HIDIZS Portable Headphone Amplifier USB Type C DAC Headphone Amp for Android/Windows/MacOSX System Smartphone Laptop (Mark II)

First impressions: Great packaging quality. High quality device and bundled usb c to usb a adapter. Braided cable is very sturdy, yet also flexible. Black aluminum is brushed and is of great quality. Device itself is remarkably small. Basically as small as any USB C to 3.5mm headphone adapter. Sound quality was initially garbage (more on this in a sec), but definitely worse than my standard phone's DAC (Pixel 2XL).After an afternoon of walking around with it and trying to get past the mediocre audio quality, I went online searching for answers. Apparently, you have to flash the firmware of this device with the SONATA_HD_D_Pure_music driver (Google the device name and you should find the forum where I found instructions on where to download / how to do this). It was a bit confusing figuring out the device's VID and PID, but basically just go into sound settings, right click, properties, then go to hardware id's and you should see both of them. Put them into the firmware flashing app, unplug and replug in device when told to, wait for the okay, then go into sound settings again and switch the device from the default sampling rate to the highest quality, 192khz / 24 bit, and click apply.After doing this and plugging the device back into my Pixel 2 XL the sound quality was remarkably improved. It went from 2/10 (90's cd player) to 7/10 (I'm being a harsh critic here, it is better than both my phone and computer's default DAC but not quite Chord Mojo [which I also own and am comparing this to] levels).Overall, after flashing the firmware, I'm amazed that this guy is only 25 bucks. The build quality was great from the get go and it seems very sturdy and once the firmware is flashed, it sounds phenomenal for the price. It is not quite as good as a Dragonfly Red which I've also tried, but its within spitting distance of the dragonfly Black and it is also much smallerand cheaper than both of those devices. I am very pleased with this device.

I bought this in order to improve the sound at a work PC, a client site I'm at 2 days per week. They recently bought me a new PC, a Dell OptiPlex 3050 Micro, and I connected the Cambridge Soundworks PCworks 2.1 setup that I've been using for years. Coincidentally, the sub's output had become more of a hollow plop than a thud. The PC is fine for a work device, but the onboard audio seems lacking. I received the Sonata over the weekend and brought it in today and upgraded the firmware to the Music setting using the instructions at head-fi dot org. Just google "SONATA _HD-D_Pure music" and look for the May 2018 post. Oddly enough, I couldn't find the file at Hidizs' own website, even though the instructions were there.I did a back-to-back listen of Tears for Fears' "Woman In Chains" (320 kbps rip in my Google Music account) without and then with the Sonata and I am seriously impressed. The bass is back! Even though the Cambridge setup is powered, adding the Sonata made a very noticeable difference. Totally worth the $3x.I can't speak to the longevity of the device, but since it will just be sitting on a desk, I don't expect to have any issues like one might if it was in and out of a bag or case all the time for portable use. Is it as good as the FX Audio DAC-X6, Schitt stack, or better? No, but it's good enough and inexpensive enough to make it a no-brainer my use case.

