![]() With it, I can connect the Onyx to an Apple Camera Connection Kit (CCK) which in turn plugs into the iPhone so I can get digital audio out untouched by Apple’s ideas about digital. Overall, I’m a fan of the look and feel of the Onyx and as an iPhone owner, I appreciate the inclusion of a USB-C to USB-A adapter. The underside of the chassis on the input side is magnetized so it can hold the UBC-C up close and personal, like so: ![]() The Onyx’s slender elongated rectangular body bears the company name in slightly raised shiny silver letters and three multi-colored LEDs that indicate the quality of the incoming data (Standard = 44.1 /48kHz, High Resolution = >48kHz, DSD, and MQA). We’ll just have to hear about that! While the Onyx does not sport the THX Certification seal, the company assures us it does meet all of the rigorous THX Certification standards for mobile DAC amps. THX states that the AAA-78 ensures the ultimate no-compromise headphone audio experience by delivering the world’s highest fidelity audio with infinitesimally low levels of noise, distortion and power consumption through the use of patented feed-forward error correction topology that nulls conventional distortion mechanisms. ![]() The amplifier inside is the THX designed and built THX Achromatic Audio Amplifier (THX AAA-78). The company notes that all incoming PCM and MQA data, regardless of religion, is upsampled to 705.6/768kHz. An ESS ES9281PRO is responsible for digital to analog conversion, which is capable of passing PCM resolutions up to 32-bit/384kHz and DSD to DSD128, while also covering the final and full unfold of MQA-encoded music. The output is a sole 3.5mm analog jack for driving headphones or hifi’s. The THX Onyx Portable DAC offers a USB-C input which sits at the end of a flexible rubber cable that is hard-wired to the CNC-machined black metal chassis which houses the Onyx’s guts. Another thing that I find attractive is price - simple, portable dongle DACs are relatively inexpensive in the grand scheme of hifi things. One of the things I like about portable DACs is they are simple. So portability is not a requirement for my listening habits, yet here I am, ready and willing to write about a 6th portable dongle DAC. You may think I have a thing for portable dongle DACs which is kinda funny because I rarely go anywhere, especially in our recent infectious times. When I received an email invite to review yet another, I said yes pretty much immediately. In ascending price order, the players included the iBasso DC03 ($69), Helm Audio BOLT ($99.99), AudioQuest DragonFly Red ($199.95), AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt ($299.95), and the Clarus CODA DAC ($300). I recently reviewed three dongle DACs and compared them to two others. Portable dongle DACs are experiencing a renaissance for the first time. Moonriver Audio’s New Model 505 Hybrid Phono Stage has Got Curvesīleu De Chauffe X Elipson Limited Edition Chroma X Turntable Merason Releases the New Reuss Digital to Analog Converter Songtradr acquires Bandcamp: That Could Not Sound Worse Review: Audia Flight FL Three S Integrated Amplifier In Barn for Review: Wharfedale Dovedale Standmount Speakersĭevon Turnbull’s Ojas Is Now the Exclusive North America Distributor of Sun Audio In Barn for Review: A Bel Canto e.One Stack | Pre5 Preamplifier / REF501S Stereo Amplifier Treehaus Audiolab To Unveil Their New Flagship Field-Coil Loudspeakers at CAF 2023 HiFi Bargains: Aurorasound HFSA-01 Vacuum Tube Integrated Amplifier In Barn for Review: Gold Note PH-10 Phono Stage
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