Hifime 9018 USB DAC

Is this thing the best kept or worst kept secret in computer audio? This thing is SuperFly, which is what they should call it. I don't know how to describe it. It may be too early to fully tell, but this Sabre 9018 is both super analytic and warm at the same time. The widest soundstage, deep, articulate, and also analog in the vocal range where it counts. Maybe it's just good. For sure, you can't touch a 9018 DAC for under a thousand dollars so you may never hear one, but then you can. I was wondering when my Microstreamer would burn in (I can't tell if it did) and it is good, but this little black box already sounds more burned in right from the start. My PCM1791 machine is ultrasmooth and warm, but gets sappy when the rhythm picks up. The Sabre 9018's resolution is incredible- you can hear foot tapping, sticky saliva off lips and tongues and string instruments having more air. I can't wait to plug it into a tubey amp or my old NAD BEE or even a T-amp. Being a computer audiophile has never been this good, this fast.Edit: The best DACs do not only sound super accurate, but incredibly live. The soundstage is not only wide, but very realistic. Some DACS sound good, but feel weird like a super high quality mono speaker. I feel the Sabre 9018 excels here: natural and transparent to the music. It is getting 'warmer and warmer,' but still super detailed the more I listen to it.

a little dac/amp that sounds great (especially with the free Onkyo HF Player which upsamples audio automatically into 96000KHz PCM with this unit).it is light, affordable and drives my HE400S just fine (yet you have to avoid maximum volume as it will clip sound)the downside is: it has some android compatibility issues, as i find my self obligated to switch into (Flight Mode) in order to work properly with an international S7E running android 6.0.1 (which something i asked the seller about before purchasing, yet he gave me a wrong answer)update: 23/11/2016after much listening i found out that this dac/amp doesn't deliver neutral sound (its a little warmer than usual) + if you want to unleash its full potential on a phone you must change the audio route settings on Onkyo HF Player (from phone to usb device) + enabling onkyo drivers which i think it will require purchasing of the app , it will get much louder this way, the down side (if you set it this way you'll lose sound on other apps) + i don't use upsampling any more (because its worthless)so in the end, i had to lower the overall rating, cause i feel that this device might be suitable for bright headphone, not mine, and it is very buggy with my android phone (since i have to switch into flight mode+changing the settings on the player to get its full potential which disables sound on other apps!!), although i didn't try USB Audio Player Proupdate: 07/04/2017after purchasing USB Audio Player Pro app and enabling the bit perfect setting with the hardware volume i can say it drives my HD700 beautifully, +the airplane mode bug is gone, yet you have to purchase a USB audio apps like: UsbAudioPlayerPro, Onkyo HF, neutron, & HibyMusic (which is free but sounds a little worse! and may restrict you to usb audio! )on my 15" retina MacBook pro it works perfectly fine, and sounds similar to the output jack.

This DAC is truly outstanding. I have a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Qualcomm version, and audio is notoriously the worst link on an otherwise great phone. I have a high impedance old Koss Pro 4AA Titanium headphones (circa 1999, 450 ohms) that I just repaired and the phone could not power it to any reasonable volume without significant distortion and loss of bass. Output to my car head unit was also low. My low impedance JVC XX Bass headphones sounded okay with it, but I found I just didn't like listening to music anymore. After researching some DIY USB audio DACs to see if there were any with headphone amps for high impedance headphones, I found this DAC. Its not DIY, but for the specs, including low power use, it can't be beat. The sound improvement is fantastic as expected on the Koss headphones, but the performance on the low impedance headphones was the most surprising. Get this DAC.

