for providing me with the SH-306A and the E-DAC (respectively)
Firstly, I have here the Shonyun SH-306A - the newly upgraded version of the original 306, which I reviewed in July of last year. Don't let the extra letter at the end of the model number fool you, this is more than just an evolutionary upgrade (see second to last image for a visual comparison). The new chassis design mimics the shape of the iPhone 4/4s, which makes it smaller and lighter, but it fortunately it doesn't lose any battery stamina. The on/off switch and volume dial have been cleverly redesigned to improve reliability and ease of use, while the troublesome recessed input/output sockets of the original are thankfully gone. So, on the surface at least this is a decent revision, but what about the sound? Well to help me test that I am bringing in another device for review here as well - the Epiphany Acoustics E-DAC
Why I'm Combining This Review?
Well, I have spoken about this setup in a few of my recent headphone reviews. I wanted to explain how they work and sound together and why that might be a good idea. This combination is has been my choice for portable audio listening for a while now. I'm here today raving about them now because of their value, versatility and performance. With all the separate boxes and cables it's clearly not the most elegant solution for carrying around, so perhaps I should emphasize their usefulness as a transportable set up (rather than portable one). Here are a couple of connection options for using these devices:
- Galaxy Note 2 > OTG cable > Epiphany E-DAC > Shonyun SH-306A > Headphones
- Galaxy Note 2 > OTG cable > Epiphany E-DAC > Amplifier > Speakers
NOTE: The 'USB OTG' cable does not come with either the DAC or smartphone, but they're not too expensive (less than a couple of quid on Amazon for example). These 'On The Go' cables basically allow the phone to act as a host. They are usually very short and terminated with a female USB A connector, so that you can then use the normal DAC cable as well.
So firstly we have our portable music player, in this case the Note 2 smartphone. Now I'm not suggesting that you buy this as part of the audio package as that would elevate the price too much. My thinking here is that most of you will already own a smartphone and some of those may support digital audio out through their USB ports. Not all Android phones, or even all Samsung phones support 'standard USB digital audio', but their numbers are growing. The Samsung Galaxy S3 is one of them and there are over 30 million of those out there. Unfortunately, even if your phone does support the feature there are a couple of caveats:
- Not every USB DAC supports this 'standard' audio format
- Even if the DAC does support it, the phone may not have sufficient power*
SOUND
As you can tell I am pretty impressed by the quality of the sound from this combo. Let me first talk about the DAC. Now I do appreciate that a dedicated DAC makes a nice difference to the sound, although I don't think it usually does as much as good amplification can. It certainly is worth adding it between a phone and a amplifier like the 306A. This is especially true with the Galaxy Note 2, not because it's DAC is bad exactly, but because there is no line-out from the phone itself, so to avoid dual-amplification - adding a DAC is definitely beneficial. The latest Apple iPhone (5) also doesn't have a line-out, but at least you can get around that with an optional adapter - sort of. For those of you who don't know, generic DACs will not connect to an iPhone because Apple charge big licence fees to unlock the digital audio, so there's no way to do a good crossover between Apple and everyone else. When talking about high-quality portable (ish) audio on a relative budget I will focus on some android phones. Sorry, I got side-tracked here. What I was starting to say there was that I feel a DAC adds something to the sound quality, it's very important because it's the beginning of the audio chain, but it's effects are usually less impressive between competing models compared to what a nice amplifier can provide.
This E-DAC is a great performer, especially for it's price, size and versatility. You can pay a lot more than this for a DAC, but I don't think that spending a lot more will bring with it much benefit. Highly useful additional functionality? Yes sure, but large improvements in sound quality? No, not so much. The E-DAC handles detail and soundstage very well and produces a pretty smooth and nicely balanced presentation across the frequency range. It provides an analogue signal significantly above the level any phone is capable of and it does all this without any additional power, which is hugely impressive! This is a great base to start any amplification from and in a pinch you can connect headphones to the E-DAC directly. Connecting the Hifiman HE-500s to the E-DAC produced almost acceptable volume levels for me, which was more than the phone itself could do. This is
I am really impressed by the audio quality of the 306A. It's neutral, clean and fast with a nice edge to the detail throughout the ranges. The treble is pleasantly articulate without being overzealous, midrange has good presence, while bass is tight and enjoyable. Nothing in the upper ranges is likely to offend unless your headphones are particularly nasty there, but I can see some people preferring a little extra warmth. This clean and tight upper bass makes the 306A feel confident and unashamed of it's balance, but this could leave adrenaline junkies underwhelmed. If a track has strong upper bass then it does perform with the weight that it deserves, but will not provide a drop more.
