[zerogun]

You may have a look on powerhouse Xduoo XD-05 (amp/dac) or smaller brother Xduoo Poke.

The XD-05 looks nice. Really feeling the screen on it haha (I'm a huge sucker for external aesthetics too).

On a side note, has anyone else noticed a popping noise (like when you first connect a cable to a set of speakers) when starting music on the Deva? I've been using the bluemini pretty much exclusively (so I can't speak for if this happens with cable at the moment), and I've been experiencing this piercing popping noise that's quite uncomfortable when I start my music. Is this normal and is there a way to not have this? Will it damage the headphones over time?

 

[Ichos]

Hmm I've not come across the EarMen TR, I'll have to look into this as well. I was actually looking at the Fiio Q5s, but I'm not sure if that's ideal? I think that would be my upper limit in terms of budget.

I have booth and both are great.
FiiO Q5s is great sounding dac but in order to get the best of it with the Deva you are going to need a 2.5mm balanced cable or to buy the high power module.

Another great option is Dragonfly Cobalt.

 

[clerkpalmer]

got mine tonight. Forgive me for the potentially silly question. I have a jds atom on order. I am seeing that the bluemini can act as a standalone usb dac. So, does this mean I dont need to buy a DAC? Also, how long do I go about connecting the Deva to the Atom. Edit my source is my smartphone over tidal. Thanks.

 

[GunGrave]

If you bought the Deva with the BlueMini BT module, that module acts as a dac/amp and all you need to play music on it is a bluetooth device that you have music on. Like a smartphone.
If you want to connect the Deva to the Atom, you will need to connect the Atom to Dac and then connect the Deva to the Atom via the supplied 3.5 mm jack cable.

It sucks being in Europe, we have no way to get a decent amp at such a price.

 

[clerkpalmer]

If you bought the Deva with the BlueMini BT module, that module acts as a dac/amp and all you need to play music on it is a bluetooth device that you have music on. Like a smartphone.
If you want to connect the Deva to the Atom, you will need to connect the Atom to Dac and then connect the Deva to the Atom via the supplied 3.5 mm jack cable.

It sucks being in Europe, we have no way to get a decent amp at such a price.

Thanks. Thats what I figured. I saw the bluemini can be used as a dac only mode so was trying to figure out of i need a standalone DAC.

 

[GunGrave]

Thanks. Thats what I figured. I saw the bluemini can be used as a dac only mode so was trying to figure out of i need a standalone DAC.

Ah, the mini could probably function as a dac /amp wired to your computer via the usb cable. It is called dac mode, but the amplification in it is also used. Just like a dongle such as Dragonfly black.

 

[clerkpalmer]

Ah, the mini could probably function as a dac /amp wired to your computer via the usb cable. It is called dac mode, but the amplification in it is also used. Just like a dongle such as Dragonfly black.

Yep. Makes sense. I see some are saying BT beats the USB mode.

 

[GunGrave]

That is most likely because the USB chip they used is not of very high quality. Most DAPs that offer dac mode usually skim out on this part because it is not what they were designed for.

 

[Ichos]

The Deva module soundwise is comparable to a let's say 70-80$ dap.
It has separate dac chip and amp buffers instead of using one to do it all chip , so it is very descent.
Of course the USB mode is better than the Bluetooth mode.
It works very good with Android phones using the cable and it doesn't drain power.
So if a user doesn't already own an entry level dap it is a very very good solution especially if someone needs the Bluetooth function.

 

[zerogun]

I've been contemplating on the Aune BU1 or the Fiio Q5s. I really wanted to pick up the Aune BU1 but then reading experiences from others saying that it's way overpowered for IEM's seems like a bit of a deal breaker for me since I won't always be using headphones.

So much desire, so little money

 

[Ichos]

Q5s is very versatile and upgradable due to the modules.

 

[zerogun]

Q5s is very versatile and upgradable due to the modules.

Yeah, I didn't realize that the lower portion was detachable until I looked at their marketing site again! I think I'm definitely more on the Q5s tbh right now.

I really wish though that it was USB-C chargeable and not using micro-usb!

 

[clerkpalmer]

Any recommendations for an affordable dac to pair with an Atom? Or a dac/amp combo with sufficient power? Thanks.

 

[Ichos]

EarMen TR Amp.
Highly recommend.

 

[GunGrave]

For Dac only you can get any basic well known dac: JDS Atom Dac, Topping E30, Ifi Zen Dac, Schit Modi.