Want proper audiophile-grade music from your iPhone? This tiny hi-res 3.5mm adapter does it for less than the price of a phone case

Date:
Mon, 19 Jan 2026 17:34:35 +0000

Description:
Questyle's ultra-affordable dongle means better sound from your smartphone, tablet or laptop

FULL STORY ======================================================================Ultra-af fordable USB-C to headphone adapter with DAC 32-bit/384kHz Hi-Res Audio support in a tiny body About $26 but we're waiting on a global release

Getting the best sound from your smartphone causes a bit of a conundrum: the best wired headphones deliver higher quality audio, but on most phones
there's nowhere to plug them in . But there's a solution: enter the dongle. (Ah, my favorite Bruce Lee movie Ed.)

A USB-C headphone dongle can give your audio a big upgrade without a big expense, and the newly launched Qlink-C from Questyle looks like it could be
a good budget buy. The Q-link-C hasn't made it to the brand's Amazon US page just yet, but it's launched in Japan with a price tag of roughly $26, and
will hopefully be available to US buyers very soon.

Although dongles are generally used for headphones, you can also use them for anything that takes a standard aux input.

And while at this price you won't get a super-elite audiophile experience or enough power to drive the most demanding headphones, moving from compressed Bluetooth to uncompressed wired audio will make a noticeable difference on decent headphones especially with the Hi-Res Audio-capable DAC at the heart of this one. Questyle Qlink-C: what does this dongle do?

Questyle is one of those audio brands that aims to have a product for every kind of buyer, and its product range includes budget buys such as the QCC Dongle Pro for wireless headphones and the premium Sigma Pro amp and DAC .

The Qlink-C is at the budget end of the range but that doesn't mean it isn't delivering a decent specification. Its CX31993 DAC delivers Hi-Res Audio at
up to 32-bit/384kHz, and it has a signal to noise ratio of 100dB. It's extremely small (12cm / 4.7inches) and very light, coming in at just 4.5g (0.17 oz), but it should be fairly tough: its cable is braided to withstand everyday use and has been tested to survive 15,000 bending cycles.

The challenge for Questyle is to stand out in what's already a very crowded market sector of the best portable DACs , with affordable dongles from the likes of UGREEN and Moondrop offering similar specs for similarly low prices or lower if you don't mind topping out at 24-bit/96kHz.

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/audio/dacs/want-proper-audiophile-grade-music-from-y our-iphone-this-tiny-hi-res-3-5mm-adapter-does-it-for-less-than-the-price-of-a -phone-case


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