It depends. If the DAC presents itself as the primary audio device and the system audio engine processes spatial sound, yes — but the license entitlement is still tied to the motherboard, not the DAC.
Assuming you have qualifying hardware:
A “free license” for DTS Sound Unbound requires careful definition because the term can mean different things depending on context: a no-cost consumer activation to enable decoding on a purchased device or app; royalty-free or open-source licensing for developers to integrate the codec; or temporary trial licenses used by device makers. Historically, DTS has offered different licensing models: commercial licenses for device manufacturers, per-unit royalties for consumer electronics, and software developer SDKs with their own terms. There is no single, universally “free” DTS Sound Unbound license broadly applicable like permissive open-source licenses (MIT, Apache) for software. dts sound unbound free license
Brands like ASUS (specifically ROG and Strix lines) often pre-license their hardware for DTS Sound Unbound. If your motherboard supports it, the app will automatically show a " ✓ Licensed " status upon installation. It depends
If you're looking for a completely free alternative to spatial audio, is built into Windows 10 and 11 and can be enabled for any headset at no cost. To help you get the license working, could you tell me: What model of headphones or motherboard are you using? If your motherboard supports it, the app will