When we lust over aspirational recording gear, what often comes to mind are vintage hunks of steel and vacuum tubes from the likes of Fairchild, Telefunken, Neumann, RCA, Pultec, Collins, and Altec. On the contrary, I want to mention two unsung audio products that are unapologetically modern and as unflattering as a miniaturized dongle can be: CEntrance DACport HD and Google Chromecast Audio.
The former was off market for a few years, and the latter was discontinued three years after it was launched. Post-pandemic, I'm traveling regularly by air again, and I like to pack light, so my portable rig is appropriately compact, with a Microsoft Surface Pro 8 LTE 2-in-1 tablet as my primary computer. With a Core i7 processor, 16 GB RAM, and a 1 TB SSD, it has plenty of power to run Steinberg's Cubase Pro for music production and WaveLab Pro for mastering, plus Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve for video editing. Although the Surface Pro is equipped with a headphone output, I prefer the low latency and superior sound quality of ASIO interfaces when I'm performing any audio work. At my desks, I have RME and Steinberg interfaces, but in my backpack I carry a CEntrance DACport HD <centrance.com>. It's a USB DAC and headphone amp that's not much bigger than a disposable lighter. Importantly, CEntrance publishes a rock-stable, low-latency ASIO driver for it, which means I can use the DACport HD with my favorite DAW and video applications. Its Class A amplification sounds great, and it's capable of delivering almost 400 mW into 32 Ω. Its output impedance is less than 2 Ω, and it powers low-impedance headphones with ease. For example, my Air Motion Transformer–equipped HEDDphone plugged into the DACport HD at maximum volume can be heard from the next room over! With that said, I usually employ my Stealth Sonics C9 IEMs [Tape Op#127] when I'm on the road. Because the unit draws a minimum of 1.2 W at idle from the connected USB port, the DACport HD is best suited for laptops. But I've also used it to drive my IEMs while listening on my mobile phone; the phone's battery just drains quicker than it does with Bluetooth earbuds.