Astell & Kern – the company best known for its state-of-the-art portable digital audio players – is making a USB-C DAC (digital to analog converter) designed to help get better sound from modern smartphones and computers that may not have a headset 3.5 mm headphone jack.
If you want to use any digital device with a 3.5mm headphone jack, you need a DAC. Older devices that had 3.5 mm headphone connectors had integrated DACs (some better than others, like LG’s famous Quad DAC system in their previous flagships).
But the death of the 3.5mm headset on modern smartphones in favor of exclusively USB-C (or in the case of Apple, Lightning ports) left a gap for audiophiles. Now, if you want to use headphones or older sound configurations, you’ll need a 3.5mm USB-C headset connector dongle – which, by default, is already technically a DAC. (In fact, some, like Apple’s $ 9 USB-C dongle, are apparently pretty decent.)
But the new Astell & Kern USB-C Dual DAC promises a higher fidelity experience, offering two CS43198 DACs paired with an analog amplifier to offer a better sound experience, with support for 32-bit / 384 kHz playback. And given the price of $ 150, it is better to offer a better experience than the $ 10 dongles from Apple or Google.
Astell & Kern says he is drawing on his experience in creating portable media players to build the new USB-C DAC, and although the DAC itself does not have an external power supply (instead of drawing power from the phone or computer) , the company says it can still drive a pair of “high impedance headphones with an output level of 2 Vrms (no-load condition)”.
The new DAC should be compatible with the “most” of Android smartphones and tablets and with macOS and Windows 10 computers. But Astell & Kern says that iOS devices – even USB-Cs like Apple’s recent iPad Pro line – will not be compatible.
The new Astell & Kern USB-C Dual DAC is available for pre-order now on the company’s website before the planned launch date in May.