Audirect Beam 2SE and AKG K712 Pro are used for this article.
The dongle (I always used and reviewed portable or desktop gears before) in my bench is like a metallic AA battery with tiny leds that display the gain level which can be adjusted with the button on it. It can be connected to iphone via the lightning cable which came in its box or usbc cable which I preferred with reviewer classic v30 (or usb A adapter which was irrelevant for my setup) ESS9281C PRO chip with a Hyperstream II QUAD DAC is what’s in the AA battery. And MQA capacity is thrown in to the final mix. Finally I am not expecting a sound not like a serious desktop DAC / AMP or even an mobile amp which are popular these days. But let’s look what it offers us.
PROS
Excellent technicalities and almost neutral characteristics save the point I made in the CONS section
Very high power capacity
Adjustable gain settings
Small size and good stock content
Low battery use in my experience
CONS
Might be disturbing in the long run with earphones with bright sound signatures
- Frequency Response: 20Hz-40kHz.
- Output Power: ≥115mW(16Ω), ≥120mW(32Ω), ≥6.8mW(600Ω)
- THD+N: 0.0003%
- PCM Decoding: 32Bit/384kHz.
- DSD Decoding: DSD128.
The sound is so realistic at Gilmour’s Rattle that Lock and not even an inch of distortion on the highest volume. Very nice layering and texturing in this combination.
Listening to Degiheugi proved no disappointment either. Besides the slight bright and ¼ metallic tint, this electronic band is displaying its musical power. And the husssh at the end of the track is very realistic.
DT’s The Miracle and the Sleeper offered a good instrument separation and holography. Drums are not bleeding in. Everything is in control. The soundstage is pretty wide and resolutions are high. I get a good grasp of tonality and the clever composition of the song. Basses are not smacking or the treble not piercing in a single moment. I am hearing what the song offers. And not failing even on a single phase of the song.
So in summary the sound I hear is worthy of the mastery of DT thanks to this odd couple of k712 Pro and Beam 2SE.
Audirect Beam 2SE Sound Impressions Review
CONCLUSİONS
Besides it’s amateurish to try to listen to K712Pro off your smartphone with it’s mini xlr 3m and screwed plugged cable, I think it proved its capacity in a single short trial of 3 songs without not getting heated up to an untouchable level or eating away 1 single level of the battery. Though my dongle experience is not like the master Ef’s, I think I have to declare Audirect Beam 2SE among the winner dongles. After handling a heavy cannon of a headphone with finesse, 62 ohm / 102 dB sensitivity AKG K712 Pro. Most of the iems are easy for it. Official Website
Need I say more?