The Best Portable DACs, Dongles & DAPs from CanJam London 2025

After spending most of Saturday digging into the impressive array of full-size headphones at CanJam London 2025 (which you can read about in my earlier report), I circled back on Sunday to focus on the portable side of the equation — dongles, DAPs, and DAC/amps designed to keep the music flowing when you’re away from the big rig.

Now, while there weren’t a ton of brand-new launches this year, what was on display proves just how far this category has come over the past decade. Remember when portable DACs felt like science projects housed in Altoids tins? Those days are long gone. The new generation of gear is sleeker, smarter, and spans a price range that goes from “under $100 and shockingly good” to “costs more than a MacBook Pro and probably engineered by someone who moonlights at CERN.”

Let’s not forget the elephant in the listening room: how many dongle DACs does it take to fill a space cruiser? Judging by what I saw on the show floor, the answer is “at least 47.” And with half the exhibitors now shipping dongles that sound nearly as good as their desktop gear, you start to wonder if the gap is shrinking faster than anyone expected.

Here’s a rundown of the most notable DAPs, dongles, and portable DAC/amps I got my hands (and ears) on during Day Two of CanJam London 2025.

FiiO Fires on All Cylinders (Again): How Many Dongles Can One Brand Launch in a Year?

Apparently, more than the Royal Navy launched frigates in the 19th century. FiiO showed up at CanJam London 2025 with enough gear to start their own annex of the show. Between the new FT7 planar magnetic headphones, desktop amps, and sources, the only thing missing was a kettle and a pot of Earl Grey.

But they didn’t leave portable users out in the cold. At the booth—run in tandem with UK distributor Advanced MP3 Players—I spent some hands-on time with the brand-new QX13 dongle DAC. This thing is miniscule, but don’t let its size fool you. It’s pushing nearly 900mW of power and had absolutely no trouble driving my HiFiMAN HE1000 Unveiled, which usually require a small nuclear reactor.

There’s no Bluetooth here, but honestly, you’re not going to miss it. The QX13 has a sharp 1.99-inch color display, sturdy metal construction, and an included leather case that magnetically mounts it to your phone like it was born there. More impressively, it features a 10-band parametric EQ via the FiiO Control app—because even dongle DACs are flexing DSP muscles in 2025.

At £199.99 (or £219.99 for the carbon fiber edition), it’s a bargain by CanJam standards. FiiO continues to answer the question “How many dongles does it take to fill a space cruiser?”—and the answer appears to be: just one, as long as it’s got a display and enough power to light up a small village.

Right next to it was the M21 Digital Audio Player (DAP). Almost matching the QX13’s drive with a power output of 950mW, the M21 features four CS43198 DAC chips and a fully balanced audio architecture. And only costs a little more than the little dongle at £289.99.

In the brief five minutes I had with the M21, its display impressed with silky smoothness—credit to the Snapdragon 680 processor running Android 13—and the sonic performance delivered superb extension at both ends of the frequency spectrum. Truly a faultless DAP at its asking price.

Astell&Kern SP4000: The Powerhouse DAP Stealing the Spotlight

On the other end of the portable audio player spectrum sits the Astell&Kern A&ultima SP4000, priced at a staggering £3,799 ($3,900) with a release slated for the first week of August.

What do you get for that kind of money? Quite a lot. Boasting a maximum output of 8.2 Vrms from its balanced 4.4mm jack, the SP4000 can effortlessly drive nearly any over-ear headphone to their full sonic potential.

When it comes to sound quality, the SP4000’s “Advanced DAR” upsampling technology converts PCM files into DSD and boosts their bitrate. The sonic impact reminded me of the iFi iDSD Valkyrie’s effect—highly detailed, mature, and remarkably lifelike music reproduction that truly stood out at Astell&Kern’s booth.

Flagship-grade components and premium materials are present throughout, though I’ll spare you the laundry list. One standout feature worth noting is the inclusion of crossfeed—a rarity not just in portable players but even among many desktop sources.

My only minor gripes were its substantial heft at 615 grams, mostly due to the stainless steel chassis, and a slightly buggy user interface. That said, the unit on display was pre-production, and I was assured these issues would be resolved before launch.

For a more detailed breakdown, read our report from High End Munich 2025.

