Say Goodbye To Terrible Phone Audio With This $22 USB Gadget

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The gradual shift to digital music over physical sources like compact discs had made storing and listening to music very convenient. However, the compression that's required for making MP3s can impact the overall quality of your music, resulting in less-than-stellar sound if you're listening through your phone speakers or synced wireless headphones. If you miss the days of cleaner analog sound, it's not just possible to facilitate its return, but downright easy. All it takes is a cheap digital-to-analog converter, or DAC for short.

Whether you're unsatisfied with heavily-compressed digital audio or just sorely miss being able to plug a wired pair of headphones directly into your smartphone instead of using wireless ones, a portable DAC can solve both problems. Even better, portable DACs are readily available on Amazon for a relative pittance of around $22. Not only do these devices make it easier to plug your headphones directly into your phone, they give you a much greater degree of control over your music and audio, with features like PEQ adjustment and hi-res audio support.

Briefly, let's go over the difference between digital and analog signals. An analog signal is audio that's being experienced continuously directly through your ears. Whether you're hearing someone singing right in front of you or have a pair of headphones plugged directly into a turntable, that's a direct analog signal. A digital signal, meanwhile, is made up of compressed, isolated bits of audio data that are strung together. Digital playback is generally good, and it's hard to tell the difference in quality in casual listening, but it's definitely there if you listen for it, especially if you're using the stock speakers and parts in your phone. For audiophiles, it's quite irritating.

This is where a DAC comes in. A DAC receives the digital signal and recombines it into a single, seamless analog signal of comparable quality to direct listening. DACs come in all shapes and sizes for both stereos and desktop computers, but a portable DAC is specifically designed to be easily plugged into your smartphone via its USB-C charging port. The FiiO DAC on Amazon, for example, plugs into your phone, then provides two ports for plugging in either traditional wired or USB-wired headphones. Additionally, this particular DAC syncs with its partner app to give you direct control over your audio quality, letting you adjust frequency, gain, and other subtle factors.

If you want your digital music to sound like it's fresh out of a singer's mouth, or are just tired of having to pair your headphones wirelessly or with Bluetooth, a portable DAC is an excellent investment.