gearofwar said:

It's your choice to use whatever you want, just saying since some people just don't know how important stock app is. Third-party apps do alter the sound and i'm sure nobody wants to buy a dap without being able to hear it true sound.
I have bought alot of apps on ZX2 and at the end it turned out they have distortion, different sound compared to the stock app

Click to expand...

it is exactly what i intended to do. but with several features missing, i will probably try to use the sony walkman app to replace the stock one.

I received my DP-X1 last Friday. Have been using it for sometime, and tested the USB host feature with some external USB DACs.
Here is the list of USB DACs that I've tried so far that are compatible with DP-X1:
 
Chord Hugo
Chord TT
Chord Dave
LH Geek Pulse XFi
ifi micro iDSD
Schiit Yggdrasil
 
 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
Since IMHO the stock Onkyo player UI feature is rather poor, no File Explorer, no automatic playlist (recent, most, etc.) I tried to get compatible 3rd party players for Android, but so far no luck. All exhibit a kind of distortion that noticeable on some soft passages of music. Especially noticeable using my test track to test bass response:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2Mi2rrmALKFaXB0cjBCc0FqVXc
 
This is the comparison, recorded output of that track, using UAPP and Onkyo stock player:
 
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B2Mi2rrmALKFdzAxVGpscHhWc1U&usp=sharing
 
 
I tried UAPP, PowerAmp, and Google Music, all exhibit similar distortion on that track. Only Onkyo stock player sounds clean for that track.
 
 
Any advice for good 3rd party player for DP-X1?  If possible those which can do variable sampling rate, and doesn't resample the audio files.
 
Thanks!

poridge said:

it is said to have sth to do with NOT using the ess dac. if third party apps use the cpu codec to perform dac, it could result in a much higher noise floor.

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That's what I meant, not using the dual dacs will not cause that noise floor. That's usually caused by the amp section if anything.

Whatever the case, the circuit board pictures really don't point towards the audio signal reaching the jacks through anything apart from the ESS dacs and amps.

Non audiophile grade components aren't so bad that they cause a high noise floor. Sure they may not sound as good, but properly implemented they aren't going to make that noise. It's more likely than not the software integration of these third party apps.

earfonia said:

I received my DP-X1 last Friday. Have been using it for sometime, and tested the USB host feature with some external USB DACs.
Here is the list of USB DACs that I've tried so far that are compatible with DP-X1:

Chord Hugo
Chord TT
Chord Dave
LH Geek Pulse XFi
ifi micro iDSD

Since IMHO the stock Onkyo player UI feature is rather poor, no File Explorer, no automatic playlist (recent, most, etc.) I tried to get compatible 3rd party players for Android, but so far no luck. All exhibit a kind of distortion that noticeable on some soft passages of music. Especially noticeable using my test track to test bass response:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2Mi2rrmALKFaXB0cjBCc0FqVXc

This is the comparison, recorded output of that track, using UAPP and Onkyo stock player:

[COLOR=1155CC]https://drive.google.com/[/COLOR][COLOR=1155CC]folderview?id=[/COLOR][COLOR=1155CC]0B2Mi2rrmALKFdzAxVGpscHhWc1U&[/COLOR][COLOR=1155CC]usp=sharing[/COLOR]
 
 
I tried UAPP, PowerAmp, and Google Music, all exhibit similar distortion on that track. Only Onkyo stock player sounds clean for that track.
 
 
Any advice for good 3rd party player for DP-X1?  If possible those which can do variable sampling rate, and doesn't resample the audio files.
 
Thanks!

Click to expand...

You can actually create playlists using programs on your PC like VLC player and saving them in M3U or PLS format before transferring them to your SD card or X1 internal memory. The X1 will be able to detect and view the playlist in the stock onkyo music app.

poridge said:

well, if those third party apps are able to use the dual dac like the x7, it would be a no brainer for me then. i want folder browsing, i will download neutron or hiby. you want more feature, there will always be an apps out there.

Click to expand...

i see, so sad i dont really like to use third party apps.so i guess i have to bare with it.the sound is really great though~ .... and i thought x7 only allow a few third party apps to be installed on it? 

happyxcharmy said:

i see, so sad i dont really like to use third party apps.so i guess i have to bare with it.the sound is really great though~ .... and i thought x7 only allow a few third party apps to be installed on it? 

Click to expand...

the whitelist policy was lifted after a user poll, which shows how responsive they are to their customers.

poridge said:

the whitelist policy was lifted after a user poll, which shows how responsive they are to their customers.

Click to expand...

they are~ i was using x5 before, then calyx m to now X1. just wanna try something new~ 

poridge said:

one simple way to solve the problem rather than implementing folder browsing and playlist control is to open the dac access for third party apps! others have already done those features. being an android device, why not just take the advantage of the the os?!

Click to expand...

But then wouldn't the transport buttons on the player be rendered useless? I doubt their purposes could be reprogrammed.

So: I've just been A/B-ing my iP6 against my Onkyo DP-X1, listening to the same Tidal tracks with Rhapsodio Solar IEMs, and the difference is genuinely minimal versus the single-ended output on the Onkyo.

The iP6 has a slightly narrower soundstage, but vox and guitars sound fab. The Onkyo is smoother and a touch wider, but is genuinely not miles better using single-ended output.

