Hidizs XO Dongle Dac/Amp Review
General Info/Build/Packaging
Hidizs is no stranger in the Chi-Fi community, they have churned out several products which are favoured by fellow audiophiles touting high price performance ratio, the S9 Pro dongle dac/amp is one of them, which i favoured and also reviewed. Build quality is solid as the chassis is aluminium, very solid overall. Two buttons, X is for changing the RGB light effects, O is for the Dac’s filter (Two modes).
Packaging is rather minimal and straight forward, a small box consist of the dongle itself and Hidizs’s USB C to C cable.
Specifications
Dimension - 55*24.5*9.35mm
DAC Chip - ESS SABRE ES9219C*2
Independent Crystal Oscillator - Yes
MQA - 16x
DSD - Native DSD64/128/256
PCM - Support up to 384KHZ/32Bit
Sampling Light Indicator - Yes
RGB Light - 15 Variations
Physical Buttons - X for RGB effect switching, O for filter mode switching
Chassis Material - Aluminium Alloy CNC
Transmission Interface - USB Type C
IEMS used for this review
Dunu Kima
Dunu Talos
7Hz Timeless x AE
7Hz Salnotes Zero
Akoustyx R100
Akoustyx S6
FloAudio Lily
Hidizs MD4
Hidizs MM2
Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far
Sound/Listening Impression
XO does not sound like the usual ESS dac which has quite a little more energy on the top end, instead it is smoother overall, there is also a slight lift on the low end from what I hear.
The bass reproduction on the XO is well controlled with good texture, it doesn’t sound lean at all, as i mentioned earlier, there’s a slight lift on the bass hence it does add some impact to it. The midrange is also well done to my ears, it does stand out a little in terms of being slightly forward, but not to the point where it is in your face.
I mentioned earlier that the XO doesn’t have the usual ESS glare on the top end. This is quite a refreshing experience, I believe this probably has got something to do with the implementation on the analog stage in the XO. It is slightly lacking in terms of bite, but it is always smooth and non offensive sounding. The soundstage, to my surprise, is quite open and spacious sounding, it works very well with a certain IEM that has an average soundstage and XO kinda helps in expanding the soundstage a little. Imaging capability is not bad considering its price point, not pinpoint accuracy, but decent enough for the asking price, one can’t really fault it.
General Features
Two physical switch button namely the X and O
X is for switching the digital filters, which i will further explain what the filter actually does below
O is for switching the RGB light effects
Listening Impression with various IEMs
Dunu Talos
Talos on its own the soundstage is fairly wide, pairing it with XO does enhance the soundstage a little more, but to my ears, it can be too wide where it is sounding a little artificial in terms of the soundstage
Bass on the Talos is quick and tight, but somehow lacking a little in terms of the quantity and impact, pairing it with XO does seem to gift the Talos a slight lift on the low end, bringing some grin to a certain people who prefers the Talos to have a little more bass quantity
Highs on the Talos remain more or less similar as Talos’s highs are pretty smooth except if you turn on the hybrid mode (Planar+BA
Overall, i think the Talos pairs well with the XO
Hidizs MD4
MD4 is a full BA IEM and the sound signature is rather neutral to my ears, i personally find this pairing to be very enjoyable as XO itself is not tuned in an analytical way
Bass has got more impact on the MD4 (Balanced mode), slightly more quantity to my ears, remains fast and well controlled
Soundstage is also slightly wider on the MD4, it has got a bit more 3D-ish presentation to it rather than a flat 2D prior to pairing it with the XO
Hidizs MM2
MM2 itself is a U shape sounding IEM with swappable filter to fine tune the sound according to your preference
On a balanced filter, pairing the MM2 with XO, it gives the MM2 slightly more dynamics overall.
Bass is punchy and tight, highs are non offensive with good detail retrieval for the asking price
Slightly wider soundstage on the MM2 also
XO’s Filter
I personally can’t really tell the difference between the DAC filters, or perhaps my IEMs were too colored to really tell the difference. Anyway, here’s the information that i managed to get from Hidizs’s rep.
Red Light is indicating that it is currently on Hybrid fast roll off filter, while blue is on linear phase fast roll off filter. Blue light: the high frequency is reduced by 20-30%, and the low intermediate frequency will be more prominent.
Red light: the high frequency is reduced by 30-40%, and the low intermediate frequency will be more prominent.
Comparison between the S9 Pro
Slightly more powerful on the S9 Pro
S9 Pro is fairly neutral sounding, slightly energetic on the top end, bass is accurately reproduced and doesn’t have any boost on the low end
Soundstage on the S9 Pro is not as wide compared to XO
Overall i would say both are tuned differently and catered to different audience
S9 Pro is for those who prefer a more neutral listening experience whereas XO is a little more on the musical side (slightly warm, fun bass and wide soundstage)
Final Thoughts
All in all, Hidizs XO is a very capable dongle that offers a fresh and unique design (RGB) for those who are in the lookout for some unique dongle, at the same time, with respectable sound performance and driving power as well. At the time of writing, there is a discount of 10$ during the pre-order period. XO will be retailing at 99$.
*This dongle is sent over by Emma from Hidizs for the purpose of this review. I received no compensation nor was I influenced in any way to produce this review. Appreciate the support as always
Head over to Hidizs’s web store to pre-order one now!
Hidizs XO Dongle - Non affiliated link
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