I meant the old days, people bashed them a lot back then. They only had mediocre SoC players back then IIRC, similar to Cowon. I never heard their new stuff though so maybe things have changed. Thanks for your suggestions. I saw M0 Pro but I'm afraid I won't be satisfied with the SQ (it feels...

Consider trying out etymotic er4p. I used to study guitar/drums too back in the days and they were pretty good reference point to me. But you really need to find good tips and put them in your ears properly - otherwise they might sound cheap/thin.

Thanks everybody for the suggestions! I probably should have mention that I have no faith in sony/cowon and all the mp3 players with focus on software EQ or portable DAC/AMPs so will most likely avoid them. Last thing I have tried from Cowon was Cowon J3 and it was pretty bad; very dull and...

I had Ibasso d42 and It was not bad for a tiny portable dac for a laptop, especially like 13 years ago? How well it compares to 170/260 in terms of sound quality/tuning? If anyone has an experience please do tell.

Hello everybody I am planning on replacing my portable setup. I had Hifiman 801 back in the days and now I am terrified how expensive all daps have become without significant improvements to the sound quality. I use RU6 multibit dongle now, but a bit annoyed that it constantly drains my phone...