Obscure Chinese DAPs

[audionab]

qngee x2 or f.audio s1 or zhisan z3?
currently i am leaning towards qngee x2 for low output impedance as i will mostly use iems with it

 

[GuywhoLikesHIFI]

My Moonlight M1 arrived today. First impressions are that it's very well built, the accessories are great, the UI is very responsive and intuitive. It doesn't have the lower frequency drop off present in the Mrobo C5.

One very distracting and disappointing feature is that has a noticeable increase in background noise compared to my Mrobo C5, thats even similar to the output straight from my school mac (ie Very high and noticeable background noise.)
I'm not sure what to do. I think it's unlikely that such a large level of background noise is going to go away through 'burn in.'
it also doesn't have a custom EQ, which I need to tame the sibilance of my preferred IEM.

In terms of sound quality I'm also at a loss. The background noise is really disappointing for something that was more than twice what I payed for the MROBO c5, it seems to distort quite badly at moderate volumes, the soundstage is meh. I haven't listed to higher quality audio sources before, but this doesn't seem to match it's specifications at all.

I'm doing a-b testing on between the two, and again, (reeeeee) I just can't get past the background noise.
If there is suppose to be a point to spending 105 AUD on this thing, all I can say is that I've saved people reading this from buying it.

Any advice? I'm considering returning it, but the product itself doesn't seem to be defective, just not very good.
In better news, the Bosshifi B8 that I got this morning I got are so good it's unbelievable.

 

[crabdog]

My Moonlight M1 arrived today. First impressions are that it's very well built, the accessories are great, the UI is very responsive and intuitive. It doesn't have the lower frequency drop off present in the Mrobo C5.

One very distracting and disappointing feature is that has a noticeable increase in background noise compared to my Mrobo C5, thats even similar to the output straight from my school mac (ie Very high and noticeable background noise.)
I'm not sure what to do. I think it's unlikely that such a large level of background noise is going to go away through 'burn in.'
it also doesn't have a custom EQ, which I need to tame the sibilance of my preferred IEM.

In terms of sound quality I'm also at a loss. The background noise is really disappointing for something that was more than twice what I payed for the MROBO c5, it seems to distort quite badly at moderate volumes, the soundstage is meh. I haven't listed to higher quality audio sources before, but this doesn't seem to match it's specifications at all.

I'm doing a-b testing on between the two, and again, (reeeeee) I just can't get past the background noise.
If there is suppose to be a point to spending 105 AUD on this thing, all I can say is that I've saved people reading this from buying it.

Any advice? I'm considering returning it, but the product itself doesn't seem to be defective, just not very good.
In better news, the Bosshifi B8 that I got this morning I got are so good it's unbelievable.

Are you sure you're not plugging your headphones into the line out? Is there perhaps a low gain setting? I find it hard to believe that aigo/moonlight would release something as flawed as you're describing given their experience and resources.

 

[GuywhoLikesHIFI]

Are you sure you're not plugging your headphones into the line out? Is there perhaps a low gain setting? I find it hard to believe that aigo/moonlight would release something as flawed as you're describing given their experience and resources.

Yep, I'm certain. I swapped between the two as well. the 'line out' seems to be identical to the normal output jack, I could adjust the same as the normal output jack with the volume knob, the same volume too, same sound.
There isn't a low gain setting either.

After listening to it a bit more, the sound isn't that bad, but the high background noise still ruins things with my 16ohm IEM and 16ohm Bosshifi B8. Playing it into my amp and speakers, it sounds fine, as the background noise isn't increasing with the volume of the player.

One thing I forgot to mention is that on the specifications manual it says it has an output impedance of 100ohms. Is this especially high?

In all other respects it's a fantastic player. Maybe I did really get a lemon, or could a software update fix it? I'd love to have an EQ, and there are some other odd things in the UI that could easily be fixed. For example, selecting 'folder view' in the main menu fails every time (Error), but if you enter 'music', there is four options, 'all songs', 'album', 'artist', and 'All songs' (Again.)
Under the second 'all songs', you can find folder view! what in the heck were they thinking.
If anyone has connections to aigo/moonlight, I'd love to get onto them about this stuff. Any other help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[audionab]

Yep, I'm certain. I swapped between the two as well. the 'line out' seems to be identical to the normal output jack, I could adjust the same as the normal output jack with the volume knob, the same volume too, same sound.
There isn't a low gain setting either.

After listening to it a bit more, the sound isn't that bad, but the high background noise still ruins things with my 16ohm IEM and 16ohm Bosshifi B8. Playing it into my amp and speakers, it sounds fine, as the background noise isn't increasing with the volume of the player.

One thing I forgot to mention is that on the specifications manual it says it has an output impedance of 100ohms. Is this especially high?

