Pros: Easy plug and play function, No charging required, Extremely convenient and pretty versatile, Controls for Apple and PC
Cons: Controls don't work for Chromebooks and Android, An aftermarket USB camera adapter is needed to use it with Apple products
When I attended the Axpona Audiocon in April, I walked away with a huge smile on my face. This was the first time being able to listen to the world's best headphones and DAC/Amplifiers all in one place. It was a "kid in the candy store" type of moment going from station to station, popping on the likes of the HD800, HE-1000, Oppo HA-1, Astell & Kern AK240 and on and on... The list of goodies is literally too long to put up, but with the few I named you should get the idea. It was awesomesauce!
Walking away from the event left me with a few lasting impressions. One was meeting Zach from ZMF and seeing how cool of a person he is, and seeing his passion for making high quality custom modded headphones. Another was listening to the Noble Audio Kaiser 10-U and realizing it sounds even better than I thought it would. The third was checking out the Calyx booth to see the M player, and getting a first listen to the not yet released PaT. Today we will discuss the Calyx PaT.
Chris from Onsong Audio was behind the Calyx booth. I was very impressed with his Calyx M DAP. The sound was phenomenal and it sported a lot of very cool features. It was very responsive and had a very nice user interface. I had to admit to him that in order for me to fork over a stack of cash for a DAP like this, I would have to have streaming capabilities. My response to Chris was "give it streaming capabilities and I'll pay an extra $500 for it." It was at that point as I was about to get out of my seat and move to the next booth that Chris suggested I try the PaT, a portable DAC/AMP that didn't look like much at first glance. I plugged it into my LG-G3, fired up some Google Music, hit the play button and was pleasantly surprised with the sound quality this thing was pumping out. Thirty seconds of listening to this thing and I asked how much it goes for (thinking this is probably going to be a pricey little gadget). When he told me the MSRP was a measly $99, I offered to buy it on the spot. Unfortunately that wasn't an option as this was a demo unit. I took his card and followed up with him after the event. As soon as Chirs had the PaT in stock I bought it. It was a must have.
The PaT is a simple little gadget that comes in very simple packaging that serves as nothing more than a means to hold the product and protect it from being damaged. It comes shipped with a couple cables (USB to Micro USB, and a Micro to Micro USB OTG cable) The device itself is made from a milled aluminum and has a rubber backing on it which is very clever and allows it to be strapped to the back of any phone or device without scratching it. There is some very stylish laser etchings on the front, along with a five button remote. The top of the unit has a female Micro USB input. The bottom of the device has a 3.5 mm headphone jack for an output. I find the design to be simple, stylish and ergonomic. The PaT comes in three different colors; gold, cyan (blue) and wine (red). All of them have a metallic finish and appears to be very resilliant and doesn't look like it will fade or get scratched if handled with a respectable amount of care.
The PaT is a no frills concept. There's no battery to charge, there's no settings menu and no drivers to download and install. Simply plug this little guy into anything that has a digital output and you're ready to rock (for Android devices version 4.0 or more with OTG support is required).
Power Source
USB
Rated Impedance
32 [Ω]
THD+N Ratio
0.009 [%] @ 1kHz
Output Impedance
1.8 [Ω]
SNR
-98 [dB] @ 1kHz
Channel Separation
-70 [dB] @ 1kHz
Frequency Response
20 [Hz] ~ 20 [kHz]
Dynamic Range
98 [dB] @ 1kHz
Volume Control
0 ~ -64 [dB]
Color
Gold / Wine / Cyan
Dimension
60 X 30 X 7.5 [mm]
Weight
20 [g]
There is a couple things about the device that struck a small nerve with me. First and foremost, the controls don't work for Android and Chrome OS, so this is pretty much a plug and play device for these sources. On a more positive note regarding this, the PaT is so small it really isn't a big deal. If it's bound to your phone or plugged into your chromebook it's just as easily controlled with the source you're using.
