[Anatase]

my beloved dx120 battery died, time to get a new one.

Thus, I am looking for a DAP up to 400-450€/$, with a 2.5mm balanced output.
I was very satisfied with the dx120 sound, anything similar (or better) good.
It will be paired with ibasso IT03s and a Meze 99 classic.

I can only find Hiby to have something potentially interesting in the 300 to 400€/$ range.

Thanks for any recommendation!

 

[HiFiWar]

my beloved dx120 battery died, time to get a new one.

Thus, I am looking for a DAP up to 400-450€/$, with a 2.5mm balanced output.
I was very satisfied with the dx120 sound, anything similar (or better) good.
It will be paired with ibasso IT03s and a Meze 99 classic.

I can only find Hiby to have something potentially interesting in the 300 to 400€/$ range.

Thanks for any recommendation!

DX160 is the logical replacement, though the software on it is pretty crappy. I'd recommend a Shanling M3U for that price range unless you can find a 6 for that price. The DX160 sounds great and has a solid battery though.

 

[jasonliuspark]

Ibasso's android user performance is crap, although sound quality is good, if you don't mink the crappy os, newly released dx260 would be a good choice.

 

[Anatase]

Ibasso's android user performance is crap, although sound quality is good, if you don't mink the crappy os, newly released dx260 would be a good choice.

definitely not in the same price range unfortunately.
I went ahead with a dx170 with a 25% discount. Not a 2.5mm BAL output but got an adapter for it, which is all right. I'd rather not used that but welp. The market has moved to 4.4mm BAL, it's annoying when I have been building my ecosystem around 2.5mm for several years and invested quite a bit in cables for that.

I am not distraught by the android perf. It's fine, the sound is really good, definitely an upgrade over the dx120, and overall it works
My only quip about it is the booting time, it's a bit long. Everything else is fine so far. Since I don't use really any of the android feature it's not a problem (i.e. no bluetooth, no wifi, no other app atm beside the stock ones).