[EvilJesus]

Delivered on Friday and will be returning it tomorrow, Monday. Spent three days listening to the Pioneer and despite its many talents and now relatively reasonable price it does not warrant keeping.
I have the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and though the Pioneer certainly sounds different and in some areas produces a superior sound stage the difference is so small it is not worth the hassle of carrying around a second unit to listen to music.

I have been buying hifi since the early 70's and have spent an embarrassing amount of cash on seperate's. Cables costing a fortune etc... About ten years ago I came to the realisation that if the source material is not their no matter what I use to reproduce it the result will be the same after spending a given platform of money.
Secondly, That goose bump feeling can be experienced at 1k set up and not at a 20k set up. After all these years I have stopped trying to find 'the best'. which is subjective at best, and look for that goose bump syndrome. In my office-den I have a cheap and cheerful 1k set up and it makes me smile every time I use it. The esoterica is boxed and in the loft.
Same applies to this DAP. Is it a good DAP? For what I now paid yes it is. At 320€ it is fine BUT not worth the burden of carting around a second device when I own the Note 8 that has a very good DAC and amp. Sure there is a difference but yet again its not worth the outlay and inconvenience of transporting it around.

Lastly. Until the hi res developers start to agree on what format they are going to use its a bloomin nightmare. Trying to find true hi res recordings is difficult and for those who are true portable audiophiles maybe worth the hassle. I am pleased to write those days are behind me and I pass such burdens on to the next generation to try and discover Nirvana. The secret is its not there! Find what give you the smile factor and keep with it. The Pioneer made me smile but so does the Note 8 so why have both devices?

I thought about the Oppo HA2 SE but I am not going to bother as long as the Note 8 keeps me smiling. After all this is portable sound and how often can we really enjoy such sound, a bus, train, aircraft....I think not. When at home put the hifi on and enjoy.

The Pioneer gets the thumbs up but its still not for me.

Ryland

I love my Pioneer players but my equipment has never given me goosebumps. Music gives me that reaction. I love reading this forum but it seems people here care more about their equipment than their music. I often feel they listen to music to enjoy their setup rather than just enjoying the music. I bought a couple DAPs to be able to take my music library on the go. Saves my phones battery life as well as when I listen to my music I don't like to be interrupted. Though I think my Pioneer players sound better than my phone sound has way too many variables as well as being extremely subjective. Just my 2 cents. Just keep listening and supporting music, it's one of life's greatest pleasures.

 

[3dit0r]

Another person here requesting any info regarding 3rd party player apps and whether they utilize the ESS 9018 DAC. Mostly curious due to my desire to use the Tidal player, but still haven't found firm verification that it actually uses the Sabre. Especially important when they eventually update for MQA streaming. If not, is there a way to get it to be utilized via rooting or otherwise?

Right, I finally heard back a definitive answer from Pioneer. I quote:

• All audio from either the 2.5mm balanced or 3.5mm analog outputs uses the Sabre DAC.

There you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth!

 

[3dit0r]

Furthermore, Pioneer/Onkyo confirmed that it’s Tidal, and not the player, which is limiting hi-res/MQA streaming until it updates its app. Strongly suggested you email Tidal and request this if you’re a subscriber who needs the feature.

 

[3dit0r]

Also, it is the SD cards which cause glitches in offline playback.

 

[Beau Cauchemar]

Right, I finally heard back a definitive answer from Pioneer. I quote:

• All audio from either the 2.5mm balanced or 3.5mm analog outputs uses the Sabre DAC.

There you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth!

I think this is the first definitive answer on this particular Pioneer/Onkyo issue. Odd that some of the graphs people have posted seem to indicate otherwise. I wonder if their testing methods were flawed. Either way, I'm glad that this correction is both official and recent (given how firmware changes.)

I did contact Tidal with this question/request a month or so back, but I was simply given the "right now Masters is only available on desktop and tablets blah blah blah" response with no indication when they will be adding it to the iOS (iPhone) and Android apps. Strange that it seems to be taking so long although I'm sure there is a ton I'm not taking into account on their end.

 

[3dit0r]

I did contact Tidal with this question/request a month or so back, but I was simply given the "right now Masters is only available on desktop and tablets blah blah blah" response with no indication when they will be adding it to the iOS (iPhone) and Android apps. Strange that it seems to be taking so long although I'm sure there is a ton I'm not taking into account on their end.

