There are certain ways of enjoying near the highest quality music from portable devices. The most affordable method is to use an external Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) with your existing smartphone (such as Samsung A & S series smartphones). We have published a few informative articles on this topic. The first one is Basics About Digital Audio Files for Audiophiles.
After reading the article, when you start to seek the high-resolution files of your favourite tracks, you’ll realize that the situation is not different from seeking 4K UHD films. Indeed, it is worse. There are not many tracks which are available as high-resolution files and most importantly, only a few are enjoyable in high resolution. For most of the tracks, 320kbps MP3 files are enough good (sometimes better than 24-bit FLAC when a good codec such as LAME is used). Probably that is the reason for the popularity of the MP3 format. Before purchasing any gadget of audiophile-grade, have a collection of the music/tracks. The tuning of the hardware components makes a difference. Despite having 50 high-resolution tracks, you’ll need better hardware to get something sounding good.
Our second article was on how to Get Audiophile-Grade Music on Your Smartphone.
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How Portable DAC Works With a Smartphone
Nowadays, audio signals are usually stored in digital form. To be able to make them audible via loudspeakers or earphones, it is necessary to convert them into analogue signals. The USB C port of the flagship smartphones streams the digital signal without processing or conversion. An external DAC completely bypasses the DAC chipset of the smartphone.
Samsung and Apple offer “USB C to 3.5mm adapters” which are essentially DACs. You’ll not find any difference with them and an under $100 DAC in the market.
Does it Worth Spending $200 for a Portable DAC For a Smartphone
You need some sort of portable DAC to drive the standard audiophile-grade headphones and IEMs. Modern smartphones lack the 3.5mm port and even if they have, they can not deliver enough current because the amp is tweaked to save battery. Whenever you’ll add a portable DAC, the smartphone battery will drain faster.
You need something but probably most portable DAC are not superb in real life. Probably that is because of the USB C port or the cable. Brands such as Astell & Kern are not dishonest about specifications. Qudelix 5K, and FiiO BTR5 are Bluetooth-based DAC. Be it DAC or DAP, they are kind of anaemic. You better think about upgrading earphones, headphones, and IEMs.
Android’s built-in USB audio routing isn’t that great, but it’s better than nothing. Some smartphones will deliver all audio out through them without issue. That is the case with Samsung or Apple’s USB C to 3.5mm active adapters. But not all the portable DACs can easily handle all the sounds (that means you can not use YouTube, and even worse not PowerAmp).
Again, if you talk about Digital Audio Players (DAP), except few models from FiiO you will not get problem-free Android OS. This means your choices are limited and you should think about investing money. After crossing a certain level of quality, our brain probably dislikes the cheating of the immersive effect created by earphones/IEM. It starts to cap the realistic feel making the sound feel anemic & analytic.
So if you have Samsung or Apple’s converter (with the flagship smartphones), you can try something like FiiO FH15 with PowerAmp. You can use FiiO K7 (it is a desktop DAC & AMP). This is a mid-range setup and of audiophile grade.
