Khadas Tone2 Pro

amazon Khadas Tone2 Pro reviews

Khadas is a subsidiary of Khadas Technology company headquartered in Shenzhen, China. While the Khadas brand was just launched in 2020, the parent company has been established since 2014. In the early days of its establishment, Khadas focused on producing Single Board Computers on Amlogic and Rockchip platforms.

Audiophiles began to notice Khadas boards last year when they gave excellent measurement parameters. The first version of the board from Khadas had USB and Coaxial Input. Still, it was primarily designed to be integrated into the company’s single-board computer, so there would be no outer shell, had to be purchased from a third party, or had to be made yourself.

This year, Khadas launched the second version of their Tone Board called Khadas Tone2 Pro. A complete version, not just an integrated board anymore. While Tone2 Pro is still built around the same DAC chip as the first version, it is now an all-in-one solution with a balanced headphone port and USB interface upgraded to XMOS XU-216 with MQA decoding.

BOXING AND ACCESSORIES

Khadas Tone2 Pro is packaged in a white box with the product image printed on the top. Some details are printed on the back, while the side is the highlight of the product.

Opening the box, we have Tone2 Pro, a 1m long USB-C to USB-C cable. The included cable can be used with newer Android devices, PCs, and Macs. If you use an iPhone, you need to buy a separate cable to use it.

DESIGN

Tone2 Pro has an aluminum outer shell with two functions as both a protective cover and a heat sink for the circuit. Khadas Tone2 Pro is fairly compact, equivalent to a deck of cards, and black, red, and blue.

The bottom of the Tone2 Pro is equipped with an anti-slip rubber layer. Despite its extremely compact size and weight, the rubber layer still helps Tone2 Pro not move too much when placed on the table.

On the top, we have a very prominent volume button, while the headphone ports will be on the right edge and the USB-C port, power, coaxial input, and RCA output are on the back of the device.

VOLUME BUTTON

Occupying a fairly obvious position on the upper-left edge, the volume button of Khadas Tone2 Pro stands out with an LED ring showing the functions of this button.

To activate the features on the volume button, we can press the volume button from the backside up.

The volume knob has extremely precise impedance levels, making it extremely responsive and easy to control. By default, when rotating, the volume button will have the function of increasing/decreasing the volume. But when pressing activate, we will have functions such as stop/play music, lock/unlock and power off.

Pressing twice in succession will open up more song control, gain select, input selection, and filter selection. Each mode will have its color displayed on the LED ring, detailed in the manual.

CONNECT ABILITY

The basic connections on the Khadas Tone2 Pro are similar to those on the original board, including USB-C and Coaxial ports. However, we will have an additional USB-C port used as a separate power supply port to ensure that the power is always clean and connected to the Bluetooth card released shortly.

Power on Tone2 Pro at 3.5SE port is 125mW@32Ohm, and 4.4 Balanced gong is 211mw@32Ohm.

With the default capacity, Tone2 Pro can completely mix and pull most IEMs on the market today and some headphone models easily. However, Tone2 Pro still has an additional Balanced RCA port on the back, and this port can still be backward compatible with the traditional RCA port.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Balanced RCA

The Balanced RCA port will probably be quite similar to the traditional RCA port, but it has one more line to carry the differential signals over this line.

That means we will need a Balanced RCA adapter via 3-pin XLR. Or Balanced RCA adapters through other outputs will be sold by Khadas through their website.

The connector of the Balanced RCA is the same size as the traditional RCA port. However, the balanced RCA jack will have a TS connection (2 steps) at the pin instead of a straight pin like traditional RCA.

Full MQA decoding

Khadas Tone2 Pro has equipped its board with a full MQA decoding function so that the MQA file can be decompressed at the highest level.

FEEL THE SOUND

About the DAC

When acting as DAC, Khadas Tone2 Pro is a neutral DAC. None of the bands are increased too clearly while still bringing great detail to the overall.

Every detail on each strip that Tone2 Pro shows is very precise, clear, and neat. The bass is very solid and smooth, while the mid has very natural detail. The Treble is smooth and not too bright.

The biggest difference between balanced RCA and traditional RCA is that the balanced port provides a stronger and more bouncy bass range.

The soundstage on Tone2 Pro is quite good, no longer feeling that the stage is cramped. However, the details shown are not very separate, but the layer separation between the instruments is still very clear.

The image compared to the soundstage is shown quite accurately, each instrument to be positioned very properly.

About AMP

While the Khadas Tone2 Pro DAC part is quite neutral, in the DAC / AMP role, there is a slight emphasis in the mid-bass, but it still keeps the neutrality in the rest of the tonal ranges, not too much emphasis.

The background sound is extremely clean; sometimes, I have to check the volume button to see if Tone2 Pro is still running or not. While the details in the track are still clearly shown, the overall track is a bit blurry.

