DAC/Amplifiers

DAC/Amplifiers are the devices you have to look for when you have a digital source – such as a streamer or a laptop – and want to convert its digital signal into an analog signal and have it amplified to feed your headphones. Also, many DACs in a combined DAC/Amplifier are better than the DAC in your existing source, so if it has a digital output, that would make a great upgrade!

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There are DACs and there are amplifiers. Sometimes manufacturers put them together in one box, and that’s how DAC/Amplifiers are born! Occasionally, if they are feeling saucy, they add a streamer as well, but that’s a story for another day… A DAC/Amplifier is a digital to analog converter. All digital music sources requires a DAC to translate the ones and zeroes in your audio files to something that a human can appreciate. Once the ones and zeroes are converted into a line level analog signal you need an amplifier to drive the beautiful new headphones you just bought at Sound Kitchen. It’s a chain, and every link is necessary! You can buy individual DACs and amps and pair them yourself, but sometimes it’s easier to buy them together.
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Why would I choose a DAC/Amplifier over a DAC and an amp?

It’s easy! You buy it and you are more or less good to go. Plug your digital source into it, and you have glorious music. Another reason is that a genius sound engineer, or maybe a team of genius engineers, figured out that these particular components work well together, so you don’t have to put any energy in searching for synergy. They also typically take up less space. Not everyone has an expansive listening space. Maybe you need something for on your desk, next to your bed, or in your woodshed. One box is generally smaller than two.

Speaking of size, they come in different sizes.

Some DAC/Amplifiers are intended to be standard component size while others are designed to be portable or easily transportable for versatility and mobile use. A DAC/Amplifier can be as small as a dongle that hangs off your phone or as big as a VCR from 1988. Does size matter for quality? Not necessarily, but the larger ones often have more powerful amplification or more elaborate DAC implementations than smaller ones. That said, you’d be surprised what the audio geniuses can pack into a small box these days. It’s impressive.

What kinds of DAC technology do you recommend?

I recommend whatever sounds the best to you, provided it doesn’t put you at risk financially. Most modern DACs are based on single or paired delta sigma chips made by various companies. Some popular options are AKM, ESS, Texas Instruments, and Cirrus Logic. These chips take care of all the math required to decode digital files, and in cooperation with other components they ensure that the information is presented accurately and without glitchy weirdness. Another option is older technology called a ladder DAC. Sometimes they are called resistor DACs or R2R DACs as well. Instead of using a single chip to decode the digital information, the responsibility is handed off to a series, or ladder, of resistors that allow the ones and zeroes to be processed. I am not an engineer, and I’m sure some of you are wincing at my simplistic description, but this is not DAC university. It’s a place for me to tell you that some people like how R2R DACs sound, and you should come to Sound Kitchen to compare the various DACs that we sell so you can know for sure which type of DAC is more appealing to you.

Which DAC/Amplifiers do we have at Sound Kitchen?

Several! We have portable DAC/Amplifiers made by Lotoo, Shanling, and Campfire Audio. We also have small desktop options from Shanling and iFi, and Violectric. I’m not going to say that you can’t put some the larger amps on a desk, but they take up a fair amount of space. We have the Naim Uniti Atom, some larger Violectric models as well as the Niimbus, and I’d be proud to have any of them on my desk. I’d just need to clear some stuff off… Come to Sound Kitchen to try them for yourself. You may be surprised on what a difference a DAC/Amplifier can make.

Discover the ultimate sound experience: Visit Sound Kitchens shop today

At Sound Kitchens headphone store, we sell an extensive range of headphones to enhance your listening experience. Whether you need wireless headphones for traveling, earphones for sports, gaming headphones or headphones for long music sessions with your favorite tunes: we have them all available in-store. What’s more, you can try them out before you buy! Of course we also sell (portable) amplifiers, cables and other accessories that go with headphone listening.

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