Massdrop O2 + SDAC DAC/Amp

For the objectivist audiophile seeking a complete desktop solution, there’s the Massdrop O2 + SDAC: a DAC/amp that brings two great products together in one affordable, easy-to-use package. It features the Massdrop Objective 2 (or O2), the community’s favorite solid-state amp, alongside the Massdrop x Grace Design Standard DAC (or SDAC), a collaboration with a company long known for its incredibly accurate, transparent studio gear. The result is an all-in-one unit that measures objectively well and works with a variety of headphone impedances. Plus, its small form factor is designed to stack with the Massdrop × Cavalli Audio Liquid Carbon X Amp and other Massdrop Made audiophile products.

The Standard DAC sets a new standard in entry-level DACs. Designed with the objectivist audiophile in mind, the SDAC delivers objectively good performance meant to meet or exceed the measurements of the popular ODAC while retaining many of its other benefits. It’s equipped with the new AKM AK4452 digital-to-analog conversion chip and can process the most common file types up to 24 bit/96 kHz with no harshness or edge and the kind of resolution and detail that’ll make you want to listen on and on. It runs off of USB bus power with plug-and-play operation, which means you won’t need drivers or any special software to get started.

From 2011 to 2012, anonymous audio engineer and blogger NwAvGuy created some of the DIY audio community’s most popular designs—then as quickly as he entered that world, he disappeared. The Objective 2 is his most famous headphone amplifier, based on his sound quality philosophy and ideal circuit design as published in his 2011 post, “O2 Headphone Amp.” Made for benchmark performance at an entry-level price, something the community hadn’t seen before, the O2 is an excellent, no-frills baseline reference amplifier. It’s capable of powering everything from IEMs to the Sennheiser HD 800.

On the back of the device, you'll see a single set of RCA jacks labeled with symbols for both input and output. When you're using the USB input, the RCA jacks act as an output from the SDAC. If you disconnect the USB, you can connect analog input from your favorite DAC straight to the O2.