Khadas Tea Pro DAC AMP Review – Uniting Android and iPhone Users For Music
Khadas Tea Pro is a $199 USD Ultra Slim Magnetic DAC And Headphone AMP designed to bring the best music quality to your smartphone. Today we review the Tea Pro and explore how it compares to the market in general, and whether it will be the best cheap adapter for hard to drive headphones and IEMs for Phones.
Introduction
Khadas is a popular company that makes both some of the best audio DAC AMPs, but also micro computers comparable with Rasberry Pi systems, and they are popular on Amazon, Aliexpress and many other sale outlets.
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Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4q64MMy
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3gZjCZN
Build Quality And Design
Khadas Tea Pro is a Magnetic DAC AMP with a weight of just 96 grams, AMOLED Display, and with both a 4.4mm headphone output and a 3.5mm output too. You can connect the Tea Pro to your phone via wireless using aptX HD, LDAC but also wired using a cable, and then it runs DSD512 and PCM 768kHz.
In theory, Tea Pro is made for iPhones and iPADs and it has an ultra low distortion of -118 dB, being powered by a Dual ESS ES9039Q2M chip setup, XMOS XU-316-1024 DAC decoder chip and a QC5181 Bluetooth chip. Tea Pro is very slim, just 7.85mm in size, and it has 19 strong N56SH magnets to lock it to your iPhone, but you can also use a magnetic ring for android phones or older iPhones, if they don’t have the magnetic back.
Khadas Tea Pro has a rounded edge design, a smooth aluminum body, and it is confirmed to be fully compatible with Android, macOS, Windows and iOS. If you don’t want to flip your phone to see the display, you can use the Khadas Audio App to configure it, and it sports both a precise volume control and 7 EQ Modes. With You can expect between 8 and 11 hours of music listening, and your phone can charge the tea pro.
For more geeky phone users, Tea Pro has a built-in microphone for a better quality for your phone calls, and you can tap on the menu button to answer phone calls. Also from what I hear and what I can gather, the two headphone outputs are different, and Tea Pro is truly balanced for the 4.4mm balanced output, as it has a different technical performance and volume on that output compared to the 3.5mm single ended output.
USB DAC – Subjective Usage
I have to start by saying that the most unexpected button is the power button, the large left button, which I expected to be a volume rocker, but volume is controlled by the two buttons on the right side. The display used is incredibly small, but I was shocked to see that Tea Pro supports multiple standards for mic and remote on the wire for earphones.
The DAC AMP itself is thinner than most 4.4mm jacks, so while it has space for the jack itself, most will have a body that is thicker than the DAC AMP. Overall, it looks stunning, beautiful even, it is a huge refinement over the original Khadas Tea, and it feels super nice in hand. The fact that it can magnetically be connected to a phone is just a stunning bonus as well.
From a functional perspective, there is no USB DAC delay, but the very first micro second of each sound is cut off, it has an extremely short period it stays active after which it turns off, of around a second. This means that when you press play, a very short fraction of a second will be missing, but sound and video will be aligned, as there is no USB DAC delay. Basically, an audio sync test will sound off, but be spot on timing wise. If you play something in the background at minimum volume, it sounds correct, which indicates that the audio circuit switches off while nothing is playing to save on power.
While that might sound like an issue, in actual music listening, it is super ok. No popping sounds, no delay, pure happiness for the Khadas Tea Pro and I noticed no issues, even EQ works beautifully high gain and low gain, both outputs work well, everything is perfect subjective usage wise. The same file will sound the same with iOS, Android and Windows. I am happy to report that as it sticks to the back of your phone, Bluetooth will have the exact same quality as wired, there is no signal loss, and it is close enough that the signature is very similar, audibly almost identical between wired and wireless. I would advise against using it wired with a phone to avoid placing too much strain on the cable connector.
Sound Quality
Pairings and Match-up – To check out the performance of the Khadas Tea Pro, we have paired it with both full-sized headphones and IEMs, the list including Astrotec Archimedes, UM Unique Melody MEST Jet Black, ZiiGaat Luna, Crosszone CZ-10 Enhanced, Erzetich Thalia, NF Acous NA20, Nf Acous NE4, Rose Technicz QT-X, Palma DHS-1, KBEar Cepheus, Crosszone CZ-8a Enhanced, Erzetich Mania V2024, Sendy Audio AIVA 2, Fosi Audio i5, Soundz Flame, Moritz Dragon and Audeze MM-100.
It is a powerful little DAC AMP, flat but creates enough power for large and hard to drive headphones like HIFIMAN Isvarna. There’s a good sense of driving power for harder to drive headphones, although it works best with IEMS and portable earphones, easier to drive headphones will sound better with the Tea Pro. At extreme volumes it can struggle with hard to drive planar magnetic headphones, but it handles IEMs really well. At lower volumes, it will sound a bit more vague and atmospheric, while at higher volumes it gets more direct, more punchy and more vivid sounding.
