Our guide to the best headphones DACs brings you devices that are designed to make it easy to massively improve the audio quality you get from devices such as your laptop, tablet or phone.
A DAC (otherwise known as a digital-to-analogue converter) transforms the digital music signal into something analogue that speakers can play. There's a DAC inside your phone and one in your laptop, but if you're looking to extract the best sound from your digital files you'll be amazed what a difference an external DAC can make.
The best headphone DACs are designed to plug straight into your computer or phone, and pump out excellent, amplified sound to the best wired headphones. You can get DACs that are designed for hi-fi systems, too, which require separate amplification – we've got some great options for those in our best streaming DAC guide. We're only looking at options here that can drive headphones easily, though they could all also connect to a hi-fi too (but they'll need at least a 3.5mm socket).
Headphone-focused DACs tend to be a bit smaller than a unit designed for a proper hi-fi setup, though certainly not all are – some are pocketable for listening on the go and are powered by your device, while some want to sit permanently on your desk and take power from a socket.
The best headphone DACs 2023
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The Chord Mojo was a firm favourite of ours, so it's no surprise to see the Chord Mojo 2 in our best DACs guide seven years later. It even picked up the T3 Awards for Best DAC 2022. The sequel picks up where the original left off, delivering a thrilling audio experience with all the connectivity you might want – although while there's USB-C here the actual charging happens via micro-USB. It delivers greater compatibility with wired headphones and will make your laptop or desktop or phone sound spectacular.
As we said in our Chord Mojo 2 review: "It has a sort of casual authority where dynamics are concerned that’s genuinely hair-raising. It can handle even the trickiest rhythms and tempos in an entirely naturalistic manner. It can peer deep into even the murkiest mixes and emerge with a stack of information, then lay it out in the most confident, believable manner."
Although the Chord Mojo 2 is a great desktop upgrade, it's also portableish. The battery is good for around eight hours between charges and unlike its predecessor it doesn't get alarmingly hot while you recharge it either.
This is not so much the Swiss army knife of DACs as the entire shop that sells the Swiss army knives. The format support here is just ridiculous, stretching far beyond the wildest dream of even the most ardent audiophile, and is a key part of why this won Best DAC in the T3 Awards 2021 audio category.
Its twin ESS Sabre DACs (one to handle each stereo channel) support up to 32-bit/768kHz files and DSD512 over USB. And you thought 16-bit/192kHz was exciting…
Aside from the USB digital input, you've also got two optical and two coaxial, combined with both balanced and unbalanced outputs, so whatever connection you need is handled here.
That even includes for headphones, hence its high place on this list – a headphone amp is built in, and there's a 6.3mm 1/4in jack on the front too.
On top of all this is aptX Bluetooth for CD-quality streaming, though sadly no Wi-Fi support, and no USB-C. We can live without that, though (though we wish it came with a USB Type-B cable in the box, at least, since they're a lot rarer these days than they used to be).
Between the simply superb handling of the actual audio, the small size, and the fact that it's an audiophile's dream in terms of future-proofing, it's a top headphone DAC to buy as long as you don't need portability. Here's our full Cambridge Audio DACMagic 200M review, if you want to dig further into why it's so impressive.
The EarMen Sparrow is a mini DAC for a new generation – it's truly miniature and has a USB Type-C connection as its sole digital input. It comes with both USB-C-to-C and USB-C-to-A cables included, so it's ready to go from anything.
Being no bigger than a pack of gum doesn't mean it's short on capabilities, though: it's able to handle anything from PCM to DSD to MQA – somewhat uniquely, in the case of the latter – at up to 32bit/384kHz. So we're talking serious Hi-Res Audio chops. You can then pipe out its converted sound over 3.5mm or unbalanced 2.5mm connections.
Crucially, it's an excellent performer when it comes to audio quality too. Compared to the built-in DACs of a phone or laptop, you'll hear a clear opening of the soundstage, and addition of definition to help instruments stand out from one another. The dynamic range instantly steps up too, and along with a boost in volume, it means you'll get so much more from your favourite headphones. It's really impressive from something so small, but the Sabre ES9281Pro DAC is absolutely putting in a shift – we go into more detail in our full EarMen Sparrow review.
The one downside of its tiny size is that there isn't much in the way of features – there are no audio customisations, no wireless option, no on-board volume adjustment, no additional output options. We're fine with that, given the aim of this device – it's just something you need to know.
This can be connected to your phone, laptop or any digital device with a USB or optical digital output, but it also has Bluetooth built in, so you can plug your headphones into it, and keep it totally separate from your phone. That means you can use your phone in the usual way when messaging, browsing and so on. It's portable, like the EarMen Sparrow above, though adding a load of extra features means it's a lot bulkier than that device, too.
