Status Audio HD Ones - DAP or Smartphone and DAC/AMP
May 17, 2017 at 2:13 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 12
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_Yank

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Hello there, I'm Yank.

These last days I've been looking for a budget pair of headphones (around 30-60 bucks) for portable and outdoors use. As a humble music appreciator (not an audiophile by any means), I wanted an headphone pair that could deliver my VBR MP3/opus mixed genres playlist through my ears with a nice amount of detail and bass. After some research, I ended up finding The Status Audio HD Ones and made them my choice as they proved to be pretty nice.

However, right now, I don't think I have any device that is able to handle or at least use them to their full extent. So I started searching for a budget DAP that could get the job done and maybe, do it for future purchases as well (above the 50 bucks mark again). Xduoo X2, Sansa Clip+ (for its awesome Rockbox support) and Benjie S5 (actually AGPtek M20) were the ones that seemed to meet the requirements but I got quite undecided about which to choose and whether they would be worth the money.

So yeah, I'm wondering about which of these DAPs should I get to juice up the Status Audio HD Ones (I'm only concerned about the sound quality, loudness, sound configuring capabilities (like Crossfeed, EQ, etc) and overall fluidity and stability of its OS).

And if I'll be doing the right thing getting a DAP or that I'll be better off with a portable AMP/DAC (under 60 bucks, again) and just use my phone for it. I actually like the idea of just using the android phone I'm aiming at (Lenovo Moto G5 Plus) however, I'm quite skeptical about it since the only android device that I have had that had a somewhat nice sound output was my Asus tablet (Memo Pad HD7) and it had a glorious help of the viper4android app. Also from what I've been seeing lately, only high end android devices get a nice touch on their audio circuit..

So, those are the questions, what's your opinion ? I'll appreciate any type of help!
Thanks for reading!
 
Last edited:
May 17, 2017 at 2:19 PM Post #2 of 12
As a side question, how would the Status Audio HD ones compare to the Sennheiser PX 95 ? (I know they're quite different and probably aimed at different objectives but, I own a pair and wanted to get a reference)
 
May 20, 2017 at 11:20 PM Post #4 of 12
_Yank said:
I'm also wondering if it would be better to just get a (budget, again, don't want to spend too much) portable AMP or/and/plus DAC under 60 bucks and just use my phone for it. I actually like the idea of just using the android phone I'm aiming at (Lenovo ZUK Z1) but, I'm quite skeptical about it since the only android device that I have had that had a somewhat nice sound reproduction was my Asus Memo Pad HD7 (with a glorious help of the viper4android app and that was a tablet) and from what I've been seeing, only high end android devices get a nice touch on their audio system.
Click to expand...

The phone's sound quality out of the 3.5mm socket won't affect the sound if used as a transport for a DAC-HPamp. This is one way to get better sound in case the phone sucks.

That said, compatibility can be a problem, so check that out first or really just gamble on it. Try the D-Zero MkII and order an extra OTG cable for it from Ibasso, that way you don't use bulky cable adapters.
 
May 25, 2017 at 9:47 PM Post #8 of 12
_Yank said:
@ProtegeManiac: Somehow that is quite beyond my budget so, not viable. I'm afraid I will not be able to get anything decent under 60 bucks.. (Sorry for not making it clear, edited the post!) Thanks anyway!
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_Yank said:
Still wondering..
Click to expand...

Fiio Q1 but note that depending on the sensitivity of your headphones/IEMs and the quality of your smartphone's output this might not be necessary.
 
May 26, 2017 at 6:56 AM Post #9 of 12
@serman005 The DAPs are mentioned on the thread however I don't have any idea for the DAC/AMP.

@ProtegeManiac Do you think that ? I'm not really confident on Moto G5 Plus output quality and power (haven't found any reviews either) but you may be right since these cans are not even high end to begin with. And what about the DAPs ? Do you think they would do a better job than the phone ?
 
May 26, 2017 at 11:25 AM Post #10 of 12
_Yank said:
@ProtegeManiac Do you think that ? I'm not really confident on Moto G5 Plus output quality and power (haven't found any reviews either)...
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You can look in GSMArena - they do measurements on the headphone output. It'll be somewhere in the review. They have annotations on what each graph means and an overall verdict on the sound, so it's not all just the graphs.



_Yank said:
[...but you may be right since these cans are not even high end to begin with. And what about the DAPs ? Do you think they would do a better job than the phone ?
Click to expand...

They'll do a better job if your phone really sucks and/or the headphone needs it more clean power. I wouldn't think your current headphones need as much extra power as the output from these DAPs.
 
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