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Essential Audio Adapter HD now available for $149 to add headphone jack, high-res DAC

While Essential might not be in the greatest spot right now with trouble from its founder and massive layoffs, the company has just launched a new product. Ages after its announcement, the Essential Audio Adapter HD is now available.

Now for sale on the company’s official website, the Essential Audio Adapter HD costs $149. The add-on module takes advantage of the pins on the back of the Essential Phone to provide “one of the best mobile audio experiences available today.”

The adapter adds a 3.5mm headphone jack to the device which it lacks otherwise. Giving that jack a boost, though, is an ESS Sabre DAC with hardware MQA rendering. This gives the Essential Phone high-resolution audio output that you’ll struggle to find on other devices.

As for the quality of the Essential Audio Adapter HD itself, the product is made from machine titanium which the company says is “exceptionally durable.” It also has a set of LEDs which can display different colors to signify if master quality, standard, or non-MQA content is being played.

The Essential Audio Adapter HD is shipping starting today and works with any Essential Phone running Android 9 Pie or higher.

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