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Pros & Cons
Pros
The price tag is more than justified if you're a tidal subscriber looking for compact dac that offers portability and mqa rendering.
Customers and critics rave about this dac headphone amp. The dac itself is powered by the ess es9281pro chipset. The onyx combines a high quality dac with the venerated thx aaa headphone amplifier.
Onyx + mqa is a magical little beast that's letting me'rediscover' stuff i've been bored with for ages. I feel like my headphones are up two notches.
The onyx no problems with disconnecting. For what it is intended for, it does very well, and i was shockingly surprised. I suspect most of the reviews on here that describe a lackluster experience with this device simply failed to take these steps.
Cons
Onyx does not correctly identify the incoming audio stream. I'm guessing this is because the onyx is decoding the audio at a slower sampling rate than it should be using. Seams like there are glitches or communication issues that are very annoying.
Highlights
Quality
This is solidly built and i hope it will last for years to come with great sound.
The sound quality is excellent, powerful enough for my headphones.
Upped the audio quality from both my pixel 4a and macbook air (m1) without any surprises or hiccups (watch out for the volume t... Read More
Given the legendary thx name, i had high hopes for this ultra-portable dac/amp, as the audio circuits built into my phones and ... Read More
Price
So when it went on sale for $50 off msrp, i decided to make the leap.
Tested with ultimate ears live csx, for context this a $2,400 iem.
But if i'm going to spend $200, i'm expecting more than just an audio boost 10-15db and audio clarity.
Competitiveness
M9/thx onyx performs similarly as the two forementioned conditions.
There's a lot of great marketing speak on the product page, but this isn't going to compete against a dedicated amp/dac.
Other dacs i've tried at similar prices bring more color to the audio that would be better for things like listening to music.
For some who may be interested i compared this to hidizs s9 pro.
Overview
- How are reviewers describing this item?
quality, good, great, high and pro. - Our engine has detected that the listing/variation has anomalous review count history. Please review the historical review count graph.
- Our engine has profiled the reviewer patterns and has determined that there may be deception involved.
- Our engine has determined that the review content quality is low.
- Our engine has analyzed and discovered that 65.3% of the reviews are reliable.
- This product had a total of 242 reviews as of our last analysis date on Aug 27 2024.
Helpful InsightsBETA
Posted by a reviewer on Amazon
Given the legendary thx name i had high hopes for this ultraportable dacamp as the audio circuits built into my phones and laptops simply can’t drive a pair of quality headphones to a satisfying degree
Posted by a reviewer on Amazon
The onyx listening experience certainly isn’t bad but it lacks some of the subtler elements reproduced by the best dacs
Posted by a reviewer on Amazon
Missing or subdued however were the tiny sonic details and textures that can make a great recording shine
Posted by a reviewer on Amazon
A usb ctoa converter is included but you’ll need to buy a separate adapter for devices with a lightning port
Posted by a reviewer on Amazon
I’d have no qualms about using it for casual or onthego music enjoyment but i’d choose something else for critical listening sessions
Posted by a reviewer on Amazon
So when it went on sale for 50 off msrp i decided to make the leap
Posted by a reviewer on Amazon
But i was hoping it would equal my dap a fiio m6
Posted by a reviewer on Amazon
Ultimately it falls just a bit short of the fiio
Review Count History
Price History
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