[FROMNOW]

I have an iPod Nano and Sony Mdr-v6 headphones.
 
I am in need of a laptop and a smartphone.
 
Instead of buying a good audio laptop and good audio smartphone, can't I just buy a good DAC and AMP that I will be able to use on a laptop, smartphone and even the ipod ?
 
Do I have to be careful with certain combinations of DAC/AMP/laptop/smartphone/iPod ?
 
I want to listen to sounds in a non distorted way! I want to listen to what is really there.
 
And none of the materials need to be really portable. It can be portable but it doesn't matter if it's big in size.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I have an iPod Nano and Sony Mdr-v6 headphones.
I am in need of a laptop and a smartphone.
Instead of buying a good audio laptop and good audio smartphone, can't I just buy a good DAC and AMP that I will be able to use on a laptop, smartphone and even the ipod ?
Do I have to be careful with certain combinations of DAC/AMP/laptop/smartphone/iPod ?
I want to listen to sounds in a non distorted way! I want to listen to what is really there.
And none of the materials need to be really portable. It can be portable but it doesn't matter if it's big in size.

 
FiiO X3 Gen II Digital Audio Player.
Can be used with a computer as a external DAC/amp or as a portable audio player, so no more need for an iPod.
And leave you phone in your pocket unless you need to make a phone call.

 

[FROMNOW]

   
FiiO X3 Gen II Digital Audio Player.
Can be used with a computer as a external DAC/amp or as a portable audio player, so no more need for an iPod.
And leave you phone in your pocket unless you need to make a phone call.

I'm not convinced in buying this.
 
I still think I should go for a "regular" dac/amp that I can use on both pc and smartphone..

 

[nhasian]

You mean something like the Chord Mojo?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 
Quote:

 
Instead of buying a good audio laptop and good audio smartphone, can't I just buy a good DAC and AMP that I will be able to use on a laptop, smartphone and even the ipod ?
 
Do I have to be careful with certain combinations of DAC/AMP/laptop/smartphone/iPod ?

 
The iPod Nano is a problem there - modern DACs are more compatible with iOS so best case it would have to be an iPod Touch. For the most part they're designed for iPhones.
 
Also smartphone compatibility isn't universal either - it varies depending on the device and the DAC involved. Even Galaxy S and Galaxy Note phones have some incompatibilities, although they generally would work with anything. My Note3 and S5 work with the Pangea HP101, even though it requires non-native Windows7 drivers. It's also a bit iffy on my Windows7 laptop, and the Note3 works a lot more smoothly.

 

[FROMNOW]

  You mean something like the Chord Mojo?

I had to look it up to see what it is.
 
It looks nice ..

 

[FROMNOW]

   
The iPod Nano is a problem there - modern DACs are more compatible with iOS so best case it would have to be an iPod Touch. For the most part they're designed for iPhones.
 
Also smartphone compatibility isn't universal either - it varies depending on the device and the DAC involved. Even Galaxy S and Galaxy Note phones have some incompatibilities, although they generally would work with anything. My Note3 and S5 work with the Pangea HP101, even though it requires non-native Windows7 drivers. It's also a bit iffy on my Windows7 laptop, and the Note3 works a lot more smoothly.

I understand. I thought I might as well use it on the iPod Nano if someone recommended me a good dac/amp that I would use for my laptop and smartphone but if it doesn't that's fine. How's the sound quality on the nano last gen anyway ?!
 
Would you buy a laptop with good sound quality or would you buy a good laptop and then a dac/amp ?
Same question for smarthpone even though obvisouly I won't be buying two dac/amp.

 

[nhasian]

  Would you buy a laptop with good sound quality or would you buy a good laptop and then a dac/amp ?
Same question for smarthpone even though obvisouly I won't be buying two dac/amp.

 
I would prioritize getting a separate dac/amp rather than trying to find a laptop with good audio. That way in the future you will be free to change laptops and still have your nice audio setup. Plus it is a benefit to have the dac outside of the computer so there is no interference. 

