[sabeking]

I’m new here and new to the DAP world... in other words, I don’t own one and have only owned an iPod Classic 80G that was never used. So, point me in right direction for the following use case:

1. Has to be able to stream Tidal from WiFi
2. has to be able to play tidal songs offline for the car
3. Has to be able to play via bluetooth to my Bluetooth speaker
4. will use it with dedicated headphones very rarely, if at all
5. looking to spend as little as possible with the above requirements

so, my primary goal is to stream tidal to a Bluetooth speaker. You ask, why don’t you use your phone? I need my phone available, at all times, for phone calls and want to continue hearing music in the background. Also, I would like to use it as my source in my car occasionally.

i am a recovering audioholic; however, I have become very content with good background music the older I get.

thanks,

Stacey
Raleigh, NC

 

[sabeking]

I’ve been doing some research and the biggest issue I’m coming across is being able to listen to Tidal offline. The one DAP that appears to do everything I need is the Fiio M11.

Anybody have any other options I should consider?

 

[Scorpio1957]

Hi,

Look at the new Astell & Kern SR 25.

 

[Raketen]

1. looking to spend as little as possible with the above requirements

so, my primary goal is to stream tidal to a Bluetooth speaker. You ask, why don’t you use your phone? I need my phone available, at all times, for phone calls and want to continue hearing music in the background. Also, I would like to use it as my source in my car occasionally.

Unless you really want playback control buttons, I'd still say get an extra phone, old model, secondhand or mid-tier. If the car issue is that you are using an aux cable that needs a headphone jack plenty of phones still have one. LG v30/35/40 ~300 are nice but lots of perfectly adequate lower cost options.

Affordable DAP options that support Tidal offline are limited- a few non-Android dap that MIGHT support Tidal offline (do not take my word for it and be careful because some have tidal but not offline, and Tidal interface can be pretty bad as well) like Activo CT10/20, Fiio M6 or M9.

The most affordable Android DAPs are generally older models that underperform phones pretty severely until you get to the ~$400 range with things like Fiio M11, iBasso 160, Hiby R5, maybe Sony A105 which have better reputations.

Rarely see them mentioned on Head-Fi these days but this might be a good occasion for the iPod Touch - I don't know what the Tidal support is like on those things (assuming iOS & app store means OK) but biggest downside is probably lack of micro SD expandable storage (the $200 version only has 32 GB).

 

[sabeking]

Raketen, thanks for the feedback. I was just going to ask about DAP's like the M9, X5 Gen 3, and others for the playback streaming from wifi and over Bluetooth. If I had to go without offline mode, that's probable fine. So, are you saying that using Tidal with M9 etc.. is not favorable to say an iPhone Xs Max?

Stacey

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

I think the Sony A105 walkman will suit your needs. The reason to go with Sony is because all modern Sony walkman have very solid Bluetooth connection. A105 has all the latest Bluetooth 5.0 standard and also charges via USB C. It also run on a modern android 9 OS which means everything on Google app store will work fine for the foreseeable future.

 

[psikey]

You don't mention storage space requirement but from what you posted I'd get a used LG V30 phone and use without a SIM.

Or as said, Sony A105.

 

[sabeking]

Storage space is minimal as I stream mostly. I can get a card for anything I want to store.

 

[psikey]

Storage space is minimal as I stream mostly. I can get a card for anything I want to store.

I was thinking an old iPhone SE 64 or 128GB thats why I asked.

 

[Raketen]

Raketen, thanks for the feedback. I was just going to ask about DAP's like the M9, X5 Gen 3, and others for the playback streaming from wifi and over Bluetooth. If I had to go without offline mode, that's probable fine. So, are you saying that using Tidal with M9 etc.. is not favorable to say an iPhone Xs Max?

Stacey

Sorry, maybe unnecesarily confused things there - I was making a generalization about my experience of Tidal on non-Android DAPs like the Hiby R3 which don't use the official Tidal app.

DAPs like M9 and CT10 are a different case from what I understand (sort of customized/restricted Android that allow for a limited selection of apps). I do not own.one myself, just suggest reading/asking owners to verify the offline funciton.

I think I was speaking of phones in terms of cost-effectiveness: For listening exclusively to streaming services over bluetooth a DAP has little advantage. I would prefer to pay $200 for a good ~2 year old Android phone rather than a new $400 Android DAP since I could likely find a phone with equal hardware and equal or more recent OS version (some assurance of continued streaming service app compatability). Not sure how lower cost streaming-compatible DAP like M9, or more expensive but well supported used iPhones would fit into that equation.

I would be wary of cheaper\older Android DAPs like the X5iii, they often launched with already old versions of android which can be subject to lose app support (reports of this with Tidal on ZX2 Walkman recently), and often had poor hardware/performance.

 

[Mhog55]

I'd snatch up a V30 myself.

 

[sabeking]

Basically, the following is what I see:

~$400

• Fiio M11
• iBasso DX160

Under $300

• Sony A105
• Fiio M9

Under $200

• Fiio M6
• HiBy R3 or R3Pro
• What else does Tidal in this price?

I appreciate the thoughts on LG phones; however, I‘m going the DAP way instead...

 

[bigjim]

Just buy an LG Phone that has the Quad DAC and be done with it. Ultimately nobody has been able to prove that the dedicated DACs sound any better, obviously as long as you don't need massive power. Oh, and I'm not talking about using it as a phone, just use it as a Dap, more features, thinner, sounds great, it's a no brainer.
I have an LG and also a Xduoo X3 that I feed into my DACs when at home.
It's all well and good the manufacturers releasing DAPs with all the flavour of the month innards, but they are savagely overpriced for what they are.

 

[kdphan]

Sounds like a cheaper Hiby R3 should work for your needs.

 

[caryking]

Well, my wants have changed a bit since starting this thread. I started looking around my closet of “No longer used Technology” and ran across something I forgot I owned... I have the Stax SR-001 MK2 head phones with the amp. It’s been a long time since I used them. Anybody got any feedback with those and with one of the DAPS mentioned?

By the way, the Hiby R3 Pro looks interesting...