Syba USB 24 Bit 96 KHz DAC Digital to Analog Headphone Amplifier 2 Stage EQ Digital/Coaxial Output and RCA Output (SD-DAC63118)

Perfect for my needs!

My Encore mDac has been working intermittently as of late. I have the pleasure of listening to headphones for about 6 hours of my work day, so having a DAC/Amp combo at my desk is nice. However, with a 4 week old baby, my budget was super limited. I came across the Syba Sonic SD-DAC63057 and decided to give it a try. It checked all the boxes. Cheap ($37). No driver install needed (work computer, can't install anything). Enough power (100mw) to drive my IEMs and more sensitive over ears. USB only power.Full specs can be found hereThe unit features variable line outs, top mounted volume knob, optical out, coax digital out, usb in (for power and signal), mic input, 3.5mm input, 3.5mm headphone out, and 1/4" headphone out (both headphone outputs work simultaneously.The unit has indicator lights to show what signal is being received (96, 44, or 44.1), and an indicator light of sorts that flashes with the music, that comprised of a red and blue LED. Kind of neat. The unit also features a hardware EQ that includes a 7db (yes, 7db!) treble boost, a direct no EQ option, and a 7db bass boost. The hardware EQs are a bit much for me, and I find I leave the unit set to direct most of the time. However, there is one expectation. I have set of custom reshelled Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10's, and in the process, the treble took about a 6db drop. So, for that one set of CIEMs, the treble boost is just right. However, that is a pretty oddly specific scenario, and I would imagine most people won't want to use the hardware EQ.Of note, the device is always on, as there is no power switch. The volume knob has the most minute channel imbalance as the absolute lowest setting. And, there is an uncomfortable audible crackle / pop when plugging in sensitive headphones to the 3.5mm headphone out. All be it, it doesn't seem to be enough to damage anything.I have successfully used the Syba Sonic DAC/Amp with my Chromebook, MacBook Air, and my Windows 7 work PC. I have not tried it on a Windows 10 device, but after scouring the Amazon “reviews” it seems that it may not play nice with all Win10 installs so YMMV. As the unit is not battery powered, it won’t work with mobile devices.When compared head to head with my Encore mDac, the Syba Sonic unit sounds a tad better. The bass is a bit fuller and the treble has just a hair more sparkle. Detail representation is on par, if not better than anything in this price range. All in all, for $37 I am super pleased with the purchase. I love the design with the volume knob on top. And the fact that the RCA outs are variable makes this a great option for those that want a budget option to use with powered monitors.I have run the unit, as mentioned, with my CIEM reshelled TF.10's, as well as with my UM3X, Fischer Audio FA-003 wooden cup over ears, NAD VISO HP50's, AKG K7XX, and handful of other mid-range to lower IEMs. I did find that it struggled a bit to run the K7XX with any authority, but all the other headphones / IEMs I have tried have worked just fine. The only other negative is that, with the volume knob at full tilt, there is an audible hiss on most sensitive headphones (read: 32ohm and below).I would recommend this unit for anyone with a tight budget that wants a somewhat feature rich DAC/Amp. It would also make a great external sound card thanks to the mic input.

I bought this partially because I wanted better audio from my PC, but also because I wanted more granular volume control than Windows allows. The second point was especially important with IEMs. This unit has met both needs very well. There is a noticeable difference in sound quality compared to onboard audio, and the volume knob is very easy to dial in; I especially appreciate the fact that it's stepless and also that it has a fair bit of resistance. The built in equalizer settings can be fun, though I don't really see myself using them. There's no perceptible noise floor with my low-impedance IEMs, at least at the volume that I use. I imagine this could power some pretty beefy headphones, as the volume is set fairly low for me both in Windows and on the unit. The one complaint I have is that sometimes, if I'm carrying static and touch my IEMs, it will go up the cable and cause the unit to disconnect. A quick unplug and replug fixes this, so it's not a huge deal, just something to note.

The media could not be loaded. Overall, I think this USB amp is a great, cheap addon for the setup I have at work. I have a laptop in a docking station for work, and I am constantly undocking it to carry it around, but when I'm at my desk, I like my music loud and bumpin' (in my own headphones of course.) The audio device in the laptop is pretty weak, and the only options to change the sound is a general 'enhancement' option that just make everything sound like garbage. I wanted to get a headphone amp, but I need to be able to pass through the microphone on my headset at the same time for video conferencing (most desk amps in this price range lack that critical feature.) Until this, my solution was to listen to music with a portable, battery-powered amp I use with my phone, and to switch over to the jack on the laptop when I call into meetings. All that said, here's a rundown of what I think:PROS:-- directly USB powered (don't have to worry about draining a battery when laptop is undocked)-- USB interface (only need to run one cable to docking station/laptop, no worry of noise from running analog cables)-- Microphone jack (now I don't have to switch cables all the time!)-- 'hardware' EQ switch (I just leave it in bass boost mode all the time.)-- Large, easy to turn volume knob-- Visual indicator of bitrate via LED's (though TBH there isn't a difference if all you use is a music streaming service like me)-- Pretty blinky light flashes with the music when it's turned up high-- Bass boost is good quality for a $40 amp, and in general the amplification doesn't seem to distort the sound at all.CONS:-- No ability to feed the mic back into the headphone jack to hear it live. I'm used to this with my setup at home, and I find it easier to talk while wearing over-ear headphones if I can hear myself clearly.-- Line-in port disables USB audio out. Would have been nice to be able to plug my phone in and hear both it and my laptop. My phone's vibration feature is pretty weak, so it would be nice to jack it in and hear the dings and whistles from notifications instead, but I can't do that without losing the sound coming from my workstation.-- Dimple on volume knob is nearly useless. When I try to use it to change the volume, my finger almost immediately slips out unless I apply a lot of pressure. Much easier to slide my finger along the side to change the volume (thankfully the rubber feet plant the amp on my desk pretty well, so it doesn't slide around.) If the dimple was more prominent, it wouldn't be an issue.Overall, I think this amp is an excellent piece of equipment for the price, as long as your use case is similar to mine. I can see how some of the 'cons' I listed might be deal breakers to others who are used to higher quality, more fully-featured amps, but for me, I don't mind at all.