Good DAP or Budget DAP + Headphones, ~£250

[FactirizeD]

Hello everyone,

It is my first post on this wonderful forum but I was following a lot of topics before. Firstly I just wanted to ask that it is a really helpful place where I learnt a lot about music equipment etc. Thank you for that!

So, I thought that I will be able to solve this problem myself but I am not that experienced and I feel that your help/recommendation would be very helpful. I have checked a lot of websites, different DAPs, came to some conclusions but I think I need some specific advice.

So basically I owned (and still own) a good old Fiio X1 1st gen. It was my first more serious step into the world of music. I was taking it with me for all the walks for the past three years. Now, however, I have some saved money and wanted to explore the world of DAPS and good quality music even more.

As the title suggests, I have around £250 (£300 tops) to spare. My main consideration now is whether it is better to buy a mid-budget DAP or a lower-budget DAP plus some good headphones to listen to the music in home/outside if the weather allows. Currently I own the Hifiman RE-400.

So from what I looked at, the difference between DAPs for £150 and £250/300 is better DAC, possibly Bluetooth aptx, WiFi and streaming services. Of course it is a lot, but I don't know whether I would be able to experience it without some good headphones, which I currently do not have. I was looking mostly at (used) A&K AK70, Fiio X5 3rd gen, Cayin i5 or Pioneer XDP-100R. While I was amazed by what they offer, I didn't feel that I need all of it. Specifically, I believe I mostly expect:

- SQ as good as possible;
- possibility of using it as a DAC;
- good UI.

Therefore, what I am thinking now is to choose some less expensive DAP (say, iBasso DX90 or A&K Jr) plus buy some headphones. Now I read a lot about Grados, ATH and Sony MDR-7506. I think I would figure it out with headphones but I am stuck on deciding whether investing into the DAP would be the best in this situation.

What are your thoughts? What would be the best way to 'upgrade' the music experience for 250/300 pounds, given that most of my library is (and will be) 24/96 FLACs or better? For now I am leaning towards A&K Jr + some good cans, but maybe this is wrong?

Sorry for a long post, I wanted to describe the situation as good as possible.
Cheers!

 

[yong_shun]

What type of streaming services are you using? If you were using Tidal then I would say Astell and Kern is a good choice. If streaming service is not a big concern, then you can consider Shanling M1 or M0. They are tiny with very good battery life. Good Bluetooth connection (aptX and LDAC) and can be used as a DAC (both OTG and Bluetooth). For headphone I have no much comments because not a huge fans of headphone (I use IEMs mostly) but I like Audio Technica ATH-M50X because of its reference sound signature.

 

[FactirizeD]

Thank you very much for the input. I was sure that I included it in my first post but I don't really need streaming services that much. I prefer to use my own files and will probably stick to that for now.

Does it leave me with an obvious choice of going into DAP + Headphones? Will I notice any differences between using Shanling M1/A&K Jr/iBasso DX90 or more expensive, mid-price DAPs?

 

[yong_shun]

If you were using your own source, then Fiio has some good DAP that could be considered such as X3 MkIII. It has Bluetooth and can be used as a DAC. Dual PCM DAC chipsets by Texas Instrument supporting the balanced output. Balanced output will definitely have a more significant improvement in SQ.

There will definitely be differences between DAPs. However, the resulting SQ is controlled by a lot of factor such as the quality of the recording, your DAP, your headphones/IEMs, your amp(optional), your cables etc. It is hard to say which is better. Do have some auditions with different combinations. It is tough and a long journey. Ultimately, audio is really too subjective. No absolute comment but all relative