The other pet peeve I had with this thing and the main reason I was delayed in my review is that in order to use it with Apple products a USB camera adapter is required and not supplied (not cool in my opinion). On a more positive note, I was able to find a very cheap USB camera adapter on eBay for only $4 USD, and it worked flawlessly connecting it to my wife's Iphone 6 Plus and Ipad. Here is a link if you are interested:
I tested and confirmed that all of the buttons functioned flawlessly and without any lag with my Apple testing devices. If there was any delay it was from the Ipad or Iphone loading the music. The buttons also worked flawlessly with my Windows laptop.
Now for the good part. I find the output power to be in a sweet spot so that it works great for just about every IEM and headphone I have. It can drive highly sensitive IEMs, and high impedance full size headphones without any adjustments. With highly sensitive IEMs I do get a very faint hiss, but once the music is playing it isn't audible whatsoever. The real beauty of this thing is that I can drive my 300 Ohm Sennheiser HD600 with ease with the PaT from something like a cell phone and it sounds great! This is a part of why I enjoy the PaT so much, it's ergonomic, easy to use, and you won't catch yourself farting around with gain settings, bass boosts and so on. It doesn't have these options and it honestly doesn't need it. The tuning is good enough that those things aren't necessary in my opinion.
The louder you turn the volume up the quicker the battery drains on your device (remember, the Calyx PaT draws its power from the source) but I don't find it to be significant. I always carry an extra charged battery for my LG-G3 so I never run into a case of my battery draining before the day is over. The extra battery and Calyx PaT gives me a really dependable portable rig that doesn't need a wall charger or cables to get through a day of heavy usage.
The best way I could describe the sound of the PaT is engaging with a rich and detailed presentation that will definitely improve the sound over your cell phone or computer's headphone jack. There is a very slight warm tilt that doesn't put too much weight on any vocals. Male and female voices sound very natural and organic. I can sense a sub layer that adds a nice amount of depth and dimension to music. The top end of the spectrum has a nice sparkle that is natural and not overdone. I would consider it to be crisp but not bright. There is a good sense of separation that puts a nice amount of air between each instrument. It's good in this sense but it's not going to blow you away. It can't hang with DSD (Mass output is 16/48k) but don't let that discourage you or make you think this thing isn't capable of pumping out some audiophile caliber sound. I don't know if there's any DAC/AMP currently that puts out a combination of ergonomics, ease of use, and sound quality for a price this low.
This thing isn't going to completely destroy your AK240 so don't sell it for fifteen of these LOL. The PaT is good at what it sets out to do, which is take your phone, laptop, Ipad, or Chromebook and make it sound more audiophile and all for around ninety-nine bucks. It will make your music files, Itunes, Google Music, Spotify and Tidal sound that much better to the point that it justifies its asking price and then some. To be honest it satisfies my portable audio needs, and probably saved me from spending a wad of cash on another DAP I don't necessarily need. I'm VERY content with this and my LG G3 as my portable rig at the moment. It all fits in one pocket and lasts all day, and don't forget it has the ability to drive just about everything you throw at it upwards of 300 Ohms. Pretty impressive if you ask me!
If there was any adjustments or tweaks that could/should be done, I would like to see the controls to work for all platforms. I would also like it to come with all the cables needed to hook it up to all of today's devices (I'm talking about the USB camera adapter for Iphone/Ipad). If they could make these improvements, and up the sampling rate to 24/96k, I would pay an extra hundred or more for it.
If you are an Iphone user and want a perfect DAC/AMP companion to piggy back it and take your portable tunes to the next level I STRONGLY suggest this. If you can live without the controls, I promise this will upgrade the sound quality of your android phone. If you have a Mac or PC and want a DAC/AMP that will awesomify your music, and you're looking for that with an inline remote to boot, your answer is here with this very cool little gadget.
The Calyx PaT takes phone audio to the next level, and can make any device that has OTG support sound phenomenal. If you're in the market for something like this make sure to check it out. I can almost guarantee you won't be disappointed in its ease of use and performance.
Here is Onsong Audio's site where you can find links to purchase the Calyx PaT:
Thanks for reading and happy listening!
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