Helm Audio Bolt DAC/AMP, USB-C Portable High-End DAC/Headphone Amplifier with MQA Playback. Mobile Studio Sound for Android, iOS and PC. USB-C to 3.5mm Audio

A lot of people are incorrectly using the Helm and they have problems with it. YOU MUST OPEN YOUR TIDAL MUSIC APP (or other brand) FIRST BEFORE YOU PLUG IN THE HELM BOLT. This will solve a lot of people's problems with the device. Secondly, you can update the Bolt's firmware using your computer. Helm's website says that their latest firmware update will fix low volume problems that some people experience.

I plan on getting an external DAC for my mobile device since I subscribed to Tidal. I've also tried Amazon HD, but I chose Tidal way back when they first started getting attention for personal reasons. Of course, you can only stream their higher quality tracks (higher bit rate) with a device that can utilize HD formats. This was near impossible for mobile devices then, but fast forward to the present, by chance, I encountered some DACs on Amazon that were made for this.After looking around I decided on the Helm Audio Bolt DAC, USB C because of it's small size and good reviews. Long story short, I love it, and it improves the sound quality of my Pixel 8. I use it in my car with headphones, Final E5000, and Audio-Technica ATH-M20X. The E5000 pairs very well with the Bolt, the AT not so well yet, but I'm hoping after some tuning I can get it to run well.If you're looking for a DAC for your mobile device, I highly recommend the HELM Audio Bolt. There's a lot to choose from, so I would do research, but this product has my backing.

This DAC initially seemed like a great value. Right out of the box, it worked and sounded great on my PC. Unfortunately, it would not work at all on my Android phone. I tried to update firmware but the process was complex and probably impossible on my operating system. I then went to try it again on my PC and it would not work at all. It is possible that my unit was defective but did not want to take a chance on exchanging it for another unit. I am returning it after less than 24 hours.

In my opinion I'd disregard the negative reviews. I've used it with two separate phones, two DAPs and used Poweramp (sounds phenomenal), Tidal and Spotify specifically sounds ten times better. There's a fullness the THX adds, boosts the bass yet still keeps the clarity that I love in my music. I own all of DDHifi DACs and anything Cirrus Logic uses as well as GU Craftsman and to my ears this DAC is the clear winner.

On 3 April 2023, MQA Limited, the company behind MQA had gone into administration.As of July 24, 2024, music in the MQA or 360 Reality Audio formats is no longer accessible via any TIDAL application or integration.Does it still work well for everything else? Yes, it is a very respectable DAC for the small size of it and I notice a big difference in my music when using it.So you loose 2 stars in my book for MQA, but keep 3 because I still find it useful due to it being so portable.

This review is for individuals who own quality IEM's, earbuds, or headphones. If you don't, the Helm Audio Bolt is probably useless.If you plan on using this with your laptop the sound quality boost is worth it - at least it was for mine. I don't know if it's $100 worth it but it's close enough. It definitely made a noticeable and pleasing difference using my Shure SE 535's on my Asus: deeper bass, better instrument separation, a bit clearer and a wider soundstage. Using this with a phone is a whole different beast (as it will be for ALL portable DAC's) as I will explain now.For Android, the Helm Bolt doesn't work well with Spotify - the volume is far too low and there's nothing to be done about it. Of course it does work great with Tidal so long as you also install UAPP (full functionality for UAPP with MQA cost about $10) though I have a lot of issues with all this which I will list bellow.1. I don't like Tidal. Though they technically have more songs, a large number are simply repeats and if you listen to any genera that tends to have a lot of remixes, Tidal's selection is far worse than Spotify's. There are other reasons I don't like Tidal but let's move on.2. UAPP's User interface is terrible and you have to use it to get the benefit on the Helm Bolt. This is a big deal as playing music through UAPP is a messy and sometimes frustrating ordeal.3. MQA is no better than Spotify premium's highest sound quality. MQA is just another form of file compression and comparing MQA tracks to the same track on Spotify (on the highest quality setting) revealed that most of the time I actually preferred the Spotify track. It can depend on the specific song but it isn't any better, it's just different and often meant less bass and less "energy".4. Whatever you do, DON'T pay for Tidal HiFi. I cannot stress this enough. It's not worth it. MQA isn't better, and even if it was, only about one fourth of my transferred library has MQA as an option. Basically, a vast amount of Tidal's tracks are not MQA. In other words, you'll be paying an extra $10/month for something that (a) doesn't necessarily improve how a song actually sounds, and (b) is frustrating because it often isn't available for a lot of your songs. If you don't believe me that's okay - you can use it for free for 30 days and make up your own mind.5. Volume cannot be changed via the in-line controls on my earbud cables. However, I can play/pause and skip songs, which is nice.If you like Tidal and don't mind the UI on UAPP, the Helm Bolt does a great job, if you use Spotify it is essentially useless. But if you're like me, the only reason you're looking for a product like this is because smartphone manufacturers are doing away with the 3.5mm jack. If this is the issue you're trying to solve and you don't want to switch from Spotify I have a few options for you:1. Buy a Sony Xperia phone - they are awesome phones, they have the 3.5mm jack, and they care about quality sound (I'm waiting until the Xperia 5 iii comes out and will suffer through it until then).2. Wait for Spotify to offer DAC support.3. Buy a few cheap USB-C to 3.5mm adapters. They're not great and only last two weeks to two months but most of them get the job done.4. Bluetooth options - though I'm not a big fan yet, Companies like Shure and Westone use detachable IEM's that can be mounted on Bluetooth attachments.Again, as far as smartphones without 3.5mm jacks go (at least Android), this review is applicable to any higher-end DAC, be it the Dragonfly Cobalt/Red/Black, the Helm Audio Bolt or any other. The sad truth is that at the time of writing this review, listening to Spotify with wired earpieces on a high-end flagship smartphones (except Sony) is, at the moment, a nightmare - period.I'm going to keep the product as the boost in sound quality on my laptop is just enough to not send it back but I'm disappointed it doesn't do the job I wanted it to. Hopefully Spotify will support DAC's soon, if not I'll have the Sony phone I want by October of 2021 and will then upgrade to the Shure SE 846's. Hope this helps someone!

Only problem was the delivery of the purchase. Product (HELM Bolt Dac / Amp) was ordered on Sept 19, 2024 but not delivered until October 2, 2024.So much for Prime.Some improvement on what delays occurred would have been helpful.

Sounds great, I loved it while it worked. Unfortunately the usb connection stopped working after a few months, so that was the end of that. Comes to about $30/month of playtime, which is not really worth it.