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High-quality headphone amplifier for iPhone doubles as a 3600mAh power bank

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By Nick Todorov

Published: Apr 28, 2014, 4:54 AM

High-quality headphone amplifier for iPhone doubles as a 3600mAh power bank

If you consider yourself an audiophile, and if you also happen to be an iPhone user, then here's an accessory that might pique your interest – the TechFreeR Head-Fi. It is an audio DAC (digital-to-analog converter) designed with iOS devices in mind, made to take your music listening experience to a whole new level. The gadget also doubles as a power bank with a capacity of 3600mAh, so it can also be used to recharge an iPhone on the go. Neat, huh?

So here's how the audio magic happens. The TechFreeR Head-Fi connects to an iPhone, or any iOS device, over its Lightning interface. Digital data is then fed into an AP918 audio processor, which is connected over I2S to a PCM1798 audio DAC. This chip, made by Texas Instruments, supports 96kHz sampling rate at a resolution of 24 bits for an audiophile-grade sound. At the output, a TI TPA6130 chip pumps out 130mW of clear, amplified audio straight into your headphones.

How do you get one? Well, you can't. At least not yet. The TechFreeR Head-Fi is a Kickstarter project with a goal of 35 000 Canadian dollars, and only a fraction of that has been raised as of this writing. But with over a month until the campaign's end, this audiophile-centric iPhone accessory has a good chance at materializing later this summer. A pledge of 109 Canadian dollars gets you one in either black or silver, which is a pretty good deal given the gizmo's estimated retail price of over 229 bucks.