Best DACs for Android in 2024

When it comes to headphone and earbud audio quality, one of the best ways to enhance your listening experience is with an external DAC. Fortunately, many of these components are designed to work with all the best Android smartphones and tablets on the market.

But what exactly is a DAC? First, it’s an acronym that stands for digital-to-analog converter. Traditionally, these plug-and-play components hook up to the USB-C port on your mobile hardware or PC. Plug a pair of high-impedance headphones in (like the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro), and you’ll hear a big boost in sound quality, compared to the audio you’d hear from your device’s internal DAC.

Essentially, an external DAC will override your Android phone’s internal components, and that’s not a bad thing. What’s inside your Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy is rather rudimentary. And there are tons of DACs to choose from, like the standout models on this list.

Top-quality DACs for Android devices

The FiiO BTR5 2021 has all the normal appeal of a mobile DAC and ample Bluetooth codec support, giving it extra functionality as a wireless headphone receiver. Support for high bit rate audio, full MQA decoding, and high impedance outputs are enough to land it on this list, but the added flexibility of Bluetooth support makes it even harder to pass up. In addition, the built-in 550mAh battery even makes it possible to use high-impedance headphones without your phone’s battery life taking a nosedive, even when it’s plugged in. All these features make the BTR5 2021 a Swiss army knife for the audiophile on the go.

With a standard 3.5mm and a 2.5mm balanced jack, the BTR5 works great for most headphones already in your collection, as well as plenty of fancy in-ear monitors you can pick up down the road. It’s also capable of playing the highest resolution files available on lossless streaming services like Qobuz, Deezer, and Apple Music, so you’d have to make a real effort to find something it can’t handle.

The Ifi GO bar is simultaneously one of the smallest portable DACs on the market and one of the most powerful. With playback modes optimized for super sensitive IEMs or even demanding cans with up to 600 Ohms of impedance, the GO bar is just as useful for popping in your favorite earbuds on the go or sitting down with your most demanding headphones for some critical listening.

While there is no shortage of DACs sporting multiple outputs, one thing unique to the GO bar is how these outputs are wired. With most balanced outputs, whether a 2.5mm TRRS connector or a 4.4mm Pentaconn jack, a second set of DAC and amp chips are used to process both audio channels separately. This normally means that the non-balanced jack will only have half the output power as the balanced jack, but since the GO bar handles this with a single DAC and amp set, the full power is always available no matter which output you’re using.

The Jsaux Type-C to 3.5mm adapter isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you hear “DAC,” but there’s still a DAC chip doing the hard work of turning your ones and zeros into music. While it’s nowhere near as powerful as the other DACs on this list, unless your phone is one of the increasingly rare ones that still comes with a headphone jack, it’s still good enough to give you a boost in quality over most Bluetooth options.

This adapter is a hard-to-beat budget combo that outclasses Bluetooth buds, costing nearly ten times as much. While having a good DAC can be a serious audio quality upgrade, this option is still closer to a baby step and will give you a good idea if a higher-quality choice is right for you. It won’t provide access to anything fancy like DSD files or even high-bit-rate FLACs, but it’s enough to try out lossless CD-quality files, and that’s a great place to start.

The FiiO BTR7 has all the same features as the BTR5, along with some spec bumps for the audiophile elitist crowd. With a larger display, bigger battery, and a 4.4mm balanced output instead of the BTR5’s 2.5mm port, it’s easy to see where the extra cost comes from. Some improvements are clearly from the land of diminishing returns and also make the BTR7 less portable than the BTR5, so it clearly isn’t for everyone.

The 4.4mm Pentaconn jack is quickly becoming more common than the 2.5mm 4-pole connector found on the BTR5, so that upgrade makes the BTR7 a bit more tempting for anyone who doesn’t already have a collection of balanced cables or cans. If you have your eyes on any of those headphones, like the Sony MDR-Z7M2, the BTR7 is one of the best pocket DACs you can choose.

