[Giogio]

  Yes it is a dedicated player, but with Android 5.1. Even the new FiiO X7 is Android, just 4.0.

Wow. Things really changes a lot since the Sandisk Sansa I had 6-7 years ago.
Thanks for the info.
May I ask why do you need a dedicated player? Should not any good mobile phone play music as good? I mean, bit perfect is bit perfect, right?

 

[Sonic Defender]

  Wow. Things really changes a lot since the Sandisk Sansa I had 6-7 years ago.
Thanks for the info.
May I ask why do you need a dedicated player? Should not any good mobile phone play music as good? I mean, bit perfect is bit perfect, right?

I need more power, and I hate having a separate amplifier. So for me the Onkyo provides enough power in one device. Plus, I like to try new sound signatures. But you are right, my Blackberry Leap has fantastic sound, it even measures way better than the iPhone 5, and it kills the iPhone 6. In fact, it's output is virtually perfect, but it doesn't have much power. The new LG V10 has a dedicated Sabre hardware DAC so we are seeing phones become DAPs. I am quite sure in not that long there will be genuine audiophile smartphones that have even balanced amplifiers in them. It is the logical progression and the fact that LG has identified the sound quality conscious consumer as a target means it is mainstream.
 
DAPs will likely shrink in relevance except for a small customer base who can afford to pay for highly specialized DAPs with the very best of all audio/streaming technology and of course the best UI.

 

[Giogio]

 
I need more power

Ok, as we were talking of BT Headphones I did not think about the fact that you may have bought that for wired headphones.
But, correct me if I am wrong, with BT Headphones there should be absolutely no difference between mobile phone or other stuff, right? You cannot have more power than 0db, in BT... You must (sigh) rely on the Amp of the headphones...

 

[Sonic Defender]

  Ok, as we were talking of BT Headphones I did not think about the fact that you may have bought that for wired headphones.
But, correct me if I am wrong, with BT Headphones there should be absolutely no difference between mobile phone or other stuff, right? You cannot have more power than 0db, in BT... You must (sigh) rely on the Amp of the headphones...

Yes, this is true, but until I try the headphones I have no way of knowing if the amp will be loud enough. The built in amp in my Blackberry Leap for instance was for the most part acceptable. Ideally the amplifier in these headphones is a little more robust. If they can't reach adequate volume levels with enough of the music I listen to then I will have to send them back under the trial period conditions. I am taking a chance, but I think it might be worth it just to have decent quality sound while escaping the need for cables when I'm on the go. Hopefully I'll know soon. Cheers.

 

[Sonic Defender]

@Giogio, well the Divine arrived today but it might be going back right away. The damn XTZ Android application doesn't play ALAC files which my entire library is in. I'm not even sure what formats it supports, I'll go read up on that. That is the first decision, do I really want to convert my entire collection again just for this player? What is the real issue I think is that it may be too quiet for me. I had it on maximum volume, Reference with boast 2 and full gain on, played the free song that comes with it and it was pretty quiet by my standards. The sound was nice, but if it is that quiet won't be much use to me. My only hope is that the track that comes with the player was a quiet mastered track. Bummer.

 

[Giogio]

Hmmm, nice point, I did not pay attention to that, I supposed it would support the most used formats.
No, no way, unless you find the ultimate headphone which you feel you can't live without, you should not convert your library.
Specially if they do not sound loud enough for you.
Pity.
I anyway suggest you to write them to ask them if they can update the app to make it support Alac. It may be that simple.
But it is strange, they write "whatever you play it is supported".
 
You could convert a couple of songs you know very well and you generally use to test headphones, do with them what you generally do with your music (normalize or Replay Gain), and try them with the App.
I am surprised anyway, I though I listened to music at high volume, and the max vol ot the XTZ is a bit to high for me on certain music. You must really be used to very loud volume...

 

[Sonic Defender]

I have converted a bunch of key albums to Flac, which plays fine and 'm testing them now. They are loud enough with modern music, but not for older recordings. That is fine, I could live with that. They certainly sound good, very good. I need to give my brain some time to adjust as they are brighter than the PM3, about on par with the 400i I think in terms of brightness. I'm using Boost One with gain at -3db. They headphone is pushed there, any more gain, or trying boost 2 and the headphone distorts badly at loud volumes. I'm not surprised, and to be fair this is a small driver. I'm still very pleased and suspect I will be keeping them for when I want to be free of cables. I'm about to go out in a major snow storm so it is great to not need cables. I'll post impressions in the other thread after I have a few more hours with them. Cheers.