Sources: Roon Nucleus+ server, Mac mini running Roon 1.8, MacBook Pro running Pure Music and Adobe Audition, iPad mini 2, iPhone 11, AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt.
Headphones: Audeze LCD-X, AudioQuest NightHawk, Sennheiser HD 650.
Cables: Headphones: manufacturer's own with AudioQuests and Sennheisers; Nordost Heimdall with Audezes. AC: manufacturers' own.
Accessories: AudioQuest JitterBug FMJ, AudioQuest Niagara 1000 Low-Z Power/Noise-Dissipation System.—John Atkinson
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COMMENTS
" . . . And before the objectivists among the magazine's readers demand that my license to review audio components be rescinded . . ."
Worth it for that line all by itself.
Also wonderful to have a review, with measurements, of an inexpensive but potentially useful gizmo such as this.
I say the objectionists should renew the license with a warning concerning the use of florid subjective terminology. ;)
Hi
When we are on dongles, why comes in objectionists licensing ????????
Jack L
"And before the objectivists among the magazine's readers demand that my license to review audio components be rescinded, both Kal Rubinson and Jon Iverson, neither of whom is a dyed-in-the-wool subjectivist, reported hearing similar improvements with the original JitterBug and their reference DACs."
I dunno, John. I somehow don't think objectivist put too much stock in names of people. Nor does anyone care to rescind nor issue any licenses. ;-)
Lots of people hear all kinds of things all the time; it's a free Internet (for now) so people can say whatever, right?
IMO, as far as I could tell, the JitterBug FMJ did nothing. And the DragonFly Cobalt was not as good as the Red objectively or subjectively especially given the price increase.
Have used the Jitterbug in my system in different configurations, from PCs into DAC, from an iPad into a DAC, from a dedicated streamer bridge into a DAC and the improvements were in all cases quite remarkable, consisting of way smoother treble, more musicality (ya, that is difficult to describe) and also better deep bass (more weighty bass drum, well defined upright bass) overall improvements, people often attribute to the term "analog".
"And before the objectivists among the magazine's readers demand that my license to review audio components be rescinded, both Kal Rubinson and Jon Iverson, neither of whom is a dyed-in-the-wool subjectivist, reported hearing similar improvements with the original JitterBug and their reference DACs."
Much as many/most/I value JA1 as the last bulwark against b.s., the above quote (which Archimago first cited in his comment above) constitutes little more than a preemptive "appeal to authority" argument. JA1, with his background in science and deep and impressive history in quantitative measurement of audio equipment, knows better.
I think JA1 was not appealing to authority, but appealing to sample size: Three independent error-prone measurements of something confirming the same result is stronger than a single one, however error-prone they may be. Say each objective-minded reviewer has a chance of 60% of hearing something that doesn't exist, and the chance they all hear something that doesn't exist is 21.6%, leaving us almost 80% confidence that there is something real. Of course this argument also requires that the readers trust the reviewers in reporting their impression honestly and independently, but JA1 naturally assumes that as well. (I'm saying this as someone who heard no benefits from Jitterbug)
Hi
There are quite a few similar "dongles" available in the marketplace.
In fact Amazon.com is offering something functinally pretty similar:
"USB C to 3.5mm Audio Adapter and Charger Type C to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Hi-Res DAC Dongle with PD 60W Fast Charging Support Lossless Music for iPad Pro/MacBook Air/Pro." Made in where else ? China, of course.
How much? USD18.99 a piece.
For portability alone, it worths every penny ! Why spend more for music to go???
Jack L
Hi
How about my 1,000+ vinyl LPs ? Bigger than yr "big 10" record", right ?
Jack L
... an improved Dragonfly from Mr.Rankin and Audioquest. ( which are made here in the USA ) Hmm.
but :
This little thing does MQA and DSD !
and :
It's got the Premier all time Greatest of all Audio Journalists reviewing it and say'n nice things about it. Phew!
