The Best Desktop DACs of 2023
A DAC for Every Sound System
Best Desktop DACs
#10: iFi NEO Stream Music Streaming Music Player
#9: Bricasti M3 DAC
#8: TEAC Audio UD-701N Headphone Amplifier, USB DAC, and Network Player
#7: iFi Zen Stream
Beneath its classy exterior, the ZEN Stream is a technological streamer-de-force. It has one purpose – to send music simply from the Internet to your DAC with no loss of quality. True hi-res performance of PCM384/DSD256 via WiFi/LAN. Just add your smart device as a remote and away you go. Optimized open-source architecture – works with multiple dedicated platforms, completely and perfectly future-proofed as it is constantly updated. Ease of use + audiophile implementation. Follow our simple set-up guides on YouTube. It is the bee’s knees of Streamers. ZEN Stream is a true ground-up design by iFi — the hardware and software implementation is quite exceptional: two SuperSpeed USB3.0 ports with Active Noise Cancellation II, a S/PDIF out with the iPurifier built-in, and iFi software developed with Volumio open-source as the starting point, then coded and optimized to achieve the purest streaming software bar none. These are some of the factors behind why the ZEN Stream is at the cutting edge handling PCM384/DSD256 on LAN and WiFi (802.11n, with 100Mbps on 5Ghz).
The ZEN Stream has one of the most fully-optimized software platforms in the world. From the device’s drivers to the kernel (the heart of the operating system), to the shell (which interfaces with the kernel), to the applications and the user interface — everything is fully optimized for seamless operation and excellent sonic performance. An ingenious part of the ZEN Stream’s design is the ability to select between ‘Exclusive’ modes – individual settings dedicated to specific modes of operation to deliver the purest possible performance. All other programs are shut down – to minimize ‘software jitter’ — an often overlooked aspect that negatively impacts the quality of computer audio playback. This ensures that the ZEN Stream is not merely a ‘jack of all trades’, but a master of all too.
#6: Auris Audio Euterpe DAC & Headphone Amp
#5: Matrix Audio X-SABRE 3 DAC
#4: Chord Electronics Qutest DAC
#3: Chord Electronics Hugo TT 2 DAC & Headphone Amp
#2: dCS LINA Network DAC
#1: Chord Electronics Hugo 2 DAC Headphone Amp
Honorable Mentions
Honorable Mention #1: iFi Gryphon Headphone Amp DAC
Honorable Mention #2: Chord Electronics Mojo 2 DAC Headphone Amplifier
Dragon Cables