MonetPeople like me stream music 95% of the time. I can't listen to the same tracks day after day, I need fresh music along with my fovorites. I prefer to use a smartphone as my DAP and stack it though. Haven't found a DAP yet with good UI that I like.
TacoHerder My iphone can't drive decent headphones. The airpods I currently use are well below average in sound quality. Any good recommendations for a decent sounding streaming dap?
YFungI tried the DX150 and couldn't stand it, also the forums get updated almost weekly with people having issues. Right now I can only recommend the Hiby R6 which due to high impedance might be an issue depending on what you are using to listen to the music. Or maybe the Fiio X7ii. iBasso should be releasing their DX120 soon. FiiO is also coming out with the M9, it looks promising.
YFungJust buy a used lg v20 like I did, it has quad sabre DAC chips and a phat good amp. It can run 50ohm to 600ohm heapdphones and they are dirt cheap used. I watched a comparison to the fiio x7 and the only thing it lost in was volume which both got ear bleeding loud with the hd650's but the fiio took it a step higher.
P4PAG00NThis is a solid idea. Just had a look on Amazon and a refurb unlocked V20 is well under $200. That's a lot of phone (and amp/DAC) for the cost.
TacoHerderFair. But I'm from a different generation, I own all my music, over 2000 CDs and 100+ vinyls all of them digitized by me, so I doubt 256gb of the music I like well enough to buy would go "stale" on me.
Guess you are target audience for stuff like this. I? Well an Xduoo X3 with top of the line circuitry would be more than enough for what I look for.
YFungI wouln't even consider airpods as headphones.
1more quads, those are nice budget quality cans, sad apple took away the right to the owners to access such good alternatives by removing the headphone jack.
Have you checked the xduoo x20? I think it would fit your needs.
JeffhawkeWHAT?! That sounds pretty awesome, I was going to pick up the M9 when I could. I might have to wait now. I stream for 10+ hrs a day when I work and probably half that much on my days off. The few issues the R6 had kept me away from it. This sounds exciting though!
MonetSure man and if these designers would baked accessibility options for people with disabilities in the firmware, I would agree with you. Other than Open source options such as rockbox, We have IOS and android! Have fun with your perfect life! Ha ha
waywardsonI feel the same way but I know some DAPs have parametric EQs built-in and/or 4.4mm pentaconn connections for balanced. Those are really the only two reasons I can think of to get a DAP over a phone/DAC/amp combo.
TacoHerderI have portable players, by just about every brand out there and honestly, the only ones that never give me any trouble and work as you'd expect are Cowons and Cayin. I adore my FiiO X5III, but boy it can drive me mad with irresponsive screen and restarting of FiiO music player out of the blue.
P4PAG00NSo, sorry for a dumb question but, since this does seem like a great idea, do you run the phone without a SIM card? Does the OS boot under those conditions or can you put in a cheap, prepaid card to get everything working? Thanks for any comments. I am out of touch with the Android world these days.
ChemratYes, you run it without a SIM. The OS will boot like normal but you will not have access to the wireless radios. That's pretty much about it. WiFi, NFC, GPS, etc. all work just fine without a SIM card as long as you have WiFi. It essentially becomes a tablet if that makes more sense. I've never used a prepaid card and I believe they are locked down to certain devices. Unless someone has tried with the LG Vx series, I'm going to say doubtful. Most phones that are prepaid use different radios compared to a typical line of service. I would be very surprised if one did for the major carriers (Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T) as they're already bad about unlocked phones in general having different radios. At worst, you could always call your provider and ask.
jaydunndidditI just want to say thank you once again. I followed your advice and picked up a refurbished V20 from Amazon for under $200. I also bought a 400 gb micro SD card. This is a great digital audio player! No need for the more or much more expensive options out there. I have recommended it to several friends. Best wishes!
MonetHow about this for a reason. I have Tidal HiFi subscription. I run my AK 100 2 through my Chord Mojo and hook up to my amplifier and I have a Hi Rez library of millions of songs. I can take this to my friends house and hook to his amp. I can take it anywhere and have a massive library available to listen to. Do you understand now.
RotorooterI understand you, but I don't think you understand me. What do you mean, "without Android"? The V20 is an Android phone. I listen to Tidal on it constantly. I don't pay for the highest rez Tidal, but if I did, I think I could bring my V20 phone and one of my two MQA-capable DACs anywhere and do exactly what you proposed, also. At far less than the cost of an AK anything. That's my point. I have the DACs anyway, for other reasons (home network player). I'm just unclear about the highest rez Tidal because I've never used it, though I did have the subscription for a brief period when I couldn't unfold it, and read that, at least early on, it had to be run through a pc or Mac. Did that change?