[vibez]

Hi all

I am looking to upgrade from mojo-poly setup to a DAP that is an upgrade in SQ, and importantly is easier to use and does not have any software or hardware quirks (small issues are ok, but poly is a disaster to use - I don’t want to spend time fiddling with the player when I want to play music, so pure music UIs are also welcome).
I mainly use Tidal and microSD playback, all kinds of file formats, and all kinds of music genres. I really enjoy the sound of mojo with poly so similar sound signature with more detail would be perfect.
I use iems mainly, tia u12t and CA Solaris 2020.

I have been looking at M15 and SE200. A nice guy here already helped me with the recommendation between the two, but want to hear the feedback from wider forum to see if anything better I may be missing.

thanks a lot for the help. Budget is not a major concern if the player is worth it, but ideally would like to stay around $2000.

Umar

 

[wayofthedawn]

Hi all

I am looking to upgrade from mojo-poly setup to a DAP that is an upgrade in SQ, and importantly is easier to use and does not have any software or hardware quirks (small issues are ok, but poly is a disaster to use - I don’t want to spend time fiddling with the player when I want to play music, so pure music UIs are also welcome).
I mainly use Tidal and microSD playback, all kinds of file formats, and all kinds of music genres. I really enjoy the sound of mojo with poly so similar sound signature with more detail would be perfect.
I use iems mainly, tia u12t and CA Solaris 2020.

I have been looking at M15 and SE200. A nice guy here already helped me with the recommendation between the two, but want to hear the feedback from wider forum to see if anything better I may be missing.

thanks a lot for the help. Budget is not a major concern if the player is worth it, but ideally would like to stay around $2000.

Umar

I've recently had the chance to listen to the M15, and i think it's a really really amazing DAP!
I still didn't end up getting it though, because it was a lot bigger than i expected and not really portable for my use case. But the SQ is really amazing! (Much better than my iBasso DX160)

Sadly i've never heard the SE200.
Do you maybe have a local hifi shop where you can try them out?

 

[Kad998]

Hi all

I am looking to upgrade from mojo-poly setup to a DAP that is an upgrade in SQ, and importantly is easier to use and does not have any software or hardware quirks (small issues are ok, but poly is a disaster to use - I don’t want to spend time fiddling with the player when I want to play music, so pure music UIs are also welcome).
I mainly use Tidal and microSD playback, all kinds of file formats, and all kinds of music genres. I really enjoy the sound of mojo with poly so similar sound signature with more detail would be perfect.
I use iems mainly, tia u12t and CA Solaris 2020.

I have been looking at M15 and SE200. A nice guy here already helped me with the recommendation between the two, but want to hear the feedback from wider forum to see if anything better I may be missing.

thanks a lot for the help. Budget is not a major concern if the player is worth it, but ideally would like to stay around $2000.

Umar

Umar,

About 6 or 7 months ago, I did the same thing. I absolutely loved the sound of the Mojo, however the user friendliness could be a pain sometimes and a part of me really just wanted an all in one solution.

I started off carefully but really fell in love with DAPs. I started safely with the M11. Loved the user interface, loved the functionality but the sound left me with a bit to be desired from the Mojo/Poly’s warm sound. I didn’t waste much time before I jumped back in. By week 2, I looked towards the Cayin N6ii. 2 weeks later, I purchased it. Absolutely loved the sound and could’ve retired there. I had no problems with streaming but at the time i was in the process of mass purchasing my online library to all FLAC files. And once I got a taste on the N6ii, I could genuinely tell a difference between the two on that DAP, I just kind of stopped streaming on there.

That lead me to a place where I knew that i could live without streaming which was a huge point of contention for me. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to and then I saw that I could. The one problem that I had with the N6ii was battery life. It would last me about 10/11ish hours during a workday and I’d be scrambling for chargers left and right and that was a small bother for me. Soundwise, I knew I could retire at the N6ii. It had the warmth and thickness that I love. However, the battery life was about a no-go for me because my workdays are so long.

Always having the WM1 series in the back of my mind, I was about to get a WM1A but I found the WM1Z for 2.2k on amazon for the international version. I sent my Cayin back, offloaded some of my desktop stuff since I am a portable guy, and received the 1Z in the mail shortly. I honestly haven’t looked back since I received it. Stock sound is immaculate. There are threads here for firmware updates that take all of 30 seconds and they have boosted what I already thought was the endgame of sound. (If you do go that route, let me know and I’ll add you to the threads). I gave up streaming but before I bought the 1Z and I was asking around, I was told that the Bluetooth receiver would sound better than the majority of other daps. I didn’t believe it but for me, it edged the Mojo/Poly, maybe a tie with the Cayin N6II, and beat out the M11 for me. So streaming was no longer a big deal for me. It’s solid, dependable, and the UI is a breeze. It doesn’t have a plethora of excessive features. This thing is strictly for the music but it’s solid and can last for a decade lol.... Mine hasn’t crashed once in 6 months. No freezing, no bugs, no nothing. Just pure delivery of music. If you can’t find the 1Z for a great price, the group of people I told you about are wizards and have created firmwares to bring the WM1A up to speed to the 1Z Stock sound and maybe even surpass the 1Z stock (Again, i can send you the link if you go that route). They are dedicated to pushing these boundaries.

All in all, it depends on what you need. If you absolutely need streaming and wifi and android, the Cayin N6ii is a beautiful piece of equipment. If you just need pure sound, WM1A/WM1Z. Feel free to ask me anything further

 

[max232]

FiiO X7 Mark 2 + FiiO K5 + Edifier S880DB = total package for home and on the go.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I'm also interested in this thread. I have said in other threads that I didn't want a DAP because I didn't want to own music any more. Now I am thinking of a case where it might make sense. If there is a high quality DAP that can stream Tidal and provides better price/performance than Chord Mojo/Poly or Hugo 2/2go, then it might make sense for me to get one. Has anyone done such comparison?

