The vast majority of us these days probably store our media in a digital format of some description. Whether it be a streaming service or MP3’s stored on your laptop, it’s easy and convenient. However, the drawback to this is the quality of sound. I have all my music on my laptop and my partner is constantly complaining about the ‘tinny’ sound of the music coming through the speakers. If only there were a way to get a decent sound without losing any kind of quality? Oh, wait a mo…
Of course, the Ifi Audio Uno is hardly the first external Digital to Analogue Converter (DAC) but it is pretty good at what it does. It’s really unassumingly small and can literally fit in the palm of your hand and is Windows or Apple Mac compatible. You simply plug it in to your device with a usb-C cable and then attach your headphones or speakers and away you go, better quality music! It doesn’t even need an external power source. Unlike many other DAC’s, this one uses analogue rather than digital to control the volume. This means that they are not reducing the amount of data to lower the volume and so you don’t lose out on the richness of the music or audio you’re listening to – not a bad thing at all in my book!
The software is compatible with the majority of file formats out there so you should have no problems in that regard and there are three different modes to accommodate whatever medium you’re absorbing you’re sound through – Movie, Music and Game, all with subtly different tweaks to suit. I particularly like the Game mode as it makes all those low-volume sounds that little more clear and without having to spend a fortune on super-duper headphones! Try to sneak up behind me, will you? Ha! RRP £79
- Clearer, better quality audio
- Small and unobtrusive
- Very easy to use
- Very fair price
- I’m nitpicking here really – a choice of colours would have been nice?
