DAC Fever review
Throughwork
I don’t know who makes these, or where they come from. This dongle is available from several sources, the make is generically titled ‘DAC Audio’. What it does have going for it is that it is a dongle in an unusual price range.
Contents
Build
Surprisingly good quality, if very basic. The USB plug is gold plated! So is the jack socket! I don’t expect better sound from this, and I can’t see it wearing better than chrome, but it’s fun. The Fever is also a slim rectangle shape, with a seamless metal wrap. I think it will be robust. It only has a USB‐A plug and a 3.5mm headphone out. Connections feel a solid fit. Some people will like the matte finish and neat printing, some will think it’s plain—I give it reasonable style.
Sound
First thing to say, The Fever claims some Android compatibility, with a warning that the makers do not know which phones. The Fever will not work on my Android phone. Second, it comes with reusable case like a cheap sandwich box. I don’t understand why a dongle needs carry‐packagingll, but the box is more use than anything else I’ve received.
Volume is passable. Volume range is good. Timing is outstanding, damped attack and, more so, delay. It has outstanding control over swells. There’s a slight rasp in higher notes. Low notes go low without emphasis. Some papery sound throughout. The frequency range is wide. Detail is good everywhere, if modest. It keeps color in upper strings, which is outstanding. Positioning is sharp, scale is wide.
Aside from obvious use for opening out orchestras, the Fever can power rock music. Perhaps the plain approach is not the thing for fun with pop music, but wait, that bassline is gonna get you. And the detail in solo instruments and soundtracks is where it’s at.
Spec
| chip | ESS ES9018k2M |
| bitsize/rate | 24bit/192kHz |
| features | Blue LED |
| accessories | Plastic carrying box |
| support |
Assess
Don’t know what the blue LED is for, will tell if I find anything.
For my phone, the Fever will not work. Yet will work on all computers. A hint that the Fever is perhaps for libraries of digital music? Anyway, it is a pleasant build, if plain as concrete. And rock solid on timing, with wide frequency range and modest but precise detail everywhere. Only downs are a slight papery sound and lack of volume range. Which may put off some pop listeners. Oh, and something to beware, it goes low, so if you use cheap earphones, the Fever can make them blubber. Usually, you wouldn’t know this from the caos, but with this amp you will.
This uses a main chip known to be good, if not cutting edge. And this isn’t the only way to make an amp, and I can understand it may not fit some people. But you have this thing in the side of your computer that looks like a small‐manufacturer giveaway, maybe picked up at a conference, and it can drive your ears through landscapes.