[BL33DnEaRs]

This hobby (obsession as of late) along with all other things tech-related changes daily. I'm looking for a reliable, somewhat current technology-ish all in one DAP. I mainly would like to replace my Sony A25 which has and still serves me well especially using bt connection along with LDAC (if you can honestly tell the difference). It is however a bit on the weak side on the SE output, but for portability and stability, it's fine. After reading what seemed like pages of reviews and a few videos from Bad Guy on YT, I thought the R3 may just fit the bill. Plenty of power SE and balanced, and portable with LDAC and etc. Then the M0 seemed a maybe, then the Hidizs 60, now 80. Too much coming way too fast. Please help clear some of the fog for an ole army grunt, I just need something to drive some CA comets and atlas iems mostly through the SE, or bt with a Mee BT cable and the some Sony 1000xm2. Thoughts? Major concern is stability of OS and connection quality both physically and wirelessly. Thanks for the inbound intel! Poor ole IPC/C5 may see some use soon without y'alls help.

 

[artpiggo]

I recommend activo ct10. it sounds really good with CA iems and very versatile to every genre.

other option is Fiio M series on your budget. Its warm sound also matches well with CA iems.

 

[HeadlessChicken]

I was able to audition both R3 and the M0 before buying the R3, and I thought both were able to drive the Comets fine. The general vibes for both are very similar, neutral/warm, enjoyable musicality. Sound wise both devices were impressive. What eventually brought me towards the R3 was the slightly larger screen for ease of touch screen use, and the possibility of displaying more text using a larger font.
I auditioned both devices using pop/rock music, no classical/jazz. Meaning a mix of decently mastered and lossy stuff.
Can't speak for LDAC quality as I don't own any LDAC capable stuff besides the R3. However, the head-fi threads for both R3 and M0 are pretty active, and both companies' reps seem to make an effort to respond. Perhaps can do a quick search within the threads to check out what others said about LDAC. In particular, LDAC was just introduced on the R3.
Hope this helps!
Edit: not sure what the budget is, but IMO the AP80 is not a fair comparison (price wise) to the R3. In fact I think the R3 is probably the most expensive of the bunch.

 

[silverfishla]

If you’re not streaming, I’d go for the Hidizs AP80. Does what the Shanling MO will do but has (get this) FM Radio and a step counter. I tried the M0 and really liked it because it had quite a bit of power. AP80 uses the same amp/DAC chipset, so should be as powerful but has an EQ/DSP feature call Mageball or something that is supposed to be very usable. It’s on Kickstarter now, so you won’t get it for a couple of months though.
Oh by the way, I tried the MO with the Comets (have those) and they sounded good. Mo is tiny like a watch.

 

[HeadlessChicken]

If you’re not streaming, I’d go for the Hidizs AP80. Does what the Shanling MO will do but has (get this) FM Radio and a step counter. I tried the M0 and really liked it because it had quite a bit of power. AP80 uses the same amp/DAC chipset, so should be as powerful but has an EQ/DSP feature call Mageball or something that is supposed to be very usable. It’s on Kickstarter now, so you won’t get it for a couple of months though.
Oh by the way, I tried the MO with the Comets (have those) and they sounded good. Mo is tiny like a watch.

The EQ on the AP 80 is the same as the Hiby R3 because Hidizs licences their software (including the EQ) from Hiby. The EQ mentioned is called MSEB (magic sound 8 ball). I agree that it is very usable indeed, one does not require knowledge about frequencies to be able to use it.