DD HiFi TC35B Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

DD HiFi TC35B USB Type-C to 3.5mm Adaptor Review

 

 

Introduction:

DDHiFi (DD Electronics Technology Co.Ltd.) is a relative young company located in China that is specialized in the producing of Portable Audio Accessories like Protective/Storage Case’s for DAP’s, DAC’s, etc. and Adaptors DAP’s, DAC’s and Smartphone’s.

The DD HiFi TC35B that I will now review is a USB Type-C to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adaptor with an integrated DAC which is a nice solution, especially for devices such like Smartphone’s or Tablets that do not have any headphone output. The TC35B works also with Windows PC’s with USB Type-C output or via USB A to USB Type-C converter.

The TC35B features an ALC5686 DAC Chip of the company Thitronix hand has a 316 grade Stainless Steel Housing.

 

 

Disclaimer:

I would like to thank DD HiFi for providing me this sample for review purposes. I am not affiliated with DD HiFi beyond this review and these words reflect my true, unaltered opinions about the product.

 

 

Price: 

The DD HiFi TC35B USB Type-C to 3.5mm Adaptor is available for 39,99 USD and can be purchased from the link below. DD HiFi has also released a new variant with Apple Lightning male connector which has the model description TC35i.

DD HiFi AliExpress Strore

 

Package and Accessories:

The DD HiFi TC35B came in a nice wooden box that was wrapped with a cardboard that shows the product and company brandings.

This box contains the following Items:

  • 1 x DD HiFi TC35B USB Type-C to 3.5mm DAC Adaptor
  • 1 x Manual/Warranty Card

 

 

Design and Build Quality:

The DD HiFi TC35B is a very small and compact USB Type-C to 3.5mm Headphone Out Adaptor with dimension of 18.8 x 11.2 x 10.2mm (exclusive Type-C plug). The overall build quality of the adaptor is thanks to the use of 316 grade stainless steel metal material in sliver color rock solid.

On the front of the TC35B is the opening for the 3.5mm TRS Headphone output which is mounted to a metal part in gold color which looks like bras material (not sure). This surface features the model identity and company logo.

At the backside of the TC35B is the USB Type-C Male connector.

 

 

Some Technical Specifications:
  • DAC Chip                    : ALC5686
  • Decoding                    : PCM 32Bit/384kHz
  • Output Power             : 30mW dual channels @32Ω
  • Distortion                    : ﹤-92dB
  • Dynamic Range          : ﹥110dB
  • SNR                            : ﹥120dB
  • Output Load               : 16-200Ω, self-adaption
  • Frequency Response  : 20Hz-20kHz
  • Weight                        : 6g
  • Dimensions                 : 18.8 x 11.2 x 10.2mm

 

 

Hardware/Software:

The DD HiFi TC35B is a USB Type-C to 3.5mm Headphone Out adaptor with very small footprint that features the following hardware & software configurations.

 

a) DAC (Digital to Analog Converter):

The DD HiFi TC35B features the ALC5686 Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) of the company with Thitronix which can provide an audio performance with a SNR of 124 dB DNR and a Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise (THD+N) of 95dB.

Source: Thitornix

 

b) Supported Sampling Rates & Formats:

  • PCM from 16/32 Bit – 44.1 kHz up to 384 kHz

 

c) Connectivity:

The DD HiFi TC35B supports a simple plug-and-play feature that works with Android devices and Windows 10 PC’s without the need for installation of any driver, while users with older Operating Systems like Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8 do need to download and install the following drivers which you can find under the links below;

Driver Download:

The TC35B supports also earphones with CITA standard that do feature a microphone and/or inline controls (play/pause, volume up/down).

 

d) Driving power & Hissing:

The integrated headphone amplifier does automatically detect and do analyze the connected impedance (16 – 200 ohm drivability) of the earphone/headphone to generate the ideal output power. The maximum output power of the DD HiFi TC35B is 30mW @ 32 ohm that is not plenty, but much more powerful than many Smartphone’s, Tablets and even PC’s.

The TC35B shows a small amount of hissing which was noticeable with some sensitive IEM’s like the DUNU DK-2001.

