It's so weird that when I changed the stock cable to different cable(mestmk2 cable), it sounded little bit better with less distortion compare to stock cable on the m15i. I also tried on my apple dongle, not enough volume and there was a lot of distortion on the right channel. It only sounded good on my THX887 desktop amp
Cables also have their own impedances and capacitance (they add resistance to the overall chain).
The difference between cables might be minute in most cases but given the low impedance of the Titan this difference is amplified which explains why your other cable may exhibit less distortion.
A Rule of Thumb is to use USB C Ports > Lightning Ports for Dongles.
It's pretty well known that some dongles have power issues running out of Lightning ports due to power consumption limitations by Apple.
This isn't necessarily limited to Titan, but naturally having a low impedance earphone does stress test things.
its not really weird; its just math. take a 32 ohm load (regular iem) and 3 ohm load (titan)
using ohm's law: given the output of a dongle at 320mw, the current draw would be higher for Titan (approx. .32A) compared to a 32 ohm load (approx .1A). (these values are just to illustrate the effects of ohms law)
which is also where most dongles tend to struggle: pushing out higher current for extremely low impedances.
100%. Not all devices are equipped to handle low impedance loads effectively.
Some dongles may struggle in delivering sufficient current to low impedance devices, a situation further complicated by the constraints of lightning ports.
Also it's unfortunate but most device manufacturers only publish their highest output power rating because they want their specs to look good.
This means you only know how the device performs with a specific load (usually either 16 ohms, 32 ohms or 300 ohms) under optimal conditions.
There basically isn't much standardization between manufacturers regarding this.
Here is a list that we have been circulating internally in our Discord of recommended sources that work better with our stuff.
This list was originally from
@Chang at Subtonic (Thanks!) but was modified slightly between me and Felix at Symphonium.
Amps: PA10, Mojo2, Hugo2, Tsuranagi, Enleum HPA-23RM, K9 Pro ESS, K9 AKM, Mass Kobo 433
DAPs: RS2, R6PROii, RS6, RS8, PAW 6000, M17, DX300, DX320, SE300, LPGT, M9+, DX300MAX Ti, DX320MAX Ti
Portable Amps: PA10, Tsuranagi, MASS-Kobo 475, Enleum HPA-23RM, iFi Gryphon
Transportable DAC/Amps: Fiio Q7, Fiio Q15, xDuoo XD05 Pro, Chord Mojo2, AK CA1000T, QLS QA390LE, Chord Hugo2
Dongles: MBQuart MB21p, Audirect Atom 3, Fosi DS1, Hiby FC4, xDuoo Link2 Bal Max, L&P W2/W4, Hiby FC6, Lotoo Paw S1, Dita Navigator, Acoustune AS2002
Regards,