The Bolt by Helm Audio is a powerful entry-level DAC with a focus on the files you’re most likely to encounter. It doesn’t have a balanced output and isn’t suggested for headphones over 150 Ohms, but those features aren’t exactly common for casual music listening. If you want to make the most of your Tidal HiFi Plus subscription, the Bolt is one of the most affordable options on the market.

While it doesn’t have volume controls, the Bolt automatically increases power to the amp whenever it detects higher resistance from harder-to-drive headphones; however, this makes it a lot less convenient to adjust the volume if your phone is in your pocket. While the integrated USB cable makes the Bolt less flexible, it’s still very small — barely any larger than a Type-C to 3.5mm adapter.

The Chord Mojo 2 is very pricey, costing as much as most smartphones, which is why it’s only for those who really want to splurge. However, the Mojo 2’s performance is on par with the much more expensive desktop DACs, with plenty of gain and clean power. You can expect to hear many details without any distortion, and the device can easily drive almost any pair of headphones.

It’s quite feature-filled as well. This DAC has its proprietary UHD DSP, which allows you to actually adjust the EQ across the frequency spectrum without any loss of quality. There’s also a nifty crossfeed function that simulates listening on speakers, a boon for those who want that more room-filling type of experience.

You can select and adjust these settings through the light-up buttons, which, unfortunately, have a bit of a learning curve. Still, that’s much more control than most other DACs offer. And there’s plenty of connectivity, including USB and optical, though Chord Electronics has elected to still use micro-USB ports, particularly for power. That said, the Chord Mojo 2 is so good that many use it as a desktop DAC as well as for the road.

The name Maktar may not be familiar to you, but NextDrive should be if you’re into the audiophile universe. They teamed up with Maktar to get the holy MFi certification — and made no delay in rolling out their masterpiece of a device: the Spectra X2 DAC-with-amplifier. Although originally built for iPhones and iPads only, this is the Android version.

This device may look like your average USB-C-to-3.5mm converter, but it is anything but. With an ESS Sabre 9118 chip, the Spectra X2 is as capable as it is efficient. The XtraSOUND technology in the circuitry produces nearly distortion-free sound at the output. The chip is also well-known for its low power consumption and compatibility. It works with both Android and Apple devices (a lightning port version is also available) and can decode PCM 32-bit/384 kHz and DSD256 11.2 MHz. All of that gets converted into analog audio at the output with a 120 dB (or more) signal-to-noise ratio; it also commands a THD+N at -105dB or less.

The Maktar Spectra X2 looks humble and simple — a black aluminum tube with a short male USB-C (or lightning) cord hanging off one end and a 3.5mm female port on the other end. We would, however, recommend you go for a model with a detachable cable option since that’s the weakest link of the chain and goes out first. There’s a tiny LED on the body to indicate the power.

What we like most is the power of its amplifier; completely USB-C powered, the device can drive headphones up to 150 ohms of impedance. The Sabre 9118 chip is an SoC that combines the DAC and amp on the same hardware, so the power draw is very low and saves your smartphone’s battery. With common headphones and earphones of 32 ohms impedance, the output power would reach 15 mW, which is more than sufficient for most IEMs.

The mid-level model from AudioQuest, the DragonFly Red, might be the sweet spot for the company. Like the cheaper “Black” and more expensive “Cobalt” models, it’s the size of a USB drive, making it incredibly portable. And, while it only sports a USB port — meaning you’ll have to add an adapter for your phone — it’s driverless, so it can work with a wide range of sources, whether it be a computer or Android phone.

Since it doesn’t have its own battery, it might not have as high of a bit and sample rate as some alternatives, but it still can go up to 24-bit/96kHz, so you’re still getting Hi-Res audio. It will also steal some battery life as it doesn’t have any of its own, but not a significant amount. As far as performance goes, there’s enough power and gain to drive any pair of headphones. Plus, sound imaging is more precise, while audio is more detailed.

One of the beauties of a solid DAC is when the manufacturer focuses on noise reduction. In the case of the S3 Pro Portable DAC, you can expect very low distortion levels and noise, along with MQA support for PCM source signals up to 32-bit/384kHz. That’s all well and good, but is there a way to determine how good those decibels will sound? Indeed, there is, and it’s in the form of a simple LED indicator light on the top of the dongle.

