Hidizs SD2 Review - Quirky Little Dongle

 

General/Packaging/Build

Hidizs is well known for their source and recently they released a banger which is very well received within the community, namely the MP145, i personally have tested and reviewed the MP145 and i definitely agree with the community. I have with me today the latest dongle from Hidizs, which is targeted at those who are new to the hobby, or audiophiles who are looking for a dongle that will take up a very small footprint. 

Packaging is the usual Hidizs style of packaging, comes with a type C to A adapter, C to lightning adapter and in my opinion, very high price performance ratio and we will get to that in a while.

Build quality is solid and the unit itself does have a bit of a “mecha” kind of look to it. I would say it is unique looking, however, the design itself does have a bit of a “bug”, in the sense where i am unable to use a phone case when i want to use the SD2, other than that, everything else is fine.

Specifications

• DAC: ES9270.

• Frequency response: 20Hz-40kHz.

• DSD: Native DSD64/128.

• PCM: Supports up to 384 kHz/32-bit.

• Output option: SE 3.5mm.

• 32Ω output power: Up to 70 mW+70 mW SE 3.5 mm.

• Sample rate indicator:

• Red colour: PCM 44.1-48 kHz.

• Blue colour: PCM 88.2-384 kHz and DSD.

• External material: Aluminium alloy + resin.

• Transmission interface: C-type interface.

• Supported system: Android, Windows, Mac OS, iPad OS.

• Distortion: PO (3.5): 0.0015%.

• Signal-to-noise ratio: PO (3.5): 118dB.

• Separation: PO (3.5): 64dB.

• Dimensions: 34.5×20×10mm.

• Net weight: 6g.

Gears used for this review

• Hidizs MS5

• Letshuoer EJ07M

• Aune AR5000

Foreword

My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Battery Drain

• SD2 is quite power efficient based on my test, i did not specifically measure the power draw but based on my observation

• SD2 is plugged into my iPhone 15 at 100% battery, the volume is being set at +- 40% and i connected the Hidizs MS5 to it and let it loop through the playlist from 10pm until the next morning 7am

• That’s about 9 hours and the battery on my iPhone 15 is at 30% when i checked the battery%, that is quite efficient in my opinion based on my observation

Features

• In line microphone support

• Low power consumption

Sound Impression

Tonality wise, SD2 is slightly warm and overall quite musical to my ears. The lows are slightly elevated based on my listening impression, treble on the other hand is just right to my ears, without any peaks or over emphasis. For the asking price, it is definitely a good dongle in my opinion.

Listening Impression with the following gears

Hidizs MS5

• Bass is punchy and tight, mid bass especially

• Sub bass has slightly better extension

• The highs are slightly tame and it is not as energetic as it used to sound, this pairing will please those who find MS5 too hot on the treble

• Male vocal has slightly thicker texture and sounds fuller

• Female vocal is full sounding as well

• Not so much changes in terms of detail retrieval

• Overall, a very good synergy pairing the MS5 with SD2, this is also probably it is their own in house IEM

Letshuoer EJ07M

• A very balanced sounding IEM with a boost on the sub bass region, pairing it with the SD2 does have slightly better extension

• Both male and female vocal also have better texture and body to it

• Bass exhibits good control and doesn‘t sound overly boosted

• Not much changes on the detail retrieval as well

• Soundstage is slightly better in terms of better height,depth and width perception

• EJ07M is not hard to drive, but SD2 is good enough if you want something that’s good sounding and convenient to have when you’re on the go. It definitely have more than enough power for efficient IEMs

Aune AR5000

• AR5000 is a dynamic driver headphone from Aune, there’s a slight warmth in terms of tonality of AR5000, punchy bass and smooth treble, but on certain track, the note weight can be a little thin

• Although the SD2 might seem a little under power on paper, but it is actually quite sufficient to power the AR5000 as it is not a hard to drive headphone, it somehow made the note weight a little thicker due to the slight emphasis on the lows

• The low end is slightly elevated due to the added warmth, treble is smoother yet it doesn’t compromise in terms of resolution

Comparison (Fiio KA11)

• Fiio KA11’s design is also minimalist in my opinion, a single short cable with DAC embedded, but when used with your phone, there will be something dangling as i mentioned earlier it’s similar to an Apple Dongle

• The tonality of KA11 is less coloured in the sense where it’s warm but the treble does not lose its details

• A lot more power compared to SD2

Final Thoughts

The SD2 is a good device overall in terms of sound, however, the unconventional design does have a little problem for users with a phone case, or thicker phone case. I need to remove the case or switch to a thinner case whenever I want to use the SD2, but I did think of a workaround by using it with a type c female to male adapter, which kinda defeats the intended purpose which is small footprint. At 40$ including the iOS adapter, I think for the overall sonic performance and convenience, I have no issue recommending the SD2, other than the minor quirks that I mentioned earlier, it is a good little device overall.

*A big thanks to Hidizs for sending this over for the purpose of this review. I thank them for their support as always

Head over to their official webstore if you are interested in getting one:

Hidizs SD2 Official Webstore - Non Affiliated