 

[FROMNOW]

   
I would prioritize getting a separate dac/amp rather than trying to find a laptop with good audio. That way in the future you will be free to change laptops and still have your nice audio setup. Plus it is a benefit to have the dac outside of the computer so there is no interference. 

Thanks.
 
Then my next question is which dac/amp ? I'll research on this forum.
 
I wouldn't mind spending much if it is worth it but then i'll would like to buy a laptop and smartphone on which it works.
 
Minimal distortion would be nice.

 

[nhasian]

If you want to go the economical and mobile route try the Dragonfly
 
http://www.audioquest.com/dragonfly-series/
 
If you want something higher end, look at the Chord Mojo

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 

 
Quote:

Originally Posted by FROMNOW /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I understand. I thought I might as well use it on the iPod Nano if someone recommended me a good dac/amp that I would use for my laptop and smartphone but if it doesn't that's fine. How's the sound quality on the nano last gen anyway ?!

 

No idea but I wouldn't bet on it driving anything with lower sensitivity than IEMs and impedance higher than 32ohms.

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by FROMNOW /img/forum/go_quote.gif

 

Would you buy a laptop with good sound quality or would you buy a good laptop and then a dac/amp ?

 

The bigger question is how do you even know what laptops have good sound quality? You only get "speakers are loud enough without cracking up" reviews on laptops, not exactly along the lines of "drives my IEM_01 fine with no problems and unlike (old laptop) the Dell Inspiron 5000 13.3in doesn't have any bass bloat on my IEM-02; also surprisingly can drive my HD600 loud enough" kind of detailed review. They don't even get the kind of measurements that you can find on GSMArena. At best you have Apple laptops with a general reputation for not having any problems on IEMs and reasonably efficient and not too high impedance headphones, or gaming laptops with soundcard circuits that boast "UP TO 600OHMS!!!" but doesn't tell you that it's all high gain and not real higher output voltage (or current) like what you'd get out of a good amplifier.

​Narrowing it down to those choices, would you want a MacBook Pro with the contextual gimmick...I mean, "Touchbar"... or would you want a thick, loud, gaming laptop those rear end looks like the air vents on a Lamborghini and won't fit most laptop bags out there which happen to be sized for Macs?

 

On top of that you can't even be sure if the laptop you buy will have decent power through all USB ports at once, in case you might need to have 5v/1A going out through all of them, that way you won't have to unplug the DAC when you have to use an external 2.5in drive. That said, I'd get a DAC-HPamp - you'll use the laptop when stationary anyway. Buy a decent desktop set that might still be small enough to transport in case you go anywhere for an extended period of time, but mostly keep them at your desk. Use an IEM or high sensitivity portable headphone on the go. Or maybe leave a cheap but powerful DAC-HPamp in your desk at work. Also check if the laptop isn't known for noisy fans on heavy workloads, that way you can run a lot of programs and still be able to listen.

 

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by FROMNOW /img/forum/go_quote.gif

 

Same question for smarthpone even though obvisouly I won't be buying two dac/amp.

 

This has a different usage scenario. The laptop obviously is something you can't use while walking around, unlike the phone. Get a smartphone that works well enough on IEMs when you're walking around so you don't have to fuss around with a DAC-HPamp on the go, then maybe use it as a source with your DAC-HPamp if you're not using the laptop or if the laptop is too noisy.
 
-------------
 
Here's what I use on the go and at work...

 
...which I carry around in this and similar:

 
 
Here's what I use when I sit back and listen:

 
 

And here's my dusty desktop rig:

 

[FROMNOW]

  If you want to go the economical and mobile route try the Dragonfly
 
http://www.audioquest.com/dragonfly-series/
 
If you want something higher end, look at the Chord Mojo

I did some research before reading this and some people on older forum posts did mention the dragonfly so i looked it up on amazon and the reviews were positive too.
 
However I did read that there is no reason to buy portable dacs (unless you want them to be portable). They don't have to be portable for me. people say we can find much better for the same price in non-portables/bigger sizes ..