Portable Powerhouses From Questyle: Shenzhen’s Answer to “Why Settle for Less?”

Questyle had three all-new products on display at CanJam London 2025, each with varying power outputs. Pricing details were elusive, as the booth rep wasn’t exactly eager to spill the beans.

Starting with the beefiest of the bunch—the Sigma Pro. This powerhouse claims over 5 Watts of output, which is downright insane for a device that weighs under 200 grams. It uses Questyle’s proprietary Current Mode Amplification (CMA), making it ideal for driving low-sensitivity planar magnetic headphones. Pairing it with my HE1000 Unveiled was a perfect match.

Next up, the regular Sigma also employs CMA and shares many core components with the Pro, including the AKM AK4493 DAC chip, a 4,300mAh battery delivering up to 12 hours of playtime, and Bluetooth 5.4 support. The key difference: it “only” pumps out between 3 and 5 Watts from its balanced output and comes in a noticeably smaller package. Price remains a mystery, but I’m curious.

Finally, the M18i Max is the most portable option—just slightly bigger than a pack of Tic Tacs and a bit larger than the original M18i. But the size bump comes with perks: a much larger 1800mAh battery (compared to 500mAh), extending battery life to about 13 hours. Power output is expected to improve on the M18i’s 28mW at 300 Ohms, and the glass cover on the Max version offers a neat glimpse of the internals—a nice touch for gearheads.

Cayin RU9

The Cayin RU9 stands out as one of the few portable DAC/Amps featuring tube amplification. Inside, it houses Nutube 6P1 valves, known for delivering superior sound quality in a compact form factor. To unleash the full one Watt of power the RU9 is capable of, though, you’ll need to plug it into mains power.

Weighing in at around 150 grams, it felt lightweight and the roller-style volume control was a nice touch. The sound? Well, it was… alright. Maybe the noise from the crowd around me masked the magic, but I didn’t hear the full tubey goodness I expected—just a slight smearing of details and a faint hint of warmth.

This is definitely one I’d like a second crack at. Given Cayin’s pedigree and the quality of their other gear, the RU9 deserves more focused listening time.

Campfire Audio Relay: The Portable DAC/Amp That’s a Real Surprise (Best in Show)

The Campfire Audio Relay is about as simple as they come: a compact dongle with a few buttons for media control, high/low gain selection, and both 3.5mm and 4.4mm outputs.

It runs on an AKM SEQ 4493 DAC chip and pushes up to 4 Vrms from its balanced output. Nothing groundbreaking on paper, and it doesn’t ask for an arm and a leg at £229/$229/€250.

But here’s the kicker—the sound quality surprised the hell out of me. Despite its tiny size and modest power, the Relay delivers authoritative bass and punchy macrodynamics that most dongles can only dream of. That kind of visceral impact isn’t typical in this category, no matter the price.

If Questyle thought they had the portable crown locked down, they might have a fight on their hands—this U.S.-based contender came out swinging. You can read a more detailed report about it here, but color me super impressed. Expect a full review very soon.

The Bottom Line

I’m not much of a portable audiophile in my day-to-day; I prefer kicking back on the couch and soaking in tunes from the comfort of my own home.

That said, after experiencing some absolutely stellar portable devices at CanJam London 2025, I’m more convinced than ever that these dongle DACs and DAPs can push my full-size headphones just as hard on the go as my gargantuan desktop rigs do at home.

Don’t get me wrong—desktop amps and DACs still have their place, and I’ll be diving into the best of those later this week. But if you think portable gear can’t match or even outpace some of the better desktop systems, you’re in for a huge surprise. Walking around London—or the suburbs—with this kind of high-end audio firepower was pure fantasy not so long ago. Not anymore.

Related Reading:

• Best In Show Headphones At CanJam London 2025 & Must-Hear Highlights
• Astell&Kern And 64 Audio Launch XIO In-Ear Monitors — First Listen At CanJam London 2025?
• FiiO QX13 Carbon Fiber DAC Debuts Ahead Of CanJam London 2025: High-Res Audio Goes Pocket-Sized
• Campfire Audio Launches Relay DAC/Amp: Because We Totally Needed Another Dongle DAC
• Astell&Kern A&Ultima SP4000 Drops At High End Munich 2025: Who Needs A Wardrobe When You Can Drop It All On A DAP?