The best DACs for Apple Music Lossless 2021 | Engadget

A Lightning or USB-C to 3.5mm headphone adapter often is an audio interface and most of the ones you’re buying for $7 (or that come free in the box) do not support hi-res audio beyond 48kHz / 24-bit. There are no buttons, no controls, nothing to charge.While this dongle doesn’t support 192kHz, the move up to 96kHz is still firmly in the “hi-res” audio category, and its super low profile and ease of use make it a great option for those that want an audio bump without going full-bore external DAC.Of course, this dongle is best suited to devices with a USB-C port such as the iPad Pro, MacBook or most Android phones. As noted earlier, it’s possible your Android already supports hi-res audio and a simple passive dongle is all you need, but given the price and quality of this one, at least you know what you’re getting, as the specific details of audio support for every Android phone out there are often hard to find.The downside is that this adapter won’t do much to help drive headphones with higher impedance, so it’s less suited to audiophiles who really need more power to drive their favorite cans. I used this on both an Android phone and an iMac and it worked just fine, although with Apple computers you need to head to the Audio/MIDI settings first to make sure you’re getting the highest quality available.Price: $199Max resolution: 24-bit / 192kHzApogee gear is usually found in the studio. According to AudioQuest, the maximum resolution has been intentionally limited to 96kHz for the “optimal” experience, and that’s plenty enough to cover what you’ll get from most music services.The output from the in-built headphone amp will make your phone’s audio feel positively wimpy by comparison, and the powerful internal sound processing chip delivers great quality audio with a wide soundstage across a range of genres and formats.One extra trick up the Dragonfly’s sleeve is native support for Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) files. As with the Q3, the internal battery means you won’t need to feed it power while in use (estimated eight hours) and connecting it to your phone or computer is the same; as long as you can pipe a USB cable into it, you’re good to go.Price: $160Max resolution: 24-bit / 192kHzOnly looking for a desktop option?