I ordered a dragonfly black 1.5 and this.After extensive critical listening through Grado SR225e cans, with several different genres, I can equivocally say this is notably better sounding than the dragonfly black, which I was not expecting. This is high praise indeed, because I like the black and the dragonfly is an immediately noticeable over the built in headphone audio on my iPhone 6 Plus. The output level on this item is quite high, and when punching hard it doesn't sound strained. It is a much more open sound than the DF, which sounds constrained by comparison. This is vibrant, smooth, and has a crisp and detailed high end without any harshness. The DF sounded slightly muddy in the lower mids with layered harmony vocals and this unit resolves with better clarity and separation. The low bass is punchy, deep, well defined, well controlled, and has no unpleasant colorations. I like it so much I ordered a second one after a few hours listening. I'm hard to please and I usually find one deal breaking audio flaw in most gear I buy but I just love this. UPDATE: Still love it almost a year later. Sold the Dragonfly Black and upgraded to a Dragonfly Red. Still like this unit slightly better than the DR sound-wise.

Connecté via hub USB sur un KVM, lui-même relié à tous mes ordis, dont un docking de laptop PC dont la sortie son crachouille, souffle et donne un son déplorable. Avec le driver d'origine, simplement sur Spotify en qualité normale, le son est déjà époustouflant (sur des Harman Kardon Soundticks II). La scène est large, les détails présents (mais le son pas froid) et les basses sont précises.Je m'en vais télécharger le driver Asio et essayer mes fichiers Flac et HD...Mais j'ai déjà découvert des sons habituellement inaudibles dans une chansons "électronique" qualité normale sur Spotify.Et Billie Jean est vraiment punchy... Vite mes fichiers HD...(à suivre donc)update1: testé avec des fichiers HD sur Mac (car sur PC, je n'arrive pas à utiliser correctement le driver -_-)Une tuerie ! Difficile de détailler par les mots. Les aigus sont pointus mais jamais agressifs, les basses pêchues mais jamais envahissantes. Pas besoin d'équalizer, l'enregistrement original suffit à lui-même. Pour bien tester le medium, il me faut essayer avec un casque de qualité, mes enceintes étant "pas mal" mais pas "audiophiles".update2: testé l'over-sampling avec Audirvana Plus sur Mac, sur des fichiers 16/48 : un vrai plus ! Cela s'entend clairement à l'écoute. Les morceaux sont plus aérés, plus ouverts. Le CD dépasse ses limites. On ne redécouvre pas forcément des sons perdus, la question n'est pas là, mais ça sonne plus "clair".update3: sonne très bien avec mon casque Audio-Technica MRS7. L'amplification est suffisante pour ce genre de casque (35 Ohms).Gros bémol: sur Mac, le DAC fait très souvent buguer mes autres périph USB branché sur le hub, à savoir clavier et souris. Soit je dois mettre à jour le driver, soit je dois le mettre tout seul sur un port USB (pas vraiment possible vu le KVM).PS: petit bémol pour l'emballage Amazon: l'enveloppe était ouverte et le petit paquet aurait facilement pu se perdre (oui, le DAC est tout tout petit)

Este aparatito ofrece una salida de audio para auriculares de excelente calidad a un precio muy asequible. Es compatible tanto con PC como con spartphone, sin necesidad de instalar drivers, y la diferencia respecto a la salida de auriculares típica es MUY grande: muchísima más potencia (imprescindible para mover auriculares menos sensibles y/o de alta impedancia), más claridad y amplitud de sonido, 0 ruido de fondo, graves más profundos, agudos más nítidos... Ahora sí noto la diferencia entre un archivo FLAC sin pérdidas y un mp3 a 128kbps, es como si la música fuera más vibrante, más viva.Recomiendo encarecidamente su compra, si tienes unos auriculares medianamente buenos vas a disfrutar!

