- MagSafe for iPhone and compatible with all types of sources
- Hi-Res Audio over USB-C and receives LDAC/aptX adaptive audio
- It costs $199 / £175
In a world where higher-resolution, lossless audio is now widely available, it’s a shame that it’s difficult to get that quality of music out of your iPhone, requiring some kind of dongle if you want to connect most of the best wired headphones, and that extra device can be unwieldy in your pocket.
However, a new MagSafe-mounted DAC from Khadas may solve both problems, dramatically expanding your headphone options. And it’s compatible with a wide range of devices, not just iPhones.
The Khadas Tea Pro is a clever little thing. It fits on the back of your iPhone 12 to 17 (and presumably future models), so there’s no dongle to hang, although you’ll still need to connect it via USB if you want high-resolution audio.
You can receive sound via USB-C, an auxiliary input, or via Bluetooth, with LDAC, aptX HD, and aptX Adaptive all supported (in addition to standard-grade Bluetooth).
It has 3.5mm headphone and 4.4mm balanced outputs for wired headphones and in-ear monitors.
Kadas Tea Pro: key features and prices
The Tea Pro features a Qualcomm QCC5181 Bluetooth module and an ESS ES9039Q2M DAC with support for PCM up to 768 kHz and DSD512 via a wired USB connection. It also has wireless support for SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive, aptX HD and LDAC, although it only receives this and can’t stream, which seems like an oversight. Some of our picks for the best headphone DACs offer this flexibility.
The design is quite simple and attractive: it is a compact rectangle with rounded corners and a small 0.95-inch AMOLED status display. It also has its own internal battery with a promised battery life of up to 11 hours wirelessly and 8 hours with wired high-resolution audio. Power output for wired headphones is not specified.
I think this is an attractive design and I certainly like the neatness of the concept, but at $199/£175 it faces some pretty serious competition from respected brands, such as the Fiio BTR17 and iFi Go Link Max, the former costing around the same and the latter costing around half the price of the Tea Pro.
However, none of those devices look as stylish as the Tea Pro, so if style and order are as important as sound, it could be an interesting upgrade to the iPhone.
The best headphone DACs for every budget
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