Yes, these devices are needed, because the audio outputs of all sorts of devices today simply are trash.
Topping DX3 Pro+[0] is my current recommendation, by the way.
As for headphones, Sennheiser HD600 really are solid.
0. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/t...
https://www.cnet.com/reviews/cowon-iaudio-u2-review/
The iPod basically couldn't output bass because their dac couldn't maintain anything close to a square wave. (There used to be online comparisons of this thing with the iPod, similar to what you linked.)
However, that was 20 years ago, and it hit -95db of hiss, 20-20khz frequency response, with way more power than is needed for in-ear monitors (which is my use case). Apple ended up shipping an iPod with a non-terrible DAC the next year (I think the touch was the first one? Can't remember).
Anyway, now you kind of have to go off the beaten path to find consumer stuff that's perceptibly worse than ideal. In particular, you can get a USB-C -> headphone dongle from apple that's actually a decent DAC for $9 (look at the THD graph. They use the $9 Apple as the cutoff between "yellow" and "green"):
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/r...
These days, if you're getting noticeably bad performance out of your laptop DAC, it's probably a shielding or grounding issue. The standalone USB DAC will fix that, but only if it's externally powered + grounded (or if you get lucky with how your laptop is wired / shielded), but so would bluetooth (which even supports lossless audio as of 2021).
Isn't the defining characteristic of a square wave the fact accurate reproduction of it requires the ability to produce high frequencies? Why would that be particularly problematic for bass?
A usb/bluetooth dac for my laptop/phone (standard phone usb-3.5mm adapter's not powerful enough either) and a toslink dac for my desktop solved all my problems. Toslink's an awesome nuclear option to buzz/noise because it's 100% isolated by virtue of being light.
I also enjoy being able to boost the bass/mess with the EQ easily.
Do some research first for your use case, but I suspect one can find one that will work for your machine + headphones.
Soundguys has a review from October up on this topic: https://www.soundguys.com/best-usb-c-headphone-adapter-10130...
It compares favorably against equipment hundreds of dollars more (focus on SINAD & Output Impedance graphs): https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/r...
But really what I don't understand is how Apple can't just add an option to turn off the damn accessibility options entirely. Why does dirt or temporary bad connections cause this problem at all? They could just let you turn off the setting that it triggers so that it really doesn't matter. The fact that they don't care enough to do that tells me enough of how much they care about making their headphone adapter a good product. I never used to have to worry about issues like this with a regular headphone jack, but I certainly do with Apple's adapter. It's simply a poor product.
If we look at the low-end, it is much worse: the cheapest Macbook Pro ($1600) gets 12CPUMark/$, while the Dell Inspiron 15 3535 ($420) gets 45CPUMark/$.
I know there's much more to laptops than their CPUs, but I think my point is still valid.
(I never had a charger or touchscreen break on me before, nor a battery wear so fast, so combined with the unusually low use, I'm pretty sure it's not my particular usage pattern that caused them to break way before due.)
Credits where they're due, though: it had a headphone jack and I loved the earphones that came with it! But what a piece of trash otherwise.
I'm sure there's good apple phones out there and our resident apple fanboy assured me I had an outlier, but I can attest that apple does in fact sell you garbage and not all the issues are hardware
Admittedly this calculus may have shifted in Apple's favor a bit when they rolled out their own silicon.
I admit, I was one of these people, but when you look at incidentals (ironically the DAC such as this thread, but also things like keyboard, calibrated display, the nebulous concept of “build quality”) Apple is comparable in price to contemporaries.
The issue is that Apple computers are built like higher end business laptops, and people dont typically buy those: they look at the spec sheet and try to buy the best bang for the buck which makes all of the quality run out the door.
Apples lowest end machines generally are priced cheaper than equivalent machines, but Apple price segments (read: gouges) on upgrades.
A high end Macbook pro 14” and a Dell XPS (55xx) are comparable in price.
> There is absolutely no reason at all to pay more for a USB DAC, at least when it comes to pure sound quality with headphones.
It does mention the possible desire for more features, of course. And it's possibly worth mentioning the power output is half of what you get from other DACs, but you should consider whether that means anything to your setup. I have a pair of Hifiman Edition XS connected to a Schiit Magni and the Apple USB C DAC, and I never put the Schiit volume above about 30%.
(As to the amp: I do hear a bit of an improvement connected to the amp vs just the DAC. It's not huge, though; mainly I like having a physical volume knob.)
1: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/apple-usb-c-to-3-5-mm-headp...
Although I must admit I did not expect the Apple USB-C to 3.5mm adapter to be so affordable. I don't have any Apple devices but I wonder if will work with Android/Linux.
Of course, I'm not saying it isn't worth it at all. That depends on one's budget and ears. But most lists see the expensive option as the best, while most peoples needs and ears have zero use for the expensive option.
I'd go so far as saying you could get 95% of the way for 10% of the price.
- one high quality capacitor: $1
- knowing where to put it: $799
[dark timeline: “knowing it doesn't matter where you put it: $12999”]This device is actually a gem for the price, and most popular recommendations will go higher in price and give you less. I have been there and done the digging, you're welcome to repeat the process.
At some point, new devices or new prices will change this. But, as far as I am aware, this is how it is right now.
If there's any money left, it can be allocated to a dac/amp combo, but priority to headphones, as they matter the most.
The four-pin versions (with mic input) tend to fall down pretty hard, though. Either the volume is so low you have to yell to get anything into the PC at all, or there is severe cross-talk where any audio coming out gets induced into the input. (Turns out people on zoom are not fans of hearing echo of themselves with a 1-second delay!)
Works out of box in ubuntu, this is how I use it: https://files.catbox.moe/755gbr.jpg
* USB soundcards used to work on Android but in recent tests they failed again for some reason
* Avoid any dongle that supports "special effects", "gaming", etc. Even if they can be disabled, it's such a pain.
* Dynamically adding/removing soundcards can affect your computer's notion of "default microphone", particularly relevant for video chat. Some apps this takes effect immediately, some after quitting the app.
I currently use a Hel day to day:
https://www.schiit.com/products/hel-plus
Lets me do work meetings with headphone+mic on one system via USB, or switch and listen to PCM audio via second input
If portable isn't needed, about the same money buys that topping, with digital encoder for volume, higher specs and better measurements... but no mic input.
As a staunch objectivist audiophile, I empathise with this view. But there's also too much of an obsession with achieving levels of dynamic range precision far in excess of the best audio recordings. Not to mention far in excess of the best human ears — let alone the typical ears of an audiophile with time and cash to burn. Perhaps most damning of all, being far, far, far, far far in excess of the noise floor of most people's listening environments.
So long as your DAC/amp gives you a solid 100 dB of dynamic range, it's time to put down your wallet and enjoy the content.