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Khadas Tea Professional assessment: two minute assessment
Specs
Measurement: 102.7 × 64.0 × 7.85 mm (excluding button peak)
Weight: 96.0 g
Battery: 2100 mAh
Codecs: As much as PCM 768 kHz/32 bit, DSD512 (USB-C)
Max Output @16.5 Ω: 180 mW (balanced)
The Khadas Tea Professional headphone amplifier is a slim and light-weight exterior DAC/amp that works throughout most gadgets — iOS, Android, Mac, Home windows and Linux — and is especially good for smartphones with MagSafe or magnetic instances.
The Tea Professional connects by way of USB-C and delivers each 4.4mm balanced and three.5mm stereo outputs, with assist for as much as 768kHz PCM and DSD512 audio. It additionally has Bluetooth 5.4 enter with aptX HD, aptX Adaptive and LDAC in addition to the compulsory SBC and AAC. The built-in battery guarantees as much as 8 hours of CD high quality listening over USB-C and 11 hours utilizing AAC on Bluetooth.
Though there’s Bluetooth on board at as much as 96kHz PCM, for finest outcomes you need to use this machine as a wired DAC/amp. The Bluetooth efficiency is not unhealthy by any means, however the Tea Professional delivers increased decision audio by way of USB-C.
FiiO TT13 assessment: value and launch date
- Launched August 2025
- Priced $199 / £199 (about AU$375)
The Khadas Tea Professional was launched in August 2025 with a advisable price ticket of $199 / £199 (about AU$375) and is offered with a alternative of two cables: USB-C to USB-C, or Lightning to USB-C for older iPhones and iPads. Though it is twice the value of the unique and well-received Tea it is a very vital improve with considerably increased sound high quality, higher Bluetooth, an built-in show and extra headphone choices.
Khadas Tea Professional assessment: options
- MagSafe attachment
- Bluetooth or USB-C
- Wonderful hi-res assist
Though it is suitable with virtually something with a USB port, the Tea Professional is clearly meant for MagSafe iPhones (iPhone 12 onwards) or telephones in magnetic instances. That allows it to clip securely to the again of your cellphone, and it is a sturdy connection each instantly and thru a suitable cellphone case.
There are two headphone jacks right here: a 4.4mm balanced output delivering as much as 180mW at 16.5 Ω, and a 3.5mm jack placing out as much as 100mW at 16.5 Ω. There’s additionally a built-in microphone for voice calling. You probably have headphones with their very own mic related to the three.5mm jack, the headphone mic will take priority over the Tea Professional’s mic.
The ESS ES9039Q2M DAC helps pattern charges of as much as 768kHz PCM and DSD512, with a sign to noise ratio of as much as 122dB. A Qualcomm QCC5181 takes care of the wi-fi options, with assist for SBC / AAC / aptX / aptX Adaptive / aptX HD / LDAC over Bluetooth 5.4.
There are seven EQ presets for various musical genres, and you may as well set your personal EQ by way of the 10-band customized EQ. That delivers adjustable acquire from -12dB to +12dB.
The interior battery is 2,100mAh and guarantees as much as 11 hours of listening relying on the audio format you are utilizing: 11 hours with AAC over Bluetooth and eight hours of CD audio over USB-C. The Tea Professional can even recharge out of your cellphone when its battery is low when you allow Machine Charging in its settings menu.
Options rating: 5 / 5
Khadas Tea Professional assessment: sound high quality
- Good on Bluetooth, higher on USB
- Broad soundstage and good readability
- EQ presets finest ignored
The Tea Professional delivers a impartial sound, and with excessive acquire on it delivered an impressively propulsive efficiency on my open-back BeyerDynamics; I would have favored to drive them a bit louder however there’s greater than sufficient energy for smart listening ranges. Bass is mostly clear and effectively outlined and highs are ethereal with out being harsh, and issues solely began to get uncomfortable when each iPhone and Tea Professional had been at their highest quantity ranges on very brilliant or bassy tracks.
As enjoyable because the Tea Professional is over Bluetooth, it is higher nonetheless with a USB-C connection. It is louder, extra outlined and extra spacious, with the likes of Robyn’s Dopamine delivering extra punch than over wi-fi. There is a good huge soundstage, with tracks like U2’s remastered Zoo Station sounding suitably widescreen and Discuss Discuss’s New Grass delivering spectacular airiness.
