New and Improved* Luxury & Precision L5 PRO 32bit DSD DAP with AKM AK4490, touch screen, rosewood blackplate
May 21, 2015 at 6:20 PM Post #189 of 1,351
Oh jeebus christie.
 
Enough already. Let's just get this out of the way...
 
To all companies manufacturing audiophile DAPs: Stop. Making. Devices. Without. Wifi and apps.
 
Seriously, it's boring to see yet another device I could care less about. I'm glad some people find them useful, but the vast majority of people supplement their super high-res files with streaming. And even the hard-core "Tidal isn't good enough" hold-outs will soon be onboard once Apple's lossless streaming rebrand of Beats releases, and the inevitable streaming resolution wars commence.
 
I mean, how hard is it to include an Android iOS in these $500-$2,500 devices? Shoot, if you're that challenged, just buy up a bunch of Chinese-built disposable burner smartphones and build your DAP around them. I mean it. Literally walk into your local Cricket Mobile or whatever, and pick them up for $100 a pop in bulk. Add it to the cost of the device. We won't mind. We're already paying through the nose, and that will increase functionality by about 1000%. And guess what? The manufacturer of the phone won't mind, they knocked off somebody else. I mean, there are bike computers, smart refrigerators, home security system consoles etc. running Android at this point... It's not a difficult thing to do. I don't need Tidal or Spotify on my Cappuccino maker. But it would be nice on my specialty audio player that cost a grand. For Pete's sake.
 
Okay, rant over.
 
May 21, 2015 at 6:28 PM Post #190 of 1,351
  To all companies manufacturing audiophile DAPs: Stop. Making. Devices. Without. Wifi and apps.
 

 
Personally I disagree entirely. I couldn't care less about streaming, and if every DAP out there was an Android bloatware slow thing, I'd end up not only hating the stuff, but also paying for a bunch of functionalities I'd never use. To each his own.
I much prefer manufacturers concentrate on SQ, battery life and speed and ease of use.
 
May 21, 2015 at 10:37 PM Post #191 of 1,351
  To all companies manufacturing audiophile DAPs: Stop. Making. Devices. Without. Wifi and apps.
 

 
I couldn't give a rats about having apps, in fact i prefer not to have them cluttering up my music player. Wifi can be useful though.
 
May 21, 2015 at 10:47 PM Post #192 of 1,351
  Cool.  This player is on Massdrop right now.  It's a shame that the UI is not the best as this would be a very nice player.  Wonder how the new X5-II compares.

 
Yea, saw that last night too. The price is really really attractive, I'm seriously thinking of pulling the trigger on this rather than wait for the newer (and likely more expensive) model to be released.
 
  Oh jeebus christie.
 
Enough already. Let's just get this out of the way...
 
To all companies manufacturing audiophile DAPs: Stop. Making. Devices. Without. Wifi and apps.
 
Seriously, it's boring to see yet another device I could care less about. I'm glad some people find them useful, but the vast majority of people supplement their super high-res files with streaming. And even the hard-core "Tidal isn't good enough" hold-outs will soon be onboard once Apple's lossless streaming rebrand of Beats releases, and the inevitable streaming resolution wars commence.
 
I mean, how hard is it to include an Android iOS in these $500-$2,500 devices? Shoot, if you're that challenged, just buy up a bunch of Chinese-built disposable burner smartphones and build your DAP around them. I mean it. Literally walk into your local Cricket Mobile or whatever, and pick them up for $100 a pop in bulk. Add it to the cost of the device. We won't mind. We're already paying through the nose, and that will increase functionality by about 1000%. And guess what? The manufacturer of the phone won't mind, they knocked off somebody else. I mean, there are bike computers, smart refrigerators, home security system consoles etc. running Android at this point... It's not a difficult thing to do. I don't need Tidal or Spotify on my Cappuccino maker. But it would be nice on my specialty audio player that cost a grand. For Pete's sake.
 
Okay, rant over.

 
I kinda half agree with you. I don't need WIFI or apps because I have my smartphone or tablets with LTE for apps,and I don't use TIDAL or Spotify. I can understand though, how an avid user of Tidal will need app and WIFI function on a DAP. Kinda dumb to stream lossless on a smartphone with mediocre audio performance.
 
However, I do agree that DAP makers should incorporate the Android as their UI in DAPs instead of coming up with their own UIs, especially if the DAPs come with a touchscreen. So far, I haven't seen an UI that I prefer to Android (the Sony Z2 and the AK series UI are my current top choices so far in term of UI). 
 
   
Personally I disagree entirely. I couldn't care less about streaming, and if every DAP out there was an Android bloatware slow thing, I'd end up not only hating the stuff, but also paying for a bunch of functionalities I'd never use. To each his own.
I much prefer manufacturers concentrate on SQ, battery life and speed and ease of use.

 
From most important to least, I think my preference for a DAP is: SQ, UI, battery life, price, size and build quality, then extra functionalities.
 