 

 

Equipments used for this review:
  • DAC’s             : DD HiFi TC35B
  • USB Source   : Samsung Galaxy S9+, Asus TUF FX505DU Laptop
  • IEM’s              : FiiO FH5, DUNU DK-2001
  • Earbuds         : TY Hi-Z HP150s
  • Headphones  : FiiO EC3 NC (wired), Audio-Technica ATH-M50

 

 

Albums & tracks used for this review:
  • Gogo Penguin – Raven (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
  • Otto Liebert& Luna Negra – The River (DSF) – Binaural Recording
  • Vivaldi – Le QuarttroStagioni “The Four Season” (Wav 24bit/88kHz)
  • Michael Jackson – Billie Jean (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Elton John – Your Song (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
  • David Bowie – Black Star (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Dave Gahan – Kingdom (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Eric Clapton – Unplugged Album (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • B.B. King – Riding With The King (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • First Aid Kit – My Silver Lining (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • London Grammar – Interlude (Live) (Flac 24bit/88kHz)
  • Aretha Franklin – I Say a Little Prayer (Wav 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Diana Krall – So Wonderful (DSF)
  • Laura Pergolizzi – Lost On You “Live at Harvard and Stone” (Wav 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • No Doubt – Hella Gut (Spotify)
  • Rush’s – Leave That Thing Alone (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Liquid Tension Experiment 2 – Acid Rain (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Twerl – Lishu (Spotify)
  • U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Opeth – Windowpane (Wav 16bit/44kHz)
  • Metallica – Sad but True (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Megadeth – Sweating Bullets (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Slayer – Angel of Death (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Armin Van Buuren – Vini Vici (Spotify)
  • Lorde – Royal (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
  • Photek – The Hidden Camera (Spotify)
  • Tom Player – Resonace Theory (16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Massive Attack – Angel (Flac 24bit/192kHz)

 

 

 

The Sound:

The DD HiFi TC35B is a USB Type-C DAC/AMP adaptor that offers a close to neutral, presentation with a slightly warmish tonality, pretty linear bass response, along with a midrange that is fairly transparent and clean and a treble area that shows a pretty good detail retrieval for such a small device.

 

Bass, Midrange, Treble & Soundstage:

The bass of the DD HiFi TC35B is pretty linear with minimal coloration. The subbass region shows an average depth and extension. The bass of the TC35B hits pretty hard while the slam effect is noticeable higher with bass heavy IEM/Headphones. Instruments such like guitars or drums do sound a tad fuller and warmer than normal due to the slightly emphasized midbass character.

The midbass region is slightly more pronounced compared to the subbass region while the differences are quite minimal. Nice to hear that a device at this price range offers such a minimal coloration without to have any unwanted midbass hump.

The midrange presentation of the DD HiFi TC35B is close to neutral, slightly warmish and fairly transparent, while the lower midrange region has an average depth and fullness.

Male vocals do sound pretty transparent without to show negative conditions such like muddiness or mixings. The upper midrange of the TC35B is slightly more pronounced than the lower midrange, which makes female vocals slightly more detailed and pleasant to listen to.

Instruments have a slightly warmer than neutral tonality with a moderate level of airiness and clarity. The detail retrieval is pretty good for such a small device and a source at this price range.

Both the upper midrange and lower treble region (presence) are slightly more highlighted compared to the upper treble region (brilliance). The treble range of the DD HiFi TC35B is fairly crisp and shows a good mount of detail retrieval that is more than enough for an ultra-small DAC AMP adaptor. Instruments such like snare drums and cymbals have an average extension and doesn’t show any remarkable negative situations like sharpness or sibilance.

The soundstage of the DD HiFi TC35B has an average width and depth, while the it still pretty airy and spacious due to quite neutral tuning that shows a slightly lift in the upper midrange and lower treble region.

 

Conclusion:

The DD HiFi TC35B is a good step of the company in to a market with many competitors from all around the world. The small form factor, good driving power and close to neutral presentation with a slightly coloration in the midbass and upper midrange region makes the TC35B to a good solution for devices with mediocre sound & output performance and no headphone output.

 

 

Pros and Cons:
  • + Neutral Sound Tuning
  • + Quite Powerful for a Small Adaptor
  • + Solid Build Quality & Very Small Form Factor
  • + Plug and Play capability (Android, iOS “TC35i”, PC’s with Windows 10)
  • – Slightly Hiss with Sensitive IEM’s
  • – No Native DSD Decoding

 

 

 

 

 

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