BGVP T01s USB C DAC/DONGLE Review – “Assign A Little More to the Love Machine”
I’m not sure what they’re smoking in Dongguan City, but the marketing material for the $18 BGVP T01s is (unintentionally?) hilarious beyond conception, replete with such gems as “a good horse with a good saddle,” “feel the charm of fever” and “slim body and powerful thrust.”
Back here on planet Earth, the BGVP T01s utilizes the same chip as the Conexant CX31993 (CX Pro) and numerous other budget dongles, but must use a more robust opamp, because this beast is really powerful—with typical 32ohm iems it gets insanely loud even at 45% of my mobile’s volume, as opposed to 70% for most of its price peers.
I couldn’t test its claim to easily drive 600ohm phones, but it performed credibly with my 250ohm Beyers and 300ohm HD600 Senns, with good note weight and bass control, albeit lacking in high-end extension.
BGVP T01s sounds full-bodied and somewhat dark, with seismic but tight sub-bass and rich mids. Especially with more sensitive IEMs, some microdetail is missing and acoustic guitars and cymbals sound slightly rounded and lacking in crispness (impedance mismatch?). Soundstage is very wide, with good air between performers, and it remains uncongested in dense arrangements.
Compared to price peers like the CX Pro, the BGVP T01s is more energetic and much bassier, while the CX Pro has less oomph but is more revealing and sounds truer-to-source. The Xumee (review here) has a brighter tonality but is otherwise quite similar-sounding, with almost as much driving power and dynamic slam; I did find the Xumee to be a better match for higher-efficiency phones. The BGVP T01s, however, sounds excellent on EDM and trance genres—kick drums and low bass notes are huge but controlled.
Overall, the BGVP T01s isn’t a giant killer; it’s a tad unrefined at the high end and it does require careful pairing with source and headphone to show its virtues. Those surreal promo materials, however, are totally worth the price of admission.
Bought this one.
hello friends, between CX-PRO 31993 and BGVP T01s, the DAC has better pulling power if using a 32ohm Headphone. How much is the difference in volume.