VE Megatron USB Portable DAC: First Thoughts

My brain short-circuited again and I want to spend money. I thought I was over this hobby, but no, I still want an external sound card for my laptop.

My requirements were pretty clear:

• Built-in battery
• USB Type-C power
• Support for 4.4 balanced and 3.5
• Sound that’s passable
• Portable
• As cheap as possible

So, bored, I got a recommendation and found this brand called “Weiyi,” created by the guy they call “Brother Dao.” There I saw a portable DAC selling for just 299, the “Megatron,” officially nicknamed “Dawei.”

Buying this thing is a bit of a hassle. First you have to join the group chat, then give the shop clerk your group number, and only then will they ship it. Otherwise you can’t buy it at all. The group is full of users, and you can also argue directly with the manufacturer—kind of an after-sales channel?

Honestly, I really dislike this trend of creating a Discord group for every product. It feels like running a fan club, and the people in the group are a mixed bag—you’re bound to run into idiots, and you end up thinking the group is beyond saving. Fortunately, I don’t say a word in that group; I just look at pre-order info, so it’s fine.

The portable DAC shipped two days later and arrived quickly. I weighed it in my hand—pretty light. Build quality… how should I put this? Anyway, there’s a scratch on the shell of mine. The seller said before shipping that they’re a small workshop and can’t achieve a perfect appearance, so as long as it works, it’s fine. I won’t complain.

The magnesium-aluminum alloy shell really scratches easily, so I covered it with a black sticker and found some red rubber zip ties to act as feet. Feels much better now.

The machine has quite a few ports. It supports LO output, has two USB Type-C ports—one for data, one for charging—and charging even supports 60W PD fast charging. Gotta say, that’s a great civilization. LO output is toggled by a switch, and after switching, the LED on the front changes color to indicate the state.

The front has a 3.5mm jack and a 4.4mm balanced output. Oh right, and a 2.5mm balanced too. Really comprehensive.

Plug it into a computer and it’s recognized immediately, plug and play. It works with phones too. The manufacturer says it can even plug into a Switch and other things—I haven’t tried, but it should work.

Now for the sound. Honestly, I don’t think the sound itself improved much; it’s just a bit cleaner. This thing seems to have decent power and can drive some big headphones. I think the best part is the battery life. I used this thing for a good while and never found the battery dead. I don’t know if it auto-charges or if the battery really lasts that long, but the experience is quite good.

The manufacturer says the best pairing is with their own brand of headphones, but I plugged in some other large headphones and it was still OK—at least there was never an unacceptable sound signature.

Considering it uses a so-called “thousand-yuan-class” DAC chip, has such a rich set of ports, long battery life, and a 299 price tag, it should be worth it. At least at this price you won’t find a small DAC with 3.5 / 4.4 / 2.5 all at once.