Adding the ALO CDM (using just its amp, not the DAC), takes the Onkyo up a level in terms of soundstage and instrument separation. The iP6 needs the digital (Apple CCK) connection to the CDM - I.e.employing the CDM's DAC as well as its amp - to compete.

I'm happy with the Onkyo because I wanted a DAP that runs Tidal and allows me to leave the phone as a phone (and save battery life etc), but it shows the impact of a good pairing with any device, even a smartphone.

I'm waiting for delivery of a couple of balanced cables and will see how much it improves the Onkyo.

Can anyone do a SQ comparison of tidal vs stock Onkyo music app. I'd be really interested to hear as I would mainly use tidal as my source (esp as they are going the MQA route allegedly)

fidelitycastro said:

So: I've just been A/B-ing my iP6 against my Onkyo DP-X1, listening to the same Tidal tracks with Rhapsodio Solar IEMs, and the difference is genuinely minimal versus the single-ended output on the Onkyo.

The iP6 has a slightly narrower soundstage, but vox and guitars sound fab. The Onkyo is smoother and a touch wider, but is genuinely not miles better using single-ended output.

Adding the ALO CDM (using just its amp, not the DAC), takes the Onkyo up a level in terms of soundstage and instrument separation. The iP6 needs the digital (Apple CCK) connection to the CDM - I.e.employing the CDM's DAC as well as its amp - to compete.

I'm happy with the Onkyo because I wanted a DAP that runs Tidal and allows me to leave the phone as a phone (and save battery life etc), but it shows the impact of a good pairing with any device, even a smartphone.

I'm waiting for delivery of a couple of balanced cables and will see how much it improves the Onkyo.

Click to expand...

Very interesting. One advantage for me is storage. I like to offline my tidal music so I don't need to worry about 4g signal. Ip6 has rubbish storage compared to dpx1 (432gb) plus I can then use my phone!

Alternatively there is always the xperia z5

muso said:

fidelitycastro said:

So: I've just been A/B-ing my iP6 against my Onkyo DP-X1, listening to the same Tidal tracks with Rhapsodio Solar IEMs, and the difference is genuinely minimal versus the single-ended output on the Onkyo.

The iP6 has a slightly narrower soundstage, but vox and guitars sound fab. The Onkyo is smoother and a touch wider, but is genuinely not miles better using single-ended output.

Adding the ALO CDM (using just its amp, not the DAC), takes the Onkyo up a level in terms of soundstage and instrument separation. The iP6 needs the digital (Apple CCK) connection to the CDM - I.e.employing the CDM's DAC as well as its amp - to compete.

I'm happy with the Onkyo because I wanted a DAP that runs Tidal and allows me to leave the phone as a phone (and save battery life etc), but it shows the impact of a good pairing with any device, even a smartphone.

I'm waiting for delivery of a couple of balanced cables and will see how much it improves the Onkyo.

Click to expand...

Very interesting. One advantage for me is storage. I like to offline my tidal music so I don't need to worry about 4g signal. Ip6 has rubbish storage compared to dpx1 (432gb) plus I can then use my phone!

Alternatively there is always the xperia z5

Click to expand...

Yeah I'm with you on that. I offline pretty much all of my Tidal stuff to listen to with or without wifi / on the move. One of our other kind head-fiers reminded me that you can store Tidal offline downloads onto one of the memory cards, and that helps. My iP6 is 128GB so I had a fair amount to play with, but I'm gong to get a couple of large capacity Micro SDs for just that purpose.

@fidelitycastro exactly why I like the idea of the dpx1! Although I'm interested to compare sq of Tidal app on dpx1 vs its native music app.

muso said:

@fidelitycastro exactly why I like the idea of the dpx1! Although I'm interested to compare sq of Tidal app on dpx1 vs its native music app.

Click to expand...

@muso, I'm following up on your thoughts and now listening to the native app on the DP-X1 with FLAC44.1KHz/PCM 48KHz (is that the same as Tidal or better?) and single-ended output. It has a very nice soundstage. Better than iP6 by itself but not better than iP6 + Hugo (using the Hugo's DAP and 'amp' via the Apple CCK). I don't think I have any tracks of better quality to test.

I suppose that makes sense. The Hugo is an expensive piece of kit, and it takes most of the important duties away from the iP.

EDIT: found a FLAC96KHz/PCM 96KHz track: fantastic soundstage, even single-ended. Definitely closer to iP6 - Onkyo HF Player + Hugo.

I need to buy some more high quality tracks to try on the DP-X1 native app! I've become a bit dependent on Tidal because it's good quality and massive library of new music.

EDIT 2: and found a FLAC 192KHz / PCM 192KHz track. No discernible improvement over the 96KHz. I know it's off topic, but the 96KHz track was a song that was recorded on the last few years, and the 192KHz is an old ZZTop track ("Gimme All Your Lovin") from the 1990s (I assume remastered). Don't know if that makes any difference, but the more recent track ("Falling to Pieces" by Rob Thomas) sounded at least as good or better.

Anyway, the higher quality stuff on the DP-X1 is definitely much closer to the same quality tracks played on the iP6 + Hugo.

jazzkammer said:

But then wouldn't the transport buttons on the player be rendered useless? I doubt their purposes could be reprogrammed.

Click to expand...

zx2 has its buttons available for third party apps, and the x7, not sure how the dp-x1 implement that, but it's not hard for the android os