- Extensive headphone support, aptX Lossless and LDAC
- You can record analog sources to external storage devices and PC.
- $899 (approx. £675 or $1,352)
Questyle is the company behind the brilliant little QCC Dongle Pro, a great audio upgrade for smartphones – it’s a tiny transmitter that adds all the important high-definition lossless codecs to phones, tablets, portable gaming devices and more. And now Questyle has launched a bigger and much more powerful unit, the Sigma Pro Portable DAC and Headphone Amplifier.
The Sigma Pro is a new version of the company’s flagship DAC, promising desktop specs and sound quality from a smartphone-sized device. Although small, it includes four sets of amplifier stages, an ESS-ES9069 dual-mono network DAC and a USB interface with 768 kHz PCM/DSD512 support and full MQA development.
Questyle Sigma Pro: Main Features and Prices
The exterior of the Sigma Pro is made of sandblasted aluminum and Kunlun glass, and helpfully, most of the front is transparent so you can see the electronics inside.
The Sigma Pro has two USB-C ports that allow you to charge the Sigma Pro while you listen, and you can expect up to 12 hours of playback time in battery mode. There are unbalanced 3.5mm, balanced 6.35mm and 4.4mm outputs, optical and SPDIF digital inputs and balanced 3.5mm and 4.4mm stereo inputs.
Bluetooth is 5.4 with LE Audio, Snapdragon Sound, LDAC, aptX Adaptive and aptX HD lossless audio with quality up to 24-bit/96 kHz. Specs that rival the best headphone DACs we’ve tested? You bet.
The discreet, fully balanced power amplifier has a maximum output power of 8W, and Questyle promises ultra-low distortion and “exceptional” sound level control.
One of the cool features of the Sigma Pro is its recording support. You can connect the 3.5mm or 4.4mm inputs to analog audio devices and then convert the audio to a digital file for external storage or on a PC or Mac.
The Sigma Pro has a suggested retail price of $899 (approx. £675 / AU$1,351) and is available in the US direct from Questyle, Hi-Fi retailers and Amazon. There’s also a cheaper model with a different DAC setup, the Sigma for $599.