TANCHJIM Space Portable Headphone Adapter Review

[xray]

I bought a Tester. I discovered most of my cheaper USB-C to USB-C cables were USB-1,2. Some supported PD, some did not. A couple were power only. Only a few supported USB-3.

I also found a couple that were intermitant. When plugged into the tester, I could gently rock the USB-C connector back and forth and watch the LEDs flicker.

The power only ones are handy for public charge stations for safe charging.

 

[megapro17]

The power only ones are handy for public charge stations for safe charging.

No, that's useless, it will charge your phone with only 2.5 watts which will take ages to fill up battery even for a bit

 

[xray]

No, that's useless, it will charge your phone with only 2.5 watts which will take ages to fill up battery even for a bit

How is that useless vs being out of power or risking security by using a data cable?

 

[megapro17]

How is that useless vs being out of power or risking security by using a data cable?

If you are so unreasonably afraid of attack with near-zero probability then take your own power bank

 

[xray]

If you are so unreasonably afraid of attack with near-zero probability then take your own power bank

If you had your own charger or power pack you wouldn't need to use a public charging station in the first place. You are arguing a completely different use case.

 

[Yanec]

Pressing both buttons on my unit cycles through filters. At each change the LED blinks. When it wraps around, it blinks twice. There are 5 filters in total. Below are their frequency and impulse responses. I named the filters f1, f2, ..., starting from the one with double blink.

Disclosure: the procedure (described below) may have some flaws I'm not aware of. The results look reasonable though, so there's that.

View attachment 355119
View attachment 355120
View attachment 355121

For frequency response I used SoX to generate one minute of white noise at 44.1 kHz sampling rate, -10 dBFS sample peak (-5.3 dBTP, -14.9 RMS).
I played it at full volume and recorded with ADI-2 Pro RS R BE at 384 kHz sampling rate. Ref Level was set to +13 dBu.

For impulse response I used SoX to generate two seconds of silence with a one-sample impulse in the middle at 44.1 kHz sampling rate, -2 dBFS sample peak.
I recorded it like above and then added 4.4 dB gain (that's the difference between DAC's max output and +13 dBu Ref Level).

On Android at least you can change them in the application and it shows you which one you are using.

 

[herr.jemine]

Hi, I ordered the DAC from Amazon.de:

- I found the performance to be too weak for PEQ,
- also found the sound is flat and artificial
- tested against FIIO KA17, Apogee Groove 2021 & Apogee Groove 40th anniversary edition 2024

the measured values are good, in practice I was disappointed

 

[Stereodude]

Hi, I ordered the DAC from Amazon.de:

- I found the performance to be too weak for PEQ,
- also found the sound is flat and artificial
- tested against FIIO KA17, Apogee Groove 2021 & Apogee Groove 40th anniversary edition 2024

the measured values are good, in practice I was disappointed

Was this a sighted or blind comparison?

 

[WhoSaidThat]

Hi, I ordered the DAC from Amazon.de:

- I found the performance to be too weak for PEQ,
- also found the sound is flat and artificial
- tested against FIIO KA17, Apogee Groove 2021 & Apogee Groove 40th anniversary edition 2024

the measured values are good, in practice I was disappointed

Well, it measures flat and is audibly transparent. Your subjective preference seems to lie elsewhere.

 

[Yanec]

Hi, I ordered the DAC from Amazon.de:

- I found the performance to be too weak for PEQ,
- also found the sound is flat and artificial
- tested against FIIO KA17, Apogee Groove 2021 & Apogee Groove 40th anniversary edition 2024

the measured values are good, in practice I was disappointed

"performance to be too weak for PEQ"

That's something I couldn't understand. What is weak vs strong in your understanding, and how does the difference between the two affect the applicability of PEQ?

 

[herr.jemine]

Was this a sighted or blind comparison?

no blind test, I also have other DAC, the very similar HIDIZS S8 with (2x CS43131) was also tested here at ASR with good values, but in practice the sound is thin, little or no bass, the TANCHJIM Space costs just more and is not worth the money!

