[bonesb]

Hi,

I am a newbie in the audiophile world, It started with upgrading my car audio, I know a car is not the best place to play music, but I have tried to make it the best possible as my work involves a lot of driving and thats where i can unwind the most.

I upgraded my car audio and added a three way front active and rear passive components, three amp and a DSP. I have two audio sources my HU(lets say I will use this if I want to listen to radio or maybe some CD, very rare). My primary source will be a portable player, now this is where my question is, should I use my phone or get a dedicated DAP.

My DSP is a Helix Pro MK2 which has an inbuilt DAC, this is what it has : The MK2 uses high-class two premium D/A converters: AK4456 and one A/D converter: AK5558 of the latest generation with a native resolution of 32-bit instead of the common 24-bit. How good is this as a DAC? I connect my phone through USB out to my DSP. In this case am I good with my phone or do I need a DAP?

I use an iPhone 7 and plan to upgrade to the new iPhones once its out, I currently use the camera adapter and play music through Tidal with HIFI subscription. Since I use Tidal I don't mind changing from an iPhone to an MQA certified phone like the LGv30+.

What would be my best option to get the purest music.

Thanks,
Boney

 

[kvik]

The Helix DSP uses Coax and Optical as digital input, the Apple camera adapter uses USB, how do you connect the two? The manual says USB input is for DSP-config through a computer. Does it work with Apple adapter, or did you get the separate Helix USB Interface? Either way, if iPhone works and is convenient for you, I don't see why you should change it. My guess is you have the Helix USB interface, and from the specs/description it seems quite ok. A DAP wouldn't change much in terms of sound, IMO, it might hold a larger local music libary, but if you only stream from Tidal, that point is void. Only thing I can think of in favour of a DAP is the ability/potential to output digitally via Coax or Optical. Then you wouldn't need to worry about an iOS upgrade messing with the camera adapter functionality. I have no Android experience, so can't speak about their vulnerability in this regard. And I have no opinion about MQA.

 

[bonesb]

The Helix DSP uses Coax and Optical as digital input, the Apple camera adapter uses USB, how do you connect the two? The manual says USB input is for DSP-config through a computer. Does it work with Apple adapter, or did you get the separate Helix USB Interface? Either way, if iPhone works and is convenient for you, I don't see why you should change it. My guess is you have the Helix USB interface, and from the specs/description it seems quite ok. A DAP wouldn't change much in terms of sound, IMO, it might hold a larger local music libary, but if you only stream from Tidal, that point is void. Only thing I can think of in favour of a DAP is the ability/potential to output digitally via Coax or Optical. Then you wouldn't need to worry about an iOS upgrade messing with the camera adapter functionality. I have no Android experience, so can't speak about their vulnerability in this regard. And I have no opinion about MQA.

Thanks.

Yes I use the HEC USB interface on the Helix.