In an iPhone dominated World, this thing should've been on the Front Cover of the Mag. , especially considering the Graying of our Audiophiles and our desperate need to attract "fresh blood" !
I like the Audioquest Dragonfly enough to give them as Gifts to family and friends, now I'll have to consider this cute little thing.
It's an exciting world we live in, an entire Hi-Fi system in the palm of your hand!
Thank you Mr.JA
Tony in Florida
Hi John, thanks for the review. But as I didn’t read anywhere in your review which firmware you were using, I thought it won’t hurt to ask. There are two firmwares. An older one (M12 fw0.1.8463.rom) and a newer one (M12 fw0.1.8587.rom) as seen on the website of Questyle.
Please do check if you have the new one installed (I didn’t when purchasing the M12).
The new one is absent of the slightly rolled off treble. Also sounds a tad better in dynamics and Stereo image IMO. Please let us know which fw you used when writing your review.
Hi John, thanks for the review. But as I didn’t read anywhere in your review which firmware you were using, I thought it won’t hurt to ask. There are two firmwares. An older one (M12 fw0.1.8463.rom) and a newer one (M12 fw0.1.8587.rom) as seen on the website of Questyle.
I didn't check which firmware was installed when I reviewed the M12. But as the review sample was sent to me last August, I suspect it had the older firmware installed.
John Atkinson
Technical Editor, Stereophile
Thanks. Well, if you still have your review example, it would be great if you could update the M12 and add a few „update“ sentences. Anyways, thanks for your words and thoughts!
https://www.questyle.com/language/en/m12_firmware_update/
Great to see Stereophile shining a spotlight on Questyle's M12 DAC / headphone amplifier. I've owned the M12 for a few months now and love it. I like it far more than Audioquest's Dragonfly Black v1.5 which I've owned for years. Glad that Audioquest introduced this product type years ago and thrilled that Questyle has upped the ante at nearly the same price point.
As far as the M12, the #1 word that repeatedly comes to mind is musicality, closely followed by transparency and sound stage. The M13 engages me. It draws me in, and I thoroughly enjoy all that it illuminates. I also appreciate that it uses external cables (theoretically, inexpensive to replace if a cable fails) and comes with both USB A and USB C cables.
I want to buy a second unit to replace my Dragonfly Black v1.5.
Hi
Glad you are so happy with M12 digital sound for $139 !
Too bad my critical ears can't tolerate any sound digital when compared to vinyl analogue at home for much much higher cost for sure.
Yet for strictly killing time while travelling, a USB dongle + earbuds is the music-way-to go! That being the case, I would save even much more to get one from Amazon.com for $18.99. Why bother to pay more ???
Jack L
Sounds great, but where can I buy it? The Where To Buy link on their website takes me to a Chinese retailed that doesn't seem to carry the M12.
Can’t imagine trying to get all the components to work together without an arsenal of accessories and an engineering degree.
Listening to my brand-new M12 plugged into my System76 Gazelle running Ubuntu 21.10. Headphones are HiFiMan 4xx. I like what I hear; I haven't tried comparisons yet (neither with my other DACs nor with my Sennheiser 6xx), but every so often something grabs my attention (drums on Oliver Mtukudzi's Ndima Ndapedza, notably punchy and crisp; some thunderous base on Nym's Eyeshine; a lot of texture and detail to the synth bass in Rara Avis' Medicine; and so on).
John Atkinson's review came through at the perfect moment, since the USB micro connector on my Schiit Fulla 2 is getting too intermittent, and I'm getting ready to travel again (yay!).
To the person above who wondered where you can purchase the M12 - I got mine through Amazon.
The M12 was easy to configure in Ubuntu Linux, to use the hardware interface and push the system mixing stuff out of the way. Verified that it's playing 96/24 on a Nils Frahm track.
Thanks for this informative review of a nice, reasonably priced and super portable DAC!
Question, based on these measurements, the Questyle M12 should be able to output max level (2V) to an external amplifier with a load of about 2k, without clipping and maintain a Harmonic Distortion level of -110dB (0.0003%) right?
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