A good set of input and output jacks, as well as a 2-meter-long USB cable, are also included. Its well-polished aluminum edges would never look odd in any living room. In addition, the device itself is small, light, and smooth. Its dual optical and USB input offers up to 24-bit/192 kHz conversions, which is more than enough for the home user. This reputation makes their D1 DAC into a pleasant budget-friendly surprise. While most of their offers meet the “state of the art” range, they are rarely friendly towards beginners, thanks to their price tags and complex specs. PurchaseĪudioengine is now firmly established as a cult brand for many couch audiophiles, thanks to its overpowered headphones and incredibly expensive home speaker systems. Thanks to its own volume knob and integrated mic and headphone ports, it can quickly double as a great companion for a home recording session or into an immersion superpower while gaming.

This is achieved thanks to its built-in equalizer tool, which will help you regulate bass and make the most of all the different notes hiding beneath your soundtrack. It adapts easily to both Hi-Fi earmuffs and home speaker systems, providing pleasant and well-balanced tunes. One of the most portable desktop DACs available, the Creative Sound Blaster offers immediate and audible improvements over any desktop’s soundcard. Skip the trial-and-error and check out this list with the best 15 DACs available right now. Naturally, there is a wide variety of models and prices with wildly differing output qualities. Whether you are in the business of playing music for large amounts of people or simply like to ensure the best possible quality when chilling on your own, a DAC can be the magical piece of equipment that will bring harmony back to your life. But with progress comes higher standards, and now most audiophiles would agree that “doing the job” is simply not enough if you are chasing high-fidelity, accurate sound reproduction. At least, if you had asked around in the prehistorical times of the early 2010s, most people would have pointed out that your laptop, PC, or smartphone has an internal DAC that would be more than enough to do the job. They were supposed to be a thing of the past.

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