Dongle sound quality.

[Jeremiah Bonds]

How are you guys liking the sound coming out of the phone? This is my first phone without a headphone jack and I was a little worried but decided I would give it a try just because... Haven't used it much, but it sounds pretty darn good everytime I do..

What do you think?

 

[svenEDGE]

It's hard to say without comparing the same song from the same app with the same headphones, but it sounds good to me!

 

[Almeuit]

I am not sure. I would have to hunt down some headphones to try with the dongle. I am a bluetooth man .

That said ... a few of my team members use the dongle when riding bikes or whatever and they say it works very well.

 

[Mike Dee]

How are you guys liking the sound coming out of the phone? This is my first phone without a headphone jack and I was a little worried but decided I would give it a try just because... Haven't used it much, but it sounds pretty darn good everytime I do..

What do you think?

The fact that a traditional jack is missing shouldn't impact anything unless the dongle has a special DAC chipset built into it. The dongle should sound the same as no dongle as long as everything stays the same.

 

[Jeremiah Bonds]

The fact that a traditional jack is missing shouldn't impact anything unless the dongle has a special DAC chipset built into it. The dongle should sound the same as no dongle as long as everything stays the same.

I think it sounds better than the G6, so far at least.

 

[cert15z]

I have tried three different dongles with the Pixel 2 XL. One form HTC, the PH-1, and the Pixel 2's dongle. By far the HTC dongle had the best sound, next the PH-1's dongle, and last the Pixel's dongle.

 

[Mike Dee]

I have tried three different dongles with the Pixel 2 XL. One form HTC, the PH-1, and the Pixel 2's dongle. By far the HTC dongle had the best sound, next the PH-1's dongle, and last the Pixel's dongle.

I believe the dongle from the HTC U11 has a DAC built into it. I'm surprised it works if thats what you are using. Is it much louder?

 

[Mike Dee]

I think it sounds better than the G6, so far at least.

It may have a better DAC built in

 

[cert15z]

I believe the dongle from the HTC U11 has a DAC built into it. I'm surprised it works if thats what you are using. Is it much louder?

I was surprised the HTC's dongle work also. But after reading a post on XDA I decided to give it a try. What surprised me more is that all three dongles works in both the PH-1 and the Pixel 2 XL.

 

[darkmanx2g]

the dongle is not working very well. It doesn't read the headphones at all and keeps playing on the external speakers

 

[modifier]

I believe the dongle from the HTC U11 has a DAC built into it. I'm surprised it works if thats what you are using. Is it much louder?

What surprised me more is that all three dongles works in both the PH-1 and the Pixel 2 XL.

All three have DACs in them and therefore should work in any USB-C port for audio, including a computer if the correct driver exists. The only one I'm aware of that doesn't is the one from Moto since it's pass-through only and needs to tie directly into a supported Qualcomm SoC DAC.

I tried a Google adapter on my PH-1 yesterday and the one from Essential does sound a bit better with my 56Ω IEMs.

@Mike Dee A DAC alone won't make anything louder and these dongles are too small to have a proper amp. On that note, I still haven't ordered a Dragonfly but it's on my short list.

 

[Mike Dee]

All three have DACs in them and therefore should work in any USB-C port for audio, including a computer if the correct driver exists. The only one I'm aware of that doesn't is the one from Moto since it's pass-through only and needs to tie directly into a supported Qualcomm SoC DAC.

I tried a Google adapter on my PH-1 yesterday and the one from Essential does sound a bit better with my 56Ω IEMs.

@Mike Dee A DAC alone won't make anything louder and these dongles are too small to have a proper amp. On that note, I still haven't ordered a Dragonfly but it's on my short list.

I guess in dongles of that size all of the amplification is pre dongle.
I've been reading reviews describing the dragonfly as hit or miss with compatibility and others knocking it as cheaply made. Not sure who to believe.

 

[modifier]

I've been reading reviews describing the dragonfly as hit or miss with compatibility and others knocking it as cheaply made. Not sure who to believe.

I plan to order the Black from Amazon just in case it's a dud. I'm skeptical overall since all my other DAC/amps are easily 10x larger. But, it's worth a try. The size and portability would be nice if it actually works out. If it's incompatible and/or cheaply made then I'll stick to my current setup.

 

[LeoRex]

Not that it matters, but gsmarena tested the audio though the stock dongle and it rated as one of the best wired audio they've ever tested in a phone (freq response, SNR, dynamic range, amplification, etc)

 

[Jeremiah Bonds]

Not that it matters, but gsmarena tested the audio though the stock dongle and it rated as one of the best wired audio they've ever tested in a phone (freq response, SNR, dynamic range, amplification, etc)

Right, I'm actually pretty impressed.

 

[CHILLYWILL_95831]

How are you guys liking the sound coming out of the phone? This is my first phone without a headphone jack and I was a little worried but decided I would give it a try just because... Haven't used it much, but it sounds pretty darn good everytime I do..

What do you think?

Well, I did do some critical listening with my Sennheiser HD1's and I found the sound quality to be truly good. Could not push them to Max volume, too loud with inaudible distortion. I say "truly good" because I don't want to be called a fanboy... BUT DAMN! I've already ordered one more dongle with the charge connection.

BTW, Bluetooth audio is also stellar. I'll definitely buy the next set of Bluetooth 5.0 headphones to get the full breadth of this experience in audio. The audio is very understated and is quite a jewel.

 

[nelamvr6]

The fact that a traditional jack is missing shouldn't impact anything unless the dongle has a special DAC chipset built into it. The dongle should sound the same as no dongle as long as everything stays the same.

The dongle actually does have a DAC in it. The Pixel 2s output digital audio on the USB-C connector.

 

[nelamvr6]

Big players are pushing for adoption of the USB-C audio adoption. And when I say big, I'm talking about Intel, Google, Apple... Pretty big players.

If you try to use a pair of headphones that only have a USB-C connector but no DAC, you will be rewarded with silence. Which, I admit, can be relaxing at times. The bottom line is that the Pixel 2s do not output analog audio.

But the good news is that with such big players pushing adoption it shouldn't be too long before we see more choices in headphones that comply with the standard.

In the meantime my IEMs sound pretty good using the dongle.

 

[Mike Dee]

Every cellular phone has a DAC of some sort. You can't convert digital sound to analog speakers without one. The difference here is that it's a separate chipset inside the dongle rather than inside the phone as a discreet chipset or bundled within the SoC.

I use Poweramp as well and to me it sounds better with an external amp. The app itself doesn't actually do any amplification. The dongle is fine for casual listening or phone calls but an external amp is my preference every time.

My question is does every phone output a digital signal through USB C? I want to say yes but I'm not sure.

 

[modifier]

My question is does every phone output a digital signal through USB C? I want to say yes but I'm not sure.

It doesn't look that way. My Moto pass-through adapter is dead on my PH-1 so it's safe to say that Essential, Google and HTC aren't using the SoC DAC except to output to the internal speaker(s).