Custom Cable launches Herus headphone DAC

By Andy Clough
published

Compact £299 headphone DAC is made from a solid block of aluminium, designed to work with PCs, Macs and smartphones/tablets

Resonessence Herus

Here's another dinky headphone DAC (digital-to-analogue converter), this time from accessories retailer Custom Cable. The £299 Herus is manufactured by Resonessence in Canada from a solid block of aluminium.

It measures just 6.3cm long, 3.2cm wide and 1.9cm high and supports asynchronous USB audio 2.0. DXD and DSD. Apparently Herus is the Latin for 'master or lord', which seems rather grand for a headphone DAC, but who are we to argue.

Herus is designed to work with Mac, PC or Linux computers as well as Apple iDevices when connected via the USB camera connection kit, and other smartphones/tablets. There are two connections: a USB type 'B' socket at one end, and a 6.35mm stereo jack at the other.

File compatibility includes PCM audio up to 24-bit and 352.8kbps, in addition to DXD and DSD 64-bit/128kbps.

Built-in 32-bit volume control processing means Herus can control the volume itself rather than having to rely on the usually lower-quality volume controls used in playback software.

By Andy Clough

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Andy Clough
Andy Clough

Andy is Global Brand Director of What Hi-Fi? and has been a technology journalist for 30 years. During that time he has covered everything from VHS and Betamax, MiniDisc and DCC to CDi, Laserdisc and 3D TV, and any number of other formats that have come and gone. He loves nothing better than a good old format war. Andy edited several hi-fi and home cinema magazines before relaunching whathifi.com in 2008 and helping turn it into the global success it is today. When not listening to music or watching TV, he spends far too much of his time reading about cars he can't afford to buy.