Suggest an USB DAC for Android phone <=$40

elangoas

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Hi All,

Some searching around the topic, learnt that to use a DAC with Android mobile, it needs to support USB-OTG feature.. Also learnt that hibymusic (free) application supports digital output from mobile phones...

The idea is to use an Android phone (Xolo Q700 with Jelly Bean 4.2.1) which supports OTG feature with a self powered DAC with the phone so that my brother could improve his car stereo system and make use of Sony Xplod's CD receiver aux port...

Found this HiFimeDIY Sabre Android DAC for $30... Friend of mine is travelling to US in a weeks time.. Planning to pick it up from there...

Any other DAC around this price that can be considered ?

Anyone used a DAC in car stereo system? if so what are the settings that need to applied in the mobile application to get digital output (I mean like WASAPI for Windows) ? Appreciate your inputs...
 
Hi All,

...
Found this HiFimeDIY Sabre Android DAC for $30... Friend of mine is travelling to US in a weeks time.. Planning to pick it up from there...

my impressions [as updated on techenclave]:

got to check my newly acquired HifimeDIY USB DAC. as expected it sounds veiled [i have it tried with Razr M with same results - there is a small write up on that, i'll try copy paste it here] compared to HP out of the phone. HP out of the phone in itself doesn't sound bad but can't match the clarity of Cowon S9.

IMG_20150610_185849.jpg


EDIT: [here are the impressions about DAC!]

it's been sometime that i got this hifimediy android dac. reason i got this was to replace or have an alternate portable music source. i am planning to buy a new phone and i am thinking of using my Moto RAZR M as DAP. at present Cowon S9 does the duty. i could not do a extensive listening test but these are my impressions so far:

it works straight out of the box on my RAZR M [it is running cyagenmod 11 OS]. no tweaking required.i can control the volume through volume rocker and i am using Rocket Music player.

song listened to -'maula mere maula mere.. ' from movie Anwar in .Wav format [probably i have heard this song some hundred times in the last couple of weeks - i am just loving it - especially the tabla and also i feel this is one of the cleanest recordings!]

initial impressions:
on my phone [using UE TF10 earphones]:
music sounds slightly veiled compared to Cowon S9 music player. S9 sounds neat and sweet.
when compared to HP out of my phone it sounds almost same [ i must say HP out of my phone doesn't sound bad].

on my PC [using Swans 1080 monitors - with USB-microUSB adapter]:
music doesn't sound as veiled or muffled as on phone. but i find that Muse DAC sounds crystal clear in comparison.
i felt even the onboard sound on my HP out laptop sounds better than this. also i seem to appreciate now that Muse sounds slightly better than the HP out of my HP Elitebook laptop!

one positive thing about the hifime DAC is volume level - it sounds almost as loud as HP out of laptop where as Muse DAC sounds almost half of that volume level.
in short - this is not good.
i didn't feel any improvement over HP out of my phone. [originally i intended to use my old android phone as dedicated PMP]
 
Hi, Behringer UCA-222 is worth a look.

Thanks for the suggestion.. Though it is self powered USB, for a PC i think it should work fine...would it demand more power from a mobile?

This product is aval in US for $30 (2K INR).. The same is aval in India for 5K INR :sad:
 
Sad indeed. I'm putting together an htpc and it's working out 40% more expensive than USA pricing.

You're right.... Even if the UCA draws power from the phone, battery drain may prove inconvenient.

Does it have to be an Android phone? I recall good results of sound measurements as part of reviews for Nokia phones on gsmarena.com - specifically the music series and the business series pieces. If this is an option it may eliminate the need for an additional bit of kit.
 
my impressions [as updated on techenclave]:


in short - this is not good.
i didn't feel any improvement over HP out of my phone. [originally i intended to use my old android phone as dedicated PMP]

Actual hands on experience really helps... So there was a difference when used with HP vs PC with Active speakers...

Think cowon S9 is around $200 product...

One of the reasons for considering this product was, it is simple, easy to use as no additional hardware required, self powered.. Only one cable is required between DAC & stereo amplifier in car..
 
Does it have to be an Android phone? I recall good results of sound measurements as part of reviews for Nokia phones on gsmarena.com - specifically the music series and the business series pieces. If this is an option it may eliminate the need for an additional bit of kit.

Sorry.. Didn't get hold of it...Juz to clarify, are you referring to music express series from Nokia with Symbian OS? (or) did you mean something else...
 
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