Pioneer XDP-300R | Twin DAC ES9018K2M | Balanced Out | Android | MQA | 2x MicroSD | WiFi | AptX

[NickleCo]

Man i understand u completely, u have your own taste and expectations and thats great. But i was meaning that you have judged 300r like it was crap, while its not. I get u don't like it. But it doesnt change the fact that it sounds really good. Well many people here have some experience with daps and dacs and many say that 300r is crap but many say that its an amazing sounding device. I read many topics on head fi when people were writing about for example an ak 240 that its crap not worth 2k dol price. U have completely different opinion. Its always subjective when it comes to audio experience.

Yeah thats where i went a little overboard lol.

 

[hydroid]

Hi, just seeking an advice for my next dap purchase. Is it still worth buying a used 300R for around $280?
I'm just after the sound quality. Or is there any better recommendation that is close to the sound quality of the 300R? I don't use much streaming on daps so most probably gonna turn the airplane mode on and use it as purely music player on balanced.
Cheers.

 

[AdamQK]

Hi -- This may well have been covered in previous posts, so I apologise in advance if I'm repeating a subject. During my prolonged lockdown, I've started becoming interested in High-Res files (24 bit FLAC) and have downloaded a few albums. I've also pimped up my Pioneer with Poweramp, about the only music-playing app that doesn't mangle my files (the native Onkyo app was fine, but I just wanted something with a bit more visual pizzazz). Anyway, the Poweramp, interestingly, tells me not only what the files constitute including bit-rate and whatever, but...also how they're played back. And it seems that I'm not getting the full audio bliss. My Sound Core Boost Bluetooth speaker, for instance, only plays them at 16 bit (someone did once tell me Bluetooth doesn't do High-Res, but I hoped things had changed), as do my SoundMagic IEMs and my BrainWavz balanced IEMs. So - and I'm sure this is basic stuff for you all -- how do I get to actually listen to my High-Res downloads on my Pioneer?

As a sidebar, I'm not sure if it's the PowerAmp, but I've noticed the battery life of my Pioneer has gone right down (about four hours, now) , and am eyeing up a replacement already. Any recommendations?

Thanking in advance.

 

[Blackpitt]

300R - Still S3xy?

I too am in the market for a DAP. I was using my v20 with a Fiio Q3 (I think it was). The Fiio stopped working and the 3.5 jack went on the V20, Now I can only blutooth my tunes to the rubbish setup in my car. I did some recearch and finally pulled the trigger on the sony walkman nw a105. I had to send it back. Blutooth wouldnt pair for me, The max volume was pathetic. It wouldnt drown out external noise with my ath-m50x's. Also, the USB conection moved disconcertingly. Now I'm back to the drawing board and the 300r has really caught my eye.

The reasons I can see that attract me are as follows:9
Balanced out - I have a P.A. system. I coould use a (2.5 to 2*XLR) cable to play tunes before a gig? (If I ever get to gig again. Bloody Covid) + might save for balanced IEM's or cans in the future
Plenty of Welly - M50x's should be a piece of piss to it?
Slightly warm colour - If I'm going to err in any direction it's this way. Dont like over sanitised.
Has blutooth and wifi - Handy in the car even if the cars system is pants.
2 sd slots - obvious advantage. lots of flac's
Streaming - Never considered this till i got the sony. I can see myself hunting for a track on Tidal I dont have every now and again. If I was going to sacrifice a feature though this would be it.
Punchy but detailed Bass - This is why I'm particularly interested in the 300r. I want to feel the baas but still be able to hear the note clearly. I want to be able to clearly enjoy the clank of a rickenbacker or the crunch of a Musicman. Sound is very subjective so its hard to buy unheard but from all the stuff ive read I;m betting this is something the 300r can deliver?

Against
Value - Most of for sale units are second hand and will probably cost me € 400-500+ after shipping and import for what could be somebody elses problem.
Reliabity - Especially as it's probably gonna be 2nd hand and I know from Ye here that the ports, usb connection and battry can have problems/degrade and Panasonic dont have parts - so they say.

Now, in the dying days of 2020, would ye here, fans of the 300r, still recomend it over the Fiio's, Shanling's, Hiby's any anything else out there that might be similarly excellant?