Utilizzo questo DAC Sabre 9018 per convertire il segnale audio che proviene dal cavo USB di 10 m collegato all'uscita dell'iMac (che riconosce perfettamente il Sabre tra le modalità di uscita audio) da digitale ad analogico, per poi finire "dentro" All'amplificatore HI-FI, sito ad 8 metri di distanza dal computer. Dal DAC SABRE 9018 esce un mio cavo jack 3,5 mm - RCA stereo che va agli ingressi dell'amplificatore. Morale: ascolto la musica con fonte iMac (mia libreria musicale, Spotify, ecc.) riproducendola sull'amplificatore HI-FI (nella fattispecie, uno SHERWOOD). L'apparecchio ha degli ottimi componenti all'interno, a dire di un consulente ingegnere ed audiofilo che me l'ha consigliato, specie visto il prezzo. Peraltro, è leggero e ben si nasconde dietro all'amplificatore rimanendo in sospeso tra il predetto ed il muro. Ho fatto diverse prove e sono soddisfatto del prodotto perché il suono dal CD inserito nel computer mi sembra identico rispetto al suono dal CD inserito in un lettore da tavolo e collegato direttamente all'amplificatore. L'unico accorgimento è legato al computer, vale a dire che, in base all'uscita audio che si intende utilizzare, occorrerà settore l'uscita relativa (ad esempio, agendo sull'icona dispositivi audio di uscita, in alto a destra sulla barra delle applicazioni (parlo sempre dell'iMac), occorrerà cliccare col tasto destro per selezionare l'uscita casse dell'iMac (se volete ascoltare la musica dall'iMac), oppure Uscita Digitale se l'uscita cuffie/ottica è ad esempio impegnata con un cavo digitale (ad esempio direttamente collegato ad un home theater -in quanto quest'ultimo solitamente è già dotato di un suo DAC interno- per fruire dell'audio multicanale dei film riprodotti dal computer), oppure l'HDMI (laddove fosse collegato al computer un cavo appunto HDMI ad esempio che porta il segnale audio/video alla TV), oppure l'HIFIME SABRE 9018 qualora si volesse ascoltare la musica sull'amplificatore analogico. Specifico che le impostazioni rimangono le ultime utilizzate, pertanto la scelta non va fatta tutte le volte. Ritengo che il cavo del Sabre con lo spinotto USB non possa subire danni, restando questo DAC pressoché perennemente immobile dietro all'amplificatore.

In shortThis is a true audiophile DAC which sounds just beautifully, and represents unbelievable value. It is a simple, understated little box and is limited by design to 24/96 files, but if one cares about listening to music at its best, then this is the first step to enjoy music and build a seriously classy system.Mini reviewI plugged it in a Linux system and connected using QED interconnects to Linn amplification feeding Rogers Floor-standers.I had no issues with firmware compatibility. I simply plugged it in a USB port and selected its Analog Audio Output in the Audio settings. Once this is done the first time the choice is remembered for the future.I used it with Kodi and other digital players. I played well recorded 24/96 masters lossless FLAC files, CD quality minimally compressed 16/44 files, radio streams at 128 Kb/s (Classic FM) and high definition radio streamed at 320 Kb/s. I listened to Jazz, Blues, Classical, Rock Piano, Electric Guitar, Classical Guitar, Choral, Operas, Folk and Pop music. With all the above the experience with this DAC is just wonderful.Of course badly recorded music is exposed for what it is, but despite its incredible detail and precision this is not an analytical DAC and is somewhat more forgiving than other high quality DACs I experienced. With good recorded music the experience is truly enjoyable.Rendition is extremely detailed and accurate at all frequencies. Bass have great extension, precision and pinpoint accuracy with just the right weight. Mids are wonderful rendering voices beautifully. Highs are detailed, agile and truthful, with no harshness, nor graininess. Dynamics is outstanding. Pace is superb.This is an incredibly revealing DAC but despite its impeccable precision, details and accuracy it remains beautifully musical. The tonal signature is neutral or even a little warm. The soundstage is where this DAC really shines and it is just class act. Wide, deep and incredibly precise.This is a little understated plastic box and it does just one thing: it reproduces music perfectly.

This is just a staggering piece of good work! From the first note it blew me off and haven't stopped being amazing since. My old sound card is xonar dx, dap is a Fiio x1. This DAC is just so much better than both of them, it is unbelievable. I wanted a DAC, did some read-up and settled for HIFime. It felt a bit risky because they are not a reputed manufacturer or something but the reviews were all praises, so I went for it. The reviewers were not lying.Using this with a soundmagic E50s earphone, A sennheiser HD485, And a really old Arcam amp.