Is low cost DAC worth it?

I have owned the  DacMagic 200 that you mention as well a Denafrips Ares II and Schiit Bifrost 2 mentioned by others.  The DacMagic is the least expensive of the 3 and can be found for under $500.  The Ares and Bifrost will cost a little bit more, over $500 even used. All 3 will beat the pants off what you have.  The DacMagic has many more features than the other two, sounds decent, but not as good as the others, imo and in the reviews I’ve read.  Quite frankly the market is flooded with inexpensive DAC’s and most will sound very good coming from the Apple.  I think you’ll be very happy with any of them again when compared to the Apple. As already mentioned you should add the cost of a streamer to get the full benefit of any of them.

Install USB Audio Player Pro on your phone and connect via usb to the DAC.  I believe the app is 5 bucks. Forget about airport x or your computer.  You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

And forget measurements, just listen!!

Have to disagree soix.  I did just that using my phone as a streamer into an Ares II.  It sounded almost as good as using a Node to stream in the same setup.  Never tried the Zen but can't imagine things changing that much.  But maybe they could. Obviously they did for you. BTW had the blessing of using my phone from Alvin who told me about the idea and said he's done the same thing before I even tried it.

Soix, i've been on a similar journey and had similar results as you. I'm currently way beyond the streaming and DAC components I mentioned earlier.  I was only trying to relate an experience I had that could improve upon the OP's current situation and at the same time keep things within his stated (very low) budget.  No question a good steamer will improve the listening experience.  The two Aurender streamers that I currently use, one in my speaker system and another in my headphone system are huge improvements from experimenting with a phone and other lesser streamers that i used before Aurender. Again i was only trying to suggest another method that had been suggested to me by a well respected person in the industry that worked rather well for me using something people already have, a cell phone.  I understand that your experience was different using a phone.

And after re-reading what I said above, i could have been clearer in my point.

75 years old here.  Go for it.  You only live once.

@soix 👍 presently using an N150 with a Pontus II for a dedicated headphone system and N200 with a Terminator II in a speaker system.  So yes I'm both an Aurender and Denafrips fan boy.

@wolfgarcia no snobbery here.  I've owned both a DacMagic 200 and Bifrost 2 as well.  Both excellent and great bangs for the bucks.  Its just that in this hobby I get bored sometimes and like to experiment.  After all at 75 yrs young, you can't take it with you.  Money that is.

@soix  I've thought about it but I'm short real estate in that system and looking to eliminate boxes.  I'm actually thinking about going with something like the Aurender A15.  Now before you pull out the flame thrower, the A15 uses the N200 streamer, a step up from the 150, so the question is what the added DAC brings to the table? Plus the Aurender engineering is really quite good so its not just how good the DAC is, its how good everything works together in one box. I know the combo players do not get a lot of respect here on A'gon, but like I said before, I like to experiment.  I really need to find somewhere to listen to one.

Probably not the right thread to bring this up (we don’t want anyone here to start having heart palpitations) but dealers are now taking preorders for the new Aurender AP20.  $22k and it’s all yours.