I bought the lightning connector version to use it with my iPhone and my Sennheiser HD-58x.
To tell you the truth I wasn't expecting much and had this been more expensive I probably wouldn't buy it. Boy was I wrong...
First of all the built quality is excellent, the connectors feel solid and the little cables attached to them don't seem flimsy. Playing Tidal masters from my iPhone through this cable-dac to my Senns 58x brings a solidity to the sound that I hadn't heard before.
It definitely sounds to me more warm than the stock iPhone dongle. The mid-bass and lower frequencies have way more punch, texture and definition. The good thing is that the midrange that the Sennheisers are known for, is still there unadulterated. The higher frequencies are a little bit rolled off (at least this is what it sounds like to me) which in turn makes this little cable-dac sound a little dark but this is actually the sound I prefer in general. I stay away from the analytical presentation whenever I can.
Now I am waiting for another Drop of this cable-dac so I can buy one more to have as a backup.
I'm really impressed with these I'm using my ETY ER4SR for these and it makes them sound even more neutral compared to my standard headphone jack which does get a tad louder but it's also a birighter sounding DAC and puts a but more emphasis on the low end(my phone is the Moto G Stylus)
Nice solid build and flexible soft braided cable that feels pleasurable to the touch. Sound quality is a step above the Apple dongles, but the price is too high IMO. The only thing that irks me is the popping and static when removing or inserting headphone jack. This dongle will not replace your more expensive ones, such as my Lotoo PAW S2 which I adore as it makes my 6XX dig deep and sing with authority.
I use this adapter in non critical listening situations such as traveling or when a dongle DAC is just too much. They really help headphones sound better as an upgrade from the basic Apple headphone dongle. I use this adaptor most when listening to Spotify on my Tin HiFi T2 Pro IEMs.
LiamLindstromI too am using it as a secondary hifi some solution. It is close to a 24/96 on most music. I highly recommend it as a solution for Apple Music on an iPad.
Build quality and look is ok. Sound is arguably slightly clearer than the apple dongle but brings a hardness to treble and generally less refinement. Not worth the money.
iPhone XS - side-by-side comparison with Apple dongle.
Using Shure SE215 IEMs, expanded bass, mid-highs improved. More clarity (less muddy) and mildly expanded soundstage. Approx 20% improvement over the Apple dongle (subjective).
K7xx had similar performance improvements but noticeably better volume level.
Braided cable looks cool and visually seems like it’s solidly assembled, BUT...
There is a significant lack of retention strength of the headphone cable jack in the 3.5mm female side. Extraction force can’t be more than 1-2 Nm. No noticeable “click” upon insertion. Tried 3 diff cables to compare, all the same. Not sure how long before the jack will start to fall out on its own. Disappointing. Will likely return the product.
The lightning end seems solidly connected to the iPhone, so at least that is ok.
CR31Hopefully I won't have this problem. This is going to be my solution for better tunes in my 09 civic. Via a 3.5 mm aux cable. Thank you for the review.
The description reads:
“With this hardware, MK2 adapters can decode audio up to 32 bits at 384 kHz”
but when I go to the website it says:
“Supports High Res audio transmission- internal Realtek DAC is able to decode files up to 16 Bit/ 48 HZ music”
I confirmed this when I plug it into my iPhone and check my stats on Amazon HD it still says 24/48k. I think this is a huge over site on Drops end and now I’m wondering what other products they let lie on their site.
Build quality is still good but it’s not a significant upgrade over the standard dongle.
If it worked as intended I would replace my current pixel 2 dongle.
Unfortunately I get static when using this DAC with my phone and pc. I cannot recommend this product.
EDIT: I do use this in my car on occasion, it is a great sounding DAC I still don't know why i have static on occasion.
The Usb C connector sits very loose in my phone and the wiggle of it causes it to constantly cut out and then you have to re-initialize your music app every single time. For me it is unusable.
When I plug it into my phone 75% of the time nothing happens, no audio comes out, i have to unplug and plug it a few times before audio actually comes out, then it starts disconnecting audio when you walk because the tiny bit of wiggle causes it to disconnect. It is very frustrating.
When it does work it sounds great, but that is very few and far in between.
Phone is a brand new Samsung S20 FE 5G - This product, although compatible does not work well together at all with this phone.
HEsicADGet a fine and long bearded brush and clean both yous phone usb-c in and the dac connector. To me the problem was constant and unwanted activation of google assistant. Having the inputs very clean helps. Not calling you dirty! Just telling you something that worked for me.
Honestly the sound quality ain't bad at all, yet the user experience is pretty bad in general staring with the fact that it wont dettect if your headphones/iems/headset... are connected or not wich can seem like a little dettail but for the price could have been included, the building quality is fine I guess, but the little cables and the structure that is not aluminum feels somewhat cheap, cables tend to get messy in the pocket or even when moving it arround a bit, it is still quite resistent as I have some little "oh no my phone is falling" incidents and it holds it pretty nicely. To sum up, it is nice in sound quality and even amps a little bit some iems that may have a "low base volume" but it could have been more for the price both in software/interaction as in build quality since a little plastic arround the cables would have been a big difference.