[coreyb23]

I drive a new Mercedes with a 16 speaker Burmeister 3D audio stereo system. It sounds absolutely incredible as is playing tidal tracks through my Galaxy Fold 4 after working through Burmeister's sound personalization program. I'm fairly dubious that even an ultra-high end DAP, like an AK SP3000, would result in an appreciable difference in sound quality, but I would be more than happy to make the investment if it really would noticeably optimize my system.

I'd love to get some opinions from more experienced audiophiles on the forum.

If I do get a DAP, would there be much of a difference between connecting via blue tooth vs. USBC? Would I need to make sure the DAP is running in a particular mode to ensure that the DAC driving the DAP is actually doing the conversion work?

I apologize for my ignorance. I'm just starting to get into the hobby. There's a lot of information and products to digest.

 

[earmonger]

I'm skeptical that you would get much improvement because engine noise and road noise would probably drown out any subtle differences. Save the DAP for home listening.

 

[coreyb23]

I'm skeptical that you would get much improvement because engine noise and road noise would probably drown out any subtle differences. Save the DAP for home listening.

Appreciate the quick response!!! I hope this doesn't come across as me being a pompous douche. I drive a new S class. The cabin is incredibly quiet. At even low-moderate music volume levels, the only road noise that is audible is that of an emergency responder siren. Does that change your perspective at all?

 

[HipHopScribe]

It would probably make zero difference. If you use USB-C or Bluetooth the final digital to analog conversion is taking place on the headunit, not on your phone/DAP, so you would be bypassing the analog stage in your DAP entirely, which is the only thing that significantly separates a DAP from a phone. The DAC in your DAP wouldn’t be doing anything

 

[coreyb23]

It would probably make zero difference. If you use USB-C or Bluetooth the final digital to analog conversion is taking place on the headunit, not on your phone/DAP, so you would be bypassing the analog stage in your DAP entirely, which is the only thing that significantly separates a DAP from a phone. The DAC in your DAP wouldn’t be doing anything

Much appreciated! To your knowledge, would there be a way to connect a DAP like the SP3000 to your car stereo such that the final digital to analog conversion is taking place via the DAP and then being simply passed through to the stereo unit?

 

[HipHopScribe]

Much appreciated! To your knowledge, would there be a way to connect a DAP like the SP3000 to your car stereo such that the final digital to analog conversion is taking place via the DAP and then being simply passed through to the stereo unit?

If the car stereo has an analog input (3.5mm aux maybe) that would be the only way, but honestly I wouldn’t bother. You’re probably best off sending a digital signal to the stereo over USB and letting it handle the final conversion

 

[ThEvil0nE]

If I'm not mistaken, some DAPs do allow you to process (mseb/eq/filter) and be sent out via USB/optical/coax.

 

[coreyb23]

If the car stereo has an analog input (3.5mm aux maybe) that would be the only way, but honestly I wouldn’t bother. You’re probably best off sending a digital signal to the stereo over USB and letting it handle the final conversion

Really appreciate it!

 

[coreyb23]

Just as a quick follow up to this discussion, any thoughts on whether an AK SP3000 would sound better than a new Macbook pro?

 

[HipHopScribe]

Just as a quick follow up to this discussion, any thoughts on whether an AK SP3000 would sound better than a new Macbook pro?

Ultimately that's going to be subjective, but newer Macbook Pros have enough power for many headphones and are also good in terms of noise and frequency response so you may not find any added benefit with a DAP.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I drive a new Mercedes with a 16 speaker Burmeister 3D audio stereo system. It sounds absolutely incredible as is playing tidal tracks through my Galaxy Fold 4 after working through Burmeister's sound personalization program. I'm fairly dubious that even an ultra-high end DAP, like an AK SP3000, would result in an appreciable difference in sound quality, but I would be more than happy to make the investment if it really would noticeably optimize my system.

I'd love to get some opinions from more experienced audiophiles on the forum.

If I do get a DAP, would there be much of a difference between connecting via blue tooth vs. USBC? Would I need to make sure the DAP is running in a particular mode to ensure that the DAC driving the DAP is actually doing the conversion work?

I apologize for my ignorance. I'm just starting to get into the hobby. There's a lot of information and products to digest.

In a car environment outside of owning a Maclaren F1 and putting a Rolls Royce's worth of sound dampening on it, the only thing you'll really need is a good DSP. Not sure how good the Burmeister is, but I'd sooner worry about having 3-way output for the front speakers (and shutting down the rear speakers completely) with the proper cut offs (this is locked on stock systems so nobody blows their tweeter and midrange) and tuning time alignment so they all arrive at your head at the same time along with the sub's output (note: this will completely mess up the sound for the other seats, but hey, you're the one driving) than worry about whether I have eight non-OS DAC chips decoding the audio or something.

This is because your biggest problem (and 99.99% of everybody else's problem) is that they're not driving a Maclaren F1. You don't exactly sit at home in front of the left channel speakers with the subwoofer behind you, or have the right headphone earcup pulled away from your head. After that the problem for the 0.000001% that do have a Maclaren F1 is that they're not driving a Rolls Royce...meaning even if you have an F1 or the DSP to simulate sitting in the middle, your next problem is the road noise and the fact that your attention span as a driver is going to be on "not destroying this car, that car, that other car, that thing, and that thing, and unaliving the baby in the back of this and that car, etc" on top of road noise. An Aston Martin with Yokohama AVS DB tyres will still be significantly louder than a Rolls Royce but at that point it's not gonna handle like an Aston Martin. Not to mention the real sound system in a car should be the BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR out the back anyway - the audio system is really more for when you're stuck in traffic or you're in a boring stretch of the freeway.

 

[coreyb23]

In a car environment outside of owning a Maclaren F1 and putting a Rolls Royce's worth of sound dampening on it, the only thing you'll really need is a good DSP. Not sure how good the Burmeister is, but I'd sooner worry about having 3-way output for the front speakers (and shutting down the rear speakers completely) with the proper cut offs (this is locked on stock systems so nobody blows their tweeter and midrange) and tuning time alignment so they all arrive at your head at the same time along with the sub's output (note: this will completely mess up the sound for the other seats, but hey, you're the one driving) than worry about whether I have eight non-OS DAC chips decoding the audio or something.

This is because your biggest problem (and 99.99% of everybody else's problem) is that they're not driving a Maclaren F1. You don't exactly sit at home in front of the left channel speakers with the subwoofer behind you, or have the right headphone earcup pulled away from your head. After that the problem for the 0.000001% that do have a Maclaren F1 is that they're not driving a Rolls Royce...meaning even if you have an F1 or the DSP to simulate sitting in the middle, your next problem is the road noise and the fact that your attention span as a driver is going to be on "not destroying this car, that car, that other car, that thing, and that thing, and unaliving the baby in the back of this and that car, etc" on top of road noise. An Aston Martin with Yokohama AVS DB tyres will still be significantly louder than a Rolls Royce but at that point it's not gonna handle like an Aston Martin. Not to mention the real sound system in a car should be the BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR out the back anyway - the audio system is really more for when you're stuck in traffic or you're in a boring stretch of the freeway.

Appreciate the response.