HIDIZS S3 Portable Headphone Amp/USB C DAC/Audio Amplifier for Android/Windows/MacOSX System Smartphone Laptop (Black)

Audio qualities and firmware issues are as described in other reviews, therefore I'd like to highlight a new set of quirks and features;- CS42L42 IC features a class H amp that is able to trace the input signal and adapt supply rail voltages accordingly in order to avoid clipping while conserving power. Consequently load impedances of 30Ω and lower will not allow transition to mode 0 (2.5Vs) and gain will be limited to -6db.I can not yet confirm adopt-to-signal mode is enabled but no audible clipping was present during listening with 24Ω (sony mdr v700 over-ear) and 16Ω loads (htc m7 iem) at max volume.- The volume adjustment steps provided by CS42L42 are -6db, as such fine tuning of volume close to 0db is not possible (except via sw/player).- The cable seemed flimsy as indicated in reviews, so I put some sort of elastic vowen fabric material (actually bindings for eyeglasses:) over the unit as pictured, in hopes of better longevity.All in all I'm happy with this unit, the difference between essential phone's usb-c headphone adapter (conexant dac, up to 48kHz) and S3 is night and day in terms of clarity and linearity, a more clinical sound if you will.

Read the negative reviews and believe them. The soldering of the intervals is bad, and it eventually causes the audio to randomly cut out, after the slightest movement of the wire.Don't waste your money. This is not a product that will last.

I have a Note 10+ 5G and this works beautifully. The sound is loud and clear and can even power my analog headset to a volume that is good in a datacenter. The firmware update software needs a little bit of work because of the broken English but it does work. When it asks for vendor ID and product ID read the question in the Q&A section to find where to find these. It would be nice if they just added this into the firmware update software so you don't have to look up where to find these. I have a pair of Shure SE846 headphones ($1,000) and this adapter works beautifully on the dynamic range and the stereo is excellent. If you use the "pure sound" profile, the phone calls will use the phone mic and play the caller through the headphones. If you use the sound firmware, the mic will be in the headset with the caller. It would be nice if the adapter would detect the 3 ring vs 2 ring 3.5 mm plugs and automatically send the mic to the headset if there is a 3-ring plug plugged in.

My audiophile tendencies told me I had to get this. It worked for a month and a day (barely outside of return policy) in my OnePlus 7 Pro before giving out. It seems to work for other devices, but my phone won't pick up on it anymore.Sound quality was pretty good, but even to a trained ear it wasn't any better than a regular headphone jack. I was able to flash music quality mode to it, but the instructions they provide are complete garbage. I had to rely on a review left by someone else here that listed better instructions.The twisted cabling is just a gimmick, and VERY flimsy. I always worry that this will break so I had been babying it by keeping it protected and put away when not using. That obviously didn't work out for me since it stopped working anyway.It's a bummer it's not working for me anymore. I wish I would've just gotten a different DAC/AMP cable from Amazon for half the price and better reviews.I've learned it's better to just have something that works consistently and reliably than spend more for slightly better sound when it's on a count-down timer to breaking while you're using it.

This review is with use of a Samsung Galaxy S9 phone while using Audio Technica ATH - WS1100is headphones. The HIDIZS S3 is well built and the volume was around 15%-20% amplified, but the extra bass from the headphone was significantly reduced. This may have to do with the firmware settings on the HIDIZS S3. Because of the firmware from the HIDIZS S3, the audio settings and equalizers built into the phone were disabled, so I could not make any adjustments to the level of bass or treble. Overall, the product is complementary to amplifying sound quality but lacks in ability to fine tune the sound for discerning audiophiles.

Got the s3 in preparation for s20 ultra. Tested it out on s10plus. The s10plus would have a little trouble driving my v-moda m100 making them a little quiet. With the adapter right out of the box it made them a little louder but just didn't sound right. Read the other review and decided to flash the pure sound "D firmware". They made a huge difference in sound quality! Still doesn't drive the headphones like my dedicated PC dac. For an adapter, I can't complain.

