Hello All,
I want to upgrade my DAP soon, and am hoping for some insight from anyone who has experience of the models and IEM's I use and am considering. I currently have a Hiby R6 DAP and a pair of Legend X IEM's, with an Effect Audio Lionheart cable - 2.5mm balanced silver and gold. I listen pretty much exclusively to FLAC files, stream from Qobuz, and have the odd DSD. My main priority is sound quality, but the ability to add Qobuz - to stream and listen offline are important factors.
I have a conundrum though, inasmuch as I thought I knew which DAP I wanted to add next, but now I am not so certain! For a good while I considered the A&K SP1000M as the next logical step for me; as it definitely ticks all my boxes. But more recently I've been reading a lot of positive reviews of the iBasso DX220 - esp as PinkyPowers and Twister6 have both given the DX220 glowing reviews, and noted how well it plays with the Legend X. This component synergy is obviously very important to me too. My main dilemma is that even with potential Black Friday discounts, the A&K SP1000M is going to be at least 2.5 times more expensive than the DX220. I appreciate the law of diminishing returns with Summit-Fi DAPs, and even though the A&K SP1000M looks good value compared to the original $3500 cost of the A&K SP1000, I'm interested in discovering how much better the A&K SP1000M actually is - if it is at all, compared to the DX220. Can anyone enlighten me please, because I want to make the correct choice in a week, or so?
Many thanks in advance!