iFi Hip-dac2 - Portable Balanced DAC Headphone Amplifier for Android, iPhone with USB Input Only/Outputs: 3.5mm Unbalanced / 4.4mm Balanced – MQA Decoder

PIC: Under the phone is the HipDac 2. I bought the original HipDac and liked it so much getting the HipDac2 was a no brainer. The HipDac is the most powerful, portable and flexible DAC you can buy for under $200. Despite it being geared for headphone mobile us, after looking at the specs and the capabilities, I literally found it to be a quite capable desktop DAC. The only drawback in doing so is having to use a 3mm headphone jack for output to the rest of my stereo chain. I listen to Spotify or Tidal all day in my home office. I use the premium subscriptions for each Spotify for playlist listening, Tidal for reviewing artists and previewing for vinyl purchases. The HipDac goes into other low cost gear...from the HipDac it goes to a Fosi MM tube pre-amp that also doubles as a signal pre. From there it loops through a Bellari EQ570 and on to a Nobsound 6p1 tube amp. (Rolled to HQ tubes) from there out to the very excellent Wharfdale 80th Anniversary Dentons. I use the line matching button and extra bass, I run the level on the HipDac at about 1 o'clock and control the overall volume at the amp. Some caveats of using it as a HiFi system DAC. The major drawback is getting the streaming audio to it takes up some space on the rack. Yes, you can use a phone, PC, laptop or tablet but for phones and tablets, it is problematic to charge and play at the same time. I have had inconsistent success doing so with both Android and iOS devices. I ended up sticking with a Lenovo tablet and using USB Audio Player Pro's custom android audio driver for Tidal and native spotify use. USBAPP drive will take over chores and provide bit perfect streaming with their Tidal implementation. Using spotify native app is pretty much seamless. The Lenovo gives me 12-14 hours of playing time. Spotify premium allows 320 kbits steaming and frankly for all day listening I find Spotify audio quality very consistent and non-fatiguing. Plus they have excellent playlists for office/work music. Tidal MQA works well and is extremely high quality, so much so it will show you the true levels of the recordings complete with all the scratchy instrument hairballs and magnetic dust bunnies. This detail can be fatiguing to listen to. There is a learning curve to getting the highest audio quality possible for least amount of $$ possible. If you are into that quest the HipDac2 is a good place to start regardless how you use it, it is simply a really good device. If it is your first time using a DAC you discover things in your favorite music, in the recording and in the voices of singers and instruments that you never heard before because you were listening to a crappy DAC and low resolution stream. If you are already a long time audiophile and want to move beyond the limitations of wireless headphone listening or phone onboard DACS you will. be rewarded.

I’ve looked in to many pocket DACs, and I’m glad I settled on this one. It checks all the boxes. Almost as thin as a phone, balanced output, driverless, and modularity. Setting aside audiophile pickiness, for me, convenience features are more important for a mobile solution. I wish everything had the recessed USB A connection. It feels more sturdy to be shoved in a pocket than any other option. My only wish is that when charging, it would also act as a power pass through to charge the device it’s on. Being driverless means it works with anything willing to offload audio processing. Even a Nintendo Switch Lite. As far as audio goes, it sounds great. I really can’t elaborate much more than that. There’s no hindrance to stereo separation and what they call sound stage and imaging. It just plays sound the way it was intended with no coloration, until you use the bass boost for fun. Paired with a HD650, 95% of the time, the bass boost tapers off right before the vocal range. Which is the perfect pair for movies, TV shows, and even most YouTube videos. The only real issue I’ve found is more or less a compatibility issue. Not the fault of the HipDAC, and more of Apple’s fault. Every dongle I’ve tried with it works flawlessly… except the official Apple Lightning to “camera” dongle. It gets some rhythmic digital noise, almost like a GSM signal. Sometimes it goes away. Other times the HipDAC stops working and you have to turn it off and on. Why it’s an Apple problem, is because Lightning is only capable of USB 2.0 standards and speed. I feel like the noise and crash is because it sometimes bottlenecks, or the timing gets too far out of sync. It never happens with any form of USB 3.0 cable.

My Sennheiser HD 280 pros have been Frankensteined together for the last 15 years or so - adding new parts and all that. They just look sad an dated now, so I just upgraded to the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 250Ω headphones and needed an amp for use with my laptop and phone when I don't want to use my Bose QuietComfort Ultra bluetooth headset. This amp really makes everything sound great. I never thought the Bose headphones were muddy until I listened to this combo. I'm not an audiophile, but I can tell a huge difference, and it's more than enough power, great battery life and super compact. I did purchase a case for it and silicone port plugs since I travel a lot. It's a great combo and very easy to use.

Great DAC for your headphones, if you're looking to boost your equipment. There's no static or any faults. It produces nice and clean audio as well. I would say before you play your music to put the audio very low and then slowly turn it up cause it may be too loud for your eyes, so slowly turn it up to your liking.

I want to preface this review with the fact that I was previously using the Fiio E10k, a 50-100 dollar usb powered dac/amp. The Hip-DAC pushes out some serious sound for its small build and modest price tag. I have been using two very different headphones with this dac/amp (Sennheiser HD600 (300 ohm) and Audio Technica ATH-M40x (35 ohm)). The Hip-DAC volume output is very similar to the E10K and is still more than bearable at the highest volume. The biggest difference between this dac/amp in the E10k is the clarity and spectrum that is now audible with this dac/amp. The XBass feature is GREAT for electronic, pop and dance music while turning it off delivers an optimal experience for listeners who prefer an unaltered and leveled experience. This dac/amp was able to do something I hadn’t thought was possible with my previous dac/amp. I was able to completely transform my HD600s into a bassy, FUN set of headphones with XBass. I can now comfortably listen to EDM, Pop, Rap and other bassy genres with my open backs. Sound quality and clarity is top notch with these headphones BUT I do have some things I’m not a huge fan of regarding build… 1. The volume control knob - This knob sticks out quite a bit from the front of the unit. I always worry that I’m going to break it off or ruin the chrome finish with it sticking out. It becomes the only non-flush part of this dac amp and gets caught on everything! 2. The USB-A extension cable - in order to use this dac/amp with anything you need to carry around this eyesore of a cable and pray you don’t lose it (it’s designed to fit your dac amp perfectly with its recessed USB-A male connector). The color reminds me of the bright blue Ethernet cables and difficult to hide if carrying out in public. Definitely out of place for such a well designed product. 3. Lack of an included case - the finish on this product is BEAUTIFUL. It’s a burnt orange and looks/works great if it’s home is going to be on your desk it’s whole life. IF you’re going to carry this device around however, the finish is VERY scratchable and I fear of putting it in my pocket due to this fact. A thin cloth case is a MUST if you’re going to be using this on the go. Overall the sound of this dac/amp is GREAT, the build quality is OK (looks great, practicality is meh), the indicator and number of protocols/bitrates this dac/amp supports is a HUGE bonus and I think if you’re looking for a dac/amp with great sound and lots of features this is the one for you.

This is my first mobile DAC, so I am not the one able to adequately judge the sound quality. For me with my Hifiman Sundara it sounds excellent, better than the Schiit Hel 2 I have on my desktop. The reason why I wanted to write this review is because it was difficult for me to understand how this would work with an iPhone, and what kind of additional cables I might need. To be clear, several reviews here are misleading in this regard or outright not correct. Whether this is a version issue, I am not sure, but for me the connection was completely straight forward and as follows: First, the nook in the device perfectly fits the standard Apple Lightning to USB Camera adapter. While there is no fitting cable included, this is really the only additional cable you need to connect the device to your iPhone with Lightning. The second additional cable is a balanced headphone cable that connects to your headphones. Which one will depend on your headphones, but on the DAC side you will want a 4.4mm balanced connector. This is optional, but I highly recommend it. So, if you go from scratch with your iPhone you should get the hip dac2, an Apple Lightning to USB camera adapter and optionally a balanced headphone cable, and that's all you need. So, would I buy it again? Probably not, because having listened with this for quite some time, while all is excellent, I probably would opt for a device with additional Bluetooth functionality. The short connection between iPhone and DAC works well when you are sitting on a desk, but when you are on the go etc, this becomes quite clunky and inconvenient. It would be nice to leave the whole headphone+DAC wherever it is, while conveniently using your iPhone by itself to select music.