Aside - only other DAP that caught my eye (for sound and bal. out) was the Zishan DSD pro (dual 4497's maybe) but it has bugger all features and its buggy/clunky. Do you know if i use an OTG USB cable with it could I then use the blutooth on the phone to transmit the Zishan audio?

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.
Love to ye all. Stay safe. Nasty Pete

 

[LightBlue77]

Maybe make a research on Fiio M11? Or a usb dac like dragonfly or something similar. I liked pioneer more the fiio products but it was getting old and I upgraded to a better one.

 

[CoryGillmore]

300R - Still S3xy?

I too am in the market for a DAP. I was using my v20 with a Fiio Q3 (I think it was). The Fiio stopped working and the 3.5 jack went on the V20, Now I can only blutooth my tunes to the rubbish setup in my car. I did some recearch and finally pulled the trigger on the sony walkman nw a105. I had to send it back. Blutooth wouldnt pair for me, The max volume was pathetic. It wouldnt drown out external noise with my ath-m50x's. Also, the USB conection moved disconcertingly. Now I'm back to the drawing board and the 300r has really caught my eye.

The reasons I can see that attract me are as follows:9
Balanced out - I have a P.A. system. I coould use a (2.5 to 2*XLR) cable to play tunes before a gig? (If I ever get to gig again. Bloody Covid) + might save for balanced IEM's or cans in the future
Plenty of Welly - M50x's should be a piece of piss to it?
Slightly warm colour - If I'm going to err in any direction it's this way. Dont like over sanitised.
Has blutooth and wifi - Handy in the car even if the cars system is pants.
2 sd slots - obvious advantage. lots of flac's
Streaming - Never considered this till i got the sony. I can see myself hunting for a track on Tidal I dont have every now and again. If I was going to sacrifice a feature though this would be it.
Punchy but detailed Bass - This is why I'm particularly interested in the 300r. I want to feel the baas but still be able to hear the note clearly. I want to be able to clearly enjoy the clank of a rickenbacker or the crunch of a Musicman. Sound is very subjective so its hard to buy unheard but from all the stuff ive read I;m betting this is something the 300r can deliver?

Against
Value - Most of for sale units are second hand and will probably cost me € 400-500+ after shipping and import for what could be somebody elses problem.
Reliabity - Especially as it's probably gonna be 2nd hand and I know from Ye here that the ports, usb connection and battry can have problems/degrade and Panasonic dont have parts - so they say.

Now, in the dying days of 2020, would ye here, fans of the 300r, still recomend it over the Fiio's, Shanling's, Hiby's any anything else out there that might be similarly excellant?

Aside - only other DAP that caught my eye (for sound and bal. out) was the Zishan DSD pro (dual 4497's maybe) but it has bugger all features and its buggy/clunky. Do you know if i use an OTG USB cable with it could I then use the blutooth on the phone to transmit the Zishan audio?

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.
Love to ye all. Stay safe. Nasty Pete

I would look elsewhere. The battery on the 300r is trash and so is the reliability. It sounds good but it's also underpowered by todays' standards. There's so many good options out there, I sure as hell wouldn't be looking at a 4 year old DAP that is known for having jacks that snap out of the DAP. I don't know where you're getting 4-500 euros used either: I sold mine like a year and a half ago to a guy on the forums for under $200 USD. I had also modded mine by doing the epoxy mod on the jacks. Which made me feel better about using the DAP at least.

 

[AdamQK]

300R - Still S3xy?


Now, in the dying days of 2020, would ye here, fans of the 300r, still recomend it over the Fiio's, Shanling's, Hiby's any anything else out there that might be similarly excellant?

Aside - only other DAP that caught my eye (for sound and bal. out) was the Zishan DSD pro (dual 4497's maybe) but it has bugger all features and its buggy/clunky. Do you know if i use an OTG USB cable with it could I then use the blutooth on the phone to transmit the Zishan audio?