A few years ago, hi-fi buffs would have been throwing up at the mention of Bluetooth as, clearly, Bluetooth is not a 'hi-fi' audio source. However, Bluetooth now seems to be acceptable in the hi-fi community, and most people will just listen to this and think, 'wow, my phone's music now sounds way, way better.
The Bluetooth stage employs the 'CD-quality' aptX and AAC codecs alongside more hi-fi-tastic wireless tech and a 'Cyberdrive' analogue headphone amp to get the most out of the connection. Those wanting better than CD quality sound will love the support for hi-res audio and MQA.
To be honest, I start to glaze over a bit when brands start going on about bit rates and 'balanced topology', but the iFi xDSD is without doubt a great sounding DAC/amp. It's made by hi-fi nuts, but people who aren't hi-fi nuts can fully get behind it.
With USB and mini optical digital inputs on the back you can use it with just about any other bit of kit you care to wire it to, as long as you have the right adaptors, and it does a stand-up job with them too. It's main purpose is clearly for mobile however – and that can include Astell & Kern-style digital audio players as much as smartphones, if that's your bag.
The addition of 'Xbass' and '3D' audio settings is probably a bit surplus to requirements – their effect is so subtle, it's barely there – but you can always just turn them off. The battery will last you up to 10 hours (realistically more like 6 when using Bluetooth), and they will be pleasurable hours, I assure you.
The Mojo is a real audiophile's delight, but while it's marketed – quite reasonably – as a portable device, it's only hardcore hi-fi heads who will be happy to use it with a phone or DAP. For phone use, it just can't compete with iFi's device in terms of convenience because it can only be used wired. You'll also need a USB to lightening cable adapter for iPhone connectivity, but if you're serious about your sound it's worth the extra £29. Sound-wise, you can't quibble with the Mojo. We didn’t listen to a single file – in any resolution - that wasn't improved by being fed through it.
It's expensive for a portable DAC, but given the performance is closer to its big brother, the £1,400 Chord Hugo, than the rest of the competition here. Even so, it makes practically everything sound better, and given that you can use it with your phone, laptop, or anything with an optical audio output, it's as near to a bargain as you'll ever get with a Chord product.
Pluck some superlatives from the big audio thesaurus and you'll have no issues applying them to the Mojo; intricate, articulate, fulsome and powerful all work. Easy to use, and exceptionally built in aircraft grade aluminium, it lacks a display but you can see the file quality you're playing via the power button that lights up red for 44.1kHz, green for 96kHz and white for DSD – a nice touch.
The on-board Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA processor is happy to work with any music file from 44.1kHz up to 768kHz and DoP DSD (PCM, WAV, AAC, AIFF, MP3 and FLAC). Most people listen to music from their phones, and the Mojo will do a great job for those people so long as they don't mind all the wiring and in-pocket bulk. Really, though, it's aimed at those with rather loftier needs.
The above DACs are quite portable but this is properly portable. For older readers, it's like an iPod Shuffle, rather than an iPod Touch. For younger readers, what I'm saying is, it's small.
Taking the idea of the iFi xDSD and running with it, this is actually more like a very high end Bluetooth receiver. All it can do is receive audio via aptX, AAC and SBC Bluetooth, and output it to wired headphones (or anything else you can connect a 3.5mm jack to – your car, perhaps).
You have the choice of two sonic modes: standard, which sounds perfectly alright, and an upscaled mode which, 'upscales 16-bit 44.1 kHz files to 32-bit 384 kHz resolution'.
Well, obviously, it can't do any such thing, as that would involve actual magic, but in this mode the Nano gives a noticeable sonic boost to any half decent digital audio file sent its way.
Battery life isn't amazing at around 4 hours (supposedly 8 on the non-upscaled setting, although I question that slightly having used it) but the M-DAC Nano not only recharges fully in 2-3 hours, it does so via a very hand wireless pad that'll also work with any Qi-compatible phone or other device.
At about 150 quid it's a nice little 'affordable luxury' buy, to reward yourself with. It won't work miracles but it will make everything most people have on their phones sound that bit better.
The original Zen DAC was a brilliant budget home and headphone DAC, and the second generation improves on it with a newer processor that's twice as fast and has four times the memory of the v1. It supports PCM up to 384kHz and DSD up to DSD256 and is also an MQA decoder, with full on-board MQA decoding. If you're a Tidal HiFi subscriber you'll be delighted by that.
The iFi Zen DAC V2 is very slightly more expensive than its predecessor but it's significantly better sounding: it delivers truly exceptional sound quality for a relatively low price. If you've already got the first-gen it isn't an essential upgrade, but if you're looking for a brilliant budget DAC you should definitely have a listen.
