- MagSafe for iPhones and compatible with all kinds of sources
- High-resolution audio via USB-C and receives LDAC/aptX adaptive audio
- It costs $199 / £175
In a world where high-resolution, lossless audio is now widely available, it’s a shame that it’s difficult to get that music quality from your iPhone, requiring a dongle if you want to connect many of the best wired headphones – and that extra device can be difficult to have in your pocket.
A new MagSafe-mounted DAC from Khadas can solve both problems, however, significantly expanding your choice of headphones. And it’s compatible with a wide range of devices, not just iPhones.
The Khadas Tea Pro is a clever little thing. It snaps into the back of your iPhone 12 to 17 (and future models, probably), so there’s no dongle to dangle – although you’ll still need to connect it via USB if you want high-res audio.
It can receive audio via USB-C, auxiliary input, or via Bluetooth, with LDAC, aptX HD, and aptX Adaptive all supported (plus standard-quality Bluetooth).
It has 3.5mm headphone and balanced 4.4mm outputs for your wired headphones and in-ear monitors.
Kadas Tea Pro: key features and pricing
The Tea Pro includes a Qualcomm QCC5181 Bluetooth module and an ESS ES9039Q2M DAC with PCM support up to 768 kHz and DSD512 via a wired USB connection. It also supports wireless SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive, aptX HD and LDAC – although it only receives that and can’t transmit, which seems to be an oversight. A few of our picks for the best headphone DACs offer this flexibility.
The design is simple and quite attractive: it’s 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 lifespan of up to 11 hours wireless and 8 hours with wired Hi-Res audio. The output power of the wired headphones is not specified.
I think it’s an attractive design and I certainly like the sharpness of the concept, but with a price tag of $199/£175 it’s up against 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 around half the price of the Tea Pro.
However, none of these devices are as sleek as the Tea Pro, so if style and tidiness matter as much as sound, this could be a worthwhile upgrade for the iPhone.
The best headphone DACs for every budget
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