[Imbrie]

Hi all,

New member here seeking recommendations for a stable DAP that can stream primarily from Apple Music, is there is such a thing.

I have recently ordered a Cayin N5IIS but subsequently learned through this site of a number of issues with the player that I know I will find frustrating and not willing to overlook so will be returning it as it really does not seem fit for its advertised purposes.

From what I have learned, it does seem that DAPs running on Android all suffer from a variety of issues rendering them unstable in one degree or other so perhaps the time is just not right to take the leap to a streaming DAP.

However, if there is a player out there that fulfills the criteria, I am looking to spend approx. £500 but certainly willing to pay more for something that really performs well.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Apatride]

Apple Music implies iTunes and iTunes has always been "special", even more so on non Apple OS. You can add to this the fact that most (cheap) Android players use rather old/obsolete versions of Android and you have a recipe for disaster.
If you want to stick to Apple Music, an iPhone or iPod, possibly with an external DAC, is the only real option.

 

[Imbrie]

Apple Music implies iTunes and iTunes has always been "special", even more so on non Apple OS. You can add to this the fact that most (cheap) Android players use rather old/obsolete versions of Android and you have a recipe for disaster.
If you want to stick to Apple Music, an iPhone or iPod, possibly with an external DAC, is the only real option.

Thanks - you are just confirming the conclusion I have arrived at but wanted to see if I was missing anything.

In terms of DAPs running Android, what would you consider to be the most reliable/stable?

 

[Apatride]

Thanks - you are just confirming the conclusion I have arrived at but wanted to see if I was missing anything.

In terms of DAPs running Android, what would you consider to be the most reliable/stable?

I would get a phone. LG v30 or HTC10 are not too expensive anymore and have very decent DACs (my previous phone was the HTC10 and it is a very capable DAP).
I do not have much experience with Android DAPs besides the Fiio X7 Gen 1 that I do not recommend at all because of software issues. I do not use Apple Music but my experience with Tidal and Spotify and what I have read, especially when it comes to offline music storage, made me decide against an Android DAP. I am currently using my Samsung Note 9. Since it is a rather bad pairing with my ATH E70, I often use my SoundBlaster E5 as a DAC but I am currently looking at the Radsone EarStudio as a lighter/smaller alternative.