This was something that I noticed on the Hifiman HE-500 (review coming soon). In the very first instant that I put these headphones on while connected to the 306A I thought the combo felt a little thin, but when the music finally took off I realized that the combo was indeed very capable in the upper and lower bass. They just don't show it all the time. Unlike some amplification which can come off as perpetually plentiful and exciting in the lower bass, the 306A feels a little more honest and restrained. The Hifiman HE-500's bass is monstrously detailed and dynamic compared to so many normal dynamic driver based headphones, it takes a decent amplifier to show that off and the 306A did a really nice job for me. It also proved it's worth with the Mad Dog, which can be a pain to drive the bass with confidence. Several amps have felt underwhelming to me with the Mad Dog, but not the 306A, it gives just enough upper bass to feel very nicely neutral. For a portable unit it's very impressive!
The 306A provides a huge boost in audio volume, capable of driving any of the headphones that I have to blisteringly loud levels without breaking a sweat. It pushed the HE-500s to extreme volume levels at around 30% on the volume pot. This is brilliant, but on the down side it makes sensitive headphones a little fiddly to adjust at times. Although I didn't have a huge problem with 18-25 Ohms over-ear headphones, in-ears might be a different story.
BUILD
The E-DAC is a beautifully small machine with an extremely solid metal chassis that feels like it could go through a war with only some scratched corners to show for it. The addition of RCA outputs on the newer version might be the most vulnerable part of the design, but they certainly make a nice addition to it's versatility. For example you could connect your smartphone to the E-DAC and then the E-DAC directly to a full size amplifier. Of course there's nothing stopping you doing this with the old model too, it's just you'd need a 3.5mm to RCA cable. It's not like these are uncommon, but if your dealing with cables that you have laying around (which you're more likely to with RCAs) then it's easy to appreciate this additional feature.
The Shonyun SH-306A's build is light-years ahead of the original. It's not quite so tank-like in it's metal heft, but it does still have a metal chassis. Plus it's smaller, lighter and sexier. The connections have been simplified & improved, so there's no more issues with adapters. Additionally the new iPhone 4 matching shape and retractable volume dial are a work of genius. At first I thought that mimicking the shape of the smaller & older iPhone was a bad idea. Then I realized that this is actually quite clever since the iPhone 4/4s were the last models to include analogue line-out. This makes it more friendly to portable headphone amplifiers like the 306A.
POWER
The battery life of the 306A is pretty much equal to that of the older 306 (about 8 hours). This is impressive considering the original model was larger and heavier. It's not the longest lasting portable amp on the market, but it's also more than you get from high end portable DAPs like the Colorfly C4 or iBasso DX100. Considering this is an extremely capable and powerful class-A amplifier I will forgive it a little here.
Unlike the original model there is no on/off switch incorporated into the volume dial. The unit now switches itself on when headphones are plugged in, which means you don't have to keep adjusting the volume every time you turn it on. You will however have to remember to unplug your headphones when you're not listening to them. This might be a little difficult to get use to at first, but I think this is nicer than the old way of doing things.
To show you that the amplifier is on and sucking power the logo glows blue. When you're charging the unit the logo glows red. I just wish it would glow green, or something, to indicate when it's full charged. This is the same as the original model's colour scheme and functionality, although previously the light was on the volume dial. This colour scheme is something that I am glad Shonyun have kept, the lack of full charge indication is my only big gripe here.
CABLE
Another nice aspect of the 306A is that it comes with a really nice and short Liton 3.5mm-3.5mm audio interconnect (see the image above with the DAC and phone). This is a very capable cable and I am very surprised to see such a pretty little one provided in the box. I hope this is a standard feature of the 306A - I will try to find out from Shonyun about this, so watch this space...
FINAL WORDS - the Epiphany Acoustics E-DAC
If you're looking for a single input USB DAC and have a £100 budget then the E-DAC is an easy recommendation. If your phone outputs 'standard digital audio' via USB and you want to access that then what are you waiting for, get the E-DAC now!
FINAL WORDS - the Shonyun SH-306A
The original 306 was built like a tank, but it had rather too many negative issues for my liking. The 306A on the other hand seems to improve on pretty much everything to the point where I'm honestly not interested in dwelling on any of the negativity that remains. I'm struggling to find a price for it at the moment, but if it's anywhere near that of the original (£115 on eBay) then I highly recommend it, especially if you have an iPhone 4 or new Galaxy phone and an E-DAC.
FINAL WORDS - 306A + E-DAC
Together these two make a great combination if you already have a phone that supports 'standard USB audio out' like the Galaxy S3. It didn't quite reach the audio quality of my £1000 desktop rig, but it was damn close, for a lot less cash and something that you can carry around. If you're looking for versatility and quality on a budget I highly recommend this combination.
EQUIPMENT USED
Dell Vosto Laptop, Ifi iUSB, Ifi Gemini, Schiit Modi, Schiit Magni, Schiit PYST, Epiphany Acoustics Atratus, Denon AH-D7000, Hifiman HE-500, SoundMAGIC HP200, WeSC Chambers RZA Premium, Mr. Speakers Mad Dog, Sennheiser Amperior, Samsung Galaxy Note 2, iPhone 4
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