[Trasselkalle]

For the times that I travel far, I don't like to carry my portable dac both as it adds bulk and the battery situation. I would instead just want a simple USB-C to 3.5 dac adapter for those situations. Are there any that stand out, or is it pretty much the same level whatever you get? It is tricky to find reliable info on from ppl that actually know serious headphones.

I tried various searches with limited success. I hope I didn't go blind, and if I did I welcome pointers to such threads.

Cheers!

 

[Will Chiu]

I was using the nexum aqua. It has a really nice sound (I would say it is much better than the ak xb10). It also has a nice output power. However, mine has a little issue a while ago, which is that sometimes my phone cant recognize it. So most of the time I was enjoying it

 

[rkw]

I would instead just want a simple USB-C to 3.5 dac adapter for those situations.

What headphones do you want to drive with it? Is your USB-C source a phone or computer?

I suggest a FiiO BTR3 or Radsone EarStudio ES100. You would use a short USB cable between your source and the device — USB-C to USB-C (BTR3) or USB-C to micro USB (ES100). These devices can function as either a USB DAC-amp or as a Bluetooth receiver.

 

[Trasselkalle]

Thank you both. It is from my phone, yes. I have a portable amp already, so what I was interested in was just the bare minimum cable with usb-c to 3.5mm with a decent dac for when I want to travel without the amp. I have several different headphones, but e.g. the MrSpeaker Aeon (closed back) is getting much use lately.

 

[rkw]

Thank you both. It is from my phone, yes. I have a portable amp already, so what I was interested in was just the bare minimum cable with usb-c to 3.5mm with a decent dac for when I want to travel without the amp. I have several different headphones, but e.g. the MrSpeaker Aeon (closed back) is getting much use lately.

Here's one that has been discussed on head-fi: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hidizs-sonata-hd-dac-cable-new-tiny-and-mighty-dac-amp.880478/

If you want better sound quality or need more power for the headphone, you can get the BTR3 or ES100 as I mentioned. They are tiny devices but you must provide your own short cable to connect to your phone (such as this for the BTR3 or this for the ES100). They can operate as either a USB DAC or wirelessly as a bluetooth receiver.