Alva USB-C to 4.4mm Balanced DAC/Adapter Review

The popularity of portable DAC/Amps has skyrocketed in recent years. As an audiophile, it’s understandable why these would be such a popular option. Their slim form-factor, simple design, and perfect power for sensitive IEMs makes dongle DACs a perfect pairing for a lot of people’s needs. Strauss & Wagner is an audiophile accessory brand that’s been making upgrade cables for years now. Their new Alva 32-bit DAC is a 4.4mm to USB-C device aims to power headphones straight out of a phone or computer. Although it’s a great idea, companies like iFi, Fiio, and IKKO already make some great products. Let’s find out how the Alva competes in my detailed review of this 32-bit DAC.

Design

Unlike other slim dongle options, the Alva is designed with one 4.4mm output. Although products like the ifi Go-Link and Fiio KA11 offer a similar form factor, they’re only available in a 3.5mm output. Options like the Fiio KA2 and Questyle M15i do offer the 4.4mm termination, but they’re size makes them more suitable for laptops rather than walking around with a phone. Certain people feel very strongly about listening with balanced connections. The ability to use a 4.4mm with this slim form-factor makes it both a unique product and a practical solution.

My main gripe with this device is that the 4.4mm output is pretty hard to insert and remove. The silver-lining to this is that the connection is INCREDIBLY secure and doesn’t cut out at any point. The 31993 chipset makes an appearance here to convert digital signal and sounds incredibly clear. I’ll talk more about this later.

Soundstage

What’s most impressive to me about the Alva is the clarity and separation I got from the soundstage. While listening to both high-end and cheap IEMs and headphones, there was a nice increase in both width and separation. This was particularly noticeable in voices, where more high-mids and presence brought the clarity out in these textures. While listening to the Audio Technica ATH-WB LTD, there was excellent imaging in panning. Tracks like “A Chilling Aura” by Gatecreeper had a discernible holographic quality. The drums were able to sonically move forward and backwards, creating a dramatic dimension to the track’s panning. It’s great seeing a budget DAC option offer both the versatility and clarity in it’s staging. This isn’t an easy feat and Strauss & Wagner have done a great job in this aspect.

Listening Impressions

In my testing, I used the Audio Technica ATH-WB LTD, Nostalgia Camelot, Q of A Vesper 2 with an upgraded 4.4 cable, and Moondrop Kato. Rather than go one by one to list how they interact with each of the sound signatures, I’m going to mention the way the 32-Bit DAC responded to various tracks, and the way the color made these stand out.

My initial impression is that the DAC brings out a nice bump in the upper-mids (1kHz – 2.5 kHz). There’s a defining body to sounds, and a detailed reproduction of sounds in many mixes. Other dongle DACs color the sound as much in this range, making the Alva a unique and refreshing listen. I felt as if this sound lent itself well to bassy devices, and also genres like classical, jazz, and acoustic music.

Tracks like “Can’t Get It Started” performed live by Stéphane Grappelli {AAC 44.1kHz} are perfectly showcased by this DAC. Flatter IEMs like the Kato and Camelot weren’t overly airy because of the presence increase. Sometimes, the hollow sounding mids on the ATH-WB LTD can get lost in a track like this. I’m happy to say that the Alva was able to capture the subtleties in Grappelli’s left hand technique, accurately reproducing the strokes of the bow with fantastic clarity.

On the new song “World of Light” by Sumac {FLAC 92kHz 24-bit}, the experimental sounds are a lot to handle. The fuzzy sounding bass, which consistently feeds back, is exciting and engaging on bassier IEMs like the Vesper 2. The deep fuzziness mixed with the unruly harmonics of this track are present but still manageable for somebody who’s sensitive to highs like me. Despite being saturated into oblivion, the string instruments still manage to have a clearer attack when paired with the Alva. The cacophonous rumbling of this track cleared up excellently on this 32-bit DAC.

On “Aria No. 9” composed by Mieczysław Weinberg, performed by the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen {FLAC 44.1kHz 16-bit} there’s excellent separation in each of the string voices. The deep contrabass interacts well with all the other voices in this quartet, and the melodic violin is able to cut through with fantastic clarity even on the bassiest devices I used. The ATH-WB LTD had fantastic timbre in the viola and violin.

Conclusion

For $49.95, there’s quite a lot to like about the S&W Alva. A unique 4.4mm connection, 32-Bit DAC support, and sleek form factor means that this device is perfect for audiophiles on the go. Don’t let its small size fool you, this DAC will be powerful enough to amplify most headphones. If you’ve always wanted to carry around your 4.4mm IEMs, but have never found anything practical enough to allow you to, check out the Alva.

The S&W Alva is available at Audio 46

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Mark

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