Conclusion
For $34.90 the OS133 dongle sounds way better than listening straight out of a phone or laptop.
What really surprised me is the build quality – both wire & connectors wouldn’t feel out of place on a cable worth a few hundred dollars. I have no idea how Penon can make them for this price.
Sonically the OS133 is probably good enough for a noisy train ride, and more convenient than a conventional dongle which will bang up against your phone. Using the OS133 feels like plugging IEMs directly into your phone through an adapter, ergonomically it’s tough to beat and when price is taken into account is very easy to recommend.
I’d love to see Penon offer a few different wire choices as drop-down menu options, perhaps allowing a downgrade to cheaper wire or upgrading to pure silver for a different flavour.
The OS133 is perfect for max portability without the hassle of carrying & charging a separate device.
Not really understanding your comparisons. They don’t equate. And there are a few similar dongles using both chips for dac and amp. Common sense would be seeing how it compares to them. Not many are deicing between devices in vastly different price points.
That’s a good point you make Ryan.
Unfortunately Tail and the RU7 were the only other dongles I had at the time, but you’re right in that these aren’t really apples to apples comparisons given the respective price differences.
The OS133 is excellent value but I’m sure there are plenty of other dongle options out there which use similar hardware chips, it’s a very crowded marketplace these days!