Hi there, I’m thinking about getting my first pair of IEMs, as I’ve never had any before and would like to have a wired option that is easy to travel with. I’m specifically looking at the Moondrop Chu 2 as they seem quite affordable and a good starting point.

However my phone does not have AUX anymore (Pixel 7A) and I doubt I’ll get a phone that has one in the future as I want to continue to use GrapheneOS.

Does anyone have any experience regarding the use of these dongles. Is there something I should be aware of before doing a purchase?

Thanks in advance!

Edit: I see on the pictures(website link) that it’s possible to purchase this with an adapter between the dongle and the IEMs. Is this one in specific strictly necessary or can I go with a smaller/cheaper one?

Edit 2: Further investigation, it seems like these can come in two variants: 3.5jack and USB-C.

  • Fester@lemm.ee
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    28 days ago

    The Apple dongle is very good and very cheap. YMMV on Android - it should be fine but I recall seeing some complaints a while back. Don’t remember what the issue was.

    You can see its DAC measurements here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-apple-vs-google-usb-c-headphone-adapters.5541/

    It’s often recommended as an entry-level DAC for audiophiles who want to focus their budget on amps and speakers when starting out. It’s transparent and there’s no need for any reasonable human to ever replace it, as far as sound quality goes. Build quality and connections are its limitations.

    My PC has an Aorus Master x570 MOBO with “high end” (above average) onboard sound, and the $9 plug-and-play Apple dongle was a noticeable improvement. Almost every external DAC will beat onboard PC sound, but this thing is silly. It’s worth a try - return it if there’s any compatibility issue, or keep it handy for other uses, but I imagine any bugs are resolved at this point.

    • Bhaelfur@lemmy.world
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      28 days ago

      All of the Apple dongles I’ve tried on Android are considerably quieter than other dongles. It’s like they put a dampener on it. Otherwise it seems to be good quality

      • Orbituary@lemmy.world
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        28 days ago

        That audio padding could considered signal degradation, therefore fall into OPs qualifications for shittiness.

    • Empricorn@feddit.nl
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      28 days ago

      Why only rate and compare the Apple/Pixel ones? Neither company provides them with the hardware, right?

  • bonn2@lemm.ee
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    28 days ago

    The audio quality of a USB to headphone jack can vary wildly as they need to contain their own DAC (digital->analoge converter), tbh most are probably good enough for most people but depending on your headphone setup you may be able to tell. (Depending how much you spend they can actually have better audio quality than a normal phones headphone jack)

    Edit: Fiio makes a pretty nice one, but not the cheapest on the block

  • BigBrainBrett2517@lemmy.world
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    28 days ago
    1. Definitely get some IEMs. They’re awesome. I have Westone Audio Mach3s and I love them.

    2. I have a Pixel 8 so no 3.5mm so had to get the dongle.

    3. Dongle is good. It lives at the end of the IEMs cord. I read USBC transfers data better than 3.5mm? That plus built in DAC and high res /flac audio = an excellent listening experience.

  • Chee_Koala@lemmy.world
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    28 days ago

    Apples USB-C DAC dongle is available locally, cheap including shipping and basically best at price point (cheap) unless you want to roll the dice with Alibaba or similar. I have 3 because dongles tend to disappear, with them being tiny and all. I had others from international sellers but they all disappointed except for audio volume.

  • youngalfred@lemm.ee
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    28 days ago

    I bought a ugreen one from Amazon that had a y-split so it could charge and play aux out at the same time.
    It had a crackle ☹️ (regardless of if it was charging)

    But my cheap nobrand straight USBC to aux from Amazon I bought ages ago has been great.

    I think it’s a toss up unless you’re going with a name brand converter (apple as another said, agree there - price vs performance will always be good) or a more powerful DAC like a Fiio.

  • InverseParallax@lemmy.world
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    28 days ago

    Depends on you and the phone.

    My old lg v60 has a headphone port and sounds better than almost anything.

    My last gfold 3 sounded ok with a cheap dongle but great with a rhodium off Amazon. Cheap dongle was fine too.

    My current pixel fold sounds marginal with a cheap dongle but great with the rhodium.

    Depends on your ears, have Shure 825s or whatever and Etymotic er4xrs for more casual stuff, the rhodium and v60 are incredible, fold can push them, the pixel again clearly isn’t tuned as well.