CEntrance’s DACport Pro is a portable tool designed by people who understand the needs of working engineers. Laptop audio outputs offer up questionable quality – assuming your maker deigns even to include one. One of the engineers here at Treelady Studios swears by a USB stick that combines DAC and headphone amp. Are those better than stock outputs? Yes. Can it drive all of the headphones I want to use? No. Will I break it off on a plane or in fit of clumsiness? Almost certainly. I need something sturdier, better sounding, and full-featured. The DACport Pro is more than a consumer-grade flimsy headphone amp. The aircraft-grade aluminum enclosure is built to withstand the jostling of travel. The case has some heft, and is slightly larger than a double deck of playing cards. While the DACport Pro is more sizable than some micro portable interfaces, the added thickness enables CEntrance to include XLR outputs. That’s right – real, grown-up, balanced outputs from which to run your studio monitors.
But wait, there’s more: the DACport Pro is a monitor controller you can take with you. The front panel includes six-stage stereo LED VU meters, a Mic/Line toggle, and a 1.5-inch Volume knob. The XLR output jacks live on the top cap. The opposite end panel contains a USB-C input, a meter brightness dial, a 1/8-inch headphone jack with an impedance (Hi or Lo Gain) switch, and an XLR Fix/Var control (i.e., use Variable for monitor outputs).
I found that the DACport Pro’s sound quality destroys aftermarket DAC “sticks” – both in terms of the conversion quality and ability to adjust impedance to drive any of the test headphones I auditioned. But I must confess, the combination of output meters and a gain knob is the real dealmaker. Knowing that a signal is actually reaching the DAC is invaluable when you’re in a crunch, especially since digital audio often misbehaves under deadlines.
When using the DACport Pro as a headphone amp, most of the relevant hardware connectivity is on the same side. However, the XLR jacks live on the opposite side. In use, I was left with cables running from both ends. CEntrance thought of this and included a standard .25-inch female mounting thread on the back panel. I purchased an aluminum camera mount on the internet and kept everything happy that way. On a Mac, digital connectivity just works (class compliant). For Windows, the DACport Pro supports ASIO, which is my preferred protocol. Operation is not limited to 16-bit/44.1 kHz – DACport Pro can manage up to 32-bit/384 kHz, plus DSD – another hallmark of professional gear. Not too small to get lost or damaged, and not too big to be unwieldy, the DACport Pro is a device working engineers need – especially if you’re traveling or working away from your studio.
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