 

[FROMNOW]

 

 

No idea but I wouldn't bet on it driving anything with lower sensitivity than IEMs and impedance higher than 32ohms.

 

 

 

The bigger question is how do you even know what laptops have good sound quality? You only get "speakers are loud enough without cracking up" reviews on laptops, not exactly along the lines of "drives my IEM_01 fine with no problems and unlike (old laptop) the Dell Inspiron 5000 13.3in doesn't have any bass bloat on my IEM-02; also surprisingly can drive my HD600 loud enough" kind of detailed review. They don't even get the kind of measurements that you can find on GSMArena. At best you have Apple laptops with a general reputation for not having any problems on IEMs and reasonably efficient and not too high impedance headphones, or gaming laptops with soundcard circuits that boast "UP TO 600OHMS!!!" but doesn't tell you that it's all high gain and not real higher output voltage (or current) like what you'd get out of a good amplifier.

​Narrowing it down to those choices, would you want a MacBook Pro with the contextual gimmick...I mean, "Touchbar"... or would you want a thick, loud, gaming laptop those rear end looks like the air vents on a Lamborghini and won't fit most laptop bags out there which happen to be sized for Macs?

 

On top of that you can't even be sure if the laptop you buy will have decent power through all USB ports at once, in case you might need to have 5v/1A going out through all of them, that way you won't have to unplug the DAC when you have to use an external 2.5in drive. That said, I'd get a DAC-HPamp - you'll use the laptop when stationary anyway. Buy a decent desktop set that might still be small enough to transport in case you go anywhere for an extended period of time, but mostly keep them at your desk. Use an IEM or high sensitivity portable headphone on the go. Or maybe leave a cheap but powerful DAC-HPamp in your desk at work. Also check if the laptop isn't known for noisy fans on heavy workloads, that way you can run a lot of programs and still be able to listen.

 

 

 

 

This has a different usage scenario. The laptop obviously is something you can't use while walking around, unlike the phone. Get a smartphone that works well enough on IEMs when you're walking around so you don't have to fuss around with a DAC-HPamp on the go, then maybe use it as a source with your DAC-HPamp if you're not using the laptop or if the laptop is too noisy.

 
 
I won't be listening on the go.
 
I'm almost finished hesitating between a laptop and desktop. The only reason why I would like a laptop is that I will move to another country in a few months. Still, it looks like a desktop is the correct way to go; it's much better than a laptop from what I read; only it's not portable. There should be easy ways to take it with me on a plane. If the screen is too difficult to take that's fine I'll leave the sceen and buy another one.
 
The dac/amp doesn't have to be portable either.
 
I could go for a cheap-medium smartphone and buy a portable dac/amp such as the dragonfly red that I would use on a desktop/laptop as well
or I could buy an audio smartphone such as the HTC 10 and buy a laptop/desktop and a powerful non portable dac/amp.
 
I need the smartphone for web surfing, watching 1440p-2160p (4k) youtube videos and listening to sounds. Maybe there's a perfect phone for this that's hasn't all the rest I don't need. If I buy such a phone I can even wait untill I get to my new location to buy a desktop-sound system- screen-.. Or maybe I buy a tablet and keep my 2$ phone that's an option too..  

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by FROMNOW /img/forum/go_quote.gif

 

I won't be listening on the go.

 

Well that makes everything easier.

 

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by FROMNOW /img/forum/go_quote.gif

 

I'm almost finished hesitating between a laptop and desktop. The only reason why I would like a laptop is that I will move to another country in a few months. Still, it looks like a desktop is the correct way to go; it's much better than a laptop from what I read; only it's not portable. There should be easy ways to take it with me on a plane. If the screen is too difficult to take that's fine I'll leave the screen and buy another one.

