This Android Dac has a MicroUSB cable instead of a usb cable and works with some Android phones without any drivers or tweaks.
Check the compatibility thread for updated list of supported phones
The Android Dac is the same DAC as the “Tiny” model. It uses a PCM2706 USB receiver chip and the ESS Sabre ES9023 dac chip.
Highlights about Sabre ES9023 dac chip:
– The sound go straight out of the DAC chip and into your headphones or amplifier. It is not needed that the sound signal go through a capacitor to remove a DC voltage, there is no DC voltage to remove! This omits the need of a coloring cap which adds costs and reduces sound quality.
– Jitter Eliminator! The ES9023 utilISed patented HyperstreamTM architecture and Time Domain Jitter Eliminator.
– 112db DNR
USB (receiver) PCM2706:
– Accepts up to 48kHz/16bit
Output levels:
Open 2.2Vrms
4.7Kohm 2.1Vrms
1.8Kohm 1.9Vrms
510ohm 1.5Vrms
330ohm 1.3Vrms
30ohm 1Vrms
Note: Normally amplifier inputs are from 10K to 100K ohm. Normal headphones are from 32 ohm to 300ohm.
Model:UAE Tiny Android
Q&A:
Hi, I am interested in this DAC but I am bit concerned if this DAC is going to drain out the battery of my Galaxy S3 too fast?
Reply: It doesn’t drain it very fast, but a little faster compared to using internal audio output should be expected.
| Weight | 0.04000000 kg |
|---|
32 reviews for HiFimeDIY Android DAC microUSB
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renato.lupi –
This HiFimeDIY DAC impressed me pleasantly. It returns a clean and detailed sound whether using headphones or connected to my Hi-Fi system. I successfully tested it with two different Samsung phones (J5 and ACE4) which were recognized without any problems. Highly recommended!
HurricaneBob –
Works fine on my Moto E2 LTE, contrary to what I read regarding phone campatibility. Very happy, buying another!
Diego –
I got this for my Galaxy S7, and it did work for sure. I honestly did not notice much of a difference in sound other than a slight mid boost and a cutoff of the highs. It didn’t make enough of a difference for me to keep it, so I’m sadly returning it. Wanted to love it, but it just didn’t make the cut.
Art Simon –
Worked great on my Fire 7" tablet. Sounds better than the Pure i20 dock I had been using with my iPod touch. I’m very impressed. It didn’t work with my LG Ultimate 2, so it may be hit and miss with different Android devices. I was more than impressed with the sound quality, much better than you would expect for the price and it’s easy to discern the difference by unplugging it and using the earphone jack. The volume control on my Fire tablet doesn’t work with the DAC, so you will need an external amplifier with a volume control. Other than that, I can’t think of a downside.
Bálint –
Works seamlesslly with my moto G 4g 🙂 very good sound compared to my phone, more clean and detailing.
Ender –
Works on Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 very well, tested on Spotify operate for volume and equalizer. On the player the system operates but no equalizer just the volume. The sound quality a little better than the jack. I think the best idea would be to connect more amplifier.
richi –
An almost perfect product in terms of hardware for anyone seeking Hifi on an Android device!
Ther is one thing I changed and this could be easily included: For many pohnes if the plug would be one with a 90 degree angle corner between the socket and the cable it would be more convenient to keep the card pluged in when putting it into a pocket etc.
Maybe one could include that in a future revision.
AMG –
I tried this with my IEMs, and they sounded muddy and lacking treble. For those, I recommend the 9018D. I think the problem is that the impedance on this is too high for IEMs. So it stayed in my closet unused for like a year, and out of curiosity I tried it with my HD800 — now it was clear, the highs were there — and the bass was POWERFUL. I’ll be using this when I want to hear pounding bass with my HD800!
Just make sure your headphone has a high enough impedance!
Sebastien –
Works a treat with my Asus Zenfone 2. No issue with the volume level control, which works independantly from the jack output.
