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Yes, audibly an improvement over what TP20 Pro offers

Thanks. My only experience with DT880 was the 600 Ohm version which I used to tests dongles. The biggest issue with these DT series they come only in SE termination of 6.3mm and 3.5mm, so if you run them on any dongles that have 4.4mm BAL, and use only the 3.5mm side, you are getting only 50% of the power they are capable of (please watch my video on this 4.4mm BAL topic). So, if you want to use DT series with dongles, you would fare better with either HIBY FC6, Questyle M12i or FiiO KA11 or Ovidius B1 all of which are dedicated 3.5mm SE dongles with amazing driving capabilities tested with headphones more demanding than 250 Ohm DT250. Dongles like DC04Pro or KA13 will only be most applicable for headphones which can run 4.4mm BAL

@@donglemadness Thanks, but the Ibasso Dc04 pro can produce 108 dB on these headphones. I will check that video to see the difference in power but even with the SE output, these dongles that I listed can produce close to 110dB. The KA11 is only a bit higher in max decibel output capacity acc to my calculations. My question is that 1. Is 108-110dB loud enough? 2. Does 1dB or more difference make a huge difference in this loudness range? 3. Do I need more power or loudness capacity for EQ purposes?

If enough what you looking for yes, but I don't recommend these dongles for what they offer on 3.5mm SE, I recommend them for what they can do on the 4.4mm BAL side. Their 3.5mm SE is suited best for highly efficient IEMs. It is like buying a car that can do 4 wheel drive but you choose to use only 2WD for situations what fare better with 4WD

@@donglemadness Yes I agree. Unfortunately the DT 880 does not come with a detachable cable so that is why I am in this dilemma. Is there a significant difference in overall sound quality of dc04 pro and KA13 or just a subtle difference. I saw that dc04 pro was higher up in your Dongle tier list. Also the KA11 is not in your list so it can be updated. Thanks once again.

Yes, DC04Pro to me is a better tuned dongle, wide open airy sound and a little better with dynamic articulation

Yes, there's difference, RU7 sounds more open, airy and wide sounding. Layering and separation too. On top of it, RU7 is even more analog sounding than KA13

@@donglemadness thank you very much boss. Appreciated. 🙏🙏

Awesome. It is rich and tactile sounding with top notch technicalities, yet super smooth

May I suggest that you watch my review on KA13? the comparison section does cover on this topic and hopefully will help you to make a decision

@@donglemadness You can't tell which one will be best.

KA5 and KA13 tuned similarly with the sound, technically and quality wise. What you need to decide now, the features beside sound which KA5 has a bit more than KA13. That's why I recommend you watch the video, so that you can get the idea the strength and offerings of each dongles. It is not always about which one the best, it is all about fulfilling your needs based on your requirements and preferences

I personally haven't tried Night Oblivion Butastu,hopefully someone can answer this

Q15 has richer sound and even more analog with the timbre

I did mention a few times, normally I use my Tanchjim ZERO 32 Ohm on 4.4mm BAL cable (a recabled Tanchjim ZERO). But I have also used any other IEMs that offers 32 Ohm of impedance or sensitivity lower than 98 dB (something like Etymotic ER2XR on 4.4mm BAL). When there is no 4.4mm BAL, I will of course use the same IEMs with 3.5mm cable or adapter

Not strange at all. Like many other dongles, you can use ONIX Alpha on the 4.4mm BAL side as an AUX Line Feed to equally BAL setup that accepts 4.4mm connection. So yes you can use 4.4 to 4.4 interconnect and set the volume at 70/100 High Gain/NOS to emulate Line In feed to speakers or even Amps

Many of them choose not to use EQ

Q15 offers even richer body of sound, denser and a bit more frontal too (like HIBY FC6 R2R), Q15 exhibit the traditional analog sound of AKM native tuning, which is why it appears frontal. I would say Q15 still a little more prominent with overall smoothness, that velvety AKM smoothness you can expect from flagship AKM DAC

@@donglemadness Thanks for the reply!

Overall Volare is tuned closer to neutral target with some boost in the lower frequency, in comparison EM10 would appear a bit more colored. I would even say transparency is a little more evident on Volare, but when it comes to fun element, EM10 sounds a little more exciting. Both I would regard as equally smooth, closely matched

@@donglemadness that's interesting considering the big price difference.

Huge difference? not really. The main differences starts with the tuning. MP145 is a traditional V sound curve with prominent emphasis on Lows and Highs, a bit more transient speed and energy, QTX is tuned to edge closer to neutral target, would appear flatter sounding than the colored MP145, QTX is also more transparent like a monitoring headphone. QTX also offers less energy to the PRAT (dynamic transients) but it is still very fast and agile. I love both equally really, when I want that immersive vibrant sound that is smooth and crispy and airy, I use MP145. When I am in the mood for something more relaxed yet resolving, something more transparent, QTX is what I use. Hope this helps

@@donglemadness Thank you so much

I wanted to add iv been playing with the filters and here is my take on the filters. Slow Filter is like a rolling hill smooth sides rising to round peak then slowly rolls back down this is what a note sounds like on this filter. On Fast Filter picture the same hill but its been squished in from the sides its now taller more powerful sound but dosnt linger around as much as the slow filter. The low lattency are like the fast and slow but picture the start of the note being replaced by a sharp cliff instead of a steadily increasing slope. This gives notes a sharper frontal edge. Personally i perfer the slow filter but i can see where fast filter could help with more mellow headphones. If your chasing details you might perfer the low latency filters but for me I found them more fatiguing to listen to.

