We know you want better sound – and there are so many ways you can get that without having to pay thousands and thousands of dollars on extremely expensive sound equipment. I’m gonna let you in on a little secret – you don’t need to be rich to be an audiophile. You just have to ask for more from your music. These days lossless music isn’t hard to come by, and with more streaming services offering high-resolution playback, the only thing that is really holding people back is what they’re listening on. I’m sorry, but if you’re streaming hi-res Tidal on your phone speaker – you’re doing it wrong.
As we say time and time again, a DAC is the easiest way to improve the sound of your music. DAC stands for Digital to Analog Converter – and is necessary for taking the digital audio files and converting them to an analog signal which can then be outputted to a speaker so that we can hear them. Pretty much every consumer product like a phone or a laptop that has a built-in speaker also has a DAC. The problem with these consumer devices is that they’re not built to prioritize sound quality. They’re built to do everything WELL, but not one thing GREAT. So, for instance, like the DAC, they use cheap factory converter chips that will get the job done. But – you’re not here because you just want to get the job done, are you? No of course not, because your music, and your ears, deserve better. DACs come in all shapes and sizes, and like Mama always said: Life is like a box of DACs – except we’re here to show you exactly what you’re going to get based on what you want.
So, this is the best PORTABLE USB DACs of 2022. Criteria are 1) they have to be portable, and 2) they have to connect via USB. That being said, all the DACs in this video are portable in the sense that they either have a built-in battery or run passively from the source’s power. Also, all these DACs connect to the source via USB A or C, and in some cases as a bonus, even Bluetooth. It's a new year, and of course, we have some new gear, so let’s briefly name the DACs that make our Best of 2022 vid before we start breaking it down:
This year we have some new additions from iFi: the Go Bar, the Do Blue, the Hip DAC 2, the Clarus CODA makes a return appearance, Astell&Kern have their new HC2 DAC, the Gryphon and Diablo from iFi, and the Mojo 2 and Hugo 2 from Chord Electronics. So, let’s get to it.