it to).

• It's what I hoped it would be at minimum. Not underwhelmed...not overwhelmed. Don't feel cheated on my $250, but wouldn't have paid more. I'm enjoying it and will use this for the near future. Just don't know enough about other high-end Dongles/DAP's to say how this fits in that world AB-wise.

 

Currawong has an early impressions video on his youtube channel on the Cayin.

TLDR according to him: Narrow soundstage in NOS mode, touch wooly bass, small amount of hiss with Campfire Aras.

 

Cayin is saying about 100 hours of burn in is expected for the RU6, and some users have reported the bass getting tighter about 50 hours in.

 

Sound really cool, but at the end of the day, do we really need to go NOS, R2R(warmup time?), that comes from the power provided from a port of a smartphone? I'm feeling more and more as i look at dongles, that the limitation is power. If you want a performance jump, you sort of want to at least have a dongle with battery power, that's not reliant on small source power.

 

Agreed. Looking at that dongle madness link Shane posted, their #1 recommendation is the Centrance which is class A and will eat your phone battery for breakfast.

 

These devices also work as a USB DAC/amp in wired mode. You don't have to use them in Bluetooth mode.

That will happen with any dongle unless it has an internal battery, such as the USB DAC/amp+Bluetooth models. With the Qudelix 5K, it can run off its battery and has a setting to turn off charging its battery when it's connected on USB, to prevent draining the source device. I don't own any sensitive IEMs, but a reviewer said the Qudelix 5K produces no hiss with Andromedas.

BTW, to use a USB-C dongle with iPod touch, you'll need a Lightning to USB adapter. Apple's USB camera adapters are awkward for portable use, and an alternative is a cable like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08WQ1LY5D

 

I also got the Cayin RU6 - it does have a distinct R2R sound to it (nice wide fleshed out mids, groovy bass, warmth) , although i do find it a touch dirty/treble etched even out of something like my ifi iusb 3 decrapifier. I'm hoping burn in will settle and clean things up a little. Not bad though for first impressions but lets see how things fare..

 

This has been my experience with the Lotoo Paw S1. It's a nice device: it pairs well with the Andromeda 2020 and very well with original Solaris; its main limitation is resolution when compared to my Sony ZX2 or BF2->THX 789 (unsurprisingly); it has a bunch of gimmicky EQ settings with silly names, but, most significantly, its sound is appreciably worse when you go from plugging it into a MacBook Air to an iPad and then an iPhone. I've not used it balanced, though.

 

Dongles are for IEMs mostly - I accept this limitation. Saying that, a high performing dongle with good power engineering can do a nice job - earmen sparrow for example also does some adjustment depending on whats plugged in, and sounds really rather good with HD650 - nice, clean (not etched) just a touch lean compared to desktop amp, but there's little to no harshness in the mids and treble compared to other dongles with the HD650. The Sparrow is a freak dongle though, I don't know how they squeezed that performance out of it (i preferred it with IEMs to the Fiio M11 Plus, and it doesn't mind sitting next to chord qutest/rme adi 2 etc)

 

@limesoft have you had any issues with interference when using the Sparrow with your phone? The new cables now being shipped with it reportedly help, but I still get intermittent buzzing if the dongle is right up against the phone when using the balanced output, even after having replaced the (OG) stock cable with a better-shielded one.

 

Nothing can truly resolve the interference I use it with my iPad there its good but im wrestling with it when on my phone

 

Airplane mode aside, as long as I keep the cord straight so the dongle is away from the phone it's quiet - but when walking around with everything in a pocket, it's not always possible to be so tidy.

Which is annoying, because otherwise so far I'm sharing your high opinion of it. I haven't tried it with high-impedance 'phones, but with IEMs the balanced output is clean, dynamic and resolving; and the SE is much more relaxed but still with even tonal balance and nice timbre throughout, providing an acceptable option if things get too fatiguing from bal (maybe in long sessions with 'fast and hard' things like the JVC HA-FDX1).

 

I'm struggling a little with my new Cayin RU6 - with IEMS i find it quite grainy and with etched treble - even if the mids/bass have a nice R2R bloom and warmth, with a nice and wide soundstage... only 20 hours burn in.

The RME ADI 2 destroys it in every possible way, whilst the Earmen sparrow is ok to keep standing up..

 

Given that the RU6 is a $250 dongle, I would hope the RME ADI 2 absolutely destroys it. If it didn’t that would speak very ill of RME.