Congratulations on your purchase! 😁

Awesome. Geoff says thanks! 😻😁

🤣🤘🏼

My pleasure. Enjoy your music!

Yes DC04Pro is a very good choice going from KA11

​​@@donglemadnessThanks.

Yes that is true, DC04Pro offers wide open sound. I haven't tried Tempotec BHD so I don't know about that one

@@donglemadness I'll go for the dc04 then thanks 👍

KA11 has more power and better tuned and UA1s

Yes, to get the best of ONIX, run it on the 4.4mm BAL side for 100% of available power. You can look for any cable designed for HiFiMan

Yes already working on it. Thanks

Yes absolutely

For as long as it connects properly and you can use it, I don't think the adapter would impart any quality change to the output

Thanks.

I hope someone can answer this. I haven't tried Audiocular D07

@@donglemadness ok thanks for quick respone

I am not sure about that as I don't use Android Auto on cars. Hopefully someone can help you with this, someone who has tried MIAD01 with Android Auto

I don't have JA11 yet so I have no idea until I am able to test one. Thanks

I don't quite understand the issue here. When I said well balanced, it is the presentation of entire dynamic range which is linear neutral from one end of the sound frequency to another opposite end not exhibiting any kind of coloration or enhancement. If the dynamic range is poor as mentioned, then I would never personally place this ONIX Alpha as high as it is, I would not even recommend it if there's any indication of impairment or deficiencies to the way it present sound dynamics

@@donglemadness I certainly hope they are wrong.

What page of the thread did you read it on?

@@andresvr8357 the last few pages. I hope they are wrong though. I got this for neutrality. The only thing they said that worried me is they said loud and quiet sounds don't stand out from each other. I hope its just due to their usual gear being too boosted. I want something that neither boosts nor compresses. I can only hope XI1 is normal and they are just used to boosted stuff. I hope it's not overly smoothed out.

@@tor13128 It also made me lose interest, I think Andy is confusing dynamic range with sound signature when he says neutral, since if something is neutral it doesn't mean it's very dynamic, that thing where the weakest and strongest sounds stand out. If it can serve to explain the dynamic range, when something low volume has to sound it will be precise and if from one moment to the next it changes to a loud sound it will be noticeable as in real life, perhaps it will be noticeable with classical music that goes from passages low to strong

Thanks. QTX is tuned to be more neutral than the V curved MP145. Which means MP145 will still be the one that's more engaging and vibrant with Metal music. QTX on the other hand, being a bit more neutral, with just mild Midbass boost, will offer a more relaxed listening experience which I enjoy as well, sometimes you just need that relaxed smoothness which will be very useful for long listening sessions

@@donglemadness thank you very much

Definitely. I'll return it. The emotion in my songs just disappear, boring is not the right word for me. It's quite literally lifeless. I can see how neutral heads would absolutely love this, which I originally thought I was until I gave this dongle a shot. The m1p serves a much better sound profile for me, and with EQ on my cans and hexa, it is really close to a sound I cannot get enough of.

I am confused, but new to all of this. Shouldn't the dongle let the item or source shine on its own? Isn't that why they say if you have a warm iem don't use a warm output DAC?

LOL, wait until you see FiiO KA17 or iBasso DC-Elite

@@donglemadness oh my.

No worries, the warmth is still there, but it does not cause for worry too much especially if you are not driving the dongle at high volume with heavy load. But even so it will still be warmer than other ultra compact dongles, part of a trade off with getting more power inside in such a small form factor

@@donglemadness thanks for the answer.I buyed moon drop dawn pro because of the reviews talk about of the heat..I don't know if its to much worse...but the form factory really it's... Thanks and salute! Pd: sorry again for my terrible English!😅

Thanks for the support. You mean compared to Qudelix 5K? well if you ask me, 5K is the prime example of ESS Sabre sound which is analytical and enhanced. ONIX Alpha sort of sound is more on being transparent, analytical, uncolored yet rich and smooth in transient speed, very analog sort of timbre (of which 5K favors the more Hi-Fi sort of studio sound), which also means to me 5K would appear a bit edgy sharp with Pinna region (which is a trademark of ESS Sabre)

@donglemadness oops, spelling mistake, yeah , sorry, I meant the 5k. Thank you, Andy, for your thoughts! 🙂 I was thinking of tying the 5k into my phone via USB, not Bluetooth. I watched your video on the 5k, and it was excellent. It was the main reason for me choosing the 5k, but then I watched your video on the Onix X1 Alpha. As of now, I'm not sure which to purchase. 😄 I use Qubuz as my streaming music peference. There's almost too much choice in the market. Thanks again, and I look forward to watching more of your content!

Hey thanks Mate. Cheers! and enjoy the music! 🍻

Thanks. Just to give you a bit of perspective, aside from absolute supremacy with power versus ODO, KA11 would also appear less bright than ODO. ODO has a bit of that brightness due to being analytical with the upper frequency (so you may need to EQ down witt Treble on ODO). KA11 on the other hand would probably not need to EQ

Gracias, sí, de hecho, KA11 irá bien con KZ ZS10

Sorry I don't have a Penon dongle to compare

lol, you get the idea

Miles ahead of Apple dongle

KA11 actually has smoother transient than 71 which is focused more on being crispy edged. And it is not overly analytical

​@@donglemadnessno, i mean in comparison with the natural akm smoothness across all frequencies?

Personally, I prefer the faster transient speed of MP145 for Metal. But if you ever need a bolder edge on upper Mids then SuperMix may provide the edge slightly more