 

Actually, that depends, primarily on noise levels and connectivity (ie USB power or SPDIF). On the first, a custom desktop has the advantage over some laptops because you can build one that has large enough fans with unrestricted intakes so they won't have to spin faster to push fresh air into the chassis and then you can have a gigantic tower cooler on the CPU plus something like a Strix graphics card that has a Zero Fan mode at idle or at custom fan profiles (I run even my older Winfdorce 2X to have its fan switch on only when it hits 40C). With laptops, you either gamble on spending on return shipping in case it's noisy, or you can give up processing power for a fanless laptop powered by a Core M processor like the MacBook or the new Asus Zenbook, or the Windows 2-in-1 units (the ones which are primarily tablets usually have less USB ports though). Core M processors run at a much lower normal clock speed to save power but have a boost speed comparable to the i-series processors', and I think the current models don't lag in kicking the boost in unlike the first ones, so for the most part the only real concern with power is that none of them come with a discrete graphics card since portability and battery life are the primary design goals for laptops that use this processor type.

 

Personally I'd much rather use a MacMini, even if I have to buy it used (or a similar Android miniPC) since it runs silent. If you need more processing power particularly a discrete GPU, you can build a small miniITX case barely larger than a shoe box and then just use air peanut stuffing on the inside when you pack it. Look into the Fractal Node 304 case, BeQuiet DarkRock3 CPU cooler, and a Strix or Windforce GTX 1060 (I've come across reviews about thermal throttling, ie a lot more heat and/or fan noise if they use the fans to circumvent it, on some RX 480).

 

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by FROMNOW /img/forum/go_quote.gif

 

I could go for a cheap-medium smartphone and buy a portable dac/amp such as the dragonfly red that I would use on a desktop/laptop as well

or I could buy an audio smartphone such as the HTC 10 and buy a laptop/desktop and a powerful non portable dac/amp.

 

I need the smartphone for web surfing, watching 1440p-2160p (4k) youtube videos and listening to sounds. Maybe there's a perfect phone for this that's hasn't all the rest I don't need. If I buy such a phone I can even wait untill I get to my new location to buy a desktop-sound system- screen-..

 

First off, you don't need a portable DAC-HPamp to use with a smartphone, particularly when you "won't be listening on the go." Barring hauling a Node304 or similar miniITX rig, if you need more processing power you can just get a gaming laptop (of course, you give up overclocking, but it's still easier to transport in your carry-on backpack/messenger) and then use a DAC-HPamp with a smartphone. Just buy both that are generally known to work, ie, a DAC-HPamp known to work with smartphones and a smartphone series that is generally known to work with external DAC-HPamps. With desktop units what you have to look into is whether they depend on USB power to run the USB receiver chip (basically working as an automatic trigger) if not the entire DAC circuit, but this is getting rarer and rarer on desktop units that have their own power supplies.

 

​Runs off a power brick

 

​Has a toroidal, 110v to 240v transformer inside

 

 

As much as portable DAC-HPamps might be a good idea particularly if you'll be using headphones that will be easy enough to drive, you have to think about product support - can you easily order replacement batteries for it (and that's assuming you can install them yourself) where you're going? Unless it's a brand like Fiio with local dealers, and if you can't install the battery either, if you'll be staying there long enough to be willing to haul a desktop computer then you're looking at shipping the product to and fro for a replacement battery at some point, and unless your destination has lax or free trade Customs with clean Customs Agents, this is going to be a problem.  

 

And as for getting an audio smartphone, what I'd do is narrow down smartphones based on features I'd want apart from audio, and then look up which ones measure well on GSMArena. Don't focus too much on marketing blurb regarding audio specs - some of these involve Beats Audio for example (which is a very gangsta way of putting the proverbial audio gun to your head, ie, switching it "off" actually switches "on" an EQ profile that mucks up the sound, to make you think that it does something), its hardware equivalent being the LG G5 B&O Frenemy (itarely measures any better than the LG V20, ​but ​the stock G5 audio circuit is deliberately crap so you'd think paying B&O pays off), and at best has a high-res compatible DAC which, apart from not having to downsample high res files, has the same amp chip section on the audio chip as other smartphones with decent audio performance. By now most of the higher tier phones have this anyway, but I'd still go with GSMArena measurements rather than marketing blurb on 24/96 compatibility because you never know if they otherwise screwed up the circuit for such chips.