iFi Audio: Portable „Hip DAC“

iFi's new DAC/headphone amp is enclosed by an aluminum case no larger than a modern smartphone and only 14 mm thick. It is connected simply by using the USB-A connection of the OTG adapter for Android or Apple's Lightning-to-USB camera adapter can be plugged directly into the USB-A port of the Hip-DAC, as it is designed as a "plug" with male contacts. A separate USB-C socket serves as charging connection for the internal 2200 mAh battery. Three cables are included: an OTG cable (On-The-Go) with USB-C plug for Android devices and PCs/Macs with USB-C ports, a USB-A cable and a charging cable type-A to USB-C. iFi indicates the battery life with 8 to 12 hours. Headphones can be connected unbalanced via 3.5 mm jack or balanced via Pentaconn. The gain is switchable to adapt to different headphone sensitivities. D/A conversion is done with a Burr-Brown chip that processes PCM up to 384 kHz clock and DSD native up to 12.4 MHz. LEDs indicate the current sound format and sampling rate via different colors. As usual with iFi, the volume is adjusted on the analog side. The Hip-DAC is now available for 160 Euro.