Topping NX1S x
Xduoo XQ-10
Ok, i might be out of topic here, but i think getting an amp for an obscure DAP have significant impact on the overall enjoyment of ur music.
Just a little bit on my gears, i have a
Xduoo X3 which i love and i told it gently "till death do us part" and sadly, m'lady battery swelled and i had to move on. Why i like the Xduoo so much is the navigation (rockboxed btw) and the power it output is sufficient for any IEM that i have. Though IEMs are easy to drive, i still feel they do better with more juice. The X3 also play everything and it takes in 2 SD cards! The sorting format is fantastic too. The build is solid and its extremely portable. Volume is step control but very intuitive, u can always find a nice volume anytime, anywhere.
I have the
Zishan DSD AK4495SEQ version with volume knob. I like it alot too as its the most powerful DAP i have, and it gives the music an extra push. Navigation is easy too and the build is solid. The downside is that there is slight channel imbalance at lower volume, and minor distortion when turning the volume up and down but it is still pretty damn good. Its bulky and if someone breaks into my house, imma grab the Zishan and do
this.
Also, the Zishan works as an USB DAC and its just plug and play without needing to install a third party driver.
Benjie S5 and X6
They are at a weird spot but definitely very different. The S5 is ultra portable but the navigation pretty bad. The screen is small so u can only have information of like 3 songs everytime. The build is solid and the battery life is like one whole day.
The X6 on the other hand is touchscreen, super easy navigation, but the sound is bad compared to S5. The X6 lacks power and sound pretty lacklustre. The X6 has other problems like it wont play the last song u are listening to when u power on, the sequence play function doesnt work where it will stop at the last song of a folder, u cant go to the song u are playing on the playlist when u press back. So other than having a touchscreen, its pretty bad (more below)
Both has horrible volume control as it gets too loud when u go one step higher and too soft when u go a step lower its too soft.
Ziku HD X9
The X9 is a nice little player with superb battery life (also almost a day) and works as a DAC. However the stock version has pretty substantial bass and i flashed it with a later version and boy, the volume was UNBEARABLE. At level one it was too loud lol. I searched for a another firmware and fortunately i found one which made the sound brighter, but at least i can use the X9. I have to say the grounding (?) is good as i dont have any issue with plugging earphones on and powering on or off the player, and the adjusting of volume has no distortion at all.
Part II
So why amp ur music if ur player can drive ur earphones enough? I dont think every player need an amp to make it sound good as some players output higher power than others. Take the Xduoo X3 for example. It has a 2000mAh battery but the battery like is 8hrs max. The S5 only has a quarter of the capacity (cant remb the exact) but it last over 20hrs.
And for me having an amp greatly improve the sound of the X6, and the overall satisfaction of the player. If u ask me what are the impt things of a DAP, it will be:
1) sound
2) cruising
3) endurance
Sound being sound, cruising being the navigation and endurance being the battery life. So for a player with bad sound, great navigation and ok battery life like the X6, improving the sound can make it a tier 2.5 player to a tier 1.5 to 2 player. And that's how i feel the Xduoo and Topping elevated the X6. Of course if the player already have good sound, i dont think having a dedicated amp helps.
So finally the amp, just a quick one, the Xduoo has a 250mAh battery, is really small, and its kinda powerful for the size. When attached to the X6, it gives the sound more body, more bass and the overall depth is more apparent. However, the sound gets distorted when u either move the 3.5mm pin by twisting, when turning up or down the volume and it has very horrible RFI (radio frequency interference). I can walk along the platform in our subway and get screeches multiple times. It doesnt help when i am in the train and someone beside is using their phone. However, having a 250mAh battery sounds kinda bad right? But no, the amp can outrun the X6 easily! Idk how long does it last but definitely north of 12 hrs, insane!
Then the NX1S, its also pretty small, round the size of the X6. Its build is more solid and the 3.5mm connector is of pretty good quality (metal instead of plasticky). The sound on the NX1S is extremely bright, even with the bass boost its still leans towards the brighter end. However its well shielded hence there is no RFI and when turning the volume, the distortion is pretty minimal. The popping sound is there when u power on and off the amp though.
Ok imma go lurking after a 3 posts marathon recently, otherwise my wallet will cry again xD