Today we are taking a look at the Venture Electronics Megatron, a portable DAC/AMP based on the ESS9018K2M chip. It features three headphone outputs – 2.5mm, 3.5mm, and 4.4mm, as well as a 3.5mm line out. The Megatron supports PCM decoding up to 96KHz at 24-bits and offers an impressive 300mW of power @32 Ohms.
Disclaimer: No one paid me to make this review.All thoughts expressed in this review are solely my own.
The VE Megatron arrived in a simple bubble wrap, and I appreciate the minimalist packaging. Along with the unit, I found two plastic bags containing essential accessories. The first bag included a long braided USB-C to USB-A cable, a short USB-C to USB-C cable, and rubber feet that can be attached to the bottom of the unit. The second bag contained a clip-on microphone and impedance adapter. The microphone support is an interesting feature that I will explore later in the review. Overall, the packaging and accessories provided by Venture Electronics are practical and sufficient for the device’s purpose.
Design and build
The Venture Electronics Megatron is crafted from anodized metal, giving it both sturdiness and shielding from external electromagnetic interference. It measures 110mm in length, 75mm in width, and 22mm in height, making it a portable yet substantial device. On top of the unit, there is an inscription stating “Megatron Audio Source”
The front of the VE Megatron features a small LED. It glows green when using headphone outputs and blue when in line-out mode. The three headphone outputs – 2.5mm balanced, 3.5mm single-ended, and 4.4mm balanced – are conveniently located on the front panel. Notably, the 3.5mm SE port also doubles as a microphone pass-through. This allows users to use a clip-on microphone (that is included in the package) for gaming audio setups.
On the back of the Megatron, there is the Venture Electronics branding, two USB ports (one for charging), a 3.5mm line-out socket, and a mode switch. The switch changes the outputs from headphones to line-out and vice versa. Important: the unit does not contain a battery. Charging port is used for providing a pass-through charging to the source device when it’s connected to the Megatron.
Venture Electronics Megatron user experience and pairings
During my testing, I used Megatron with my Samsung Galaxy S10 running Android 12 and my PC running Windows 10. The device was instantly detected in both cases and required no additional drivers to operate. One minor downside I noticed was that when disconnecting headphones from the Megatron, it did not pause or stop playing music, indicating a lack of connection status feedback to the smartphone.
VE Megatron is quite power efficient and at the same time it’s a quite powerful device.
It’s clearly stated on the manufacturers website that this device wasn’t designed with IEMs in mind. So I’m honestly surprised, when I come across some user feedback, saying that there was an audible hiss with sensitive IEMs. Still I think I needed to address this point once again in this review.
VE Megatron provides 170 mW @ 32 Ohm single ended and up to 300 mW @ 32 Ohm balanced and reaches a whopping 4.7 Vrms. What makes Megatron so attractive is the ability to drive demanding full size cans on the go and because of that Megaton is a crazy value for money.
Full-size headphones
As it’s intended for full-size headphones, I skipped IEMs in my tests and went straight to full-size headphones that are not so easy to drive. Some of my headphones support balanced connection too so tested it in 2 scenarios – with SE connection and with a balanced one.
My test started with Hifiman Sundara. With a SE connection there was mostly enough power, but the presentation was lacking, even at a maximum volume. With a balanced connection there was enough power to make them sing with some additional headroom
Then I tried SIVGA SV023. With SE connection there was enough power to make it sound good with some additional headroom. With a balanced connection there was enough power to make the headphone uncomfortably loud, so at my preferred volume levels I had a good amount of headroom left.
After SV023 I switched to Sennheiser HD6XX. With SE connection there was enough power, but the presentation was lacking a bit, though there was some additional headroom left. With a balanced connection the scenario was the same as with SV023. There was enough power to make the headphone uncomfortably loud, so at my preferred volume levels I had a good amount of headroom left.
And finally I tried Venture Electronics Megatron with Beyerdynamic DT 1770. With a SE connection there was enough power to drive it to my comfortable level of volume and with some small headroom. Unfortunately I didn’t have a chance to test DT 1770 balanced, as my pair is not modded so it doesn’t support balanced connection.
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So the rule of thumb here is to use balanced cables with demanding pairs to fully utilize Megatron’s power and in most balanced scenarios I didn’t go further than 70% of volume and I still had a lot of headroom left.
The sound signature of the Megatron is natural, clean, slightly warm, and surprisingly detailed for its price point. With the added touch of body and note weight to low frequencies, the device delivers a lush and relaxed listening experience. I found that bright and analytical headphones benefited from the Megatron’s warmer presentation, while darker-sounding headphones gained fullness without compromising on resolution and details.
Conclusions
The VE Megatron DAC/AMP from Venture Electronics is an excellent value for money. Its solid build, clean and smooth sound signature, and impressive power output make it a standout choice for driving demanding full-size headphones on the go. The device’s three headphone outputs, line output, and microphone support add versatility to its functionality.
Pros:
- Good and solid build quality
- Clean and smooth sound signature
- Sufficient power for most full-size headphones
- Three headphone outputs and a line output
- Microphone support
- Power-efficient with low drain on source battery
- Great value for money
Cons:
- No hardware volume control
- Large form factor for a portable device
- Not suitable for most IEMs
- Low-powered line output
- Pass-through charging compatibility may vary with different cables
- Sound signature may be slightly warm for purists
In my opinion, the Venture Electronics Megatron is an excellent portable DAC/AMP that I recommend to anyone in need of an affordable and powerful solution for driving demanding full-size headphones on the go.
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