The Tea Professional is superb for a transportable DAC/amp, though I did discover a distinction on tracks resembling Little Simz and Obongjayar’s Level and Kill that confirmed up the relative lack of headroom in comparison with a desktop machine: on my desktop DAC/amp the serpentine bass is noticeably clearer and extra distinct, the entire observe feeling far more ethereal, whereas on the Tea Professional the low finish was much less outlined and the observe a bit boxy. I discovered that the on-board EQ presets made that extra obvious, dulling the sound. I a lot most well-liked leaving the EQ off altogether on my higher headphones, though I did want to chop the highs for IEM listening to cut back the harshness they’re liable to.
Sound high quality: 4 / 5
Khadas Tea Professional assessment: design
- Very Apple-like look
- Tiny display in an enormous little bit of glass
- Just a little fiddly when magnetically mounted
The Tea Professional is a handsome factor. It appears to be like decidedly Apple-esque, with a really slim 7.85mm machined aluminium casing, curved edges and two giant black glass sections: the standing show space, which appears to be like huge however accommodates a reasonably small 0.95-inch AMOLED display, and a smaller lozenge displaying the Tea emblem. That decrease lozenge is practical in addition to ornamental, because it ensures your cellphone will not wobble if you put it on a desktop or different flat floor.
Buttons are stored to a minimal. On the left there is a energy button and a menu/verify button, and on the correct there are quantity up and down controls. The slim dimension of the Tea Professional makes them a bit fiddly to entry when the machine is connected to your cellphone, however not impossibly so. That is not a problem when you’re connecting with the provided 10cm USB-C cable.
Inevitably including a magnetic merchandise to your cellphone provides weight, however the Tea Professional is not too unhealthy: at 96g it is lighter than Apple’s personal equally sized MagSafe energy financial institution.
Design rating: 4 / 5
Khadas Tea Professional assessment: ease of use and setup
- Easy pairing/connection
- Easy menu system
- Tiny textual content in show
Pairing over Bluetooth is easy and the menu system is straightforward: it offers you entry to filters, EQ, excessive and low acquire choices, machine settings, headphone choices and so forth. The textual content is exceptionally small, nevertheless, so it is helpful that you could additionally entry settings by way of the companion iOS/Android app.
Usability and setup rating: 4 / 5
Khadas Tea Professional assessment: worth
- Good sound and premium look
- Expensive for a transportable DAC
- Some rivals are extra highly effective and so much cheaper
It is clear that among the price ticket right here is for that aluminum physique and intensive use of glass: rival headphone DAC/amps value so much much less however appear and feel so much much less particular. Should you’re completely satisfied to pay a premium for stable construct and trendy appears to be like then it is a good selection with glorious iPhone attachment and good compatibility with different gadgets too.
Worth rating: 3 / 5
Ought to I purchase the Khadas Tea Professional?
|
Attributes |
Notes |
Score |
|---|---|---|
|
Options |
Very good hi-res assist and selection of cabled or wi-fi cellphone/machine connections. |
5/5 |
|
Design |
Premium appear and feel and stable magnetic attachment, however the display textual content is microscopic. |
4/5 |
|
Sound high quality |
Good on Bluetooth, higher nonetheless on USB-C. Punchy, impartial and detailed sound. |
4.5/5 |
|
Worth |
Attractiveness and stable construct up the value; rivals could be a lot cheaper. |
3/5 |
Purchase it if…
Do not buy it if…
Khadas Tea Professional assessment: Additionally take into account
The cassette-themed FiiO KA15 is cute, enjoyable, sounds good and is available in at half the value of the Tea Professional, delivering each 3.5mm and balanced 4.4mm outputs with a desktop mode that places out a lot increased energy than the Tea Professional can ship. The iFi Go Hyperlink 2 is cheaper nonetheless and notably good if all you need to do is add wired headphones to a USB-C machine resembling a cellphone or pill.
How I examined the Khadas Tea Professional
- Wired open and closed again headphones and IEMs
- Lossy streaming, lossless FLAC and Logic Professional initiatives
I spent per week listening to the Tea Professional by way of my common headphones: BeyerDynamic DT990 Professional open-back and DT770 closed-back headphones at house and work, and SoundMagic E11C IEMs outside and on public transport. I listened to lossy and lossless streaming and uncompressed FLACs on my iPhone 16 Professional.
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