Performance

Sunrise created a couple of headphone amplifiers in the past, but the DA-P1 is a brand-new design that incorporates a high-capacity Li-Polymer battery and a good DAC setup into a small form factor. The DAC portion of this DAC and amplifier combination is Android compatible from 4.0 and onwards, which allows you to bypass the internal DAC and amplification in your phone for a Hi-Fi source with a dedicated headphone amplifier. This is an amazing possibility because it turns any Android headset into a Hi-Fi player with merits that are only rivaled by incredibly expensive Hi-Fi players, such as the HiFiMAN HM-801, iBasso DX100, and so on. A good DAC and amplifier with a well-designed Android device is a dream come true for most audiophiles on the go. We will be using our trusty Samsung Galaxy S3 (International Edition I9300) for this review. Hooking it up to your Android device is relatively easy via an OTG cable.

The implementation of USB Audio varies greatly in current Android builds. Cyanogen Mod 9 has one, but we could not get it to work in the newest version. The standard ROM from Samsung works alright but that is a stock ROM. USB Audio works fine with USB Audio Recorder Pro under CM 10.1 on our Samsung Galaxy S3. Going over to ParanoidAndroid 3.6, the device worked perfectly again, and was instantly recognized.

Several current Android devices have excellent sound quality right out of the box, like the international version of the S3; however, they pretty much all lack the power in the headphone amplifier to drive demanding headphones, and this is where the DA-P1 can help. The gain on the DA-P1 is around 2x, which is good for most headphones, and it can drive anything up to a HiFiMAN HE-500, which is great. The HE-6s are way too demanding for this little amplifier. The least expensive amplifier we have that can drive these beasts is the JDSLabs O2. With the DA-P1 being so small, its capability to drive the HE-500s is quite nice as well. You both get enough volume and a good amount of details. The DA-P1 sounds a bit smoother than the O2+ODAC combination we usually run, which is something you have to bear in mind as this amplifier has a smoother, warmer tonality than the reference-type sound you get from an O2 or equivalent amplifier. That said, the DA-P1 pairs up nicely with other Sunrise earbuds, which is nice if you are going for a certain type of sound. With the QPAD QH-90 (Takstar Pro-80 based), the DA-P1 sounds perfect: the combination is bass heavy, slightly warm, and very comfortable sounding.

The DAC portion of the DA-P1 is based on the WM8740 that is implemented in a wealth of devices. Mid-end MP3 players over to phones and mid- to high-end DACs make use of it. The USB receiver is the TI PCM2706; it also has a good track record. The result is very good despite the unit being limited to 5V. It packs a lot of punch even when compared to the 18V powered O2 design. The detail level is not quite up there with the O2 and cannot drive headphones that are quite as demanding, but as an on-the-go DAC / amp, it is near perfect due to its small size and convenient layout. Strap this to the back of a phone with a low-profile OTG cable and you have a great-sounding, small-footprint combination. The DA-P1 does not have a line-out because it is probably meant for portable use; however, that is a feature you will miss once you connect this setup to your home stereo.

Power-wise, the DA-P1 is good for all medium-demanding headphones. It cannot drive the beastly HiFiMAN HE-6s, but the HE-400 and HE-500s sound great out of it. Considering its minute size, this amplifier packs a lot of punch. The background is not as black as that of the O2, but that is probably hard to achieve with such a small foot print--at least without incorporating very expensive parts. The amplifier has a slightly laid back sound, which gives it good synergy with the Sunrise earbuds that are quite aggressive on their own. The amplifier has too high a gain for low-impedance headphones; you cannot get past the volume imbalance without the volume approaching damaging levels. That said, most in-ears will perform close to their limits just out of a good DAP or phone.