In all other respects it's a fantastic player. Maybe I did really get a lemon, or could a software update fix it? I'd love to have an EQ, and there are some other odd things in the UI that could easily be fixed. For example, selecting 'folder view' in the main menu fails every time (Error), but if you enter 'music', there is four options, 'all songs', 'album', 'artist', and 'All songs' (Again.)
Under the second 'all songs', you can find folder view! what in the heck were they thinking.
If anyone has connections to aigo/moonlight, I'd love to get onto them about this stuff. Any other help would be greatly appreciated.

100 ohms of output impedance is way to high for 16 ohms of iems or b8
generally output impedance of source should be 8 times lower than the headphones (definitely heard on this very thread a long time ago)

 

[Themilkman46290]

So been playing with my f.audio S1, great little dap, I must say it is a bit better than my zishan z3, but sad it doesn't have a line out, if any of you guys been thinking about it, I recommend it, good player, good sound, nice size, build seems very good, solid, volume control is good, sound is clean, detailed, slightly warm but still fairly bright, and 30+ hours battery life. The only minuses is no line out, funny menu and takes a bit to learn to navigate doesn't seem to like .cue and not gapless and some noises in some ambient tracks but rock,hip hop and most other types sound great

 

[Zerohour88]

My Moonlight M1 arrived today. First impressions are that it's very well built, the accessories are great, the UI is very responsive and intuitive. It doesn't have the lower frequency drop off present in the Mrobo C5.

One very distracting and disappointing feature is that has a noticeable increase in background noise compared to my Mrobo C5, thats even similar to the output straight from my school mac (ie Very high and noticeable background noise.)
I'm not sure what to do. I think it's unlikely that such a large level of background noise is going to go away through 'burn in.'
it also doesn't have a custom EQ, which I need to tame the sibilance of my preferred IEM.

In terms of sound quality I'm also at a loss. The background noise is really disappointing for something that was more than twice what I payed for the MROBO c5, it seems to distort quite badly at moderate volumes, the soundstage is meh. I haven't listed to higher quality audio sources before, but this doesn't seem to match it's specifications at all.

I'm doing a-b testing on between the two, and again, (reeeeee) I just can't get past the background noise.
If there is suppose to be a point to spending 105 AUD on this thing, all I can say is that I've saved people reading this from buying it.

Any advice? I'm considering returning it, but the product itself doesn't seem to be defective, just not very good.
In better news, the Bosshifi B8 that I got this morning I got are so good it's unbelievable.

ouch, sorry for your loss. Models like this is why I'm wary of the specs listed by these makers. They might sound amazing on paper, but implementation is still king. Pity they don't do measurements. There was the Z6 Pro that had upgraded internals and added USB DAC function, I think.

 

[bobbypete]

i dont rec the zishan z3. so much distortion when i turn up the bass.

 

[oneula]

I got my Revamp Acoustics Nuansa P1(player) and A1(amp) yesterday and have been listening to it off and on at work today.
Really like it used the player without the amp and with it
seems to have allot more power, freq range and soundstage compared to the Zishan Z3 and the QNGEE X1
Used my VE Zen Monolith 560s (planar magnetic)
big bold sound

ran it against my new HiBy R3 which only seemed better in balanced mode
it was definitely better than my iPod Classic gen5 with those phones

I also received the new HiDiz AP60 Pro from mass drop but I haven't unboxed it yet
so in less than a couple of months, I have accumulated the Shanling M0, Hiby R3, HiDiz AP60 Pro, RA Nuansa P1, QNGEE X2, Zishan Z3 And Bengie T6 all from china or indonesia

 

[1TrickPony]

I got my Revamp Acoustics Nuansa P1(player) and A1(amp) yesterday and have been listening to it off and on at work today.
Really like it used the player without the amp and with it
seems to have allot more power, freq range and soundstage compared to the Zishan Z3 and the QNGEE X1
Used my VE Zen Monolith 560s (planar magnetic)
big bold sound

ran it against my new HiBy R3 which only seemed better in balanced mode
it was definitely better than my iPod Classic gen5 with those phones

I also received the new HiDiz AP60 Pro from mass drop but I haven't unboxed it yet
so in less than a couple of months, I have accumulated the Shanling M0, Hiby R3, HiDiz AP60 Pro, RA Nuansa P1, QNGEE X2, Zishan Z3 And Bengie T6 all from china or indonesia

Could you do further comparisons with the RA dap and the hiby r3? Curious if the p1 sounds more "analogue" and overall better textured.

I too would agree that the R3 is best enjoyed balanced. The separation in soundstage gives room to breathe for instruments. Tia.

 

[GuywhoLikesHIFI]

I have accumulated the Shanling M0, Hiby R3, HiDiz AP60 Pro, RA Nuansa P1, QNGEE X2, Zishan Z3 And Bengie T6 all from china or indonesia

How would you compare general sound quality, and the value of the QNGEE X2 to the T6, and the M0?
Thanks very much.

