hi folks, thanks for your time dropping in here. first of all i’m new to the hobby but i love listening to music. My small start comes from AKG Y50bt, sennheiser cx 300 ii, then sony wh1000xm2, then the wf-xm3. After clearing all the previous stuff, i’ve finally decided to jump into the hobby and start small with FiiO BTR5 + Ikko OH10/ BLON BL03 combos. Judging from the iems, you can guess my audio preference would be.
Thing is, listen to songs alot. ALOT, the BTR5 wont even last me the day. maybe due to the LDAC setting was set on, and my phone was set to LDAC quality priority (phone died faster from this too). With that being said, i’m currently curious about DAPs with a series of questions.
Does DAP sound better than my current BTR5? (using exp Shanling M3x)
Say i have the funds, should i go for:
a. Shanling M3x + Mangird Tea?
b. FiiO M11 plus?
c. ibasso dx160?
d. long term support for android DAP in general (apps, firmware, etc)
Other ideas or suggestion is welcomed. Thanks again.
Hello I was in the exactly same position as you’re, so I’ll get my 2 cents in.
I own btr5 and I had the same problems as you are facing, so I went for a DAP. Bought a Sony a105 and it sucked, so I traded it for an m3x and never looked back. I do also own the teas and use them together, as m3x is still my main source.
M3X is amazing and prolly the king on its price range (up to 300). Battery life for almost 19h on prime mode makes it a breeze for grab and forget. It has very very good output power for a dap, and can run everything i threw at him without sweating. Has everything I love: 4.4mm,android mode for other players and streamers, is fast, not too big or heavy. It has slightly warmish colored sound which I enjoy and I’m pretty sure you’ll too. Firmwares are still rolling so you won’t have to worry for a while.
With that said, I think you should reflect on which you need the most, a player or more IEMs And what is your max budget?
thanks @nymz … good to know someone facing the same dilemma. thanks for your thoughts and experience on m3x. it definitely hits the spot on battery life and sound. tea is included as well! my budget would be around 500 bucks. it can be used for DAP alone or combo like yours.
A cheap android phone with very good battery life and sd slot + luxury & precision w2 + tripowin x hbb Mele
I don’t see spending more on an android dap worth unless you enter the kilobuck range.
Mangird Teas are an amazing set, and even owning better sets, they still are my favourite for a lot of reasons. They can be anyone’s endgame for the price.
Hello,
Basically, daps are more powerful.
However, they still have strong disadvantages that make them uninteresting.
The cheap daps, for example, require a permanent internet connection.
Like the Hiby R3, for example, which is not offline-capable.
But it is supposedly also due to the streaming providers that they do not release this.
You could not listen to Tidal offline, for example.
That changes again with more expensive daps where it is supported.
The advantage of Dap is that you can determine your own playback rate.
And you can use various apps.
That’s really all there is to it.
It’s a pity that the door is blocked for cheap daps.
Dac dongels and mobile headphone amplifiers are the alternatives.
The Hp Dac from Ifi, for example, is very powerful.
And it can also be used offline on a smartphone.
The disadvantage of smartphones and tablets is that the sampling rate is predefined.
No upsampling possible.
But it is enough for being mobile.
Surely the dongels and mobile headphone amplifiers are capable of more than on the PC or laptop regarding the sampling rate.
To be honest, I’d rather invest in a Dac dongel or mobile headphone amplifier than in a Dap.
It will save you a lot of money.
I don’t think the dap policy is okay especially because it’s partly dictated by the streaming provider and that’s not okay.
And it’s a customer screw-up somewhere.
And the manufacturer doesn’t inform about this either, which is a pity and instead prefers to advertise with marketing and how good their product is.
Maybe Apple will want to undermine the whole thing this autumn with a new iPod touch.
It remains to be hoped that they will offer an integrated Dac to be able to drive higher sampling rates than just 24/96. Unfortunately, this is also only supported by Apple to a limited extent at the moment. And because they offer Apple Music Lossless, it is conceivable that they will help out.
Then the iPod touch would be much more interesting than any Dap currently on the market.
Sounds about right for me. I’ll limit the budget within that range then. Tea will be my endgame and probably investing about 50 bucks for a decent cable and tips.
Well, if you got the Teas that were revised after last december, the cable sucks. It’s out of phase and has plastic connectors. The previous one is fine.
After feedback they changed the vent hole to be bigger since they had pressure issues and, to do that, they changed the package, dropping costs. Tips included got changed too, initial ones were outsourced, the new ones are in house ones, come with Xenns UP too.
Any cable will be good, I’m not a cable believer in IEMs, tbh. But I do believe in good and badly built cables. Try it for yourself, see if you see a difference or not, what ever works for you is fine! It’s only means to enjoy music
That’s literally my current setup, minus the cable. I’ve got a BQEYZ Spring 2/FAAEL Hibiscus cable. Tbh, I liked the pairing with the BTR5 better personally.
I was in the exactly same position as you’re, so I’ll get my 2 cents in.
. I worry it might.