Snapshot: ddHiFi HS110 Desktop Stand

Special thanks to ddHiFi – and Lily in particular – for your continued support. Much appreciated! 

Have you ever wanted an easy way to keep your portable music player vertical and close to your sitting position without having to use one of those generic phone stands? Now you can, with ddHiFi’s latest made-for-audiophiles gadget: the HS110 HiFi Desktop Stand. 

Let’s be honest, there’s nothing ground breaking or new about a desktop stand for mobile devices. You can buy them for a dime-a-dozen at any cellphone accessory shop nowadays. Okay, maybe not quite that cheap, but certainly cheaper than ddHiFi’s $43 sticker price on the HS110. 

But when was the last time you tried to balance a modern DAP on a phone stand? Not only are the little support brackets made for phones usually curved to hold a slimline phone – and therefore too narrow for a DAP – but the stand itself generally isn’t made to hold devices than can weigh up to half a kilo (like many flagship DAPs do). 

So, it’s not such an outlandish idea after all, especially if, like me, you want to make sure your expensive audio gear is protected at all times. 

Design and build quality

The HS110 is, for all intents and purposes, much like most other metal stands. It ships in a neat box, very well padded to protect the different parts from scratches and dents during transport. 

The three pieces of the ‘puzzle’ (yes, there’s some basic assembly required) include the main cross-braced stand section (with a pre-folded tensioned support arm), a round stand base with a slot for the support arm, and a set of two sliding tabs that slot into the main section and are free to adjust as requited (more on this below). 

Assembling the pieces together is easy. First, use the included screwdriver to remove the angled screw from the support arm. Extend the arm slowly away from the cross-braces and insert it into the base. Flip the base over, and insert the screw, tightening slowly until it locks. Then, as a last step, take each of the sliding tabs and insert them padded side up into the slot on the cross-brace section, sliding one to the left and the other to the right.

That’s it, your stand is ready to use.

In use

Measuring 98mm high, 59mm wide, with a 50mm elevation and weighing in at 180g, the HS110 is both compact and lightweight. Made of solid AL6063 aluminium alloy with silicone anti-slip pads, however, the 10mm-dense base pad ensures even the heaviest DAPs won’t topple the stand over.

The design itself is a clever fusion of support rest and surface pad, with a circular inlay on the base for placing small objects, like eartips, or coiling up excess IEM cable when not in use. The cross-brace section tilts up and down for easy viewing at just about any angle, so you’re not limited to one viewing angle as is the case with many desk stands. 

Perhaps the most useful part of the design, however, is the sliding tabs. The problem with phone stands is that they generally only have a cutout for a centrally-positioned USB cable. Many music players, on the other hand, have headphone and line in/out ports on the bottom of the device, which are then blocked when using a generic stand.

The sliders on the HS110 can be freely moved along a clever vertical cut-out section, allowing you to position them in a way that best allows access to all the ports you need. They don’t have to be positioned symmetrically either, because the stand is sturdy enough to hold a DAP even when the centre of gravity isn’t flush with the stand. In this way, you can connect a charging cable, IEMs, and even a line out cable, at the same time or separately, and still use the stand correctly. 

Closing thoughts

Once again ddHiFi has come up with an accessory you probably didn’t know you needed – until you saw it. As someone who normally just lays a music player flat next to my laptop, I’ve come to appreciate the easy access and one-glance view of the playback screens of my various DAPs while working. 

As always with ddHiFi, the build quality is top notch, with clean lines and excellent finishes throughout, and a brushed finish that looks right at home next to my shiny new MacBoom Pro. The ddHiFi HS110 isn’t something I needed to think too much about either; it’s a useful, practical accessory, and I’d even recommended it over most other stands if all you’re going to use it for is your phone. 

You can buy the ddHiFi HS110 for $42.99 from the company’s AliExpress Store, Linsoul, and other leading online retailers.