When the sampling rate is between 44.1kHz and 48kHz, the Pro 3 lights up red, blue for 88.2kHz to 384kHz, and pink for full MQA. You’ll also get a handy interface for connecting and controlling headphones and earbuds, and silver-braided cable jacketing for improved signal transfer.

Top-notch performance with minimal power consumption is the name of the game with the Qudelix DAC Amp. Compared to previous Qudelix DACs, you can expect 65 percent less energy usage, thanks in part to the DAC’s QCC5124 quad-core processors. But the biggest feature to write home about is the 5K Mobile App. It’s not that often that you see a dedicated app alongside a DAC, and this one boasts many capabilities.

Of particular interest is the ten-band equalizer. Regardless of your source signal, you can see exactly what frequencies are being registered by the DAC. The app also provides an intuitive dashboard for battery history, volume, charger status, Bluetooth codecs, and more. And the 5K app is the only companion software that provides real-time LDAC bitrates.

What to look for in a DAC for Android phones

The present trend is wireless technology, and it looks like the future is completely wireless, but there will always be a small but loyal niche that favors quality over portability. If you’re into audiophile-grade sound, and you want your mobile to drive your headphones, you need a good DAC. However, there are a few things you have to consider first.

Source

If the core is rotten, the apple will follow. You cannot expect good sound if your audio source has bad quality, no matter how many expensive chips you throw into the mix. (Note: Sony’s DSEE technology is trying to alter this.) In short, you need some good-quality audio source (files or streaming services) to get good-quality sound at the end of the pipeline.

There are two ways you can do this. Traditionally, you may download the lossless files themselves on your phone, which takes up lots of space and needs processing power to decode them. Or, you can use an audio streaming service that offers lossless audio for an eye-watering subscription fee.

If you download the FLAC or MQA files, you can go to HDTracks, NativeDSD, or Tidal. If you want to stream them, there’s Apple Music or Qobuz. Spotify’s new lossless tier may be worth checking out too. And keep wishing for a YouTube Music lossless upgrade.

Hardware

The converter chip isn’t the only boss in the room with DACs. In most DACs worth their salt, there will also be an Amplifier chip. This is responsible for upscaling the analog audio signal at the output, ensuring you can hear it with your high-quality studio headphones.

Most phones can handle 30–40 ohms of impedance with their 3.5mm port, but a capable DAC would push that to 80–100 ohms that can run the big guns. Confirm your headphone’s impedance value is at least equal to the output impedance of the DAC. Unfortunately, small passive DAC cords — effectively type-C-to-3.5mm converters — won’t have this.

Balanced audio

If you are looking to get the best possible sound quality from your DAC, you may want to consider using balanced audio. Balanced connections use two signal wires and a ground wire, which can help to reduce noise and interference. This is especially beneficial if you are using long cables or if there is a lot of electrical noise in your environment.

In addition to the noise reduction benefits, balanced outputs also have the advantage of being able to drive more demanding headphones. This is because many balanced outputs are wired with two DAC chips through two amps. This gives them more power and headroom, which can be necessary to drive high-impedance headphones.

Whether you can hear the difference between balanced and unbalanced audio is debatable. Some audiophiles swear by it, while others say that it is a waste of money. Ultimately, the best way to decide is to try it for yourself and see if you can hear a difference.

The right DAC for the right Android phone

An external DAC is one of the best ways to enhance your Android devices’ sound quality. For the best in the business, most folks will love the FiiO BTR5 2021. It offers unparalleled MQA decoding, high-impedance outputs, and LDAC support. We do wish the Bluetooth range were a bit better, but it’s a small gripe for an otherwise terrific product.

To take things to the next level, there’s always the ifi GO bar. This super-small DAC can handle any codec you feed it and delivers full power for all inputs. You’ll also have no trouble connecting any pair of headphones or earbuds, and the handy LED indicator lets you know exactly what sample rates you’re listening to.

If you need to save some dough though, the Jsaux Type-C to 3.5mm adapter is ideal. For less than $15, this convenient plug-and-play DAC delivers up to lossless CD quality.