A DAC (digital-to-analogue converter) transforms those digital 0-1-0-1-1 data into music that you hear from your headphones or speakers. There’s a DAC inside your phone and one in your laptop, or tablet, but if you’re looking to extract the best sound from your digital files, here is your Mega shopping guide for the best portable USB DAC/AMP for under $100.
Xiaomi HiFi Portable USB DAC/AMP (Fast Charging)
Xiaomi HiFi Decoding Amplifier has a 3.5mm headphone port and a Type-C fast charging dual interface
CS43131 DAC
PCM up to 32bit/384kHz
DSD64/DSD128
16-600Ω
130dB
THD-N@1KHz: -108dB DNR: 120dB
30 milliwatts per channel under a 32-ohm load, 5 milliwatts per channel under a 600-ohm load
3.5mm Headphone Output
TempoTec SONATA HD PRO Portable USB DAC/AMP
Hardware Volume Control
CS43131 DAC
PCM up to 32bit/384kHz
DSD256
128dB
Output Power: 60MW/32
3.5mm Headphone Output
iBasso DC03 Portable USB DAC/AMP
Dual CS43131 DAC
Ultra-low noise floor: <0.9µV
Output voltage: 2Vrms(300 Ohms), 1.61Vrms(32 Ohms)
Output power: 80mW @ 32 Ohms
Signal to Noise ratio: 127dB
3.5mm Headphone Output
iBasso DC01 2.5mm Balanced Portable USB DAC/AMP
2.5mm balanced output port
AK4493 DAC
THD+N： < 0.001 %( 32ohm load, 1.2Vrms)
Output Voltage： 1.9V (32 Ohm load)
Output Power： 113mW@32ohm
Frequency Response： 20Hz~40kHz +/-〇.5dB
PCM： Up to 32bit/384kHz
DSD： Native DSD up to 256x
Hiby FC3 Portable MQA USB DAC/AMP
ES9281Pro DAC
4x MQA decoding support
RGB Indicator light
PCM decoding up to 32-Bit/384kHz
DSD decoding up to DoP128
70mW output power
HiBy Music APP support
3.5mm Headphone Jack
30 levels of hardware volume adjustment.
iBasso DC04 4.4mm Balanced Portable USB DAC/AMP
Dual CS43131 DAC
iBasso Mobile App support
4.4mm Balanced Headphone Port
Decodes PCM Up To 32Bit/384kHz
DSD256 Support
Signal To Noise Ratio(SNR): 133dB
Output Power: 195mW @ 32Ω
Output Power: 4Vrms @ 300Ω
Background Noise: <0.9μV
THD+N: 0.00032%(300Ω)
THD+N: 0.00039%(32Ω)
Output Impedance: 0.12Ω
SHANLING UA2 ES9038Q2M Portable USB DAC/AMP (Editor’s Choice)
3.5mm Single-ended & 2.5mm Balanced output
ESS ES9038Q2M DAC
Ricore RT6863 amplifier
PCM 32/768
DSD512
Dedicated APP
2.5mm Balanced output
Output power: 195mW@32ohm
Frequency response: 20 – 50 000 Hz
THD+N: 0.0008%
Dynamic range: 120dB
Signal-to-noise ratio: 116dB
Channel separation: 109 dB
Output impedance: 1.6 Ohm
3.5mm Single-ended output
Output power: 125mW@32ohm
Frequency response: 20 – 50 000 Hz
THD+N: 0.0008%
Dynamic range: 122dB
Signal-to-noise ratio: 121dB
Channel separation: 76 dB
Output impedance: 0.8 Ohm
Hilidac Audirect Beam 2SE Portable MQA USB DAC/AMP
ES9281C PRO DAC
HyperStream II Quad DAC Technology
Two ultra-low femtosecond phase crystal oscillators
High-resolution sound output
MQA Decoding
PCM Decoding: 32Bit/384kHz
DSD Decoding: DSD128
Internal Resistance: <1Ω
Output Power: ≥115mW(16Ω), ≥120mW(32Ω), ≥6.8mW(600Ω)
Frequency response: 20Hz -40kHz (-0.18dB)
HD+N: 0.0003%
Dynamic Range: 118dB
SNR: 118dB
3.5mm Output Port
Zorloo Ztella Portable MQA USB DAC/AMP
ESS Sabre 9281C PRO DAC
< 2-ohm output impedance
THD+N @ 0.0006%
SNR @ 120dB
PCM sampling frequency up to 384kHz
DSD sampling frequency up to 5.6MHz
MQA Decoding
Automatic output level based on headphone impedance (1V for < 150 ohms, 2V for >= 150 ohms)
3.5mm Headphone Output
E1DA 9038D Portable USB DAC/AMP
Class-leading ES9038Q2M DAC
High-performance OPA1622, OPA1602 amplifier chips
PCM decoding up to 32-Bit/384kHz
DSD up to DSD256 natively
Premium components including Susumu resistors, Murata COG capacitors, AVX tantalum capacitors, Taiwanese connectors
Output Power: 180mW @ 32 Ohms, 200mw @ 40 Ohms, 120m@ @ 16 Ohms
SNR: -125dB
THD+N: <0.00018%
3.5mm headphone output, (Model name 9038SG3 with 2.5mm balanced output)
Helm Bolt Portable MQA USB DAC/AMP
THX Certified
Exclusive 3 Oscillator Design & Impedance Matching
PCM sampling frequency up to 384kHz
DSD sampling frequency up to 5.6MHz
Output Power: 1.1 Vrms at <150 Ohms, 2 Vrms at >150 Ohms
SNR: 120dB
THD+N: <0.0008 at <150 Ohms, 0.00013 >150 Ohms
3.5mm Headphone Output