Update (2nd day of listening): These is an issue with balanced 4.4 output - I can hear only left channel, it's only able to hear both in stereo if you push and hold headphones connector tightly, and again - only left channel if you stop pushing it... Seems like it's not built in a quality way, especially connectors. It's also worth to say that I was really gentle with it, plugged my 4.4 connector in and out only 2 times since onboarding. Sad... ____________________ Looks and feels really tiny and light. Has everything in terms of connectivity. Able to power my Sennheiser HD 660S2 (300 Omh), although reached the maximum level of volume. Sound is clear, all music instruments are separated, low frequencies are a bit flat (w/o bass boost activation). DSD format is playing smoothly, in native mode. What I missed - is absence of any simple cover or carrying case. Also no native battery level indication (even cheapest powerbanks have this simple indication...).

Due to vendor chicanery I rarely give 5 star reviews. I’ve only had this item on my wishlist for 18 months. Amazon had this is part of their spring sale, and because I had a little extra money I pulled the trigger. I bought this to upgrade my existing DAC/AMP. I hoped that this unit would drive my headphones a little better and I’m not disappointed. The first thing that I like is that is a powered unit. My old DAC/AMP was not powered, and since I listen to my headphones almost exclusively on my phone this alone was a nice upgrade. Once connected to my phone, the difference is impressive! I use a couple Pink Floyd tracks as my baseline. Well it didn’t take long to hear the difference, and while on the first track. At my age, and the ridiculous number of times I’ve heard that track - if something “new” popped out at me, I think this is impressive! I like the power match button. this is a neat feature. The “xbass” button is another nice feature. While most people like to listen to max bass 24/7, I do not. I prefer a pure, flat sound - the way it was intended - but different strokes/different folks. Anyway, the “xbass” button works WELL and really does a nice job for the THUMP! The volume control dial was the first sign that this was a full functioning AMP, and not a discount one. There are plenty of cords and connectors that will hopefully work for your equipment/setup. My iPhone 16 connectivity was uneventful, everything worked as expected right from the get go. As I keep rereading what I’ve wrote, I’m changing my review to 5-stars. This is a heck of an upgrade for me and didn’t break the bank. I feel like I got a lot of value for what I paid. I can’t address the battery life yet. As mentioned above, I set this up the moment I opened the box. As mentioned above, the controls work well, are easy to use and are marked well. I read other reviewers that said they put this in their shirt pocket. I’ll definitely be doing exactly that on my next visit to the grocery store. All in all I’m thrilled with my purchase. I would definitely recommend this product!

Pas adapté du tout comme ampli casque nomade avec FIIO 5II pas de cable adapté en asymétrique ou symétrique, peux de détails ou options sur le manuel de branchement, je pense avoir mal choisi mon ampli casque à mettre notamment avec casque beyer dynamic DT990 pro 250 ohms, le produit est de parfaite fabrication et d'une écoute optimume branché sur un ordi pc ou mac les drivers à télécharger sont adaptés à tous systémes pc ou Mac

El hip DAC es un excelente DAC para poder utilizarlo con tu laptop, tablet o celular. En cuanto a materiales tiene excelente calidad de construcción y ese color naranja está increíble (eso depende de los gustos y es muy subjetivo). Los botones se sienten sólidos y la rueda de volumen de excelente calidad. Su tamaño es bastante compacto para lo que es (y su potencia de amplificación). Decidí comprar este DAC y hacerlo mi segundo (el primero fue iFi Zen DAC) ya que me gusta esta firma de sonido, bastante cálida y sabrosa, tiene muy buena extensión en graves (no necesito usar el Extra Bass, al menos no con mis audífonos Sennheiser IE300), y bastante claridad en medios; los agudos se sienten redondeados y poco o nada sibilantes. Utilizo el Hip DAC con Apple Music Lossless y Hi-Res Lossless, lo he utilizado con un iPad Pro, un iPhone y una MacBook y va increíblemente bien. En general, es una gran opción para llevar al trabajo, a la oficina, o andar por ahí y tener una buena calidad de audio. Pros: + Buen sonido, cálido y claro. + Buen bajo. + Excelentes materiales de construcción. + Bonito color (subjetivo). Contras: - Puede ser muy grande para algunas personas, sobre todo incómodo para llevártelo en tu pantalón. - Si eres usuario de iOS (iPhone) necesitarás un adaptador u OTG. Conclusión: Recomendado.