Ultimately, the sound coming from this device, as long as you have upgraded to Firmware D, is terrific for the money, well above the sound quality you get going straight from your smartphone through the headphone jack. The headphone jack employs the phone's built-in digital-audio-convert (DAC) and amplifier. Phone makers are not putting much money into those things.When you buy the HIDIZS headphone amp/DAC, it comes with two types of firmware programmed in - the A firmware is designed to allow you to make phone calls with it and emphasizes that ability, with sound quality a secondary importance. The C firmware still allows you to make phone calls through it, but emphasizes sound quality more.Neither sound very good. You'll get a bit more volume than going through the headphone jack, but sound is still harsh (If you have better quality headphones to hear it) and dynamically flat. The AKG earbuds that come with Samsung 8 and 9 headphones are actually quite neutral and musical. But the sound experience overall was just not all that much better. I noticed a bit more volume, and I noticed the bass more articulate. But soundstage was flat and so were the dynamics. Just not a very interesting listen. Unless you're going to want to upgrade to Firmware D, this device isn't worth much. Once the D firmware is installed, apparently phone calls won't able to handled through the phone with the dongle connected. I haven't had a chance to try this, but I'm assuming that you'd need to pull out the dongle and talk via the phone normally.I have high-rez files on my smartphone. I generally use either .wav or FLAC files, when available, but have a few 24/96 files (better than CD quality). There's so much more musical life in those files than what you get with .mp3 files. Sure, you can store a greater number of songs with the latter, but you lose a lot of the music's impact. And the music's impact gets more revealed with a better DAC, amp, and certainly headphones.Only the Firmware D will play high-rez files with their complete resolution. So I was bent on making sure I could audition this dongle with the Firmware D installed in the dongle. The problem is, I kept getting a "USB device not found" error. And I could not find the solution. Trying different USB ports didn't help. And what confused me further is that one of the windows that comes up in the process of installation had Vendor ID and Product ID windows already filled in. Someone had posted instructions that included a step of going to the Device Settings in Windows, looking for the Sonata HD (which is another name for this product), and getting the Vendor ID (VID) and Product ID (PID). Why was I getting this USB error problem? But I'm getting ahead of myself in the review.Once I found the solution (partly on my own), I was able to proceed and install the Firmware D. After the end of my review, I have typed up more explicit instructions on how to get around the USB device not found error. Even HIDIZS' own website doesn't have this information. So for the solution to the problem, continue reading after the end of the review.The sound with the Firmware D installed is on a whole other planet. It's not close to the mediocre sound quality of the A and C firmware. It gives music the space to breathe, there's greater depth, it's sweeter sounding, the top end is no longer harsh. There's much more depth, authority and presence to the bass. The soundstage is greatly increased, and so has the dynamics. Instrumental body has become more 3-dimensional. This has now become very musical, and I used both the AKG earbuds as well as Bowers & Wilkins P5 Series 2 headphones. It's with the latter that the difference is even more dramatic. I imagine the better your headphones, the more you'll appreciate this little HIDIZS device. There are no audio adjustments other than volume to be made on the device. My Poweramp app is partly designed to handle 24/96 outside DACs, so you can alter the sound from within that app. On the other hand, the music app built into my Samsung 8 will not allow alteration of sound in conjunction with this DAC (other than volume).The HIDIZS also has no internal battery, so it's likely to draw more power from your phone than a device with its own battery supply. But the draw on power is pretty small. And thank goodness it's not one more device you have to worry about recharging. Do keep in mind, however, that since you're using the USB-C out in your phone, there's no way with this device to both use it AND charge your phone.I do love the size of this DAC/headphone amp as it adds little in the way of bulk. It's just an extension on the cable, essentially. There's no additional brick-like piece that adds bulkI have no doubt that the Dragonfly Red ($200) will provide better sound than this one. If I point out an aspect of the sound which could be improved, it could be a slight lack of distinctive harmonic texture. Images, perhaps, are not quite as juicy as they could be. Instruments could be a bit more distinct in their own space. But we're quibbling because this is a $30 or so item.I mostly listen to podcasts anyway, where even this is not even necessary. But listening to music and the better quality files on have loaded to my phone, this is an awesome buy. I have spent at least a couple of hours trying to find a solution to the USB device not found message. I'm sort of perturbed by the company not putting out a readily obtainable solution. I'm obviously not the only once that has encountered this. And the solution is not the most intuitive. But I have spelled it out below. If anyone has further questions, I'll try to look here. But the solution I have typed up should explain it.In any event, if you're looking to greatly improve the sound coming from your smartphone, this thing is a HUGE bang for the buck, AS long as you upgrade to the Firmware D. Otherwise, don't bother. And take it from someone who is an audiophile, a musician, and who has a very good hifi system. This device at least makes the sound from the smartphone natural sounding and musical. A big step up from the phone's built-in DAC/amp. And heck, you have a 30 day money back, right?NOTE: SOLUTION TO USB DEVICE NOT FOUND ERROR arising during installation:Okay, so if you're encountering this error during the attempt to upgrade to Firmware D, the firmware that allows you to hear high-rez files through headphones, you'll get to the Write To EEPROM window. The Vendor and Product ID spaces will be filled in. But if you get the USB device not found error, this means that the Vendor and Product IDs are not correct for the Windows drivers. Assuming your HIDIZS dongle is plugged into the Windows computer, you'll go to the Hardware and Devices settings page in your Windows system. You should see the Sonata HD device listed. Double-clicking on that will bring up a window for Sonata HD Audio Properties. You'll want to click on the Hardware tab, and then in the new Window, click on the Events tab.In the Information window at the bottom, this or something like it should be typed in: "Device USB\VID_22E1&PID_E202&MI_01\6&da306e8&0&0001 requires further installation." Notice each 4-space code after the underscore after VID (vendor ID) and PID (product ID). THOSE are the values you want to put into the windows in the Write to EEPROM window. So in my case, I had to replace the alphanumeric code in the vendor ID window with 22E1, and the code in the PID window with E202. Wow. Those are sort of buried, aren't they?So, again, even though there are already alphanumeric codes in the windows that come up when you are attempting to install Firmware D, if you're getting the USB device not found error, those codes are not the ones that will get your upgrade to work.By the way, the alphanumeric codes in that Information space in the Device Settings may be different than mine. I don't know. But once you have gone back to the upgrade Write to EEPROM window and entered the alphanumeric codes from the Sonata HD device settings on your computer, clicking the Write to EEPROM button should now work. It will ask you to unplug and then replug in the dongle. Follow instructions.