Hi PJABBER, can u compare it to any DAP that u have...
At a US$40-50 price point the Shenzhen Benjie BJ-T6 is certainly competitive in terms of component hardware and build quality. It is potentially a compact powerhouse, but the initial firmware does not take full advantage of the hardware, including not yet being able to play spec'd DSD and some HiRes mp3 file formats. The T6 does NOT have E-book reading, FM Radio or Voice Recorder, though some other Benjie models do in some combination. The T-series Benjies are designed as High Fi music players only.
Benjie sent me a new manufacturing firmware a couple of weeks ago but I don't have a bootloader to install it. With China still enjoying their New Year holiday it might be another week or more before I get them to come back with a way to load the new firmware for further evaluation.
Alternatively, do keep an eye out for the AGPtek branded "Rocker," essentially a re-badged Benjie T6. AGPtek is working on new firmware with both Benjie and Rockbox, which should make for quite interesting DAPs when ready!
You can check out my profile for the headphones I am using, but I also use Fostex PM-1 MkII monitors that are room EQ corrected and balanced through a Roland/Edirol M-16DX digital mixer for analytical listening and two separate Paradigm and Klipsch 5.1 setups that are EQ corrected and balanced with Audyssey MultEQ though a Denon AVR-2309CI receiver. I use a Fluance Fi50 for Bluetooth listening.
At the moment I can directly compare the T6 with a Fiio X3II, an xDuoo X2 and the SanDisk Sansa Clip+. All auditioned music files are in a variety of FLAC and 24bit mp3 formats saved on a 64GB SanDisk Ultra microSDXC card. I use 2L's HiRes Test Bench selections for consistency - http://www.2l.no/hires/ - but also have a further variety of favorite classical, jazz and EDM selections in FLAC for reference listening.
I actually had three BJ-T6 units ordered directly from Shenzhen Benjie in China at the end of 2016, two of which I gifted. One is being used by a teenager who says he hears background noise that he does not hear with a Sansa Clip+. From his comments I initially thought he had a defective sample but when I tried to hear this for myself over the weekend I could not. Likely he has better hearing than I do. I'll let him try out my T6 this coming weekend to see if he hears the same noise floor with that sample.
OK, in comparison -
I recently purchased a Fiio X3II which I then updated to firmware V2.0. The Fiio is certainly a more sophisticated unit with mature firmware, albeit twice the size and weight and more than three times the price of the Benjie. No contest, the Fiio has a much more comprehensive and detailed UI. The Benjie's current UI is primitive in comparison, though it does have file organization essentials (Folders, Albums, Songs, Playlists, Genres, Artists, Favorites, Bookmarks, Recent,) a ten band EQ, high and low gain settings, etc. The T6 has Bluetooth, the Fiio does not. Without any EQing, the sound of the Fiio is more transparent/airy. I really appreciate the Fiio's quality and flexibility to adjust output but have thus far not opted for EQing in daily listening. Winner for classical and jazz - Fiio, pop and EDM - tied. The Fiio X3II really is at least two steps above the T6 overall, three if a solid UI is valued. However, if the T6 firmware update delivers what is promised the sound quality might only be one level better with the Fiio, which would make the T6 quite a better value for the price. Time will tell.
I am just starting to listen critically to an xDuoo X2. Unlike the Fiio X3II, this DAP is more directly comparable to the T6 in relative size, UI simplicity and feature set. Ease of use is about the same for the two but the T6 can show album art, where the X2 cannot. No Bluetooth for the X2 either. The size, weight, rounded form factor and buttons of the X2 are better than the T6 for daily carry. The xDuoo is really a fun player and, un-EQ'd, I have grown to prefer it's bolder (higher amp'd) sound to the Sansa Clip+, but not sure that I would prefer it to the T6 once the pending firmware update is in place.The X2 is also not directly comparable to the Fiio, I find the Fiio is better for classical, jazz and critical listening while I go to the xDuoo for EDM, house and the like.The T6 is somewhere in the middle in terms of sound definition but, again, I need to wait for the firmware update before making any kind of definitive statement here. The T6 would be a step upgrade to the X2 at around the same price.
The 8GB Sansa Clip+ is the lightest, most portable DAP I have and the most convenient for travel. It holds its own feature and UI wise, but I now prefer to use the other DAPs when I don't care about extreme portability. The Sansa has an FM radio, which I do not use for music but found very useful in the past when there was breaking news, so you might find a benefit there as well. The Sansa does not have Bluetooth either. I have used the Clip+ for a number of years and it has always had great battery life and reliability. In comparison to the smooth contours of the Clip+ and the X2, the T6 has a very solid metal body with sharp edges which you will feel in hand or a pants pocket. Soundwise, the Sans Clip+ comes in last in this comparison, the amping is weaker and this shows even when paired with the highly efficient IEMs and headphones that I use.
You may find the following comparison testing site to be helpful, though it has not tested the Benjie yet -
http://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/report/dac.php
This is another site that does a good job in comparing DAPs, including the ones I have, again, other than the Benjie -
http://headphoniaks.com/blog/categoria/reviews/reproductores/
Price, shape, weight and size notwithstanding, I would first go with the Fiio for reasonably portable critical listening, followed by a tie between the current firmware version Benjie and the Xduoo, and trailed by the Sansa Clip+.
The Benjie T6 is the only DAP I have with Bluetooth, and a good implementation of it even in the current firmware. I personally find this feature very useful in sharing music with more than one person at a time. If you need an inexpensive Bluetooth capable DAP, the Benjie T6 is going to be especially worth considering.
If you don't need to buy a DAP this very moment, I would still hold off on buying a T6 until it is confirmed that new firmware is fully in manufacturing and we all get more of a chance to audition. As I noted at the start, watch for both the AGPtek and updated Benjie versions of this DAP, the hardware and firmware are likely to be the same other than branding differences and AGPtek has certainly made firmware updates a lot easier to access than Benjie.
I expect to offer a more detailed review once I get the firmware updated on the T6 to the latest version.
