Schiit Vestri – Schiit Audio Makes A Dongle Now
The Schiit Vestri Dongle Is Here.
Schiit Audio has really made a name for itself at the $99 price point like no one else has in the HiFi market. Even after years of growth and inflation, Schiit Audio announced this week that they will indeed be entering the small form factor/dongle market for headphone amps/DACs – with a $99 cost to boot.
The new dongle is called Vestri, after one of the mythical Nordic dwarfs who held up the sky. Schiit has created a few similar products over the years, that being compact DAC/amps, but has really held off on this most portable form factor until now. There is no traditional “screen” to increase longevity and utilizes specific LEDs under the surface to provide some easy toggle controls and volume. The Vestri includes a 4.4mm jack for balanced headphone connections in addition to the regular mini jack for the common folk.
Full press release and specs below.
More info: Schiit Vestri
More on the Schiit Vestri
“VESTRI? I HARDLY KNEW YE!
Introducing Vestri, the only Mesh™ Portable
May 15, 2026, Corpus Christi, TX. Today, Schiit Audio debuted Vestri at CanJam Singapore, and opened pre-orders for shipments beginning on May 28. Vestri provides balanced and single-ended headphone outputs, touch controls, and conveniences like our exclusive Loudness contour. Featuring Schiit’s exclusive Unison USB™ receiver and unique Mesh™ D/A conversion with time- and frequency-domain optimized digital filter, Vestri offers sonic performance far above its peers.
“I joke when I say ‘Vestri is the only dongle that matters,’” said Jason Stoddard, Schiit’s Co-Founder. “Which is beyond cheeky, but in a field of 10,000 lookalike products all using the same off-the-shelf technology, it has a grain of truth.”
In addition to Schiit’s exclusive Mesh and Unison USB digital technology, Vestri also includes a unique balanced- or single-ended output stage, with 4.4mm balanced and 1/8” single-ended headphone jack. With up to 400mW available through the balanced output, Vestri drives virtually all headphones to their peak of performance.
Vestri is a fully modern design, with a seamless milled aluminum chassis and glass front, with touch controls and no moving parts. However, unlike other portables, Vestri doesn’t use an OLED screen.
“No screens,” Jason said. “Screens burn in and are a wear item. We want to design for the next generation, not the next sale.”
Instead, Vestri uses individual lighting LEDs embedded below the glass, run so conservatively that they will almost literally last forever.
“It’s the ‘eternal screen’,” Jason joked. “If you don’t drop it in the sand or in your coffee, Vestri should last far past its warranty.”
Vestri offers an industry-leading 2-year warranty.
Unison USB ensures that Vestri simply plugs in and works seamlessly with modern phones, tablets, and even computers and streamers. Controls include volume, Loudness, invert, and NOS modes, all accessible via touch.
Also unlike most portables, Vestri is made in the USA on Schiit Audio’s own SMD assembly line in Corpus Christi.
“We’ve been making products in the USA since we started in a garage 16 years ago,” said Jason Stoddard. “No need to change anything for Vestri.”
Vestri is available now at schiit.com for $99.”
Specs:
“Power: plenty for most headphones except a handful of the hardest-to-drive ones
Noise: inaudible on all headphones and IEMs
Distortion: unmeasurable at normal listening levels; 1000x lower than the typical headphones you’re using
Heat: gets slightly warm (don’t be a baby, it only draws 1W, seriously)
Size: extremely desk-friendly
OTHER SPECS
Frequency Response: 20Hz-20Khz, +/-0.05db
Balanced 4.4mm Output
• Maximum Power, 32 ohms: 400mW RMS
• Maximum Power, 50 ohms: 320mW RMS
• Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 120mW RMS
SE 1/8” Output
• Maximum Power, 32 ohms: 200mW RMS
• Maximum Power, 50 ohms: 150mW RMS
• Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 40mW RMS
Either Output
THD: <0.0002%, 20Hz-20KHz, at 3V RMS SE, 6V RMS balanced IMD: <0.0003%, CCIR SNR: >118db, A-weighted, referenced to 2V RMS
Crosstalk: >-80dB, 20Hz-20KHz
Output Impedance: less than 0.5 ohms
USB Receiver: Schiit Unison USB™
D/A Conversion: Schiit Mesh™, a unique combination of our time- and frequency-domain optimized digital filter and a standard delta-sigma modulator, in this case an ES9018
Sample Rates and Bit Depths: 16/44.1 to 32/192
Outputs:
• 4.4mm balanced output
• 1/8” single-ended output
Analog and output Stage: TI OPA1656 x 2
Power Supply: USB powered, with +/- 5V rails via high-current dual-polarity switching regulator, with inductor filtering and local regulation
Controls: volume, NOS, invert, and Loudness, all accessible via capacitive touch buttons under glass
Power Consumption: 0.9W typical
Size: 2.4 x 1.4 x 0.44”
Weight: 4 oz”