I bought this mostly to use with my phone, because I've noticed that wired headphones seem to need a bit more juice while streaming music. I plugged these in, changed the settings I expected to change, and turned on Spotify to find out that these don't work unless you're using a specific music player, which means I'd need to put music files on my phone. Not something I usually do, but OK. If this DAC improved the sound enough, maybe I would. So I get the app working, put some music on the phone, and give it a test. It definitely provides a tiny kick to the sound. I think I upped the volume maybe two notches while using the DAC; however, the improvement is incredibly subtle and honestly not worth even this cheap price. I didn't even bother testing on my PC, because I would want a much better DAC if I were going to dedicate it to purely my PC.Long story short, the improvement is miniscule and the constraints annoying. I would not recommend this to anyone whose phone has a half-decent builtin DAC. I'll be returning mine.

I really like this USB C headphone amp. Feels like it really opens up whatever headphones I'm using.I owned the v2 of this amp and liked it, but had issues toward the end of it's life with the cable cutting out. I still have some concerns about that happening with this one because of twisting and tension, but we'll see. I wish the cable had a thicker sheath or whatever.

This is a frail mini dac (especially in terms of the wiring). I tried it with a Google pixel 3 xl and all I could get, no matter the app I used, is 24 bit 48kHz. (Its supposed to do 24/192.)I was going to hook it up to my samsung galaxy s10 but I already know that the s10, especially when using poweramp app's hi res output setting, sounds better than the hidizs. (The internal processors are quite good in s10s). The sonata 3 btw, is a wee slight better sounding than its predecessor, the 2. Unlike the 2, the 3 does not require the owner to immediately update the firmware which can be a nightmare of a process. Anyway like I stated I could not get better than 24 bit 48kHz. I didn't try the HiBy music player app but with previous attempts with that and the 2, I couldn't get good results...technically it'd go silent at times, other times it wouldn't recognize a 192kHz flac file's rate.I'd pony up for a better mini dac. True sonata 3 is a tad better than dragonfly, but something like a sabaj product would be more better sounding/appealing. This device, the sonata 3, is better suited for cheap budget phones that have turdy built in audio dac/processors.

I've actually had to go through three or four usb-to-headphone jack adapters before trying this one, and all of them required additional steps (rubber bands round the phone to keep them secure ,etc) to get them to work as desired. This even includes google's own brand usb-to-jack adapter! I cycle roughly an hour each way to/from work 5 days a week with my phone in my pocket over a /very/ bumpy route and I have never yet had the problem of my music stopping because of the adapter coming loose (EXCEPT when it is plugged in with the logo facing away from the screen, which will make sense if you've seen the product). This alone makes it worth the money but the build quality and sound quality are incredible too. Granted, the sound quality also depends on your headphones and your phone, but as an amplifier it definitely does the job.tl;dr: if you are stubbornly sticking to wired headphones and lead a fairly active lifestyle you should absolutely buy this; you won't regret it.

I attempted to use the S3 on many different platforms. (Android, Mac, iPhone)Each time I was met with the exact same experience. Brief audio, then quickly transitioning to harsh, loud static. I even tried updating the drivers and firmware with the same results. Very unfortunate.Update: Seller was concerned about my previous experience and has graciously allowed me to try a replacement. Turns out the replacement works as advertised.

I like the sound quality of this device as it really enhances and amplify the audio from the USB-C port and allows me to use my old 3.5 mm jack audio headphones with my new smartphone without a 3.5 mm audio port.

Punches up the sound noticeably on both my phones: Samsung S8+ and Huawei P30Pro, allowing me the benefit of FLAC's increased sound quality over MP3s on both phones.I'll leave the tech talk to others. Just, these are well worth the $$$ for an immediate, substantial and *very* pleasing improvement in fidelity, especially when coupled with the HiBy music player app and the crazy good personalized tone-shaping flexibility of the Magic Sound Eight-Ball music enhancing (MSEB) section of the app, designed for use with HIDIZS USB DACs like this one.