With limited power on the Tone2 Pro, it’s not too difficult to understand that the AMP headphone section will be a bit lacking in dynamics, even when listening on the 4.4 Balanced port.

Overall, there will be less emotion than we expected, while the bounce and energy of the music are not as outstanding as desk sets in the same price range. That is also the weakness of Tone2 Pro when it only runs through normal USB power.

TOTAL SOUND

As for the DAC, Khadas Tone2 Pro keeps its sound neutral, leaving the power for any next connected amp.

As for the amp, Tone2 Pro shows clean, accurate but lacks force and dynamic range because it depends on USB power; the overall sound quality of Tone2 Pro in the amp section gives a light bass range in the mid-bass.

With its compact size, the Tone2 Pro’s amp can pull most of the IEMs on the market, but Tone2 Pro is not appreciated compared to the headphone.

However, that’s for hard-to-pull headphones, with mid-rangers like the Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 250 Ohm or the Audeze LCD-X with Planar driver performing quite well on the Tone2 Pro.

The LCD-X combined with Tone2 Pro shows a more rounded performance; the overall sound is more dynamic.

where can you get a Khadas Tone2 Pro online

Khadas Tone 2 Pro USB DAC and Headphone Amplifier with Balanced RCA Hardware MQA Decoding (Red): Buy it now

COMPARISON WITH TOPPING E30/L30

Specifications

In terms of size, Khadas Tone2 Pro is much smaller than the Topping E30/L30 combo when E30/L30 is a combo of 2 pieces, and Tone2 Pro is just as small as a card box. With only a compact USB power supply to operate normally, the Tone2 Pro is more convenient than the E30/L30 that needs two separate power sources for each device.

In terms of performance, Tone2 Pro uses an ESS 9028Q2M DAC chip, while the E30 is AKM 4493; in terms of output, Tone2 Pro has both Balanced output for headphones and line-out.

Tone2 Pro supports full MQA decoding, while the E30 only has DSD512 and 32bit/768kHz PCM. The E30 adds remote control, Optical input, and some custom pre-out.

With its power supply, the E30 performed much better than the Tone2 Pro in terms of AMP. While the L30 has a maximum output of 2.3W at 32 Ohm on the Tone2 Pro, it is only 211mW at 32 Ohm on the 4.4 Balanced port.

Compare DAC

When operating in pure DAC mode, Khadas Tone2 Pro is somewhat superior when it can output Balanced RCA to 3-pin XLR while the E30 can only output traditional RCA.

Tone2 Pro has better control over multi-instrumental or complex hits in the drum and bass mix. Tone2 Pro is thicker and smoother than the E30.

Bass on E30 shows deeper and more compact, while bass on Tone2 Pro shows more neutral. Treble, on the contrary, Tone2 Pro hits brighter than E30 and has more details in the Treble.

The soundstage on Tone2 Pro is wider and more accurate than that of the E30. The dynamic range is better and wider thanks to its power supply; even when supported by iFi iPower, the Tone2 Pro does not perform well as the E30.

Compare DAC/AMP

Khadas Tone2 Pro is a DAC / AMP, while E30 / L30 is a combo of 2 separate DAC and AMP parts connected.

As a result, the ability to pull and power on the E30 / L30 combo is much better than Tone2 Pro. In addition, the E30 / L30 also owns three gain levels compared to only two gain levels on Tone2 Pro, and L30 can also switch to pre-out mode.

The E30/L30 is brighter and more colorful than the Tone2 Pro in terms of sound quality. However, with stronger power, the overall sound quality will be stronger, especially the bass notes.

The midsection is somewhat clearer and more separate on Tone2 Pro, while the L30 is thicker and more natural. Treble on Tone2 Pro has better control, while the E30/L30 sometimes has a slight sib.

With the combination of Tone2 Pro as DAC and L30 as AMP, this combo can pull almost any headphone on the market easily with relatively decent sound quality as well as a wider soundstage than Tone2 Pro itself.

This combo also gives a listening experience full of energy; bass is stronger while keeping details in the mid and treble improved.

The E30 / L30 combo still gives a better performance than Tone2 Pro in terms of dynamic range. The soundstage on this combo is also wider than that of Tone2 Pro, while both soundstages show quite similar.

SUMMARY

When the first Khadas Tone was released, it received a lot of positive reviews. When I had a chance to listen to it, I completely understood why it was rated so highly. However, to be designed as part of Khadas’ single computer board sounds great but is just a board, not a complete design.

Fast-forward to 2021, when Khadas turns the first Tone Board into an all-in-one version. They’ve added a few improvements, including the sleek aluminum exterior, volume control interface with LEDs, full MQA decoding, and balanced headphone output.

The DAC part is extremely clean and detailed with great smoothness compared to other DACs in the same price range and still supports the amp with the ability to pull some of the popular mid-range headphones on the market,

With all the outstanding features that Khadas has poured into Khadas Tone2 Pro, Tone2 Pro shows very well what it can do at a completely reasonable price.