[Testing456]

Hi everyone,

I registered on here because I couldn't get a clear answer/comparison on this anywhere else, so I thought I'd ask the forum I've been reading for a few months now.

I recently bought the Fermat and I love the liveliness, clarity and resolution of it. It's perfect out of the box for classical and slower music to me, although perhaps a bit bass-light (in quantity, not quality) for metal and more energetic genres.

I'm looking for a small budget DAP to drive it with the following requirements, if that is possible:

1. I'm currently using it on a 2019 MacBook Pro 16" and I wouldn't want the resolution/clarity of the DAP to be any lower than what I'm getting out of a MacBook with a 3.5 jack.

2. I don't have huge EQ needs: to me, the perfect version of the EA1000 is about 3.5 - 2 DB added into lower bass and 2 - 1 DB into lower midrange categories, only when listening to faster/more energetic music genres. That adds a bit of boom to the tight bass, and brings the vocals forward a bit for a more immersive experience.

3. Portability is a big one: I need the DAP to be handy for exercise/gym related stuff. So the smaller and more clippable, the better, but not at the expense of sounding worse/flatter/more hollow than your typical MacBook.

I don't stream music and I really don't care about the screen, UI, battery, balanced output, etc.

With that in mind, I've been looking at Shanling M0 Pro and Hiby R3 II. The main two things that matter to me are sound quality and portability, with EQ quality also being a consideration but not a huge one.

From what I've read over here, Shanling has a warmer sound signature and decent bass which may possibly remove some of my EQ needs (hopefully without impacting the clean treble and overall instrument separation), while Hiby sounds more neutral but has a better EQ system with MSEB and the rest.

Shanling would be my preferred buy due to size, but I wonder - would the overall clarity on either of these two be at least as good as my older 2019 MacBook Pro? Because on a MacBook, I can easily add a few DB into those 32 - 500 HZ regions even on a basic 10 band equalizer and the sound stays vibrant, clean and clear while bringing bass forward, all without any distortion or bleeding.

Does anyone happen to have a MacBook and either or both of these DAPs on hand for that comparison, by any chance?

Thank you for any input/pointers!

 

[msing539]

I can't provide input on your questions, but I'll add the Hidizs AP80 Pro to your list, which is also small.

Personally, I would opt for the HiBy R3 to have the 4.4, even if you won't use it yet.

 

[Testing456]

I can't provide input on your questions, but I'll add the Hidizs AP80 Pro to your list, which is also small.

Personally, I would opt for the HiBy R3 to have the 4.4, even if you won't use it yet.

Thank you for the input! I've actually been eyeing the AP80 Pro as well but didn't have enough time to research it (unlike the other two) so I didn't feel confident in adding it to the list yet.

Still though, for the purposes of this thread, I'd really love to hear opinions based purely on sound quality (i.e. how far or close to a generic MacBook) and clarity. I 100% get exactly what you mean and why you're saying it (future proofing), but let's leave all of that aside for a moment since right now I'm just focused on that sound aspect first.