Yes, it's still a two-piece system (or three if you count the phone), but it beats the three-pronged attack I'd have to use to get anything even close to it from an iPhone. I currently use this setup, alongside a trusted set of Austrian Audio over-ears and a Samsung Galaxy S21. But A&K has still found room for two DAC chipsets capable of handling audio files of up to 32-bit/385kHz resolution, as well as headphone amplification. Read that again: 32-bit… 385kHz, aka serious hi-res audio, without the extra adapters, dongles and add-ons. Sat next to any other portable DAC, it’s tiny, and it weighs around 25g. This USB-C Dual DAC is essentially two little blocks (a USB-C plug and a DAC) joined by a flexible, braided cable. And for this, its first stand-alone off-board DAC, the company has knocked it clean out the park as far as I'm concerned. As one of the biggest names around where portable music players are concerned, Astell & Kern has already demonstrated supreme wizardry with onboard DACs. ![]() Suddenly, 3.5mm headphones with smartphones are back on the menu! (Although, if you still really want a 2022 smartphone with a 3.5mm connection, look to the Sony Xperia 1 IV, which lists "Hi-Res Audio" wired and wireless support from the box, although the extent of that support isn't specified).īack to this DAC though. (Image credit: TechRadar)īut have a quick look at the Astell & Kern AK USB-C Dual DAC above. Smartphone, A&K DAC, quality Austrian Audio Hi-X55 wired over-ears: a portable audio setup not to be trifled with. Additionally, it’s not always apparent which headphone models are active and which are passive, resulting in a super sleuth detective mission to determine whether or not the whole thing will work out. But it's not a cut-and-dried, cure all solution, since the source device (read: smartphone) needs to support Audio Accessory mode – and some don't, currently. The main perk of active USB-C headphones is to prolong a digital signal state and bypass your iPhone's internal components – all that distortion from other smartphone signals and so on. Now, USB-C: although USB-C wired headphones themselves can still be a little bit hit and miss in terms of audio quality, since they can either be passive (meaning you're still beholden to the DAC in your phone for quality) or active, meaning the conversion process happens in the headphones themselves, USB-C DACs are where things get revelatory – but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Why the DAC outsourcing? The onboard digital-to-analogue converter nestling in even Apple's most recent iPhone 13 lineup cannot support those top-tier hi-res files – so you need another, better, external one to do the heavy lifting. The thing is, to have at these Hi-Res Lossless files (which, let's not forget, Apple gave to its Apple Music subscribers at no extra cost just over a year ago) on your iPhone, you currently need an elaborate wired system of components commencing with the Apple Lightning to USB camera adapter (which is limited to 24-bit/48kHz) then a third-party portable DAC to get you up to resolution, then a set of good wired headphones. Common hi-res combos here are 24-bit/96 kHz, aka the maximum resolution of Apple Music's Lossless tier, and 24-bit/192kHz – where Apple Music's Hi-Res Lossless offering maxes out. High-resolution audio is specified as any file that has been mastered above CD quality bit-rate and sampling frequency, at 16-bit/44.1kHz. USB-C chargers basically mean much easier access to 24-bit hi-res audio.īut let's step back a sec. The best sounding solution would be to get a good DAC for the iPhone and run that to the Aux input on the car.One (dual) portable USB-C DAC to rule them all from Astell & Kern. ![]() The simplest solution is plug in the phone to whatever interface the car has and play music. No matter what you use it will sound fine, especially if you use a cable vs bluetooth. Once you get the car you can play around and see what you like best. Read this, will explain some and give you options as to what to use If you don't do that, then the iPhone interface in your car will be handling the audio processing, so the quality depends on that. Next is the DAC that converts that to something you can hear, which is why audiophiles buy $100 + DACs and hang them off their phones. The iPhone audio stream out through the lightning connector will handle high bit rate music fine. If it's in the car stereo or not does not mater, I was trying to explain the connection. You are not understanding my replies, if you connect your phone using the port, you will using an external DAC.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |