[Firun]

Hello everyone
 
As you can see I'm a new member. Although I'm not exactly an audiophile, I've always had a fascination with "good" audio. Recently, I've bought Sennheiser Momentum 2 Over Ears because I really liked their sound signature and the clarity they manage to provide whilst having the kind of bass I like. Whilst I wouldn't call myself a bass head I do enjoy and love good bass, but clarity in the mids and unaggressive highs are very important as well. When using an equalizer I tend to very slightly enhance the bass whilst very slightly lowering the highest highs.
 
That being said I am now looking for a cheap-ish DAP that can accompany those cans. I've tried all kinds of source available at my home, and my PC soundcard produced the best sound by far (Asus Xonar DX). My current MP3 player, an entry level Sony from several years back, doesn't seem to mix well with the Momentums. My smartphone (2nd Gen Moto G) doesn't sound good as well, and my notebook sounds horrible.
 
At the moment, I'm looking at the Sony A15, mainly because it is somewhat inexpensive and I've used and liked Sony for years, or a Fiio X1, of which I am sceptical because of its size and user interface. Apart from that I'm open for any other suggestion in the 100-200 Euro price range.
 
Which DAP can you guys recommend? Maybe there is someone who also owns the Momentums and can speak from experience? I know and acknowledge that good sound is a very subjective preference (apart from the strictly objective measurements), but it appears as if going by consensus on a hi-fi forum hardly fails.

 

[Currawong]

I'm not sure what the Euro prices are, but the brands you're looking at other than Sony are FiiO, Astell&Kern and the Lotoo PAW5000. There are a few other Chinese DAPs around (eBay probably has a number of them) as well. I guess primarily you'd want one that you know has an EQ on it. The Momentums have always had slightly piercing highs. It seems to be a characteristic of German headphones.
 
Another thing to consider is a modern smart phone. Some of the newer Android ones are now being released with good quality audio, though the iPhone has always had pretty decent audio quality. 

 

[Firun]

Thanks for the recommendations. I had a quick look around and it seems as if the Lotoo is unavailable in Switzerland (where I live) and the Astell & Kern are too expensive for my liking. The cheapest one costs 650 Swiss Francs and I don't feel easy taking small, yet very expensive devices with me outside.
 
That being said I'm looking to spend 100-250 Swiss Francs. For reference, the Sony A15 is 150 Francs, the Fiio X1 is 120 Francs and the X3 II is 220 Francs, which is the price range I am looking at. It seems to me as if these are the only real options in this price bracket. I should add that I am not a fan of touchscreens, I want to be able to manipulate my player without having to take it out of my pocket or whilst wearing gloves, so Cowon is mostly out of the question as well. This also rules out smartphones, however I have to admit that I don't like using my smartphone for music.
 
I agree about the typical German sound, though. I'm a native German and my father is a sound engineer for the German public television station, so I grew up with a lot of Sennheisers... and, so far, I didn't like any of them. He gave me a HD25 a while back, and whilst they definitely produce a high quality sound I really don't like the sound signature. Actually, my girlfriend made me try the Momentums. Knowing my history with Sennheiser I thought I knew that they wouldn't be to my liking, but boy was I wrong. The highs are very present, yes, but in a precise way which I can live with quite well. The other weakness of Sennheiser, namely weak bass, is not a problem with the Momentums, so overall they are pretty much what I wanted. I just thought that there are DAPs with a sound signature that would go well with the M2s. Getting a player with a slightly treble focused sound would probably be a bad idea.

 

[Firun]

Any other ideas or experiences? To reiterate it's mostly between the Sony A15 or Fiio X1 / X3 II, but I'm of course also open for other suggestions.

 

[notfitforpublic]

Use my Momentum 1.0 on my Fiio X3ii. Sounds fantastic, no regrets buying the X3ii. The X3ii is a fairly neutral player so your not going to get any more emphasis on the already boosted treble and bass from the M2's. I haven't heard any of the other players. Haven't needed to.

 

[bikerboy94]

Mine pairs very well with the Fiio X3.