> those adapters actually draw a surprising amount of power if they have a DAC!
Do they? Intuitively I would imagine that they do not consume much more than the same DAC inside the phone. I use such adapters a lot and never really noticed anything out of the ordinary related to battery life nor the part with the DAC getting warmer.
On the other hand, the sound quality of these adapters is surprisingly good, in the same league as dedicated audio interfaces[0].
Do they? Intuitively I would imagine that they do not consume much more than the same DAC inside the phone. I use such adapters a lot and never really noticed anything out of the ordinary related to battery life nor the part with the DAC getting warmer.
On the other hand, the sound quality of these adapters is surprisingly good, in the same league as dedicated audio interfaces[0].
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0P8-TUDJ4Q