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.
Love to ye all. Stay safe. Nasty Pete

I absolutely loved my 300R but, yes, the battery life degraded beyond acceptable and I grieved. Having had problems in the past with Fiio X5ii and iii (never cared for the sound of the former, and the latter was so buggy it was unusable) I took the plunge on the Shanling M6, and have been more than more than happy with it. I'm not enough of an audiophile to address a lot of the issues you raise, but I find it beautifully designed, easy to use and that it gives comparable sound tothe 300R. I don't use the Shanling app, I'll admit, which -while it delivers great, punchy sound - I find clunky to use and laborious to update, so I've been using Poweramp instead and have been fine with that. As I type this, I've got it plugged into my Denon M41 stereo (w/Dali Speakers, for those interested) and the sound is just sooo beautiful. So far, there seem to have been regular updates, and their support on forums has been consistent and swift.

 

[Blackpitt]

9pro

Maybe make a research on Fiio M11? Or a usb dac like dragonfly or something similar. I liked pioneer more the fiio products but it was getting old and I upgraded to a better one.

Cheers LightBlue77 for that. Ireland is a small market. There are very little options here unfortunatly. My only local retailer (hifihut.ie) has the m11 (pro only - doesnt have non pro) for 690 euros. I was hoping to keep it lower than that. (Thats code for if i do spend that much I will be relieved of my scrollies via the wife.lol) I'm hesitant about Fiio also because my only DAP experience of it was my sons Fiio M3k which I found to be a little clinical and lacking a bit of warmth? This is only based on one player. Is it a false assumption that all Fiio's are a bit squeaky clean ? The 300r sounded more my kinda thing? If I went the dragonfly route would I still not need to pair it with a DAP? The 3.5 on my V20 is toast.

 

[Blackpitt]

I don't know where you're getting 4-500 euros used either:

Hi Cory. It is a guesstimate but it's not as far out there as you might think. THe only one on Amazon.co.uk ATM is listed for £1,483.07. I Sh1t you not. There actually is one on ebay.ie being sold from Ireland ATM. Its 362.87 euros (buy it now) + 22.04 shipping. I was trying to steer clear of EU ones because of the volume cap. This I think was the problem with the Sony I bought. That leaves me importing (probably from Japan - (not sure what's the cap story with N.A.). The cheapest Jap one (Used) is 305.27 euro's +10.09 with shipping. It has a few marks too so-worry - worry. When you start adding on the shameless raping service that is kindly offered by the Irish revenue peoples it adds up. I wish I'd seen yours when it was for sale. That was a good price. Especially if, as I imagine, it was cared for. Here's the calculation example on the revenue's website.

 

[Blackpitt]

I took the plunge on the Shanling M6, and have been more than more than happy with it. I'm not enough of an audiophile to address a lot of the issues you raise, but I find it beautifully designed, easy to use and that it gives comparable sound tothe 300R.

Thanks Adam. I'm defo going to dig into the Shanling M6 some more, see what I would have to pay for it and what the consensus colour of the sound is. The UI doesnt bother me and as you said, you can app store alternatives if you want (does that effect the bitrates though like it does on some other android players?). Defo could be a runner. Thank you

 

[emilsal]

I too owned the 300r and loved it when I had it. I remember the sound being neutral but had good detail. I unfortunately lost it on holiday and researched about a replacement for a while. I ended up with the hiby r5 and been loving it since. More power than the 300r and has a more and useable version of Android.

 

[Blackpitt]

I too owned the 300r and loved it when I had it. I remember the sound being neutral but had good detail. I unfortunately lost it on holiday and researched about a replacement for a while. I ended up with the hiby r5 and been loving it since. More power than the 300r and has a more and useable version of Android.

Thanks emilsal
It's not a bad price either. How would you describe the sound from the R5?

 

[emilsal]

Thanks emilsal
It's not a bad price either. How would you describe the sound from the R5?

I would say it’s full but on the warmer side.

 

[BobJS]

I happily use mine as a backup now, and love it when I call it into service. I'm glad it still works as it's a gem of device, but would find it hard to justify replacing it today. I imagine it's not easy to replace the battery?

 

[Blackpitt]

300R - Still S3xy?

I ended up with the hiby r5 and been loving it since.

pushed the button on R5. Price was too good and would love to have gone for the 300r but i think the risk was too high for the price. thanks to all for your advice and help. And now I wait.....