Sound signal is cleaner and a bit more detailled than with the jack. Tested on Spotify HQ, with 3 headsets : Sennheiser PX-100 (great), Yamaha HPH-200 (greater!), and Asus intras which are not bad at all !
aymeric –
The sound quality is excellent ! The battery drain is OK,
It works great on my GALAXY S5.
The only problem I’ll point out: The cable is too short and too stiff. It puts too much strain on the USB port of the phone. After a few month, the connection between the phone and the USB DAC became too loose, and I have a lot of ‘USB disconnected’ message on my phone.
Even the metal part at the end of the USB tip start to move inside the plastic jacket.
So be careful with it and everything will be fine.
Stroupstein –
I’ve had this over a long weekend and I really like the sound. I am using it with a Motorola moto g, 1st
generation, which I thought, had a great sounding headphone out jack. This is at least 20 percent better sounding. Maybe more. I am piping the signal to a fiio e12 mont blanc amp, then out to my headphones, either my AKG K240 studio or hifiman RE-400. Both sound noticeably better. I am streaming Tidal flac with no problems. No driver download, just plug and play. Nice.
Walter –
Not a good experience for me. I received my unit badly scratched and blemished–it clearly had belonged to someone else before me. It may have been one returned previously, I’m not sure. Improvement in sound quality was negligible to undiscernible going from an S3 straight to headphones. While I was evaluating the product and weighing the pros and cons of returning it (having to ship back to China), the "generous" 7 day window for returns had elapsed. Not recommended.
Hifime reply: We are actually not that strict on the 7 day return window and we plan to change it to 14 days. Contact us if you’d like to return it. We can also receive returns to UK and Oregon, USA.
We get the cases we use for the DAC’s from a supplier in China and they arrive like this, they all have minor marks and scratches unfortunately.
Fadem –
I have paired this DAC with my HTC One M8 (Android Lollipop), which has a rather noisy headphone out for sensitive IEMs – this is especially noticeable at low volumes. Using the DAC I get a very clean sound and no audible noise! Great value for the money!
steveeboy –
Was looking for a DAC for my Nexus 7 1st gen model from 2012. Saw a lot of expensive products, $100 or more. But I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take a chance on it not being that great of an improvement. I remembered that HiFiMeDIY had some more affordable alternatives.I ordered the sabre android DAC from the US distributor and had it in hand in like 3 days.works fine with the Nexus 7 2012 tablet as long as you get the USB Audio Pro Player app.
EVERYTHING sounds better, better soundstage, better separation between channels, more detail, etc. It took my desktop set up to another level.I have Audio Technica atx700s and I don’t get ear blasting volume unless I turn up the pre-amp/EQ volume on the USB Pro Audio player.
When this is plugged into your tablet you cannot charge it, so it sucks battery and you will need to work out charging versus playing music.For $30 you get a nice introduction to the world of DAC audio, and to my ear it’s totally worth it.
Schnap2s –
excellent DAC, working steadily on the Lenovo p780 with usb audio player pro. High-quality sound.
dave –
suberb sounding dac, its 2 volt out drives the aux in really well , it works on perfectly on galaxy note 2 and the sony z2
kozzie –
excellent little dac. works with my cheapo Chinese tablet using usb udio player pro. Sound quality is right up there for something that’s so small and cheap. probably best appreciated for phones/tablets with average sound quality you want to improve, as I don’t think it would make a whole lot of difference to phones with a decent audio chip in them (e.g the samsungs and sonys). Remember works best with an accompanying amp.
Carlos –
Works good with Inew I6000 but only with "USB audio player PRO"
ctleake –
I got this for my HTC One X (circa 2012). Naively, I just plugged in a pair of Creative 630s directly into the DAC. It wasn’t nice. Then a few months later I read that you need an Amp. It so happens I had an old Total AirHead Crossfeed Amp.