Chord Mojo/Poly pair runs between $725 used to $1150 new
Chord Hugo/2 Go runs between $2400 used to $3800 new

That's big range. It would be interesting to know what options sounds better for the price.

 

[dasadab]

I am onboard with this thread also. I was previously in the Fiio DAP universe—last year or so I have been in the Hiby Universe with the original R6 and the small R5. I like the Hiby software and have found it to be relatively bug free and fast. I am looking at the R8 which is touted as flagship quality and the soon to be released upgraded R6 (due any day). The Cayin offerings also get solid reviews. I like the option to steam Qobuz HD and purchase from Qobuz. I also see the merit of having the discipline of owning a non streaming device because I spend too much damn time checking out the latest and greatest streaming release and playlist, as opposed to researching great performances and downloading or buying something exceptional. I would like to keep the price in the 1-1.5k range.

 

[vibez]

Thanks for the comments.

i am now torn between Cayin n6ii, SE200, Hiby R6 Pro, and FiiO m15.

Any comments on these especially comparison would be fantastic!

thanks

 

[dasadab]

The Hiby pro will soon be supplemented by what they are calling the R6, which is an upgraded pro. You can see it on the website. It’s funny that they reverted to the original name. I think they’re projecting about $800.

 

[Kad998]

I'm also interested in this thread. I have said in other threads that I didn't want a DAP because I didn't want to own music any more. Now I am thinking of a case where it might make sense. If there is a high quality DAP that can stream Tidal and provides better price/performance than Chord Mojo/Poly or Hugo 2/2go, then it might make sense for me to get one. Has anyone done such comparison?

Chord Mojo/Poly pair runs between $725 used to $1150 new
Chord Hugo/2 Go runs between $2400 used to $3800 new

That's big range. It would be interesting to know what options sounds better for the price.

To my ears, the Cayin N6ii bested the Mojo/Poly by a very very slight margin. However, the ease of use and all in one nature of the N6ii vs the poly makes it a no brained if you need a one stop shop.

 

[TubeStack]

I use an M11 Pro for Tidal MQA + local FLAC and love it. HD600s and a Little Dot Mk III.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

To my ears, the Cayin N6ii bested the Mojo/Poly by a very very slight margin. However, the ease of use and all in one nature of the N6ii vs the poly makes it a no brained if you need a one stop shop.

Great. What motherboard were you using?

The one thing Tidal needs is clean high speed internet, otherwise you get a lot of buffering especially with anything masters. So when you are out and about, one advantage of the mojo/poly is that you can stream to it with Airplay over the built in wifi hotspot with music that you downloaded onto your iPhone with the ios Tidal app. Hopeful Tidal will allow music downloads outside of its native app so that DAPs can take advantage of this feature.

 

[vibez]

Great. What motherboard were you using?

The one thing Tidal needs is clean high speed internet, otherwise you get a lot of buffering especially with anything masters. So when you are out and about, one advantage of the mojo/poly is that you can stream to it with Airplay over the built in wifi hotspot with music that you downloaded onto your iPhone with the ios Tidal app. Hopeful Tidal will allow music downloads outside of its native app so that DAPs can take advantage of this feature.

Wouldn't the DAP being Android allow Tidal offline playback?

@Kad998 Can you specify a bit what exactly did the Cayin do better in terms of SQ and sound signature?

Thanks

 

[Kad998]

The Cayin does allow you to store music offline in Tidal. Also, for reference, I had the E01 motherboard as well.

So it's been quite a bit more time but I remember the Cayin being more lively! Not in a super intense or negative fashion. But just a bit amplified in all areas. Both pieces of equipment are generally smooth and warm but the Cayin had more life. You can feel the bass more. The lows were a bit more refined and reached lower while still pronouncing. Both mids were luscious. The treble was a bit more forward to my ears as well. I say all of that but they truly were pretty close. But for my Genre of music, the Cayin edged the Mojo/Poly for me soundwise

 

[vibez]

Thanks all for the comments.

I have tried to find a comparison between n6ii and SE200 but so far haven’t found anywhere. If anyone can share or point me in the direction would be grateful.

I was also thinking about R3 + Mojo setup, can anyone confirm if the SQ is the same as mojo+poly?

for those mentioning n6ii and se200 better than mojo in SQ, I was researching online and found that the DAC processor and programming used by Chord is proprietary and apparently much more powerful than aftermarket DAC chips. How would the AKM chip then best the Mojo? Any thoughts on this?

thanks a lot
Umar

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Thanks all for the comments.

I have tried to find a comparison between n6ii and SE200 but so far haven’t found anywhere. If anyone can share or point me in the direction would be grateful.

I was also thinking about R3 + Mojo setup, can anyone confirm if the SQ is the same as mojo+poly?

for those mentioning n6ii and se200 better than mojo in SQ, I was researching online and found that the DAC processor and programming used by Chord is proprietary and apparently much more powerful than aftermarket DAC chips. How would the AKM chip then best the Mojo? Any thoughts on this?

thanks a lot
Umar

Very interesting choice. I would be interested in how this combination sounds as well. I never considered pairing a DAP with my Mojo. Would be interesting to see how the sound compares to the Mojo with the Poly.

Edited to note. You may want to consider a DAP that runs Android operating system if you want the run streaming services such as Tidal since it will run the native Tidal app. I think an R5 or R6 does that. But then you need to decide if you need the Mojo anymore.