Since the iPhone 7 generation began, Apple has removed the headphone hole after the trend There have been such products before, such as LeTV. Quite a lot of consumers and colleagues (including me) have sentenced real mobile phones to the death penalty for HiFi, and this has been true for a few years. However, just half a month ago, the veteran audio manufacturer iBasso actually produced a line-type sound card that can be plugged into a balance head. It seems that the situation is about to change.
Actually, the author bought DC01 when it was first released, but it has been very busy during this period. I just posted a few Weibo posts and didn’t have time to write it seriously.
is an accessory product, so a family portrait is also two things The main body, one is a C to A plug for PC.
Products we are familiar with before are used to put the audio circuit in the Type-C plug DC01 is different, it is placed on the headphone jack side. This is mainly based on the consideration of hardware configuration. After all, the DC01 configuration is much higher. If you continue to do so, the actual fixed Type-C end will be too large and easily damaged in daily use. It happens that the 2.5mm balance port is small in size, so move it. Up. In this way, although the line end will be a bit heavier, this is already the least costly solution.
As for similar products, the reason why DC01's hardware level is much higher in the past is that Because of the size and power consumption issues, the single-chip low-power solutions designed for mobile phones are used. The common ones are the Codec CS42L42 from Crystal Factory, and the highest-end is only the CS43131 with a single-chip integrated DAC+ op amp. The parameters look good. But fans know that these products are not at the same level as the independent DAC+ op amp combination used on National Brick.
and the DACM used by DC01 is the current single AK4493 (AK4493) Flagship, used for the national bricks that started in 2000. Of course, compared with the National Brick, the linear sound card has a much worse natural condition. For example, the mainstream National Brick Mountain Spirit M5s, which uses the same DAC, uses two AK4493s, dual crystal oscillators, two Texas Instruments OPA1612 op amps and two ADI AD8397 headphone amplifier, cheaper products also have these large pieces, but the model is relatively low-end. DC01 only mentions dual-channel amps and voltage regulators. Op amps did not mention but they should have them. The model numbers were not announced. Obviously it is still much worse.
Therefore, compared with the output power of the national bricks, DC01 is slightly lower than the output power of AK4490. The 1298 Shanling M2x is a good proof that it can't actually win the mainstream national bricks at the 1500 level, and the official suspects that it is excessive. Of course also need to be strongRegardless, the price of DC01 is only a fraction of that of the national brick, and the volume is much smaller, and the hardware indicators, especially the output, are much stronger than other linear sound cards.
Having said so many theories and specifications, let’s talk about the experience. First of all, the new linear sound card products generally support the UAC2.0 protocol, which can be plug and play on various devices, such as the new version of Windows 10, Mac OS, and its main application device Android phone.
When this type of product is plugged into the PC, you need to pay attention because there is no such product as DC01. The volume function is 100% by default, so you need to manually adjust the output volume of the system to avoid shocking your ears. According to my actual measurement, if the volume of the player and web page is 100%, the system volume should not exceed 10%.
And there is no problem with the mobile phone, after all, the media volume is set uniformly. In addition, a dedicated volume adjustment software iBasso UAC is provided, which can finely adjust the output volume of DC01, with an upper limit of 63%, which is equivalent to a hardware volume knob for DC01, and the actual volume is controlled together with the system volume.
The official description will be similar to an audio exclusive audio channel. Gives a sense of bypassing the system audio subsystem. In fact, this UAC application was originally intended for mobile phones that cannot be used normally, and it does not give the music player the exclusive audio output permission. Other audio including games, ringtones, etc. will still be mixed and output. At the same time, after opening Haibei exclusive , UAC can still be used. Therefore, it should have nothing to do with the system mixing. If the system itself can SRC, there will be no improvement if UAC is turned on. The old irons who needed to use the exclusive use of Haibei must continue to use it.
As for the sense of hearing, of course it is more powerful than other linear sound cards. For the Shanling M5s I listen to daily, Kaihaibei exclusively pushes GR09 and feels that the sound is a little fuzzy, and the sense of volume is a little bit less, especially the high frequency, but there is no problem with the Sony 1A M2.
Of course, these guys have no real sense, after all, they are pictures and texts. It’s better to quantify things. The author also thought of some methods, for example, measuring the output power when the seashell is monopolized. When the volume is half the volume, DC01 is indeed too high. In this way, although the difference between DC01 and National Brick cannot be shown, The theory of sound exchange with electricity can also be used to explain the superiority of DC01 compared to other linear sound cards.
As for fever, it is really obvious, and it will reach 45°C over time. But well, National Brick users will say OK, because National Brick usually listens for a long time.So hot.
Therefore, there is no doubt that if you plug in the DC01 in your mobile phone, even if it is not HiFi, you can step into the HiFi circle with one foot. The price of the 299 is not expensive. The 2.5mm balance port can be used to persuade people at most. However, it is difficult to say whether the output is still at this level after changing to 3.5mm. Second, in today's HiFi circle, the balance port can be said to be Indispensable, you must be prepared if you want to experience it, so it is not a disadvantage. So, of course it is buying and buying.
