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Essential will restore your headphone jack for $149
Did you say you would pay anything to put a headphone jack on a phone where it was painfully absent? Essential wants you to prove it. The startup has released its long-discussed magnetic headphone jack adapter (now called the Audio Adapter HD) for a staggering $149 -- nearly a third the cost of the Essential Phone at its standard price. It's more than just a plug, of course. There's a built-in ESS Sabre DAC and an "audiophile-grade" amp that, together, promise 24-bit/96kHz audio for your high-end headphones. Still, you have to be very, very committed to pristine sound to spend this much on a new accessory instead of making do with the included USB-C dongle.
Essential's second smartphone module adds a headphone jack
Despite rumors it's up for sale, Essential is still operating as if everything is just fine. After releasing a new beta for Android P, the company has just launched its second modular accessory. The Audio Adapter HD packs a pre-amp and an ESS Sabre DAC that can handle high-resolution MQA (master quality audio) used by Tidal and other services. More importantly for most Essential PH-1 smartphone owners, it has a 3.5mm headphone jack, so they can soon dust off their favorite cans or earbuds.
