SteelSeries GameDAC Gen 2 Hi-Res Audio Amplifier (Open Box)

Due to Microsoft’s harsh restrictions on unlicensed third-party USB audio devices, I had to choose the GameDAC Gen 2, as there were just a couple options for routing audio from my Xbox to my Hi-Fi system via USB. It’s a decent option if you want to extract audio without needing an expensive HDMI extractor that supports VRR and other features. This DAC works well on Mac for Hi-Res music, which is a nice bonus. However, I noticed a noticeable hiss when there’s no audio and the amplifier gain is turned up, which is disappointing at this price point. As for latency, it’s not that perceptible like some reviewers say unless you’re playing competitive FPS games, which is what this DAC was designed for. It would be nice if they fixed this problem in a future update. Overall, at this price point, it is competing with higher-quality DACs from brands like Schiit and iFi, which offer better performance for a similar cost. I’m giving it 3 stars because while it gets the job done, the price is just too steep considering these issues.