Many PCs, notebooks, tablets and smartphones have a reasonable sound quality from home. But it is usually far from optimal. An external USB DAC provides assistance.
Sound quality is not something that the average PC or notebook manufacturer pays a lot of attention to. In fact, the more that is bragged about the sound quality of a notebook, the worse it often is. With many smartphones and tablets, it also sticks to some tinny and sharp-sounding shouting. Plugging in headphones quickly provides a significant improvement. But then often other defects also quickly come to light. Think of noise, disturbing background noise or just a flat sounding whole.
This has everything to do with the DAC or digital-analog converter used in computers and many mobile systems. Not the best are used for this, but the most universally used ones. Easy, because that saves a lot of hassle with writing drivers, for example. It is also all too often lacking in proper filtering of the food. It is all very basic, otherwise it will simply be too expensive. And then there is also the story about resolution and sample rate.
Resolution and sample rate
Many smartphones and tablets do not support quality that is much higher than that of the standard CD. In other words: a sample frequency of 44.1 kHz at 16 bit resolution. Those 16 bits produce 2 ^ 16 = 65536 different sound levels. In principle fine for a good sounding whole, after all we have been embracing the CD for almost 40 years for a reason. At the same time, we have also seen over the past five to ten years that audio has also started to use technical innovations.
While studios have been using, for example, a sample rate of 96 kHz with a bit depth of 24 bits or more, this is also becoming more and more common in the living room. 24 bit resolution means 2 ^ 24 = 16.8 million volume steps, quite a big difference from the 16 bits of. Music streaming services such as Tidal, for example, also offer such sound quality in stream form if desired.
Over the CD
You guessed it: you can only hear a higher quality of, for example, the aforementioned 96 kHz / 24 bit if you also have a DAC chip in your mobile or notebook that can handle it (well). And that is often disappointing. Either the maximum achievable quality is stuck at 44.1 (sometimes 48) kHz at 16 bit, or the higher resolution is available, but completely drowns in the poor sound quality of the built-in DAC due to noise and other disturbances. An external USB DAC offers a solution. Often you even see that a cheaper copy yields a significant improvement. If you plan to really enjoy better sound, check before purchasing whether your USB-DAC supports at least a quality of 96 kHz / 24 bit. That is also the maximum quality that Windows can deliver natively without having to install additional drivers.
Portable USB DAC
The portable DACs are very useful. They are often compact devices that you can easily plug into your mobile. It is important to pay attention to what connection your mobile has, and what type of connection the DAC uses. In a number of cases an adapter – for example from usb-a to Lightning or USB C will be necessary; do not forget to order it. There are also DACs specially designed for Lighting or usb-c.
Especially with the special Lightning copies you have to think carefully. Yes: it is handy, but you can only connect such a DAC to a Lightning connector. And therefore not on your Windows laptop, for example, or a Chromebook that happens to be lying around somewhere. For Appelaars it might be more interesting to invest in a more universal usb-a or usb-c DAC plus corresponding converter plug (or cable). If you buy a DAC of less than ten euros, then there is no man overboard if you can only use it on your Apple mobile, more expensive copies become very expensive.
Significant improvement with little money
Prices of external USB DACs in portable form vary enormously. At Apple you can buy a somewhat vulnerable looking fidgety cord with built-in DAC for ten euros. A mandatory part for anyone who wants to connect traditional wired headphones to, for example, a more recent iPhone. There is both a version intended for devices with Lightning and USB-C connection. The sound quality is not even bad, but it does not exceed that of a CD.
More interesting is already the Sharkoon Mobile DAC, which is for sale from Euro or 15. Considering that price, the thing even sounds astonishingly good, we can conclude for ourselves. In any case, this mini-DAC – equipped with universal USB-C connection – supports sound quality up to 96 kHz / 24 bit. LEDs in the plug indicate which sound quality is used, while for enthusiasts there is also an equalizer adjustable via a push button. In short: a nice first step into the wonderful world of hi-res audio.
The real deal
If you have more money for better sound, check the Dragonfly Cobalt agrees. It will cost you around € 300, but it delivers a sound quality that you say against. The DAC, housed in a sturdy aluminum housing, has a traditional USB-A connection, whereby a converter cable to USB C is also called a design-appropriate converter cable (the ‘dragon tail’ as the manufacturer calls it with a wink). Again, a maximum quality of 96 kHz / 24 bit, which means that you can use it in Windows without driver hassle.
Internally, the ESS ES9038Q2M SABER DAC chip used, a so-called ‘reference copy’ of top quality. Coupled with a fast processor that is also incorporated in the stick and its own stable clock generator, this – as the undersigned can conclude – produces an impressive sound. Incidentally, manufacturer Audioquest also has other – cheaper – Dragonfly’s on offer for you. For all of them, they provide a significant improvement in your (mobile) sound.
Source
It goes without saying that you can only get the most out of the resolution and sample rate if the source file also supports that higher quality. A recording in CD quality remains a recording in CD quality. However: because an external DAC (especially the better ones) is equipped with a good decoupling of power supply noise and other interference, a (much) better headphone amplifier and other extras, you will immediately hear a significant improvement.
For example, you get higher quality sound through the aforementioned Tidal, or Qobuz. Both music services also offer a hi-res subscription where you receive music in 96/24 quality, for example. If you prefer to buy individual tracks, Qobuz also offers a helping hand, or take a look at HD Tracks. For example, you can play such hi-res tracks via Foobar2000 (available for free for Windows, macOS, iOS / iPadOS and Android). In short: choose, buy, download, open in Foobar and enjoy!
Bluetooth
We hear you think out loud: ‘I want to listen wirelessly’. You can, but there are quite a few hooks and eyes when it comes to sound quality. Not every source (smartphone, tablet, computer) supports every codec. In any case, some form of compression is always used when transmitting sound wirelessly via Bluetooth. It is important to make sure that at least your device and headphones support the same compression method to avoid recompression. Many Bluetooth headphones only use the primal Bluetooth codec for sound and it doesn’t sound really hi-fi. Especially in the lower tones you quickly hear ‘pinging’ and it all sounds a bit duller.
By default, Apple uses AAC for sound compression, so if you’re using an Apple device as the wireless source, AAC is the least your headphones should support. On the Android / PC side, there is more choice. AptX is often in vogue there, although not every mobile phone supports that trick. In fact, the time-honored cable still offers the best sound quality, while the choice of components allows you to keep control over the entire chain.
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