I’m not that familiar with audio gear and technology, but I do know that getting quality sound from earphones almost always comes with a high price tag. I mean I’m content with the sound that I get from the low- to mid-priced speakers that I’ve owned, but when it comes to earphones, I’m not that satisfied with what I get from the products in my budget range. The DACport is certainly out of my range (and it doesn’t even come with earphones), but you might want to get it if you can afford to drop serious money for serious sound quality.

CEntrance knows that even a great pair of earphones isn’t always enough for the discerning audiophile, and that’s where their gadget comes in. The DACport is a USB digital-to-analog converter and amplifier that supposedly gives high quality audio “so good that it reveals the subtle detail in your music”, and that it plays 24-bit/96 kHz music natively, with “bit-for-bit accuracy.”

Here are some specs: 96kHz (Also supports 44.1 kHz, 48kHz and 88.2kHz) sample rates, 24-bit (Also supports 16-bit) resolution, 120 dB dynamic range, 20Hz…40kHz +/-0.2dB frequency response, +9dBV maximum output level at 300 Ohm load (8.5V peak-to-peak), -97 dB (-0.5dBFS, 1kHz) THD+N.

The cigar-sized gadget draws power via USB and requires no drivers or other software to be installed. It is encased in anodized aluminum and  comes with a belt clip and a felt carrying pouch. You can order one right now at CEntrance for $500 (USD). Again, that’s quite a lot of money, and I doubt if you’d want to pair $50 earphones with it. You can check out Head-Fi for a customer review by forum member Sasaki (the DACport and other gear in the pictures are his) for more info.

[via Everything USB]

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categories: audio  gadgets  media players  mobile tech  technology

tags: amplifier audio dac dacport expensive portable usb

January 29th, 2010 comment stumble it! digg it! by: lambert v.

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