Este DAC pode funcionar de duas formas distintas. Como um DAC portátil ligado a um telemovel para fornecer uma qualidade de som que o telemovel não consegue fornecer, usando phones de boa qualidade. Também pode ser usado como um DAC desktop ligado a um PC, fornecendo aqui também uma qualidade de som que a maioria das placas/chips de som não conseguem fornecer. Neste modo, ligamos o DAC via USB-A para a transmissão da informação musical, e ligamos via USB-C a um adaptador AC ou a outro porto USB do PC para fornecer energia ao DAC. Seja de que modo se usar, o resultado é fant'stico a nivel sonoro. Obviamente para tirar proveito do som, é obrigatório usar phones/auscultadores de qualidade... Os produtos iFi são excelentes. Quanto ao serviço de transporte, a encomenda foi entregue em menos de 24h em Lisboa, portanto, excelente serviço por parte da empresa distribuidora da marca iFi em Espanha. Recomendo!

Ich muss vorweg schicken, dass ich, neben einer hochwertigen, stationären Anlage, die aus Zeitgründen und anderen Prioritäten, mittlerweile leider viel zu selten "angeworfen" wird, Musik intensiv ausschließlich per Smartphone (Iphone 13pro) und einem Spotify Account höre. Also bekanntermaßen eigentlich nicht die allerbesten Voraussetzungen für hochwertigen Klang. Hab mir vor 2 Jahren dafür, aber auch für andere Zwecke, einen Kopfhörer aus dem € 200.- Segment gekauft, der auf verschiedenen Portalen recht gute Bewertungen hatte. War damit bisher auch ganz zufrieden bis ich zufällig einen Bericht über Kopfhörerverstärker las und wie das so ist bei Highendern... Naja, hab mich eingelesen, Testberichte, Videos, das Übliche halt und mir dann 3 Geräte zum Testen bestellt, die beiden FiiO's KA3 und Q3 sowie den hip-dac 2 von ifi. Erwartung war lediglich, erstmal schauen, ob das alles nicht mal wieder zu gehypt ist, wie meistens, was u. a. auch mal der Hauptgrund war, dass ich vor Jahren aus der "Szene" ausgestiegen bin und seitdem wieder mit mehr Spaß Musik hören konnte. Die beiden FiiO's kamen recht schnell an, gestartet bin ich dann gleich mit dem "Kleinen". Einfach angestöpselt und wow, da passiert ja schonmal richtig was. Ohne jede Einstellmöglichkeit war der Klang deutlich erwachsener, kräftiger, nuancierter, hatte Drive, das berühmte Fußwippen... Geladen werden musste er nicht, er zieht den benötigten Strom aus dem Iphone. Danach mit ein bisschen Aufwand auch den Q3 zum Laufen gekriegt (gerichtet von USB-C zum Lightning, entgegen einiger gegenteiliger Kommentare hier) und da war doch nochmal deutlich mehr zu hören. War aber nur ein kurzes Vergnügen, da der Akku geladen werden musste aber der erste Eindruck war schon mal top. Als es dann richtig losgehen konnte, hab ich permanent hin- und hergestöpselt um die beiden möglichst direkt vergleichen zu können. Ergebnis, der Q3 ist in jeder Beziehung deutlich besser als der KA3 aber dafür auch teurer und ob's das wert ist... Mit dem KA3 wäre ich zu dem Zeitpunkt irgendwie auch zufrieden gewesen, Klang deutlich besser als ohne alles und ist super bequem im Handling, anstöpseln und ab in die Hosentasche. Aber er saugt den Akku vom Iphone schon ordentlich schnell leer, das