ONIX ALPHA XI1
Portable DAC and Headphone Amplifier
The ONIX Alpha XI1 is the brand's first portable Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) and headphone amplifier. Drawing much of its knowledge from the Shanling UA4, it offers not only an elegant black design but also a new converter-amplifier combination. Thanks to the dual Cirrus Logic CS43198 DAC chip and dual SGM8262 amplification, it delivers 180mW @ 32 Ohm power on the single-ended output, while reaching 500mW @ 32 Ohm on the balanced output. The sound is extremely clean yet unique.
The XI1 features a 0.87” monochrome display that provides quick access to settings, which can be navigated along with playback using three physical buttons. The traditionally designed ONIX, rugged and sleek black aluminum housing is built with USB Type-C input and 3.5mm SE, 4.4mm BAL output connectors.
True exceptional sound quality in such a small package is rare. Despite its size, it forms a perfect pair with sensitive premium headphones, but also with high-demand planar magnetic headphones.
