Syba USB 24 Bit 96 KHz DAC Digital to Analog Headphone Amplifier 2 Stage EQ Digital/Coaxial Output and RCA Output (SD-DAC63057)

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 here The 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.

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.

I bought this around September (2019) to go along with my recently gifted Philips Fidelio X2HR and I would classify myself as a "beginner" audiophile if there is such a statement. Heard from some reviewers that this was a great cheap option for someone who doesn't have a lot of money, but would like to improve their sound and drive their headphones much better than your onboard sound card could, and for the price it does exactly that! The ability to use either 3.5 mm or 6.3 mm is nice for such a small compact DAC/amp, and it supports 3.5 mm microphone input as well for those with dual cord headset setups. I have even tested using two pairs of headphones at the same time (SHP9500s and my X2HRs) and it output sound to both at relatively high volume like a champ! Though I didn't do so for very long as I was only testing, so I don't know the effects of long term dual use as I only use one pair of headphones, nor do I know the effects on headphones with high impedance. I don't have standalone speakers and haven't used the other connections on the back of the DAC besides USB, but USB has worked great so far and I haven't had any crackling or muddy audio while using this. The sound comes out very crisp and clear, and my ears have been enjoying all the new nuances I can pick up from the music I used to listen to daily! The EQ on the front also works fine, albeit the notch is very stiff as others have stated, with three options for Treble (T), Direct (D), and Bass (B). I keep it on Direct most often for all of my listening and gaming as there is no boost to any frequencies, but there is a slight difference when switching between the "presets" if you will and the option to change based on your preferences is nice either way. The DAC itself is relatively cheap looking, so care should be taken in making sure this doesn't fall or rapidly disassemble on any hard surfaces. My only gripe with this DAC/amp is the problems it has with environments that experience more static than usual. In the room I used to have this DAC in, there was a washer and dryer a room over, but still far enough away that I never had any problems with static on any other electronics. When using this amp for the first time, it cut out on me after about 3-4 hours due to static discharge leading me to have to plug the DAC out and back in again. I eventually figured out that every time someone opened the dryer, the DAC would cut out due to all of the static electricity released into the environment, so fair warning for those of you looking at this product living in a similar situation. The DAC was never damaged, however, and worked for over 10+ hours after re-plugging it back in again, but it was an annoyance. After moving and being far away from any static sources, it hasn't cut out on me since. Overall, very pleased with this product as a temporary solution until I can afford something much better.

First Dac/Amp I've ever owned, and I'm already impressed by the sound difference compared to my onboard sound on my PC. Totally worth the money, and yet very inexpensive for a DAC/Amp combo. Seriously, go compare. Entry price for most of these is $60-80. The sound on this compared to my onboard audio is so much more rich. I can hear details in music I couldn't before. It has a switch to change from treble, to direct, to bass boost. Really nice feature. Love being able to turn on bass boost when listening to music or playing games. The volume nob on top does it's job, and it's nice to have a large nob so I can just reach over and change it on the fly. Has a mic input port and and 3.5mm stereo headphone port, so you can plug in a headphone with a 3rd party microphone, like the V-Moda Boom Pro, which is actually why I bought this unit. Works great, mic sounds clear running through this.

Sounds great when paired with the right headphones. It works best with fairly low impedance headphones. I have a couple of 32 ohm headphones that work great. This is an inexpensive way to upgrade your sound. If your on board sound has too much hiss, this will make it better.

Curently I own a FIIO E10K DAC, but it lacks a mic input. If you try to connect your headset and its mic to different input/sources (PC and DAC, for example), you get ground interference in the form of an annoying buzz. I bought this DAC only for gaming, due to good reviews in Youtube. Package is solid, the unit is well protected. It came with a mini usb cable for power and PC connectivity. After connecting the DAC, I pushed the power button of my PC and the BIOS check warned me of a USB connector exceeding its power limit. I disconected the DAC and restarted the PC. After it booted, I connected the DAC and Windows gave me a similar warning: an USB was exceeding power usage. I thought that the DAC was faulty, but I exchanged the USB cable for one of my own. The unit worked correctly. It seems that the included cable has issues, since other reviewers have had similar issues: its not the DAC, its the cable. Build quality is surprisingly good. A metal plate on its base gives the unit a good weight. Volume knob feels good. Even aesthetically the unit is not bad. Sound is ok. Noise floor is apparent at 2/3 of the volume knob. Mic works correctly. Connectivity is not an issue since the DAC doesn't need drivers. *Removed the "sound-stage" criticism, since this is something related with headphones/speakers and not with digital audio sources. It was an unfair complaint.* TL;DR: cable has wiring issues that creates a power overload in the USB connector, better replace it out of the box. Noise floor is evident at 3/4 of volume knob. After using it for several months, it has completely replaced my E10k for gaming. The mic works perfectly and that was the main reason I got this dac for. You really don't need fancy stuff for playing FPS games, as long as you can hear footsteps and there is no obvious audio distortion present. I would recomend this DAC to anyone looking to improve stock PC audio. Good budget DAC. The faulty cable is unforgivable though... how many people could have returned their unit just for the cable alone?