Ladies and Gentlemen, through an Amp this little DAC sounds unbelievably spacious, punchy and sweet trebled. I’ve never had such a huge jump in HiFi quality since the advent of the digital era. A mighty thanks to all involved in developing this wonderful product.
soundcheck –
By using a different USB reveiver then the very basic adaptive PCM2706 chip, a higher bitdepth (24bit) and higher samplerates would be possible.
For best sound: There are Android player apps supporting bit transparent playback btw. . These bypass the internal mixer. Checkout "USB Player pro".
Fox –
Tried to make it work, but is unfortunately not compatible with the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini.. Seems to be because the mini variant of the S4 does not support USB host mode. Works (and sounds) like a charm however (pnp) on the normal Galaxy S4.
William –
Works great with my LG G2 (D802). I’m using this with O2 headphone amp and Beyerdynamics DT880-600/Shure SE215 SPE. Awesome audio quality! If we can get a self-powered version of this USB DAC, that will be perfect!
tverrone –
beautiful sound from such a small simple DAC. it worked perfectly and easily the first time i plugged it into my galaxy s3. the sound is great, with lots of separation and detail. it’s even better than the headphone out on the galaxy, which has a very clear open sound already..
my only complaint is that there is a high pitched tone present when the DAC is plugged in. it is there whether music is played or not. it is very low in volume and is hardly noticeable when listening to music, but i really was hoping for a dead quiet soundstage. but for $30, i feel it is still a great performer. the only time i even hear the tone is on a very sensitive pair of headphones driven by a hybrid tube amp. on the car stereo or played through floorstanding speakers i can’t even hear it.
HIFIMEDIY REPLY: it might be something with the tube amp that triggers it. We don’t get any of this noise when connected directly very sensitive headphone 116dB @ 1mW. With these headphones the samsung output is very noisy while the Android DAC is completely quiet.
Evgeniy –
Nice. Works with Galaxy Note 3 out of the box.
stako –
Superbe dac pour smartphone pour un prix sympa !
Je l’utilise sur mon Wiko cinq five grace a l’application USB audio recorder
Le son est meilleur : propre,clair et détaillé.
Work with Wiko cinq five + USB audio recorder , excellent !!!
Kes –
Superb value for money. Works with Samsung Galaxy S4 – no additional software needed. My only crticism is the size of the USB plug – it’s a little chunky and doesn’t fit too snugly with my Spigen SlimArmor case on.
Andrew –
These are fantastic for tuning bass-heavy headphones to a more sane level. They offer great soundstage (for headphones), improved clarity and instrument separation, and would work great for a car stereo AUX-in. A cleaner sound vs Galaxy S3 (Jelly Bean) standard out and can power low impedance headphones to a great level.
It’s literally plug and play. Volume control is adjusted like you would on the standard headphone jack.
Dave Bonany –
Works great with my Bell Samsung S3 (4.1.2) with poweramp or neutron..sounds is so much better than the stock headphone jack..in my car the sub is much cleaner, highs are more crisp and everything else is just cleaner and better..well worth the 30$ spent to get a much better source signal..
RickG –
Very impressive! Best money I have spent on audio in a very long time. Simple and effective. I have a huge collection of apple lossless music and this DAC brings out things I have never heard. Why spends 100’s on expensive gear with with small returns the more you spend.
I plugged it into my LG Optimus Pro running neutron and it worked. Didn’t have to Change a thing.
Great product.
dave m –
This Dac works superbly well on my Galaxy Note 2 , the output level is much louder and better quality in every way than the note2 headphone out. My car system now sounds Amazing !
Johnny –
Great product, works on my note 2(Android 4.1.2) without any mod. Paired it with my cmoybb, the audio is much clearer than before. Overall a great product.
BHazard –
Awesome DAC! Works directly connected to my 2013 Nexus 7 on Cyanogenmod 10.2 without needing to use USB audio recorder.
Sound quality is excellent, and it is not too far off from my other ESS9018 DAC.