I’m looking for a budget phone dac, I currently have a Samsung a70 and find the sound output via headphone flat. My main headphones are Sony MDR 1AM2s.
I’ve just seen Zeos review of the xDuoo Link and that looks a possible as does the Hidizs s3 and the Meizu HiFi Pro.
Has anyone used any of these or have any similar recommendations?
Thank you.
What about something like a fiio btr5? That would be pretty sweet
That was actually what I was going to buy on payday until I saw the review of the xDuoo link and now I’m wondering whether I need the btr. Have you got/heard the btr5?
I have the btr5 and it’s pretty dang sweet for the price. It sounds really nice, a clear improvement over the q1 mk2 it was replacing. Very impressive in balanced, which you could use since you have am2 because they come with a 4.4mm balanced cable that you could just get a 4.4 to 2.5mm adapter and run them balanced
I’ve got to admit I didn’t consider the balanced aspect. Thanks for pointing it out.
It works pretty well with most of my headphones which I was surprised with for the price. It shines the most in balanced but also fairly decent in unbalanced. Plenty of features and battery life is good if you use bluetooth. I like it wired too via usb, works well on phones and pc
Many thanks for your input.
Unfortunately my phone only goes up to aptx in Bluetooth (which I’m very disappointed in, have a set of Bluetooth headphones that can handle aptx hd or ldac).
Yeah I would also connect it to my of if the sound quality was good enough.
Yeah you can run it with an otg cable so that works very well (and that’s what I do most of the time tbh)
Or…
A few days late, but i own a Hidizs Sonata USB - C to 3.5 cable. and it has been awesome, there has been a number of reviews saying there is high noise on these. but i do not think i have noticed it, it pairs well with my Hifman RE400.
i have ordered a meizu HiFi Pro, it may take another 2 weeks to reach me given that its the chinese new year holidays right now. But will post my impressions once it reaches me.
Edit: i should also mention although the Hidizs has enough power to drive my Hifiman re400 (IEM) and Cooler Master M751 Headphones (Takstar pro 82s?). the Meizu Hifi Pro is supposed to have more power than Hidizs, I can only confirm once i get mine.
If you are in the US, the apple usb-c to 3.5mm is also very well recieved, they have ample amount of power and very low noise floor, but be sure to get the US variant (A2049). there is an EU version with like half the power and really bad reviews.
Many thanks for your reply, no not too late, I don’t get paid until Friday 
. I’m in the UK.
Would be very interested in your thoughts on the Meizu when you get it.
The btr5 is a front runner at the moment but nearly twice the price of the Meizu.
Oh MY God!
i logged in to update you that i was going for the BTR5!! (i cancelled the meizu)
since i can’t give you my impressions, i’ll give you the next best thing. I made my friend buy Blon-03 and the Meizu hifi dongle (non-pro). and he says he can never go above 50% volume on it. It’s got some driving power. can’t speak for its resolution and noise levels.
Lol, thanks and here is the thing. I was originally looking at dongles about the £40 to £50 UK, the xDuoo link, the ibasso dc01 or 02, or the Meizu but it’s currently seems as though spending the extra on the btr5 (even though I’m not fussed by the Bluetooth) is the way to go. I could also use it as a dac for my pc too.