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DAC Chip: Undisclosed (Single)
PCM 32bit – 384khz DSD128, SNR: -100dB, Power: 1 Vrms, USB Type-C Male, 3.5mm SE (Microphone: Unspecified), 103mm, 5g, Aluminum Chassis with OCC Cable

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Listening Equipment: Etymotic ER4SR, ER2XR, Shure KSE1500, TIN HiFi P1, Monolith M565C

LISTENING EQUIPMENT USED IMPARTED HUGE INFLUENCE TO SOUND IMPRESSIONS & RATING

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💚PROS

• Clean engaging timbre with rounded smooth neutral tonality
• Mids centric, mildly intimate presentation.
• Properly placed vocals despite being Mids focused. Neutral tonality
• Smooth clean Treble with great extensions, equally smooth decays
• Fast, solid Mid-Bass with solid decays
• Impressive percussions, bells and chimes with polished tone and decays
• Impressive Macro/Micro details with audible nuances
• Smooth edged guitars, piano, and stringed instruments
• Spacious soundstage with good holographic imaging
• Scalable speed, with fast single DD and BA, amazing dexterity
• Great on Lo-Fi and poor recordings, high resistance to sibilance
• Drives Tin HiFi P1 at 90/100 for full listening level.
• VERY Impressive synergy with Etymotic ER2XR (75/100 Volume)

💔CONS

• Sub-Bass has slightly low presence and somewhat soft
• Dynamics may be a bit relaxed to some.
• Layer separation lacked sharpness.
• Transparency could be better

VERDICT

Nillkin Type-C. There’s no mention what’s inside. But what matter the most is how it sounds. Even with my super finicky Tin HiFi P1 Magnetic Planar this Nillkin was able to drive it (90/100 volume) with enough meat to not sound thin and distant (Apple Type-C did a lot worse). Decidedly this is another Mids centric dongle that……well, focus on Mids. What impresses me the most is that the timbre and tonality sounded correct and with engaging dynamics. What it does lack, transparency and resolution, but this also means it is a lot more forgiving on poor sources (YouTube etc.). For the asking price of $15, this Nillkin is easy to recommend over the similarly priced Apple Type-C, you just plug it in, and it works.

⭐⭐⭐ ($15.00)

Best Pairing: An already technically competent IEMs/Headphones. (100Ω max)

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