Cozoy Takt-C Dac/Amp (USB-C Version)

The Cozoy TAKT C is an external portable DAC/AMP module that has built in cable with USB-C port and has been designed to be used with various devises such as smartphones, tablets and computers using similar ports or adapters. Now a days lot of smartphones are adapting to USB sound architecture instead of using a 3.5mm jack, for those devises this comes as a bliss as of its portable and high fidelity design.

Cozoy Takt C decoder and amplifier is engineered with AL6063 aircraft-grade aluminum and advanced metal procession fusing high-efficiency circuitry designs with leading software implementations. With minimal design footprint Takt C powers earphones effortlessly across a wide band with great detail and dynamics. Takt C supports multi-platform and is device-powered. It has advanced SABRE9018Q2C Reference D/A Converter for unprecedented dynamic range and ultra low distortion, and it also equipped with Time Domain Jitter Eliminator technology, the build achieves an impressive 120dB signal to noise ratio (SNR) performance. Its 32-bit HyperStream architecture natively supports 32-bit 384KHz PCM signals and signal processing up to DSD 11.2MHz.

Disclaimer

The following unit has been provided to me by HiFiGo as part of their review tour. I am in no way related to them or working for them. All impressions of sound are subjective to my own listening and my sources. One can purchase it from HiFiGo using the following link.




Build Quality

The Takt C DAC is entirely made of aluminum with a sleek and sturdy form factor. The unit feels quite rugged, even the build-in wire is quite sturdy. It has also designed with volume up and down keys along with a play/pause button and all of them work with quite a precision.


Specifications

DAC Chip – SABRE9018Q2C
 32Bit 384kHz master file decoding
 Native decoding playback, DSD 256-11, 289, 600 (11.2MHz)
 Output power: 1.5V RMS@32Ω per channel
 Housing material: 6063 Aluminum Alloy
 Input: USB Type-C
 Output connector: 3.5mm TRS Stereo earphone
 SNR: 120dB


Sources for Testing

For this review the unit has been paired IEMs Noble Audio Sage, ISN H40, QOA Mojito, Ibasso IT01 and headphones DT880 Pro (250Ohm)


Usage

Cozoy TAKT C can be easily paired to different smart phones and laptop/PC using USB-C port. With Windows 10 there was no need to install any additional 3rd party drivers and works well with Foobar and other streaming apps like Spotify/Tidal.


Testing  Apparatus

LG V30+ (Built in Sabre 9218P) vs Cozoy (Built in Sabre 9018Q2C)
 Vivo X50 Pro (Built in AK4377A) vs Cozoy (Built in Sabre 9018Q2C)
 PC/Laptop vs Cozoy (Built in Sabre 9018Q2C)


Pros

Small and Sleek design
Hardware Music Controls on DAC
High driving power for low impedance IEMs

Cons 

Heats up insanely
Impacts Battery life of source as no internal Battery of its own (Expected behavior)


Sound Analysis

Takt C is equipped with the SABRE9018Q2C DAC chip but to me it felt bit different from what sabre are known for; instead of neutral and transparent signature it offered a bit of warmth. The warmness induced is neither overpowering nor is completely negligible. The mids and lows are crisp whereas highs represent exact sabre nature so pairing with bright IEMs is not at all recommendable.

Talking about noise floor, its negligible with all the IEMs I have tested upon, still I doubt same with high sensitivity IEMs. There is no Electromagnetic interference of smartphone or WiFi at any point of time despite of which frequency spectrum has been utilized.

Moving towards full sized headphones it was kind of a deal breaker, when paired to Beyerdynamic DT880 pro (250ohm) it failed to impress even a little, the headphone output became much congested and was not even close to any entry level DAC/AMP such as Dragonfly Black at similar budget.


Comparisons

In comparison to LG V30+, it has got a head start with bit gain factor that increased the whole headroom definition due to nice amplification factor as well as the bass punch. As discussed earlier as well, it possessed a bit warmish signature as compared to inbuilt Sabre quad DAC setup of LG V30+ and which was definitely an improvement over smartphone output. Soundstage and imaging somehow felt similar to V30+.

Now coming to Vivo X50 pro it’s a day and night difference in terms of details and imaging of inbuilt AKM chip. The complete spectrum improved and felt more fun induced and richer. Same was the impact using over window 10 PC.



Final Verdict

The Takt C DAC is a very capable external DAC/AMP to be used with smartphones and computers in terms of portability and build quality and surely improves the default sound quality of any device with usual audio codecs. It is perfect for the people who want to upgrade the sound quality of any basic device without carrying any bulky DAC/AMP setup to drive their low impedance dark sounding IEMs/Earphones in budget friendly terms.

Although, this certainly is not fit for full sized cans. One must compromise a bit to battery life of the smartphone/tablet as this DAC/AMP doesn’t come up with inbuild battery. Last but not the least, it causes bit irritation due to quite a lot heat buildup even after minutes of usage.

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