However, Khadas claims that it does not impact sound quality directly.
The Tone2 Pro will prioritize power from LPS over USB automatically. Optional, but f you want, you can attach a 5V USB-C linear power supply to the second USB-C port, labeled ”I2S”. As for the inputs, the Tone2 has two USB-C ports. For the outputs, the Tone2 has 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm unbalanced headphone out as well as two balanced RCAs (I’ll talk about it soon) and a coaxial out. For the amplification stage, Khadas went with the 4 pieces of Texas Instruments’ renowned OPA1612.Īs you can see here, Khadas updated their circuitry and seems to have created a much better design compared to the Tone1. They also integrated Ultralow Noise LDOs to further filter noise and improve signal stability. It also features Intel’s Altera CPLD and Accusilicon’s Crystal Oscillators for jitter filtering & pre-shaping.
They upgraded the USB-Controller from XMOS XU208 to XU216 and it offers full hardware-based MQA decoding compared to the previous-gen. Khadas uses the same DAC chip, ES9038Q2M in the Tone2. The Tone2 is built upon the experience Khadas gained from the Tone1 and they managed to create something better, much more practical, and eye-pleasing at the same time. Khadas improved their design based on the user feedback and that’s something I appreciate deeply as a tech enthusiast. The Khadas Tone2 Pro is a complete product compared to the Tone1. It had an impressive price-to-performance ratio and it managed to get into my budget gems list. It was spacious and airy from top to bottom. The Tone Board had a balanced signature and it offered plenty of details. Anyway, the Tone Board and the JDS’ Atom amplifier made a nice couple together. The Khadas Tone Board had an MSRP of $99 USD at the time. It was released in the last months of 2018 and at the time, its measurements and user feedback were quite impressive and I bought it immediately to pair it with the JDS Labs Atom amp. However, Khadas offers Raspberry boards but this device does not need a host to work, think of it as a regular DAC, just without a shroud or enclosure. It is a barebone DAC with no screen and no controls. It also features XMOS XU208 USB-Controller. Khadas’ Tone1 aka the ”Tone Board” features ESS’s premium tier ES9038Q2M DAC. It had a beautiful enclosure, 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm unbalanced headphone outs, RCAs, and all! Now, I have it here and today we’re going to be finding all about its performance. However, what I saw was a finished product. I was expecting a bare-bone PCB like the original Tone Board. After some time, the Tone2 DAC came out and I was surprised.
After experiencing that it is a DAC that can do a lot for little money, my curiosity about the company has increased considerably.
Khadas company caught my attention with their first Tone1 product.