Cyrus SoundKey Mobile DAC (Black)

Can you get good quality audio from this device? the answer is yes but you also have to take caution.First device tried Samsung J5 2016 - Simple connection and sound out was reasonable (but not £99 worth of improvement). One problem is that volume is so loud you max out at 20% before it is too loud so it is difficult to get the optimum volume.Second device Samsung galaxy tab S 8.4 - quality improvement limited and any quiet passage has interference noise (sound like it is trying to over amplify anything in the background). Same issue with how loud it was.Amazon fire HD 8 tablet - At first the opinion was good improvement until - press pause, all is quiet for about half a second then buzzing noise at a volume that is so loud I suspect headphones are damaged (my hearing certainly is).At this point I am all set for returning the item but I do some research. It appears the problem is not the soundkey but the way Android handles audio.I tried it on a windows 10 laptop and the output was very impressive, but this is not what I purchased it for.Step in Neutron audio player app - This has the ability to directly address the DAC. After downloading onto Tab 8.4 and setting for direct access the whole world changes. Volume level control is perfect. Quiet tracks are quiet, other than the music they are supposed to present. Sound quality - oh so sweet for the melodic tracks, rock, what a punch. Now I am holding on to this as it can be so good.Anyone researching for an external DAC for android beware, from trawling the net I determined that this is not the fault of the DAC but of android and how each individual device handles this, so other DAC's can suffer from the same problems.I would give 5 stars for the sound quality but I removed one star because you have to find the way to get the quality out of it.

I actually bought this as a Xmas present for my daughter but like the previous reviewer her phone had a usb c socket - this dac only works with a micro usb OTG phone. What is micro usb OTG ( on the go ) ? Do your research here before you buy this as even my samsung micro usb phone did not have usb OTG cabability. OTG means that the phone not only charges via the micro usb but it can also support output data - to a dac or external memory. It is not easy to check this - make sure that you check a site that gives a comprehensive review of your phone and it may tell you if it is OTG supported or not.If your phone does support micro usb OTG then you are in for a treat as using this tiny dac with a pair of cheapish ( £50 - £100 ) over ear headphones produces a sound that even the most critical hifi enthusiast would find acceptable. Superb sound on the cheap indeed. ! I am currently listening with a £500 pair of headphones and the sound is very good - not as good as my main dac but certainly enjoyable. I would recommend spending up to £100 - senheisers or AKGs and the sound is super smooth, detailed and most importantly each instrument in the mix is clearly separated with loads of space and dimension to the sound. If you want a cheap system for portable or home use of the highest quality make sure your phone supports usb OTG and pair this little dac with a cheapish pair of on ears and just enjoy the experience. Dnot buy this to use with in ear headphones - you won't hear the benefits.This dac will also work with any PC or tablet with a USB socket or micro usb socket ( usb OTG compatible ).G

Review update.Against what I previously advised there is unfortunately noticable hiss.. what the soundkey has is almost immediate cancelation of the amp stage. I assume when the phone / source stops giving a digital signal the amp totally cuts out giving the impression of low floor noise. Infact when listening to audio books on a low volume you can hear constant clicks and buzzes when the amo cuts in and out.. I was happy to put up with this as the dac amp is musical and enjoyable to listen to. However it broke yesterday so i had to return itNot normally one for writing reviews however since I have struggled to much with decent portable audio on android I thought it would be worth a go.firstly i use a Google Pixel 2 XL with a cablecreation USB C to micro USB 0.2 meters. The main take home point is that it actually works fantastically! no pops / distortion and no hiss! I use this with Westone UM PRO 30s and DUNU 2000js, its literally plug is and play, every audio app i use (stock google sound player app / Spotify / Audible/ facebook vids etc) works fine.I know there is some concerns with android up scaling the audio, but I have back to back tested this with a windows PC and iphone and i cannot tell any difference in sound quality, everything just sounds as advertised which is providing a really open, clear and detailed sounds it is a pleasure to listen to and not something i thought i would be able to get again on an android device after my LG V10 broke.5 stars and thoroughly recommended.

I bought this Soundkey DAC as the headphone jack on my phone was giving trouble. I am delighted to say the Soundkey plugs in and works straight away out of the box. No need to download any software or an App. You plug it into the power socket of your mobile and connect your headphones to the other end of the Soundkey. The sound improvement is massive. Before, the sound coming out of my mobile phone was ok for casually listening to on the move. Now it is good enough to plug into my Separates HiFi system (a Cyrus 2 Amplifier with PSX and a pair of Cyrus 780 speakers) and it's suddenly detailed and nice to listen to. I cannot recommend the Soundkey highly enough! Works just the same plugging it into a USB Port on a Laptop. Brilliant stuff.