Plugging THX Onyx into an iPad and using trusty Sennheiser HD600 headphones was quite a revelation, same with a Sony NW-A105 Walkman, even though the Sony has a high quality DAC of its own.
#Thx onyx reddit android#
On a desktop PC or Mac, or Android with USB, everything works fine, and a recent iPad with USB-C works fine too. Another annoyance is that headsets with mics will not work for calls on an iPhone, though conferencing apps like Zoom do work. In the box is a USB-C to USB-A adapter, while for iPhone a slim Lightning to USB Camera Adapter is needed – not the wide USB 3 one, which will not work because it does not supply enough power. A magnet on the case keeps the cable tidy when not in use. What you get is a DAC and headphone amplifier in a slim metal case, about 60mm long, with a 3.5mm jack socket at one end, three LEDs, and a short cable at the other terminated by a USB-C connector. This is a USB-powered DAC designed for use on the go. The box warns of inadvertent high volume when setting up Lossy compression at levels like Apple's 256 Kbps AAC is excellent and not an issue for most people yet there remains the nagging annoyance that it is potentially compromising quality for the sake of convenience and efficiency.
Wireless has largely meant Bluetooth audio, for which none of the available codecs are lossless. Streaming audio has largely meant lossy compression, formats such as MP3 and AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), which reduce data size by omitting parts of the signal that are inaudible or hardly audible. These two demands sometimes pull in opposite directions. Then there is a push towards higher quality, with vendors touting higher resolution such as 24-bit 192kHz digital, or exotic formats such as DSD (Direct Stream Digital), MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) – all of which are supported by the THX Onyx – and Dolby Atmos/Spatial audio, which is a new approach to surround sound. There is a drive towards greater convenience, which means streaming music and true wireless, as popularised by Apple's Bluetooth-driven AirPods, first introduced in September 2016. There is a strange cocktail of ingredients that flavours the music and audio industry.
#Thx onyx reddit portable#
We took a look at the THX Onyx, a portable DAC and headphone amplifier that claims to be just the thing.
Review Apple introduced hi-res lossless audio to its music service last month, but third-party hardware is required to enjoy it – if indeed the difference is audible.
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