Strictly speaking, perhaps someone still remembers that LeTV MAX2 was the first mobile phone to cancel the 3.5mm headphone jack, and it was the real pioneer of this trend. But the trend of truly opening the "cancel headphone jack" is still the big start of Apple. It was after iPhone 7 that the audio industry ushered in the biggest innovation in the past 10 years, canceling the 3.5MM headphone jack, instead integrating all wired outputs into the mobile phone interface.
For now, no matter whether this is good or bad, it is undeniable that the 3.5mm headphone jack has been used for decades since its birth. The habits developed by users are deeply rooted, and it is not easy to make changes at once. Moreover, 3.5mm headphones, speakers and other devices still occupy an important position in the hands of users. It is obviously unwise and practical to say goodbye to such devices immediately. In order to solve this problem, the mainstream approach of mobile phone manufacturers now is to randomly include an audio adapter cable, but friends who are a little pursuing understand how many things you give are good products?
takes this to provide a new opportunity for a few professional audio manufacturers. We will find that many 3.5mm audio adapter cables have been quietly born on the market. What we want to introduce today is the rhythm tank sonata HD, a high-quality adapter cable product with Sony's "gold standard" certification.
First of all, before introducing it, we need to figure out what Tpye-C-3.5mm headphone jack adapter cables like Sonata HD are. In fact, in layman's terms, most mobile phones also cancel the built-in Codec while canceling the headphone jack. This type of adapter cable can be equivalent to an external Codec with an "external sound card". The mobile phone is a music turntable, and the adapter cable completes the decoding/opportunity work of audio files, and ultimately generates an analog audio signal that can drive the headphones to make sound. Or you can call it a reduced version of headphone amp decoding all-in-one.
Since it is an adapter with independent Codec, the quality of the solution has largely determined the sound quality. It has to be mentioned that the chip solution used in Sonata HD comes from Cirrus Logic's CS42L42, which is the same chipset as the previous HTC U11 adapter cable. What’s interesting is that HTC U11 is not a very successful mobile phone. Instead, its supporting adapter cable has become popular for a while and even sold out of stock, which is enough to show that the CS42L42 has a good reputation among consumers.
As for the parameter part, the sonata HD supports up to 24bit/192kHz audio file decoding, reaching the Sony Hi-Res 24bit/96kHz small gold standard standard. The official reference value given by the output part is 60mw/32Ω, which can push 32~150Ω in-ear or headsets, which is considered a representative of relatively high thrust among similar products. Another highlight is that the Rhythm Tank provides three firmware for Sonata HD, namely: call priority, sound quality priority and mellow mode. This benefit is that users can better meet the needs of different users in terms of use through adjustments at the firmware level, and can also achieve wider compatibility coverage as much as possible. Of course, I recommend using the pure tone mode in the three modes. As for the method of brushing firmware, it is very simple. Friends in need can go to the official website of Rhythm Tank to query. The tutorial is very detailed.
returns to the center of the topic, and the Sonata HD Type-C audio adapter cable adopts an all-black design in terms of shape, which is more versatile. The whole wire is about 11 cm long and is larger in size than the usual adapter head. The wire is a braided thread with a soft texture, taking into account daily durability. On one side of the interface, the English logo of the rhythm tank is printed, while on the other side there is no decorative pattern, but you can paste it with a small Hi-Res gold sticker. In addition, the 3.5 headphone jack not only looks thick but actually has a detachable design. I don’t know if it is a foreshadowing to upgrade other components in the future.The entire line of
Sonata HD is very meticulous and in-place. The bigger highlight is that it comes with a Type-C to USB adapter. Yes, you can treat it as a computer USB-DAC, and it can be used without drivers on Windows 10 and Mac OS. With its high thrust, it is also much more comfortable to use with head-mounted HIFI headphones or gaming headsets.
listen to experience
In order to further test the overall quality of sonata HD, the author chose Meizu Pro7, which has always pursued sound and has its own 3.5mm headphone jack, as the reference test device.
It is worth noting that Pro7 itself uses both Cirrus Logic mid-to-high-end Codec, which is characterized by high thrust and clean sound base, and its strength cannot be underestimated. But it is definitely not without its shortcomings. It is typical that the volume of sound information and resolution are average, which is in sharp contrast to the sonata HD. In comparison, you can find that the information of the sonata HD is richer than the former, and the analysis of the three-band frequency also has more details to find. Even though the two are in a state of half a pound in terms of sound field, the slightly flat sound field of the Sonata HD still performs better at the overall sound level. Sonata HD not only demonstrates the distance between different instruments in the track, but also slightly better than Meizu Pro7 in terms of accuracy in instrumental sound positioning.
As for the tuning style, the overall style of the sonata HD is inclined toward the "monitoring style", especially in the vocal part, the vocal position is not much, the lip is too large, forming a good sense of layering with the background instrument sound. This style has its pros and cons. The advantage is that it is more in line with the theme of HiFi's loyalty to the original sound and is more suitable for the interpretation of multiple types of songs (omnivorous). The disadvantage is that it is slightly less pleasing to the ears than the Pro7 in terms of vocals. Pro7 is a typical popular style that is slightly warm and sweet.
is the main premise of monitoring the taste, the three-frequency energy distribution of the sonata HD is relatively more balanced. To be specific, the sound density and resolution of Sonata HD have improved a lot compared to Pro7 in terms of medium and low frequencies. The low frequency texture is solid and the volume is not much. While listening, the low frequency dynamics and control are more effective. There are also certain differences between the high-frequency part. While the high-frequency brightness of the sonata HD increases slightly, the high-frequency details are slightly richer than that of the Pro7, but there is no obvious difference in the two in terms of ductility. The better high-frequency brightness and different low-frequency trends are caused by the different processing, sonata HD will still be more transparent.
Summary
Although it is a foregone conclusion to cancel the 3.5 headphone jack in the general environment, the problem also comes. Many friends maintain their pursuit of sound and are as stubborn as an "old man". At this time, it also provides a new opportunity for old HiFi factories such as rhythm tanks. The timely launch of high-quality adapter cables is not only a new attempt, but also meets the high demand of some consumers. As a transfer cable priced at only 100 yuan, Sonata HD not only has reached the highest level in similar products in sound quality, but also provides more functions and gameplay. It is one of the most cost-effective solutions to solve such problems. It is recommended that friends who have needs in the near future can pay more attention to
