Upgrade sound and functionality with the Strauss & Wagner Epsom

Dongles have become some of the most popular pieces of audio gear available. They continue to upgrade sound quality, advanced features, and smaller footprints at more and more competitive prices. As they’ve proliferated, we’ve seen different types of dongles which each serve different purposes. Today, we have a very unique dongle DAC from Strauss & Wagner, who makes excellent audio cables and accessories. The Epsom comes in at just $19.99. It looks to provide conversion from its USB-C DAC to a 3.5mm headphone jack, while also working as a charging port. This combination allows for you to use wired IEMs or headphones with your smartphone without losing the port for charging capabilities. But how does it actually work? Let’s find out in this review. 

What’s in the Box:

• Strauss & Wagner Epsom 

Build:

As far as dongles are concerned, the Strauss & Wagner Epsom is tiny but brawny. Measuring in at just 10 mm wide with about a 20 mm length that includes the connecting USB-C cable, it can easily fit in your pocket. Made out of Aluminum Alloy, this pocketable device will hold up to wear and tear while joining you on the go. It comes in both gray and red (we’re reviewing the red version) and has a modern shape and look that keeps it looking like more than just a spare audio accessory. A lot of adapters at this price point throw design and build to the wind, so it’s nice to see Strauss & Wagner paying attention to the finer details of the product. 

The 2-in-1 adapter keeps things pretty simple in terms of ports. At the end of the cable, you get a male USB-C DAC and charger connector. On the device, you get a female USB-C input, and on its adjacent side you get the female 3.5mm socket for a headphone jack connection. There’s a rounded shape on the left side where the 3.5mm socket lives, giving shape to the device while serving the function of housing the audio adapter. 

Design:

Unlike other dongles, Strauss & Wagner’s Epsom is meant to upgrade sound for wired headphone and IEM listeners while simultaneously offering the ability to charge your phone at high speeds. To accomplish this, the Epsom provides up to 2A charging current, meaning that it should work quickly, despite not technically being considered a “fast charger.” In my experience, I found it to charge rather quickly, helping fend off the battery drain from my iPhone while playing music through the USB-C converter. 

One point of clarity I do want to offer about the USB-C female port is that it only supports charging. You will not be able to connect storage devices or do any data transfer through that port. However, as a dongle DAC, it is designed to keep noise down while providing good listening levels. In practice, while there is a brief sound when plugging in a charger, noise is kept to a minimum, and with music playing back, there is no discernable noise floor. 

I found the Epsom to have plenty of power for driving IEM’s and easier-to-drive over ears, though for harder headphones to drive, you may want to try a balanced option like the Alva, which we quite liked. 

Sound Impressions:

Dongles can present a great performance to price ratio, and that’s the case with the Epsom. The first thing that struck me when listening to IEMs, like Moondrop’s Kadenz, was its sense of transparency. There is absolutely no coloration to the sound of the Epsom. When there is no charger plugged in, it’s dead silent and true to the sound quality of the music. With a charger in, there is a very slight hum. But once music is playing, I didn’t find it to interfere with the sound signature in any audible way. As a dongle DAC under twenty dollars, it’s doing incredible work shielding the sound signature from electronic noise. 

The low end of the sound signature is neutral and perhaps a little cool. It allows for good articulation of low frequencies while giving bass room to have punch and slam. There’s a good sense of subbass definition and it keeps the midbass from being too bloomy. Transitioning into the midrange, things stay lean and uncolored, allowing for a spacious midrange to break through.

There’s plenty of detail in both female and male vocals. I was especially impressed by the room it offers in the midrange for instruments to give a feeling of texture and feeling. Moving up to the top end, there’s a clarity and tactility that keeps things feeling accurate without sounding harsh. But most impressive to me was the soundstage, which is surprisingly wide. For about twenty bucks, the Epsom allows IEMs to offer a sense of width that is not always common. To be sure, it’s more linear and left-right oriented than fully 3-D, but again, at its price, it’s quite competitive. 

Final Thoughts:

Strauss & Wagner has created a product with excellent versatility and performance for the price. And at its price, it competes quite well with similar dongles. I do want to set expectations correctly, though. I’ll point out that it is not perfect, but my gripes are extremely limited. The only one I can think of is the light hum while charging. Otherwise I found its sound quality to overperform its price, and its features to be convenient and fully functional. It’s a relatively simple device, but it does its jobs right. For that, we think it makes a great budget dongle for users. This is because it upgrades sound quality from their portable device without losing its charging port to an external device.

The Strauss & Wagner Epsom is available at Audio46.