 

[GuywhoLikesHIFI]

100 ohms of output impedance is way to high for 16 ohms of iems or b8
generally output impedance of source should be 8 times lower than the headphones (definitely heard on this very thread a long time ago)

Well if I can't get through to Aigo for help I might try to open her up and reduce the output impedance manually. I would hate to destroy the thing, and disassembly looks like an enormous pain unlike my Mrobo C5.

So been playing with my f.audio S1, great little dap, I must say it is a bit better than my zishan z3, but sad it doesn't have a line out, if any of you guys been thinking about it, I recommend it, good player, good sound, nice size, build seems very good, solid, volume control is good, sound is clean, detailed, slightly warm but still fairly bright, and 30+ hours battery life. The only minuses is no line out, funny menu and takes a bit to learn to navigate doesn't seem to like .cue and not gapless and some noises in some ambient tracks but rock,hip hop and most other types sound great

Are those noises just when the screen is on? my Mrobo makes little ticking noises when the screen is on, but after it shuts off it's silent. I would add it to my wishlist if this isn't the case.

ouch, sorry for your loss. Models like this is why I'm wary of the specs listed by these makers. They might sound amazing on paper, but implementation is still king. Pity they don't do measurements. There was the Z6 Pro that had upgraded internals and added USB DAC function, I think.

Thanks for your condolences I've tried to contact the AIGO bods on the website using their email, and they still haven't responded, it's been a whole working week, I'm not very hopeful. I'm trying to get through to Joybuy to contact Aigo that way, perhaps an updated firmware would fix it but I doubt it... I don't feel like a refund is justified here. It would knock Joybuy around, and Aigo is the group that needs it in this case.

I just bought the Benjie K3, it looks a little like the S5's internals (same screen, and Benjie has a habit of rehashing their daps into new bodies without changing them) but more attractive in appearance + physical buttons. Hope that buy is successful.

 

[deltecdpa]

Well if I can't get through to Aigo for help I might try to open her up and reduce the output impedance manually. I would hate to destroy the thing, and disassembly looks like an enormous pain unlike my Mrobo C5.


Are those noises just when the screen is on? my Mrobo makes little ticking noises when the screen is on, but after it shuts off it's silent. I would add it to my wishlist if this isn't the case.


Thanks for your condolences I've tried to contact the AIGO bods on the website using their email

Sounds strange to me that Aigo released a so low quality Dap, I have Z6pro and it is very good, as far as I know it's first time I hear output impedance in the tech features list, it should be always shown.
Yes 100ohm is too high and may alter frequency response of some Iems (not always, many users of Zishan z3 are happy with SQ despite its out impedance is 100ohm also) My z6pro has around 4ohm, measured by me, so it matches nice with my UE900S 32ohm.
I have F. Audio S1 also, good as described, but I never heard noises with any genre, including ambient. I had XS01, same manufacturer, that made ticking noise with ambient, but S1 absolutely not. S1's out impedance around 9ohm, not low but not too high.

 

[Themilkman46290]

Well if I can't get through to Aigo for help I might try to open her up and reduce the output impedance manually. I would hate to destroy the thing, and disassembly looks like an enormous pain unlike my Mrobo C5.


Are those noises just when the screen is on? my Mrobo makes little ticking noises when the screen is on, but after it shuts off it's silent. I would add it to my wishlist if this isn't the case.


Thanks for your condolences I've tried to contact the AIGO bods on the website using their email, and they still haven't responded, it's been a whole working week, I'm not very hopeful. I'm trying to get through to Joybuy to contact Aigo that way, perhaps an updated firmware would fix it but I doubt it... I don't feel like a refund is justified here. It would knock Joybuy around, and Aigo is the group that needs it in this case.

I just bought the Benjie K3, it looks a little like the S5's internals (same screen, and Benjie has a habit of rehashing their daps into new bodies without changing them) but more attractive in appearance + physical buttons. Hope that buy is successful.

It's more when the beat gets less busy, in the pauses on some tracks when the bass is about to drop

 

[GuywhoLikesHIFI]

Sounds strange to me that Aigo released a so low quality Dap, I have Z6pro and it is very good, as far as I know it's first time I hear output impedance in the tech features list, it should be always shown.
Yes 100ohm is too high and may alter frequency response of some Iems (not always, many users of Zishan z3 are happy with SQ despite its out impedance is 100ohm also) My z6pro has around 4ohm, measured by me, so it matches nice with my UE900S 32ohm.

Given Aigo's history I thought I was safe too. How did you measure your dap's output impedance out of interest, I'd like to confirm that it's really 100ohms, (even though the physical manual that it comes with claims this.)
Would that impedance likely cause massive background noise?
it might be bad because of the O.I., or just bad...
I just had another go using it today, it's a really beautiful dap, the noise is still there. This is the last response I got from Joybuy, somewhat more hopeful. I also just realised that the backing of the player is just plastic, not glass like I thought it was. This may be easier to open than I thought.