I bought this back in October when there were practically no reviews on this unit. There were no reviews on youtube, and nothing to guess what I was getting. I figured at $35 it was a cheap solution for the office I could use. If it didn't work I could return it, and if it got swiped by the cleaning crew I wouldn't be distraught over it. All that being said, I was only hoping it would be an ok improvement from my laptop out at work. Anything would be an improvement though as my work laptop has mono out only and sounds like literal dogpoop in my ears. After I first tried it, I was pleasantly surprised at how good it is. While it would be nice to have the amp push a bit more power, that would defeat the fact it doesn't require a wall wart. I have plenty of portable, low resistance, high sensitivity headphones to use with it. It has worked flawlessly with all them. The hardware EQ is surprisingly good too! The bass boost is nice with some of my shoutier and rolled-off bass headphones. The treble boost has a bit too much grainy-ness with the sound change for my liking though. For most headphones though I leave it in neutral position. It is overall a nice feature to have instead of not have. As I said before, this is not a wall powered amp so don't expect hard to drive headphones to sound loud. They won't. It will provide more power than the soundcard from the PC usually, but it isn't going to be a huge amount more. The mic line in is great as well for gaming setups. Seriously great. I don't use it much personally at home, but I bought a unit for a friend to use for his exclusively gaming setup and he has loved it since. He doesn't have to reach around the back of the computer to undo both 3.5mm plugs. It's all on the front of the unit on his desk. Which makes this unit very convenient. As for durability, it's lasted 10 months for me. I've moved it around a few times between home and the office, but not that many times. Still it basically sits on a desk and does the job I need it to do. I wouldn't expect it to survive being flung across a room, and nor would I attempt that. As I sit here right now I am using this Syba Sonic with Spotify premium and my Beyerdynamics Custom One Pros. Sounds and works wonderfully.

Great sound, the switchable bass/treb boost is OK though I don't use it. My only complaint, If you run super hard to drive headphones like me (Fostex T50RP Mark 3) you'll be a bit disappointed as far as an amp goes. It gets "loud enough" but that's with the knob at 100%. Everyone told me this would be fine for the T50RP mk3's, but it seems that's not quite the case. It drives them, but doesn't drive them fully. UPDATE. 17 May 2019 Unit died couple days ago. Buck converter burned out. Sent pics to company. Lasted less than a year (11 months). See pics attached. They did offer to RMA, but for such cheap price, not even worth my time. I only ran at 50-80% on the knob most of the time, always with treble boost switch on to really help with those highs while gaming. Not sure what caused it to burn out. Might buy another just to see if there has been updates to board, but also kind of want to upgrade to better option (Like Sennheiser GSX 1000). It's really a shame because the board and components really look good, and I loved the stupid simplicity of the thing.

it is very nice, but if you need more control of your sound do not buy this one go for a more advance product

Drives my DT 990s with ease. Very noticeable sound quality improvement compared to mobo. Impressive product, especially for the price.

A great budget option for gamers looking for an entry DAC/Amp combo that has a microphone input. There is no gain option/toggle and only a Treble/Direct/Bass toggle switch as a built-in equalizer. Overall, works well for my needs as someone who isn't looking to spend above $100 for DAC/Amps.

Ok, I've only had this headphone dac for a few days but I felt I had to write something soon before I forget . For £30 , this is superb value . Set up is an absolute breeze of course and once it has been run-in for a little while ..wow . Let's understand , we are not reviewing a £200 Schiit or a £300+Cambridge audio dac-Magic here , this is a cheap unit , but it certainly doesn't sound it . My sound card output was woeful , low volume output , no life to the music and only good for monitoring .. I use external audio gear for ' proper ' listening ..till I got this ! Now I feel I just can't stop my listening sessions on the PC , stretched out on recliner chair like a lazy sod ..This little headphone/ dac / increases volume by a significant amount and more importantly , brings some life to my music ..the well recorded tracks sing out , I can separate instruments , there is sense of space and time , a depth and added bass notes that may have been present in my old sound card , but I never noticed them . I'm actually enjoying music on PC again instead of it being just background filler , and guess what ...it has an digital optical ( toslink ) out connection and a digital co-ax out too ..how many much higher priced dac-headphone amps have these , very few ? ( I checked ) . You can then use powered monitors with this device if it has these inputs ..how great is that ? OK ,it's not going to replace a ' proper ' amp, or higher priced Dac/Headphone combi any time soon , but believe me , this little gem is worth every single penny of that £30 spent . If you're on the fence , don't want to spend big , give this a try first , you'll be glad you did . Five stars for me for the sheer value for money alone .

Was hesitating to buy Hyper X Clouds headset because I was told the sound wasn't so great but saw in the comments someone saying it sounded great with this amplifier and thought I'd give it a go... Annnd I don't regret it at alll ! That amplifier brings my headset to life and also greatly improved the sound of my sound system too. Great value for money and overall great product ! I recommend !