DDHifi TC44B

disclaimer:    The TC44b was sent by DDHifi for purposes of review.   I have no financial interest in DDHifi, nor have I received any compensation other than the device itself for this review.   If you have an interest in DDHifi, please see their website, Amazon store, or visit their Facebook page.    I use the DDHifi cases and accessory cables daily as I find they are of excellent quality and protect my gear better than most offerings.  I highly recommend their accessories if you are not already familiar with them.

 

Packaging:

The TC44B comes packaged quite simply in a small cardboard box with the the information on front either in green or in relief like the drawing of the nose in the lower right.   Packaging is simple but adequate to protect the device in shipping but is definitely not of the western style as it would do little to sell the product if hung on a rack at an audio store.      I have shown the TC44B on top of the C-2020 case also from DD that I use daily.

 

Build:

The TC44B is available as either USB-C or Lightning connector.  I ordered the USB-C version and the TC28i USB-C to lightning converter so I could use a single device with both types of connections.   The construction of both the TC44B and TC28i is similar with very solid housings with no plastic to be found.  The jacks and main body of both are brushed gun-metal gray aluminum/magnesium alloy housings with brass faces.   The cable is heavy enough to be durable but still pliable and should last well.    I like the fact that the cable is encased in clear so you can see the individual strands but not separate them as I think it adds to the durability of the unit.   I have included a quarter in the photos to give a size reference as the unit is smaller than one would think.  The triangular body is just over an inch long and under an inch tall.   It adds very little weight when carried with a phone and I found it easy to use and less prone to disconnection during movement than some other recently reviewed models.    If there is one caveat is the lack of strain reliefs on either end of the cable and it would be wise not to pocket  the adapter attached to a phone where it can crimp the cable at the usb exit point.

 

Internals:

The TC44b is a balanced only dac/amp so we expect to see a fully balanced set of components and indeed we have a pair of the CL 43131 chips used to handle the DAC and amplifier duties 1 per channel. Before we get to the DAC though, the USB duties are handled by a Savitech chip based  on the driver needed for windows but other details have not been released.   The Cirrus Logic 43131 is effectively  the same DAC as the 43198 with an op-amp built into the die between dac and output as is shown in the diagrams below.     Using a DAC chip per channel allows DDHifi to sum the paths within each chip and gives the TC44B 120mW total output power as a result.   Supported formats are PCM up to and including 32/384 and DSD up to and including 256.   MQA is not supported as of this writing.

 

Sound:

I did most of my testing with the 4.4mm pentaconn port, but did enough with the 2.5mm to be confident in saying that the two outputs are identical sounding.  This was confirmed by DD engineers that confirmed the outputs from the circuit are simply wired to both jacks in parallel so no circuitry differences exist and any difference is purely in impedance of the jack itself of attached cable.

Sub-bass has good energy and I found that as long as impedance and sensitivity was kept within reason (150Ω or so and 90+ dB/mW) I had no loss of bass energy on big hits like I had seen on some other dongles that can feel a little power starved.   The TC44B has good rumble when called upon and will make those looking for solid impact in the lows pleased.  Mid-bass is very clean with good slam when called upon and good detail and texture.

Mids have good energy as well and there is something special about the CL43198 in this department as it manages both good weight and good detail which is something some of the other chips struggle to do.  To my ear ESS tends to be detailed but a bit thin and AK tends to be better weighted but at the expense of some detail.  The 43198 hits the balance for me and offers good detail while not coming across as thin.    Vocals are very slightly forward to my ear that helps put them in front of instrumentation.

Treble is well detailed with a clean presentation and good extension as well.  Treble seems to be very dependent on the output device in use but when used with well extended sources and earphones the TC44b does not notably decrease the extension as some have.

 

Comparisons:

Xduoo Xlink 2- Similar size and weight albeit different form factors for the two.    The XLink2 uses detachable cables and comes with both lightning and USB-C so will be preferred by some for that reason.   While the XLink2 offers no balanced output, its power is similar to that of the TC44b.    I prefer the TC44B as I tend to keep my iems wired on Pentaconn cables as I use my WM1A for personal listening.    For that reason alone, the TC44b is more utilitarian for me.     These two are roughly the same price and offer similar signatures (bass boost off on the XLink2 as its a gimmick anyway in my estimation).   Choosing one over the other will come down to preference.

Radsone Hud100-   Again similar size and weight and both are solidly built.   The HUD is a bit awkward comparatively if not taped to the phone.  Both support either USB-C or lightning although niether comes packaged with both.    The HUD features both high and low powered outputs but like the Xlink mentioned above it does not have a balanced port like the TC44B.  Power is similar but for me the TC44b is more convienent and less likely to get unplugged by accident.

Ikko Zerda  –  Zerda like TC44B offers both USB and Lightning, but like the TC44 you have to choose one or the other as cables are not removable. Interestingly the TC28i mentioned here works equally well with the Zerda if you want to use the USB Version on your I-phone.   Both use CL chips and sound quite similar.  The Zerda lacks balanced outputs but does offer optical output for those needing to connect to a desktop dac/amp./     Overall both are quality products, and deliver slightly different feature sets so preference will decide the day.

Earmen Sparrow –  This is the biggest competitor to the TC44b as it offers similar packages, power, and features.   Where the two part ways is that the sparrow offers both single-ended (3.5mm) output as well as 2.5mm balanced and supports MQA playback.   The TC44b has 4.4mm output rather than just 2.5mm and even wtih the tc28i adapter (which works with the Sparrow as well for reference) is still nearly $100 less expensive.    The decision here comes down to is MQA worth $100 to you?  If the answer is yes its hard to best the Sparrow, if not the TC44b is the operative choice.

 

Conclusions:

The dongle wars are in full swing at this point with more and more vendors throwing products into the ring.   This is basically a tacit admission that the phone is going to replace the dap as the audio device of choice for an increasingly large portion of the population.    It makes sense when a streaming DAP has to be 90% phone anyway in order to provide 5G service.      Dongle feature sets have improved dramatically since the first few arrived and the TC44B is a good example of 2nd generation features.   Better format support with higher resolutions supported and better output power to make the most of that support.    The problem is makers are now trying to cram in more and more in order to attract customers and not all of it is really needed or helpful.   I question whether detachable cables are good for example as while it makes switching devices easier it also makes them prone to accidental disconnection.   Bass boosts,   Ambience boosters, etc are usually more gimmick than anything in my estimation.   In that context, the TC44b makes a lot of sense.   If you only need USB or lightning it can be had for <$100.  If you need both an adapter is $28 more.  It is very solidly made, doesn’t have detachable cables to come loose at inopportune moments, and it sounds really good.   To me that covers the territory that matters most.    If you don’t do balanced, take a look at my TC35 review as it offers similar features in an even smaller package for those who only need a 3.5mm jack.