These High-End Headphones Are the First With a Built-In 24-Bit DAC

[Saran999 288]

Audio Technica makes a wide range of high-end headphones that plenty of audiophiles subsequently plug directly into a standalone digital-to-analog converter. Perhaps that’s why one of their new sets of cans comes with a DAC built into the ear cup.

 

The Audio Technica ATH-D900USB uses the same 53mm drivers and components as the analog, open-back ATH-D900. But what makes it special is the 24-bit DAC built into the left ear cup. Powered by Burr-Brown amplifiers and taking a Mini USB input, the ATH-D900USB is the first pair of cans with a built-in 24-bit DAC included in the actual headset. Most of the time, these headphones will be playing music through USB, so the built-in DAC can do the usual digital-to-analog dance as well as normalize volume. But if you wanted to use these cans as a traditional pair of analog headphones, it does accept a 3.5mm jack.

 

 

 

Not much else is known about the ATH-D900USB at the moment, including how they sound. But they should be available for purchase in late 2014 for ¥37,800, or about $385.