Budget dap for stacking with FiiO A5?
Dec 4, 2020 at 8:30 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 8
J

jmwant

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My current setup is cellphone - Apple USB-c to 3.5mm adapter- FiiO A5. I'm quite satisfied with the output, but the problem is the screen turns off in every 10 seconds and the music gets stopped. It's getting really annoying to robotically tap the screen in every 9 seconds to keep it awake. I'm looking for a dap that can be stacked with the A5 so that I can listen to music while working on my phone without any distraction. Balanced output isn't mandatory and tidal streaming would be a bonus.
My current iems: Blon BL03, MH755, Er2xr and Koss kph30i+ portapro is on their way. Might get a Blessing 2 Dusk later if it get good reviews.
 
Dec 5, 2020 at 3:33 AM Post #2 of 8
Personally, I would avoid a DAP entirely and instead purchase an unlocked LG V-series phone that uses their “quad-dac” tech.

My rationale is as follows:
  1. Android smartphones offer a much more flexible digital interface since it runs the full standard Android operating software. This means you’ll be able to stream music from any streaming service you prefer, or directly from your music library. Meanwhile, DAPs use a custom UI or a truncated version of Android that limit where/how your music can be accessed. Custom UIs are generally clumsy to use, while those that use a stripped version of android software restrict you to a limited selection of apps that may not suit how you access music.
  2. Aside from music, smartphones offer thousands of other applications that are not supported by DACs—like YouTube and internet sites. This makes it a much more flexible “media” source device. Not to mention the hardware benefits that can’t be found on DAPs like a quality camera and high resolution/refresh-rate screen.
  3. The LG quad-dac phones measure better than most DAPs under $1,000, and can be found routinely for as little as $200-$300. They also offer most of the specialized sound settings found in DAPs—like channel balanced adjustment, digital filter selection, and system-wide EQ presets. Moreover, they can decode most file formats (e.g. DSD, ALAC) and even offer native MQA decoding for making the most from Tidal’s MQA collection. Internal storage can be upgraded via microSD up to 2TB.
  4. Finally, the LG quad-dac phones retain a headphone port that outputs line-level voltage for seamless analog connection to your A5 via a standard 3.5mm cable. Alternatively, you can bypass the internal DAC and use it solely as a source by using the usb-c output. This will allow you to use it with other DACs if you upgrade in the future.
I know this suggestion doesn’t necessarily comply with your original inquiry for DAP recommendations, but I hope I’ve outlined a viable alternative to a traditional DAP, while still answering the gist of your original post.

Here’s a link to an article that provides more detail on the different LG models that support the functions I mentioned above. Personally, I think the V40 offers the best price-to-performance.
 
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Dec 5, 2020 at 9:35 AM Post #4 of 8
KittySneeze said:
Personally, I would avoid a DAP entirely and instead purchase an unlocked LG V-series phone that uses their “quad-dac” tech.

My rationale is as follows:
  1. Android smartphones offer a much more flexible digital interface since it runs the full standard Android operating software. This means you’ll be able to stream music from any streaming service you prefer, or directly from your music library. Meanwhile, DAPs use a custom UI or a truncated version of Android that limit where/how your music can be accessed. Custom UIs are generally clumsy to use, while those that use a stripped version of android software restrict you to a limited selection of apps that may not suit how you access music.
  2. Aside from music, smartphones offer thousands of other applications that are not supported by DACs—like YouTube and internet sites. This makes it a much more flexible “media” source device. Not to mention the hardware benefits that can’t be found on DAPs like a quality camera and high resolution/refresh-rate screen.
  3. The LG quad-dac phones measure better than most DAPs under $1,000, and can be found routinely for as little as $200-$300. They also offer most of the specialized sound settings found in DAPs—like channel balanced adjustment, digital filter selection, and system-wide EQ presets. Moreover, they can decode most file formats (e.g. DSD, ALAC) and even offer native MQA decoding for making the most from Tidal’s MQA collection. Internal storage can be upgraded via microSD up to 2TB.
  4. Finally, the LG quad-dac phones retain a headphone port that outputs line-level voltage for seamless analog connection to your A5 via a standard 3.5mm cable. Alternatively, you can bypass the internal DAC and use it solely as a source by using the usb-c output. This will allow you to use it with other DACs if you upgrade in the future.
I know this suggestion doesn’t necessarily comply with your original inquiry for DAP recommendations, but I hope I’ve outlined a viable alternative to a traditional DAP, while still answering the gist of your original post.

Here’s a link to an article that provides more detail on the different LG models that support the functions I mentioned above. Personally, I think the V40 offers the best price-to-performance.
Click to expand...


This seems interesting. Any model worth looking into?
 
Dec 5, 2020 at 10:09 PM Post #5 of 8
KittySneeze said:
Personally, I would avoid a DAP entirely and instead purchase an unlocked LG V-series phone that uses their “quad-dac” tech.

My rationale is as follows:
  1. Android smartphones offer a much more flexible digital interface since it runs the full standard Android operating software. This means you’ll be able to stream music from any streaming service you prefer, or directly from your music library. Meanwhile, DAPs use a custom UI or a truncated version of Android that limit where/how your music can be accessed. Custom UIs are generally clumsy to use, while those that use a stripped version of android software restrict you to a limited selection of apps that may not suit how you access music.
  2. Aside from music, smartphones offer thousands of other applications that are not supported by DACs—like YouTube and internet sites. This makes it a much more flexible “media” source device. Not to mention the hardware benefits that can’t be found on DAPs like a quality camera and high resolution/refresh-rate screen.
  3. The LG quad-dac phones measure better than most DAPs under $1,000, and can be found routinely for as little as $200-$300. They also offer most of the specialized sound settings found in DAPs—like channel balanced adjustment, digital filter selection, and system-wide EQ presets. Moreover, they can decode most file formats (e.g. DSD, ALAC) and even offer native MQA decoding for making the most from Tidal’s MQA collection. Internal storage can be upgraded via microSD up to 2TB.
  4. Finally, the LG quad-dac phones retain a headphone port that outputs line-level voltage for seamless analog connection to your A5 via a standard 3.5mm cable. Alternatively, you can bypass the internal DAC and use it solely as a source by using the usb-c output. This will allow you to use it with other DACs if you upgrade in the future.
I know this suggestion doesn’t necessarily comply with your original inquiry for DAP recommendations, but I hope I’ve outlined a viable alternative to a traditional DAP, while still answering the gist of your original post.

Here’s a link to an article that provides more detail on the different LG models that support the functions I mentioned above. Personally, I think the V40 offers the best price-to-performance.
Click to expand...
I considered getting a G8 quad dac version. I realize it sounds lame but I can't get out of the preconceive notion that smartphones can't be dap.
 
Dec 6, 2020 at 12:50 AM Post #6 of 8
I think the V40 is currently the best option, as they retain 95% of the audio components the newer devices feature, but only cost around. $250 brand new. Refurbished versions can be found for closer to $200.

That said, the newer phones are objectively still better than the older V40, but most of their advantages can be attributed to an increased computing capacity and improvements in camera/video hardware and processing.

In the context of using this device as a dedicated music player though, the V40 will likely never be pushed to the point where you’ll notice it’s older computing. specs. Its poorer camera quality is also likely not relevant for using it as a DAP either.
 
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