Category
· 19 products
Audio Top-ups
Audio top-ups for your in-ears and headphones - portable USB DACs, headphone amps and Bluetooth adapters that add volume, clarity and drive from a phone, laptop or PC.
Buying guide
Which one is right for you
EarphonesThe in-ear range these DACs and adapters are bought to serve.
Premium IEMsThe demanding sets most likely to reward extra clean power.
Wireless IEMsAlready-wireless sets, if you would rather not add an adapter.
Studio & Mixing IEMsMonitoring pairs where a clean, honest source matters most.
HeadphonesOver-ear sets - the wired ones benefit most from an amplifier.
Key terms, explained
- DAC
- Digital-to-analogue converter. It turns the digital audio file into the analogue signal an earphone can reproduce. Every phone and laptop already has one; an external DAC replaces it with a better implementation.
- Headphone amplifier
- The stage that raises the analogue signal to a usable level. It supplies the power, which is what a quiet or demanding earphone is short of - not more detail.
- USB-C dongle DAC
- A short cable containing both a DAC and an amplifier, powered by the phone or laptop it plugs into. The standard solution for a device with no headphone socket.
- Output power
- How much power the amplifier can deliver, in milliwatts at a stated impedance. The single most useful number for judging whether a dongle will drive your earphone properly.
- Impedance matching
- Pairing the source's output with the earphone's impedance. Very low-impedance, highly sensitive in-ears can hiss on a powerful desktop amplifier, while high-impedance headphones need more voltage than a phone provides.
- Bluetooth adapter
- A module that clips onto a detachable IEM cable and adds Bluetooth, converting a wired pair into a wireless one. Far cheaper than replacing the earphone with a true-wireless set.
- LDAC
- A high-bitrate Bluetooth codec that carries considerably more data than SBC or AAC. Worth seeking out if you listen to music wirelessly and your phone supports it.
- SBC and AAC
- The baseline Bluetooth codecs that every device supports. Perfectly serviceable for calls, podcasts and casual listening, and the fallback whenever a higher codec is unavailable.
- 0.78mm 2-pin and MMCX
- The two common detachable IEM fittings - a flat two-pin plug and a rotating click-fit connector. A cable or adapter for one will not fit the other unless it has swappable ends.
- Balanced output
- A connection, usually 4.4mm, that gives each channel its own separate signal path rather than sharing a ground. It typically delivers more power and better channel separation than a 3.5mm single-ended output.
- ENC microphone
- A microphone built into the dongle with noise processing on the outgoing voice. It matters if you take calls on a laptop or a phone that has lost its headphone jack.
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