[Overkill Red]

So.. Does anyone know of a cheap DAP that can play FLAC/ALAC and doesn't hiss much with the Zeus?
Preferably with a longer battery life..?

 

[PinkyPowers]

FiiO's are nice and quiet, yes?

 

[EagleWings]

So.. Does anyone know of a cheap DAP that can play FLAC/ALAC and doesn't hiss much with the Zeus?
Preferably with a longer battery life..?

 
How cheap? Based on what we are hearing on the forums, it seems that A&K players seem to be quite silent with the Zeus. So if you are able to find a used AK100ii or AK70, that could be one option (not certain on the battery life on those devices though). 
 
Zeus has the least hiss with my iPhone 6. And I am not sure if it will behave the same with the iPod touch. But if it does, then that could be another option.

 

[EagleWings]

FiiO's are nice and quiet, yes?

 
Unfortunately, the Zeus is very sensitive. Fiio X3ii is one of the most silent DAPs, I have come across, but the Zeus hisses even on Low Gain.

 

[Overkill Red]

How cheap? Based on what we are hearing on the forums, it seems that A&K players seem to be quite silent with the Zeus. So if you are able to find a used AK100ii or AK70, that could be one option (not certain on the battery life on those devices though). 

Zeus has the least hiss with my iPhone 6. And I am not sure if it will behave the same with the iPod touch. But if it does, then that could be another option.

Cheers for the help guys.
I was looking for a beater DAP that performs decently well, I'll look into the FiiOs.
The Zeus is indeed very sensitive; it hisses slightly even out of my modded 240SS!

 

[EagleWings]

Cheers for the help guys.
I was looking for a beater DAP that performs decently well, I'll look into the FiiOs.
The Zeus is indeed very sensitive; it hisses slightly even out of my modded 240SS!

You bet. Some useful info in this post too:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/786335/empire-ears-adel-discussion-impressions-formerly-earwerkz/5370#post_13149949

 

[Raketen]

Cheers for the help guys.
I was looking for a beater DAP that performs decently well, I'll look into the FiiOs.
The Zeus is indeed very sensitive; it hisses slightly even out of my modded 240SS!

Only a few impressions so far but the Aune M1S looks like it could turn out quite nicely. Twister mentioned minimal hiss with zeus here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/827960/aune-m1s-impressions-discussion-thread-aunes-newest-hi-res-dap-with-ess9012km-2-5mm-balanced-out/75#post_13077694

 

[Malevolent]

 
Yeah there was quite a lot of people yesterday but most came in the evening. Not really much of a "queue" to speak of tbh.

 
Great! I'll probably head down next weekend then. 

 
 

You guys are lucky with places with Music Sanctuary. No place like that around here...

 
In some ways, it's good.
 
However, having access to a myriad different IEMs also means that we have a long list of things we think we want to buy. Ouch. 

 

 

[dsmit125]

So.. Does anyone know of a cheap DAP that can play FLAC/ALAC and doesn't hiss much with the Zeus?
Preferably with a longer battery life..?

I have experience with se535 and u10 universals played through dx90 and ak320. I am a big fan of dx90. It has hi med low gain switch and I have never noticed any hiss with se535 or u10 except slight background hiss on hi gain through se535. I am eagerly anticipating my custom zeus xr adel delivery next week and will be able to provide input regarding specific hiss with dx90 at that point if anyone is interested.

 

[bvng3540]

So.. Does anyone know of a cheap DAP that can play FLAC/ALAC and doesn't hiss much with the Zeus?
Preferably with a longer battery life..?

Sony zx100

 

[nmatheis]

Only a few impressions so far but the Aune M1S looks like it could turn out quite nicely. Twister mentioned minimal hiss with zeus here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/827960/aune-m1s-impressions-discussion-thread-aunes-newest-hi-res-dap-with-ess9012km-2-5mm-balanced-out/75#post_13077694

A few of us have that DAP in for testing now. If anyone's interested in purchasing it, please check the last page of two of the thread where I outline some of my nitpicks and be informed before you buy

 

[xtr4]

So.. Does anyone know of a cheap DAP that can play FLAC/ALAC and doesn't hiss much with the Zeus?
Preferably with a longer battery life..?

 
Cowon Plenue D?

 

[proedros]

i get a small hiss from my athenas when using my dx80/zx2 but is is far from annoying/noticeable - and when music starts it is non-detectable 

 
yes my NT6 has zero hiss before pressing PLAY , but again the hiss i get from athena does not take any enjoyment away
 
i am mentioning this because judging from the comments i see , people may get the impression that EE ciems are extra-noisy (which they are not)
 
just my 2 cents

 

[Sound Eq]

So.. Does anyone know of a cheap DAP that can play FLAC/ALAC and doesn't hiss much with the Zeus?
Preferably with a longer battery life..?

get cown plenue pm2 and forget any other dap in that price range, zero hiss, best sounding dap that i tried, it sounds so close to my previous cowon plenue s, when i heard plenue pm2 I sold my plenue s as they sounded so identical and i could not justify the huge price difference between both, and zeus simply shines on it

 

[moedawg140]

i get a small hiss from my athenas when using my dx80/zx2 but is is far from annoying/noticeable - and when music starts it is non-detectable :rolleyes:

yes my NT6 has zero hiss before pressing PLAY , but again the hiss i get from athena does not take any enjoyment away

i am mentioning this because judging from the comments i see , people may get the impression that EE ciems are extra-noisy (which they are not)

just my 2 cents

I agree on your last point. There are too many ways now to make any DAP/listening device (when used with anti-hiss apparatuses or certain DAC/amps) to not emit possible perceptible hiss/background noise with any of EE IEMs and most any IEM in the market, to make hiss/background noise a non-concern, in my opinion.

For those that would like to know these solutions, check out my hiss/background noise section in my QP1R review, here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/778877/review-questyle-qp1r-with-multiple-headphone-and-iem-pairings.