Schiit Vestri Plugs Into the Portable DAC Market

Vestri takes Schiit Audio into a category it has stayed out of until now. Better known for desktop DACs, headphone amplifiers and hi-fi separates, the American brand is now aiming directly at the phone-friendly portable market. Schiit says Vestri debuted at CanJam Singapore, with pre-orders open now and shipping expected to begin from 28 May.

While the portable DAC market is already crowded with models from brands such as AudioQuest, iFi audio, FiiO and Questyle, Vestri brings Schiit’s own flavour to the category. The company is positioning it as what it calls the world’s only Mesh portable, using its proprietary digital filter approach alongside a standard ESS delta-sigma conversion stage.

Vestri connects to a phone, tablet or computer via USB and offers both 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm single-ended headphone outputs. Schiit claims up to 400mW RMS into 32 ohms from the balanced output, or 200mW RMS into 32 ohms from the single-ended output, which should give it enough headroom for most portable headphones and many easier-to-drive full-size models.

The DAC section supports PCM playback from 16-bit/44.1kHz through to 32-bit/192kHz, with Schiit’s Unison USB receiver handling input duties. D/A conversion is built around Schiit’s Mesh system, described by the company as a combination of its time- and frequency-domain optimised digital filter with an ESS ES9018 delta-sigma DAC.

The feature set is unusually tactile for a dongle DAC. Instead of conventional buttons or a small OLED display, Vestri uses capacitive touch controls under glass for volume, Loudness, phase invert and NOS mode. Schiit also talks up its so-called “eternal screen”, which uses individual LEDs beneath the glass rather than a display panel that may dim or burn in over time.

The chassis is milled aluminium and glass, with no moving parts, while the unit measures 2.4 x 1.4 x 0.44 inches / 61 x 36 x 11mm and weighs around 4oz / 113g. Power consumption is listed at 0.9W, with the device powered directly over USB.

For context, AudioQuest’s long-running DragonFly Cobalt remains one of the better-known portable USB DACs at US$199.95, while iFi’s GO link Max has pushed balanced 4.4mm output further into the affordable end of the category. Schiit’s point of difference is less about inventing the dongle DAC and more about bringing its house technologies, American manufacturing story and typically aggressive pricing into a market dominated by compact, spec-heavy competitors.

Schiit Vestri is available to pre-order now for US$99, with shipments scheduled to begin on 28 May.

For more information visit Schiit Audio