[Vytautas]

Could you please suggest which DAP:

• costing less than 50 eur (60 USD)
• and having FM radio

is the best choice for instrumental, vocal music, live concert records?

Anything better than Benjie T6 (37 eur)? How does the sound of Benjie K8 (19 eur) differs from T6?

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

I understand the interest in the DAC, but;

1. We have long since established that what is around the chip makes as much or more difference than the chip itself. If you think a $250 DAP is going to compete with the A&K, I think you are in for dissappointment.
2. The scroll wheel design is played and better interfaces have been available for quite some time. I think the design limits the UI potential.


That having been said, it may sound quite good in its own right, and who knows, maybe they have come up with a UI that has all the features people want today and works well with the scroll wheel. I think that is a tall order, and most have fallen well short, but it could happen.

Dac chip is very important and, yes, I always hope its well implemented, and if its the case, other DAP with this chip cost between 600-3500$, so,nope,I don't plan to be disapointed and can deal with lot of drawback from the FA1 if it sound excellent. Personally I don't like that much scrollwheel, got the Xduoo X10 (receive today) and its nice cause of buton in the middle but I would prefer less butons and no scrollwheel. Fiio use it plenty I know, as well as.....horrifious ipod....anyway, all of this is very subjective, I find the DAP quite beautifull and just hope it feel solid in hand, fact its not plastic is a big plus, and because it do not have big touch screen I think that there less potential of breaking the screen if it fall on the ground. Im kind of retro about DAP look, don't like the ''glass rectangle design'' that most touchscreen dap have, even if yes, audroid based firmware can be interesting. Sound its all I care, I I can even became masochist for it, like with the Xuelin ihifi 812V2, real hell to use, but sound phenomenal.

Oh, and I receive the Xduoo D3 too.....hes charging right now, did not use it for real, but feedback will came, it read my card automatically and no problem, not sure about the 3 seconds silence in tracks, not sure to encounter this, but before I scan the cards it have a problem so need at least an hour to try it seriously! Xduoo X10 sound very smooth, very nice match with my brigtish Takstar Pro82! Strange, the AK4490 sure sound different in this, soundstage is very wide, but bass isn't monstruously vast comparatively to other.

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

I strongly suspect that the metal casing is grounded and serves to lower the noise. This is because I will see electrical sparks when my USB charging cable accidentally touches the metal case. Scary, but no damage done.

Besides incorporating the power-hungry AK4497 DAC chip (I am not sure if the power going in is limited as compared to a desktop implementation), I also give credit to F.Audio for the entire implementation (e.g., secret opamps, generally stable UI, IR remote, black background) to provide a pleasant and enjoyable experience for me.

Oh.........................YES.......................BLACK BACKGROUND!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the good vibe feedback mate!

About power hungry AK DAC...whats the battery life of FA1???

 

[taz23]

Hi @hqssui. I tested with a full charge last night. Using 320kbps MP3 files, it lasted more than 9.5 hours. I had to terminate the test at 9.5 hours because I was able to head out and cannot monitor it further. At then, the battery indicator was without any bars, but it has been like that at the 8 hour mark too. So about 10 hours seems fair to me.

This was with the balanced PO at volume 25 (out of 100) for my IEMs. Perhaps it will last longer on SE. I did noticed previously that battery seems to drain faster on hi-res files, particularly DSD128 files.

From what I understand, the AK4497 chip is not very energy-efficient (346 mW!). So, I am really happy that it can last > 9.5 hours on MP3 files. More importantly, the sound quality is nice.

@demo-to, Penon Audio is selling this at USD245. I would recommend it over the Shanling M3s, because a Chinese user reviewed that the FA1 made him leave his M3s in the drawer after getting the FA1.

Happy listening!

 

[Sulbh]

Hi has anyone tried this?
https://m.aliexpress.com/s/item/328...-qp.157.4c0b3cb7o8r3Jb&scm=1007.14557.95419.0

 

[HungryPanda]

Wow 30 hours Sony watch out

 

[Trippin]

Any reviews on the Aigo z6?

 

[taygomi]

After the firmware update on my ruizu a50, the bitrate isn't displayed anymore.
Is there a way to get it back??

 

[bsoplinger]

After the firmware update on my ruizu a50, the bitrate isn't displayed anymore.
Is there a way to get it back??

What version were you using? Or perhaps it'd be better to ask what version did you update to?

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

Well.....if I can have 7-8H with flac listening at pretty high volume I will be very happy with it. All my DAP cannot give me more than 6H....especially when I listen 96khz flac (sound need to be push even higher). Now, its about time I receive the FA1!!!!! Begin to get worried a little....it make one month even if I use epacket.

Anyway, I really enjoy Xduoo D3 right now, especially with Line out, smooth sound, very musical and envelopping, quite impress by amping power of its own, but with demanding earbud sound expend trough line out and have more impact and better imaging. D3 is certainly an upgrade from X2 in term of sound, imagin and clarity is better.

 

[bsoplinger]

Wow @Nymphonomaniac what do you listen to? 300 ohm cans? 96khz flac, I'm not sure where I'd even find 8 hours of content myself just to put on various players just to test how long they'd play. I suppose I could re-rip some CDs and oversample to create files just to test. Where do folks get music that's been recorded at better than 48k 16bit anyway?

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

Wow @Nymphonomaniac what do you listen to? 300 ohm cans? 96khz flac, I'm not sure where I'd even find 8 hours of content myself just to put on various players just to test how long they'd play. I suppose I could re-rip some CDs and oversample to create files just to test. Where do folks get music that's been recorded at better than 48k 16bit anyway?

Ahah....no, more like 32ohm earbuds-earphones and 64ohm headphones. I feel its more about sound pressure, some cans and earbuds really benifit from amping, it make them blossom to life IMO I don't really understand the physics laws about this cause even some IEM can benifit from amping. About 96khz....well, hum, I download it from top secret site and another time, looklike it have lower sound pressure from output with higher quality file, this is quite visible with Xduoo X3, volume is lower with 96khz flac and higher. I can PM you some 24bit96khz music site if you want, but its in russian, and you need utorrent. Its Top Secret. I know high res music can be plain BS too, if it wasnt recorded for this format, I don't think it will do magic to a cheap recording....but I do not really study this seriously, just have different Flac quality, 24bit is more important I think, cause 48khz-24bit sound very good too (deeeep), anyway, 96khz album is about 1G so its very big for a very little sound improvment when it occur.

 

[iJay]

Wow @Nymphonomaniac what do you listen to? 300 ohm cans? 96khz flac, I'm not sure where I'd even find 8 hours of content myself just to put on various players just to test how long they'd play. I suppose I could re-rip some CDs and oversample to create files just to test. Where do folks get music that's been recorded at better than 48k 16bit anyway?

Don’t bother ripping a CD quality (16/44.1) at a higher bit or sample rate, nothing to be gained. You can download Studio and Master quality (24bit @ 48/96/192) from Linn Records, HD Tracks, Pono Music and some other sources. Can you truely hear a difference? Some say yes and others say no and others argue intensity about it. Personally the only 24bit stuff I care for is Leonard Cohen. I can take and leave others.

 

[NotKunvinced]

Just got this this evening before coming in to work. Can't put this down for long!

 

[NotKunvinced]