[HungryPanda]

The AgpTek A02 would be ok and Amazon will deliver a lot faster

 

[Wiljen]

No one can help me?!

I've had a couple benjie and AGPTek daps and both have done fine with Flac files. I will say that the difference in the $30-$50 range DAPs and ones in the $100 range tends to be output capability. On the benjie and AGPtek I had, both benefit from pairing with an external amp as neither have the power that something in the next tier up can deliver.

 

[deltecdpa]

Sounds like a winner if it includes gapless play and does not click between tracks. You should get one

And expecially if it does not clicks DURING tracks as XS-01 does!! As told before, with dark ambient and anything with dominant bass sound like Brian Lustmord and similar. I see it has been named F. Audio instead Xunsound

 

[473576]

I've had a couple benjie and AGPTek daps and both have done fine with Flac files. I will say that the difference in the $30-$50 range DAPs and ones in the $100 range tends to be output capability. On the benjie and AGPtek I had, both benefit from pairing with an external amp as neither have the power that something in the next tier up can deliver.

Yes, I try to buy one of the two budget dap. Soon as possibile I will do the next step on the tier up with a good dap/dac like the Hidizs AP MKII

 

[LaughMoreDaily]

You really can't beat the plethora of <$30 Chi-Fi DAPs for bang for the buck. Benjie (if you're buying via aliexpress.com) AGPtEK (if using Amazon) Ruizu all make a number of players in this range. Most have crazy battery life like 20+, 40+ with a few models claiming 80+ hours on a single 2 hour charge. All take micro SD cards and will play 16 bit mp3 and flac and Apple formats. All have somewhat odd choices of controls (its an Asian tradition vs western type thing) but it sounds as if your dad isn't very tech savvy so he may not even notice the difference where left and right get used like up and down and visa versa. Biggest drawback in this price range no gapless playback and often no separate volume control where instead you press a button (typically down) and hold it for a few seconds then a volume control appears. There are players in this range that do have a + and - volume button, you'll need to look a bit non of the ones I own do.

The Benjie S5 and the Apgtek should be dead. The Zishan Z3 is phenomenal.

 

[473576]

The Benjie S5 and the Apgtek should be dead. The Zishan Z3 is phenomenal.

Zishan Z3 costs $50, AgpTek only $20. Do you justify the more expensive as good choice (however the difference of $30)?
I'm interested because I want to buy a player, so...
What is the measure of your comparison?

 

[Themilkman46290]

I got the z3, z1, walnut v2, and fiio x1 gen 2, and tried a few more, the z3 is a beast for the price, better with lower impedance then walnut, the fiio is good but takes some time to get used to, I would recommend it, unless you wanna pay more, then fiio or hidisz they sounded pretty good, hidisz being a bit warmer but the z3 is almost on that level and I read they can be better if to upgrade opamps

 

[bsoplinger]

Zishan Z3 costs $50, AgpTek only $20. Do you justify the more expensive as good choice (however the difference of $30)?
I'm interested because I want to buy a player, so...
What is the measure of your comparison?

For $50 you can purchase the Benjie T6 / AGPtEK Rocker. You'll get gapless playback, Bluetooth and better quality electronics inside in comparison to the <$30 players they offer. You even get a rather tiny color screen to display cover art.

The only really good thing about the Zishan is that you can change the opamp. If fiddling with the innards of devices is your thing this is a good choice.

 

[Pulpfiction]

I bought a Zishan Z2 a few months back and love it! The only thing that bothers me is the lack of (sub) bass extension. If you listen to acoustic music, you most likely will never notice. It's truly exceptional value for the 26$ I paid.

 

[Wiljen]

I bought a Zishan Z2 a few months back and love it! The only thing that bothers me is the lack of (sub) bass extension. If you listen to acoustic music, you most likely will never notice. It's truly exceptional value for the 26$ I paid.

I wonder if some bigger caps on the output side would help the bass extension. Would be an easy enough swap if it would as they are pretty well exposed and it is a single layer board if memory serves so soldering shouldn't be too much of a trick.

 

[cqtek]

Today I received the small DAP QNGEE X2:

https://es.aliexpress.com/item/100-...-Lossless-Music-DIY-MP3-HiFi/32849053641.html

And it has been a pleasant surprise in quality of construction, screen and sound quality. I have to analyze it carefully but I think it is close to my dear F.Audio S1.

 

[Themilkman46290]

Are there any guides on upgrading the battery on the z3? I was looking but haven't found much

 

[taygomi]

I dont know if this is the right thread. Are there some chinese DACs that you would recommend?
Im looking for a small and inexpensive DAC that fits on my desk.

 

[473576]

The AgpTek A02 would be ok and Amazon will deliver a lot faster

Me too, I think it's a good player for a "casual listen" while running, bike, walk etc... So light, longtime battery and enjoyable
Thanks

For $50 you can purchase the Benjie T6 / AGPtEK Rocker. You'll get gapless playback, Bluetooth and better quality electronics inside in comparison to the <$30 players they offer. You even get a rather tiny color screen to display cover art.

The only really good thing about the Zishan is that you can change the opamp. If fiddling with the innards of devices is your thing this is a good choice.

Yes, cover displayed is one of the reason to prefer a player with a lcd screen.
There is also a Bejie T1. It cost about $50 from Penon, but I don't know if it sound better than Ruizu A50.
Even if can be simple, I never try to modify the player (probabily I'm not able).

I bought a Zishan Z2 a few months back and love it! The only thing that bothers me is the lack of (sub) bass extension. If you listen to acoustic music, you most likely will never notice. It's truly exceptional value for the 26$ I paid.

I prefer the newer Z3 compared to Z2, or another budget dap. I listen differents kind of music
I put in my cart a dodocool Ap106... surely not good as we expect.

 

[Wiljen]

Are there any guides on upgrading the battery on the z3? I was looking but haven't found much

The Z3 uses a standard Lithium ion pack so pretty much any pack with the same chemistry (so the built in charger works correctly) and geometry to allow it to fit will work. You could even go so far as to get a battery holder for a couple 18650 cells and wire it in parallel so you get longer run time (serial would get higher Voltage and kill the player so make sure of the wiring pattern before plugging it in). The 18650 pack would have to be external, but would give the longest life as 18650 cells are available up to 3400mAh or so and running two in parallel would effectively nearly double that. The internal pack isn't likely to get much above 2400mAh due to size restrictions.