Element IV
interface_dac
$549
Used market: $330*
Specifications
4 of 10 values have a recorded source- Type
- DAC/Amp Combo·
- Bus Powered
- no·
- Max Gain dB
- 14✓
- Analog Inputs
- ·
- Analog Outputs
- 6.35 mm TRS headphone, RCA preamp·
- Digital Inputs
- USB Type-C, TOSLINK optical·
- Min Usb Power W
- 0·
- Headphone Output
- Max Voltage Vrms: 10.22 · Output Impedance ohms: 1·
- Max Sample Rate kHz
- 384·
- Phantom Power Provided
- no·
Expert Audio Engineering Commentary
Headroom Notes
10.2 V held flat across 600, 150 and 32 ohms - 174 mW, 692 mW and 3.2 W respectively, all at essentially the same voltage. An amplifier whose voltage does not fall as the load drops is one that is not current-limited anywhere in the headphone range, which is the whole practical difference between this and the 99 dollar Atom.
Gain Staging Advice
There is no analogue input at all: USB-C and optical only. That is why this record can be published while the Atom amplifiers cannot - a device with no analogue input has no maximum input level to publish, and the catalogue's required-field rule knows that. Gain is auto-toggling 1.0x and 5.0x, and JDS prints the ratio correctly as +14 dB.
* Estimated with the depreciation fallback (~60% retained value). · checked on 8/5/2026