Have you spent what feels like a significant majority of the last year or so sitting in front of a laptop or desktop? For those of us fortunate enough to have kept working through the pandemic, the sight of our computer – day after day after day – has become all too familiar. 

Almost all of us have probably tried alleviating the repetition by listening to some music while we work – and that will inevitably have led to the uncomfortable knowledge that our computer sounds rotten. Worse than our smartphone, even – which, as we all know, is a pretty low bar.  

So what is to be done? A desktop system complete with speakers and what-have-you is one solution – but that’s not very considerate of the other people in the immediate vicinity who are also into their second year of WFH. No, a headphones-based system has to be the way forward – just as long as it doesn’t rely solely on your computer. 

A laptop or desktop device is great for storing digital audio files. But digital audio has to become analogue audio before your ears can make any sense of it – so it needs to be dealt with by a digital-to-analogue converter (or DAC) before it reaches you. If your computer has a headphone socket, then it most certainly has a DAC chip – but the problem is that it’s a) definitely an afterthought and b) surrounded by about as much electrical and digital noise and interference as it’s possible to cram into a box the size of a computer. The chances of getting great sound from a laptop, given the circumstances, are roughly equal to the chances of getting a cordon bleu meal out of the contents of your recycling bin.

So if your desktop/laptop audio system is going to satisfy, the first thing you need to ensure is that this crucial d-to-a processing is being done competently. Here are three compact, computer-friendly digital-to-analogue converters that will take proper care of your digital audio files…   

Astell & Kern has plenty of previous where digital audio players are concerned, so you can be sure you’re in safe hands here. The USB-C Dual DAC (which we shall not be referring to by its official model number of ‘PEE51’) weighs around 25g, and consists of a USB-C plug joined to a tiny (50 x 10 x 17mm) DAC block by a braided, flexible little length of cable. On the inside, there are two Cirrus Logic CS43198 DACs capable of dealing with super-complex digital audio files of up to 32bit/384kHz resolution, as well (of course) as headphone amplification. On the outside, there’s a 3.5mm socket for connection to your headphones.

Introduce the Astell & Kern into the chain between your laptop and your headphones, and the difference in sound quality is roughly similar to the difference between a rowing boat and a speedboat. Your music gains punch, drive, dynamism, detail, sheer volume… and consequently is far, far more satisfying to listen to. 

Plus, of course, the USB-C configuration means you can plug it into your smartphone (which is probably too fashionable to have a headphone output) and put a rocket up your portable audio experience too.