war mir bekannt, hat mich dann aber doch ziemlich gestört. Ich war also unschlüssig ob und wenn ja, welchen. Und dann kam glücklicherweise der hip-dac2 an, den ich erst einmal nicht ins Laufen gekriegt habe, da die mitgelieferten Anschlusskabel allesamt nicht für den Betrieb am Iphone geeignet sind. Der Apple Kameraadapter mit passendem USB-Anschluss musste noch her, das dauerte dann nochmal 3 Tage aber dann konnte es tatsächlich endlich losgehen. Und schnell war klar, meine Unschlüssigkeit wird ein jähes Ende finden, die beiden FiiO's waren nach den ersten Takten meiner kleinen, neu zusammengestellten Kopfhörer Playlist richtiggehend raus. Der hip-dac 2 war einfach soviel besser als die beiden, dass ich mit keinem je wieder glücklich geworden wäre. Ich höre übrigens viele Genres, gerne auch mal audiophil, Jazz, Klassik aber eben auch Rock, ältere wie neuere Produktionen. Was dieser kleine Flachmann dabei abliefert, ist wirklich mehr als hörenswert. Alles ist in der richtigen Ausprägung "da", nichts ist überhöht oder unterdimensioniert, es macht durchgängig Spaß, damit stundenlang Musik zu hören und nicht von Titel zu Titel zu skippen sondern die Stücke zu Ende zu hören, zu genießen und das nächste einfach beginnen und weiterlaufen zu lassen, so möchte ich Musik hören. Seitdem weiß ich auch erst, welches Potenzial mein Kopfhörer hat, der Bass geht wirklich ordentlich tief runter, bleibt dabei konturiert, wird keinesfalls dominant oder überlagert sogar andere Frequenzbereiche. Die Mitten unverfärbt, klar abgegrenzt aber trotzdem schön eingebunden, wunderbare Übergänge, mir hat nichts gefehlt und auch die Höhen wirklich brillant ohne spitz zu werden, Metall klingt nach Metall mit Nachschwingen, hohe Töne werden kräftig, klar und unverzerrt wiedergegeben. Genau so hab ich mir das vorgestellt, immer vorausgesetzt, das Musikmaterial und die Aufnahme geben es her, denn wenn's Müll ist, klingt's auch danach. Die Räumlichkeit ist sowohl in der Breite als auch in der Tiefe sehr gut "erkennbar", Instrumente stehen an ihren Plätzen, die Staffelung ist nachvollziehbar, Sänger/ innen stehen genau da, wo man sie verorten würde und bei den Aufnahmen wohl auch gestanden haben. Kurzum, ein toller Auftritt, der mich aktuell wunschlos macht. Bin trotzdem recht sicher, dass ich vielleicht doch noch den ein oder anderen Kopfhörer ausprobieren werde, so ganz wird man dieses Streben nach immer besserem Klang wohl doch nie los. Der hip-dac 2 wird in jedem Fall bleiben, da ist dann auch der nochmal etwas höhere Preis kein Thema mehr - im Gegenteil, für mich dafür definitv ein Best Buy! Die Einstellmöglichkeiten sind im Net hinlänglich beschrieben, ich benutze die Bassverstärkung in Abstimmung mit dem Equalizer von Spotify, die Gain-Funktion brauche ich nicht, mein Audio Technica MSR7b hat einen sehr guten Wirkungsgrad, im Übrigen nutze ich den Balanced-Eingang beim hip-dac 2, beim ATH war das passende Kabel Bestandteil des Lieferumfangs. Klanglich dürfte die 3,5mm Klinke aber nicht weit abfallen, wenn überhaupt. Also, klare Kaufempfehlung!

凄く良い音で、長く聞いていたくなります。 ただ、ボリュームのダイヤルが大きい為、勝手に音量が変わってしまいます。 これに関しては、別売りの革製ケースをお勧めします。 傷の防止にもなりますし。