As to why this is actually happening only in Spotify I'm uncertain and would have to take wild guesses. I would HIGHLY recommend trying to get the budget for a Schiit Fulla or Fiio K3, that or just run onboard audio, it's far superior. elegant grey exterior​ Desktop DAC and Headphone Amplifier​The knobs are high quality and turn very smoothly, they’re quite enjoyable to use. We focus on education, discussion, and sharing of entry and mid level separate & multi component audio systems.

Let’s talk about one last negative before moving to the positives, getting all the bad news out of the way at once. In the case of planar magnetic headphones, at least the ones I have on hand, the K5 Pro does struggle. It is to be expected as it is powered by USB and I doubt that there is much in the way of current going on, but as soon as things like the HE400se are pushed with some strong and fast bass, you can tell that this little amp is struggling to keep up. Mine was perched a little higher off my desk on the edge of my monitor stand base, so that was a non issue for me. Unless, of course, you want to practice your español and read the Spanish version (link to blog at the end of this post). After installing, it does not behave differently to other DACs I have used in the past with Windows.

Prepare Q4, AC adapter, Micro-USB cable, Coaxial device (TV, for example), Coaxial cable (no include). The K5 Pro is a very small device, not quite palm of the hand but not much bigger either. The enclosure is completely made from metal, in a dark grey finish, with metal knobs in a silver colour. For context here are the measurements of the Sony MDR-SA3000 through the K5 Pro with various EQ settings. Well, as far as sound goes, I do feel that the UNO is slightly cleaner and maybe offers a little more detail (although the differences are minimal in this regard), especially when pushed more towards the upper ranges of the dial. With USB, optical and coaxial S/PDIF inputs can fit with most home audio systems, and RCA output can be connected to an amplifier or powered speakers on your desktop. Built-in Hi-Fi headphone amp chip can drive most 16ohm to 200ohm headphones.

The blue LED is quite bright compared to other products I own, and might be distracting for some people if placed close by or directly in front of you. I found it to be a bit distracting late at night. It comes with a pretty standard aluminium shell, however it is tastefully finished with the front facade perfectly matching the body and the text is fairly well subdued on a grey/silver version. The USB-C port is OK; the cable isn’t seated perfectly snugly, but this is a common theme even on mobile phones that cost over 1000 euros, so for a stationary desktop unit, this is more than acceptable.

The rubber feet are a nice addition that I wasn’t expecting on a product at this price point, however they didn’t prevent the unit from sliding around on my glass monitor stand base, but I still greatly appreciate the scratch protection.

Another great feature of this headphone amp is that it’s super lightweight and compact. This makes it easy to transport around with you so you can listen to high quality audio wherever you want to. Another great feature of this particular headphone amp is that it comes with a variety of interfaces. This means you can not only use it with your headphones to boost their sound, but you can also use it with multiple other devices to boost the quality of sound from your speakers. It might be the DAC that is the problem. Any DAC/amp from Schiit or Creative like their Sound Blaster G6 is great for the price. If you have the budget. Seems weird that only spotify does that. Mini Compact D/A converter, stream bit-perfect 24bit/192KHz HD with low jitter, with output, protect the circuit, safe for your expensive audio system. Full metallic shell to ensure high quality. Finally, before getting to sound, let’s mention the part that makes this device stand out from other devices that I have reviewed at similar price points… the mic input.You will need to use the supplied Micro-USB cable to power it; we recommend using the PC-USB port/5V power adapter.