The L5 has the best SQ I've heard so far, terrible UI (but with lots of potential due to the full size touchscreen and many buttons), decent battery life and price, outstanding build quality although size is alittle on the big size.
 
May 21, 2015 at 11:16 PM Post #193 of 1,351
   
Personally I disagree entirely. I couldn't care less about streaming, and if every DAP out there was an Android bloatware slow thing, I'd end up not only hating the stuff, but also paying for a bunch of functionalities I'd never use. To each his own.
I much prefer manufacturers concentrate on SQ, battery life and speed and ease of use.


Fair enough... For the next, maybe, three or four years. Then you absolutely will care, guaranteed.
 
The first casualty of the streaming resolution war that's around the corner won't be one of the streaming services... It will be the high-resolution download market. Places like Acoustic Sounds and similar. Once the vast majority of people are streaming huge libraries of high-rez content, it will be very difficult for these places, especially with their limited libraries (and high prices) to stay in business. Streaming services, with few exceptions, will be the only digital source for high-rez music.
 
When that happens, are you really going to be interested in a DAP ecosystem that requires you to create an offline playlist on your computer from whatever streaming service you subscribe to, save the playlist in a compatible file format, and slowly load it onto your device? Of course not. And that's assuming the Apple service (and/or whatever else ends up on top) will share Spotify's current attitude towards that, and (passively) allow it. Maybe they won't. From a business standpoint, it makes a lot more sense for them to put an end to conversions, honestly. In which case you'll find yourself with an expensive brick, only good for playing your old high-rez collection or CD rips. Bottom line, you'll want a device with native support for streaming services...
 
May 21, 2015 at 11:32 PM Post #194 of 1,351
   
Yea, saw that last night too. The price is really really attractive, I'm seriously thinking of pulling the trigger on this rather than wait for the newer (and likely more expensive) model to be released.
 
 
I kinda half agree with you. I don't need WIFI or apps because I have my smartphone or tablets with LTE for apps,and I don't use TIDAL or Spotify. I can understand though, how an avid user of Tidal will need app and WIFI function on a DAP. Kinda dumb to stream lossless on a smartphone with mediocre audio performance.
 
However, I do agree that DAP makers should incorporate the Android as their UI in DAPs instead of coming up with their own UIs, especially if the DAPs come with a touchscreen. So far, I haven't seen an UI that I prefer to Android (the Sony Z2 and the AK series UI are my current top choices so far in term of UI). 
 
 
From most important to least, I think my preference for a DAP is: SQ, UI, battery life, price, size and build quality, then extra functionalities.
 
The L5 has the best SQ I've heard so far, terrible UI (but with lots of potential due to the full size touchscreen and many buttons), decent battery life and price, outstanding build quality although size is alittle on the big size.

 
I believe FiiO has stated that the new X5 will be the same price as the current one.  However, this DAP definitely seems interesting since I have never heard a Burr-brown chip before.
 
I kind of agree that UI isn't that big of an issue as long as its passable.  I also have no use for the wifi capabilities as well since I don't use any streaming services.  The more simple the device the better.  If I really cared about all the other features, I would probably rather just use my phone for them than anything else.
 
However, I do understand how paying so much for an item that doesn't really do much other than play music is hard to justify in most cases.
 
May 21, 2015 at 11:55 PM Post #195 of 1,351
 
   
Personally I disagree entirely. I couldn't care less about streaming, and if every DAP out there was an Android bloatware slow thing, I'd end up not only hating the stuff, but also paying for a bunch of functionalities I'd never use. To each his own.
I much prefer manufacturers concentrate on SQ, battery life and speed and ease of use.


Fair enough... For the next, maybe, three or four years. Then you absolutely will care, guaranteed.
 
The first casualty of the streaming resolution war that's around the corner won't be one of the streaming services... It will be the high-resolution download market. Places like Acoustic Sounds and similar. Once the vast majority of people are streaming huge libraries of high-rez content, it will be very difficult for these places, especially with their limited libraries (and high prices) to stay in business. Streaming services, with few exceptions, will be the only digital source for high-rez music.
 
When that happens, are you really going to be interested in a DAP ecosystem that requires you to create an offline playlist on your computer from whatever streaming service you subscribe to, save the playlist in a compatible file format, and slowly load it onto your device? Of course not. And that's assuming the Apple service (and/or whatever else ends up on top) will share Spotify's current attitude towards that, and (passively) allow it. Maybe they won't. From a business standpoint, it makes a lot more sense for them to put an end to conversions, honestly. In which case you'll find yourself with an expensive brick, only good for playing your old high-rez collection or CD rips. Bottom line, you'll want a device with native support for streaming services...


No wrong or right here, it's a matter of purist vs contemporary, we have seen a Vinyl renaissance lately in midst of growth in streaming service. Some ppl prefer a Leica camera, u know manual focus, manual exposure, and some people may prefer android based Samsung cameras. Same goes with Apple Watch vs Panerai. Get what suit your need and taste. 
 

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