Feel like your headphones are falling flat at your desk? This five-star DAC could be just what you need

Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M lifestyle with Sennheiser headphones — (Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

We’ve all been there: that sinking feeling as you plug in a new pair of headphones to your laptop, only to find they aren’t quite what you imagined.

It’s a tough situation – especially if you have already thrown away the receipt – but before you rule out your latest cans, you might want to invest in a dedicated digital-to-analogue converter, or DAC, which will boost the sound quality of the digital music stored on your laptop.

Starting this Prime Week, Cambridge Audio has you covered with a £50 discount on its five-star DacMagic 200M headphone amplifier/DAC. It’s available for just £299 right now at Amazon.

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Whether you are looking to use this versatile DAC alongside your main hi-fi rig or as part of a desktop setup, having a good quality DAC will make all the difference to the sound of your music library.

Cambridge Audio’s DacMagic 200M isn’t short on connectivity. With twin coaxial (up to 24-bit/192kHz hi-res file support) and optical (up to 24-bit/96kHz) inputs for digital sources, a USB-B socket (32-bit/768kHz, DSD512) for hooking up to a laptop, and balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA analogue connections, there’s not much this DAC can’t handle that we would want it to.

In-built support for aptX Bluetooth also makes this a convenient option for streaming to wireless headphones, and a 6.3mm headphone socket lets you plug and play, straight from your desk.

We found the DacMagic 200M’s sound to be characteristic of Cambridge Audio's other products, presenting a “full, smooth tonality that’s complemented by an open, expressive and authoritative manner”.

While that sense of authority was most apparent in the “rich punchy” low end, we felt this DAC has a “nicely proportioned, equally talented frequency range”, which allowed us to “sit back and enjoy the music”, irrespective of genre.

And its flexibility doesn’t end there; the DacMagic 200M sounds great paired with most sources. Hi-res audio really shows off what it can do, revealing textures and details that other equipment might miss, but even while streaming via Bluetooth, we described its performance as “exemplary”.

The DacMagic 200M isn’t exactly a fresh face – we tested it back in 2021 – but it remains an excellent desktop DAC. And it can be yours today for a great deal price of just £299 from Amazon and Cambridge Audio.

MORE:

Read the full Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M review

Check out our best DACs 2026: USB, desktop and portable digital-to-analogue converters

Take a look at our Prime Day Hi-Fi hub

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Ioan Hazell is a staff writer at What Hi-Fi?. He has previously written for The Sunday Times Culture Magazine, Museum's Journal, and a number of arts and culture publications. Outside of work, he is generally found running, writing, or gigging.