IBASSO DC04 ULTRA portable DAC headphone amplifier silver MG-ibassoDC04Ultra-silver

The iBasso DC04 Ultra is a portable DAC (digital-to-analogue converter) with a built-in headphone amplifier for mobile listening. It uses two CS43198 high-end DAC chips in a fully balanced four-channel design, with a proprietary FPGA+ algorithm keeping the signal path synchronised. The unit supports PCM up to 32-bit/768 kHz and DSD512.

According to the manufacturer, distortion is as low as 0.00011%, and it delivers 2 x 980 mW into 32 ohms. The independent balanced four-channel amplifier suits both in-ear monitors and large high-end headphones. Outputs include a standard 3.5 mm jack and a balanced 4.4 mm Pentaconn connector.

The aluminium body houses a 0.96-inch colour display and is controlled with three physical buttons for volume, filter and gain. The supply voltage can be set between ±4 V and ±6 V. It connects to Android and iOS devices via USB-C, and the package includes a USB-C cable and a USB-A adapter.