Newbie needs HELP!

Are you basically wanting to charge your phone whilst connected to your dac? I've never actually connected my Iphone to my Vitus dac via USB, so i'm not sure if it would charge the phone whilst connected. I'd assume not though. Your dac should atleast be able to recognizse the phone as a source if connected to it's USB aux port?

Looking at the specs, your dac has a switcher psu & power cable. So i’m baffled as to why you need to add a psu between your Iphone & dac, as normally the component schematic would be phone/Ipod/HDD - dac - amp - speakers. If you were using a pair of headphones on your laptop, all you’d need is an Audioquest Dragonfly Red or something similar & some good software like JRiver.

Personally Russ. I would look into Schiit Audio dacs which offer amazing cost/performance. Their products are designed and made in the USA, and are well reviewed. There is a range of full size dacs, both balanced and unbalanced depending on your budget and needs. They have multiple inputs incl: USB. And in the case of the Gungnir model atleast, it sounds like you wouldn’t need a USB hub. From their website - "Gen 5 USB: USB, Solved. Forget decrapifiers, regenerators, isolators, and all the USB dongles and boxes you’ve been told you need for USB sound. Our all-new Gen 5 USB input doesn’t require any of that stuff. It’s this simple: Gen 5 is USB, solved. Now standard on all our upgradable DACs, Gen 5 USB features full galvanic isolation via transformers, self-power for low noise and latching, and high-quality local clocking for both 44.1 and 48k multiples". Here is a link fyi - http://www.schiit.com/products