Overall Signature – I love how Khadas Tea Pro sounds super detailed, natural, and slightly gentle. It is a bit on the airy and expanded side of things, relaxed in attack, but with a long decay. It feels a little like it took a page from the book of Lotoo PAW GT2 or Lotoo PAW D3 DAC. Overall, it is always a bit atmospheric, wide and holographic with a lower attack and a slightly brighter tuning. The same signature can be achieved in Bluetooth and wired modes, there is no apparent loss of quality, and it works well with Windows, Android and iPhones, as I tested it with all, achieving the same sound if using Tidal Streaming with all of them.
Bass – Starting from the bass, I would recommend using the Tea Pro with bassy IEMs and Headphones, like Moritz Audio Dragon and HIFIMAN Isvarna, as it has excellent synergy, it can cut down on the boominess of those, cool down the sound for a brighter, more linear presentation and give them a big but controlled bass. On the other hand, it is a bit brightly tuned, so IEMs and headphones that sound bright will be even brighter. I feel it is very similar tuned to a Lotoo Paw GT2 or Lotoo PAW GT3, rather neutral with a sparkly top end. This being said, it can achieve 20 Hz with most IEMs and Headphones, but the quantity is controlled, bass decay is on the slower end, creating the atmospheric and slightly mellow tuning Khadas Tea Pro has.
Midrange – In the midrange, Khadas Tea Pro has a slight upper midrange bias, where it has more strength, more power and emotion in the upper midrange compared to the lower midrange. This is audible with all IEMs and headphones I’ve paired it with. This makes J-Pop, Vtuber songs, and certain pop superb, but it has a signature that emphasizes emotion and sadder songs, pianos and female voices. Midrange is smooth, grain-free and relaxed, with a huge width and atmospheric presentation, slightly slow decay, but an excellent resolution. This is a different turning from the original which was neither quite as detailed nor as bright and open sounding.
Treble – At the top end, Khadas Tea Pro gives all that it lacks in bass, treble extends well above 20 kHz and has excellent strength at 14 kHz – 20 kHz, with a sparkly, brilliant treble. Still, it has a slightly slow decay in the upper registers, which gives it a characteristic open sound. This is excellent for EDM, Rock, Metal and J-Pop, J-Rock, and Vtuber songs. Overall, ACG is likely the music that the Khadas Tea Pro was designed for.
Dynamic Range And Textures – Khadas Tea Pro has a slight compression effect, where it draws the background instruments to sound a bit louder, it lowers the difference in volume between quieter passages and louder ones, both in Bluetooth and wired modes, it works well for modern and new music, but it can feel a bit too compressy for classical and orchestral music, where it can make all instruments audible, but it lacks a refinement when doing this. Textures are generally on the softer side, refined and gentle, as this gives Tea Pro a slightly relaxed and laid back sound despite the brighter tuning.
Loudness Saturation Gradient – Khadas Tea Pro has a fairly linear loudness saturation gradient, but with rather drastic changes in tuning and signature relative to the volume level, with a much more direct and impactful sound at high volumes, but a more atmospheric, vague and less impactful sound at lower volumes. This change makes it a more traditional Class D kind of DAC AMP, or I suspect it might be Class H or higher, especially considering that it turns down the sound circuit in less than a second. Overall, this saves a lot on the power consumption while allowing it to drive harder to drive headphones.
Soundstage And Instrument Separation – This is the strongest characteristic of the Khadas Tea Pro, as it has a really wide, huge, holographic soundstage. Instrument separation is on the lower side, it blends and combines, creating an atmospheric, a bit vague sound, but with a huge size for the staging.
Value and Conclusion
Considering that Khadas Tea Pro is one of the few DAC AMPs especially made for iPhones and iOS, it is a very strong contender, as only a couple are made and none that work so well wirelessly and have the magic magnetic attachment design, basically it is a one-of-a-kind DAC AMP which has strong value. I love the performance it offers and consider it to be one of the best affordable ways of listening to an audiophile sound using an iPhone.
At the end of the day, Khadas Tea PRO sounds open, holographic and wide, has an excellent resolution for the price paid, and can drive fairly hard headphones while having a long battery life, and it works with all major platforms, iOS, MAC, Windows and Android, so it is a must hear if you’re a cross-platform user and want to use the same DAC AMP for all.
PROs
- Excellent iOS and iPhone integration
- Magnetic lock that makes it easy to transport the Khadas Tea PRO with a smartphone
- Slim and high-end design
- Beautiful
- Good driving power
- Bright and open sound
- Huge soundstage
- Atmospheric sound
- Excellent price performance ratio
Cons
- Volume struggle at very high volumes
- Compressy sound that can clash with the audiophile principle unless you listen to very modern music
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4q64MMy
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3gZjCZN
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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