 

[herr.jemine]

"performance to be too weak for PEQ"

That's something I couldn't understand. What is weak vs strong in your understanding, and how does the difference between the two affect the applicability of PEQ?

The max output volume is just too quiet to operate PEQ at -10db or more... the Fiio KA17 or the Groove has no problem with that at all!

 

[Yanec]

no blind test, I also have other DAC, the very similar HIDIZS S8 with (2x CS43131) was also tested here at ASR with good values, but in practice the sound is thin, little or no bass, the TANCHJIM Space costs just more and is not worth the money!

The FR which is flat to 20hz reveals that if you hear little to no bass you are obviously an audiophile (hearing illusions).

 

[Jimbob54]

"performance to be too weak for PEQ"

That's something I couldn't understand. What is weak vs strong in your understanding, and how does the difference between the two affect the applicability of PEQ?

I took this to mean they were using a large preamp reduction to account for any large peaks in the EQ profile- which can really chew up your amps headroom if you like to listen loud to some quiet content with a large dB reduction as well for EQ.

 

[Jimbob54]

The max output volume is just too quiet to operate PEQ at -10db or more... the Fiio KA17 or the Groove has no problem with that at all!

If I remember rightly when i got my space there were 3 separate ways to change the volume (I use UAPP on Android which gives access to the various volume controls)

1. Main volume adjustment in the app (so what gets altered when you hit the volume buttons on your phone / player slider
2. The physical buttons on the device (work independent of above)
3. A volume slider that I could only see when I went into the hardware volume settings in UAPP- this was quite low down by default.

I have no idea how a user of the Space is meant to access that volume setting in any other app or hardware set up

PS if you have an android device you could download a free trial version of UAPP to test this https://www.extreamsd.com/index.php/uapp-trial

(Its also a great app for a few $$ and for a few $$ more great PEQ)

PPS- I assume you have set the Space to high gain? Apologies if youve covered this already

 

[herr.jemine]

If I remember rightly when i got my space there were 3 separate ways to change the volume (I use UAPP on Android which gives access to the various volume controls)

I also mainly use UAPP with Qobuz + PEQ profiles for my headphones. In this case the Space is too quiet and sounds weak compared to the Fiio or Groove - I can't say anything more about it

 

[Yanec]

If I remember rightly when i got my space there were 3 separate ways to change the volume (I use UAPP on Android which gives access to the various volume controls)

1. Main volume adjustment in the app (so what gets altered when you hit the volume buttons
2. The physical buttons on the device (work independent of above)
3. A volume slider that I could only see when I went into the hardware volume settings in UAPP- this was quite low down by default.

I have no idea how a user of the Space is meant to access that volume setting in any other app or hardware set up

Also pressing simultaneously vol+ and vol- to switch Hi/Lo gain.

But your point 3 is the one that is a very common reason for people to claim low volume and a UX/UI issue in UAPP. I remember writing to Ivan that the first E1DA is underpowered years ago, just to figure out that there was that hidden second volume in UAPP.

The Space is a powerful enough device, only a very heavy gain compensation could make it underpowered. But who would add a PEQ with >10db gain in certain frequencies (that would require such a clipping compensation) on a device with flat FR...

 

[herr.jemine]

The Space is a powerful enough device, only a very heavy gain compensation could make it underpowered. But who would add a PEQ with >10db gain in certain frequencies (that would require such compensation) on a device with flat FR...

Well, I use the HD650 but I also like listening with the AKG K712 Pro, the AKG needs a good amplifier and it can handle crazy PEQ settings - the groove works

 

[Yanec]

If you need "crazy PEQ" on power-hungry full-size headphones with very loud volume, that indeed requires a different type of gear.

But that exotic case isn't by any means a reason to consider the Space underpowered.

 

[Scrivs]

Anyone else’s brain ”see” Tanchjim Portable Space Heater” every time hey see the title of this thread?