[vapman]

  Is walnut player just hype because of the price or is it actually good? I've fallen for too much chi-fi hype on head-fi before to know that its mainly the low price that gets people excited. Can the walnut player actually compete in terms of sound with, say the fiio x3 or similar entry level daps?

It makes my Xduoo X3 (rockbox) sound like a $10 MP3 player.
 
I am obviously a fan because I started the Walnut thread, but hopefully others will chime in to confirm it is actually not just baseless or exaggerated hype.
 
Not for those who need EQ though because obviously it only has pause, forward and previous.

 

[nick n]

Price has very little to do with it.
of course one has to be willing to live with the lack of options, this is barebones for that.
 Although on that topic if you consider it adds up to what, the  $ equivalent of maybe 6 or 7 fancy coffees.

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

The walnut is my favorite audio purchase Ive made, and I've spent about 10k on audio gear to date...

 

[notamethlab]

Is walnut player just hype because of the price or is it actually good? I've fallen for too much chi-fi hype on head-fi before to know that its mainly the low price that gets people excited. Can the walnut player actually compete in terms of sound with, say the fiio x3 or similar entry level daps?

Not hype. This little guy is awesome, my only complaint would be that I get an error with some songs. Could be that they are encoded incorrectly though.

 

[neog007]

Is walnut player just hype because of the price or is it actually good? I've fallen for too much chi-fi hype on head-fi before to know that its mainly the low price that gets people excited. Can the walnut player actually compete in terms of sound with, say the fiio x3 or similar entry level daps?

I don't have the fiio but I own the xduoo x2 and x3 and I prefer, by far, the sound of the walnut. Even more, I'm a heavy user of Eq and with the walnut I don't feel it needs Eq at all most of the times. I also like the sound just with the stock oamp and I didn't change it

 

[musicday]

The walnut is my favorite audio purchase Ive made, and I've spent about 10k on audio gear to date...

Can you explain more?
What other high end music players have you owned,tryied that you think are not as good as the Walnut.

 

[bzfrank]

There is a tendency to construct an equivalence between costs and result. What is waaay more expensive must be waaay better, right? (for the equation just count the number of 'aaa' on both side.... aaa == aaa

)
 
The truth is - it depends. The Walnut is just another proof that its possible to design a minimalist and cheap device that sounds surprisingly good.

 

[Holypal]

  It makes my Xduoo X3 (rockbox) sound like a $10 MP3 player.
 
I am obviously a fan because I started the Walnut thread, but hopefully others will chime in to confirm it is actually not just baseless or exaggerated hype.
 
Not for those who need EQ though because obviously it only has pause, forward and previous.

 
Is this $25 DAP that good? What do you put in the SD card, mp3, 16/44.1 wav?

 

[vapman]

   
Is this $25 DAP that good? What do you put in the SD card, mp3, 16/44.1 wav?

And 24 bit up to 48khz. The 2nd post (info & tips) and 3rd post (FAQ) in the Walnut thread answer a lot 

 

[groucho69]

  AS you know the opposite is true with the Walnut 

 No features, astounding sound!
 
Man I'm not even excited for my Zishan to get here anymore!

That's why I find this so interesting.

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

Can you explain more?
What other high end music players have you owned,tryied that you think are not as good as the Walnut.

 
Click my profile to see my gears. I'm not saying the walnut is better than my other daps, just saying that the walnut is the best purchase I've made, it has a rather engaging and open sound that even a lot of expensive daps fail to deliver, even if they deliver in other areas. While the walnut may not be "better" than some expensive daps, the walnut does have one of my favorite sound sigs out of all the daps I've heard, it just sounds "right", balanced, engaging, open, not soft nor harsh. Imo the walnut is a must have, period.

 

[Thomas De Brito]

With excellence. High and low impedances alike.




Are there no other screenless chinese DAPs like this???

ipod shuffle lol it's made in China and most people will see this as giant ipod shuffle, that's why we won't find any, many some countries are more opened to different types of players. I think it's nice if you don't have to skip songs too much

 

[HiFiChris]

Well, technically, the Shinrico SHD5 is a DAP (not a PMP though). I really loooove it!!!


   

 

[H20Fidelity]

  Well, technically, the Shinrico SHD5 is a DAP (not a PMP though). I really loooove it!!!
 

 
What is the price point and can you measure the output impedance?
 
I could possibly use something like this by my bedside.

 

[HiFiChris]

 
What is the price point and can you measure the output impedance?
 
I could possibly use something like this by my bedside.

 
 
I've seen it for US$569 on AliExpress.

They have a cheaper one, the D3, which costs $314.10 on AliExpress.


When I did my research (I am writing a review on the SHD5), I saw a model called "SHD10" that has got a headphone amp stage as well, however I haven't seen it for sale anywhere.
 

The SHD5 doesn't have a headphone output but needs to be connected to an external DAC/power amp/headphone amp (so I cannot say anything about the output impedance - I could connect an adapter to the output stage, however I don't want to damage/grill it because of a potential short caused by connecting a low impedance load to it). The nice thing is that its analogue section has got a built-in 100 step volume control, so it can also be used as a pre-amp with loudspeakers.

Hell yeah, I love it as a desktop audio player.