The reply to me indicated they’d passed my request on to the development team, but they couldn’t say how long it would take or how far along they were.

They also indicated they appreciate feedback from their members as to what’s missing and what they need (I guess this helps prioritise resources?). So I think the more people requesting this feature the quicker they will implement it.

 

[Ryland Johnson]

I love my Pioneer players but my equipment has never given me goosebumps. Music gives me that reaction. I love reading this forum but it seems people here care more about their equipment than their music. I often feel they listen to music to enjoy their setup rather than just enjoying the music. I bought a couple DAPs to be able to take my music library on the go. Saves my phones battery life as well as when I listen to my music I don't like to be interrupted. Though I think my Pioneer players sound better than my phone sound has way too many variables as well as being extremely subjective. Just my 2 cents. Just keep listening and supporting music, it's one of life's greatest pleasures.

What an odd reply? Music can only be reproduced by the player. If the source is crap regardless of the integrity of the player the music will sound poor also if the source is great but the player is bad the music will sound poor. I wrote the Pioneer is a good player. I also wrote the Note 8 has a decent DAC etc. Its the cost V audio quality difference V portability of carrying a second device that made me return the Pioneer again.

I don't get 'goosebumps' from the player, such a reaction comes from the combination of the quality of the music source AND the ability of the player to reproduce the original sound recording.

BTW if your "Equipment" has never given you goosebumps you need to see a urologist? lolol

You keep well, Ryland

 

[NaiveSound]

Where is the EQ on this thing?

 

[captblaze]

Where is the EQ on this thing?

Play a track using the stock player and then look below the play button and you will see EQ to the left. you slide the entire window upward to expose it, but the on/off toggle is visible without sliding the screen

 

[NaiveSound]

Play a track using the stock player and then look below the play button and you will see EQ to the left. you slide the entire window upward to expose it, but the on/off toggle is visible without sliding the screen

Thank you, but how does one apply EQ when using Tidal?

 

[Beau Cauchemar]

Looks as though there is a new firmware update that is enabling Tidal Masters mobile streaming and therefore MQA streaming on the latest Pioneer and Onkyo DAPs (XDP-30R & DP-S1.) Since I'm at work and can't check my player for an update, it's hard to say if the 100R was left off of the press release or if a new firmware for it is just around the corner. Either way, I'll be checking when I get home unless someone else chimes in in the meantime.

http://hifipig.com/tidal-masters-mobile-streaming-available-on-latest-onkyopioneer-daps/

 

[3dit0r]

I think my contact at Onkyo/Pioneer mentioned this. Sadly, I believe it is only for the newer players. Since I haven’t bought any yet, I would go for one of those... except they don’t allow offline playing of Tidal/MQA since they’re not Android-based.

IMO this is the huge drawback of streaming in a portable situation right now, vs just owning files and loading them onto a player. Everything is too proprietary and locked into specific apps/OSs.

Sadly, Tidal is currently by far the biggest repository of the excellent MQA material (which I can vouch for since my high-end home system fully decodes them) and most of the thousands of releases can’t be bought and owned yet.

 

[Beau Cauchemar]

I think my contact at Onkyo/Pioneer mentioned this. Sadly, I believe it is only for the newer players. Since I haven’t bought any yet, I would go for one of those... except they don’t allow offline playing of Tidal/MQA since they’re not Android-based.

IMO this is the huge drawback of streaming in a portable situation right now, vs just owning files and loading them onto a player. Everything is too proprietary and locked into specific apps/OSs.

Sadly, Tidal is currently by far the biggest repository of the excellent MQA material (which I can vouch for since my high-end home system fully decodes them) and most of the thousands of releases can’t be bought and owned yet.

I guess since the new players aren't Android based, the OS's version of Tidal needed to be updated via firmware in order to allow for Masters streaming. With any luck Tidal will eventually update their Android app to include Masters/MQA streaming for the rest of the Pioneer/Onkyo DAPs (including the XDP-100R.)

 

[NaiveSound]

The 100 and 300 along with the onkyo. AR very valuable as you are able to save Tidal songs Offline! That's such such such a big deal. Unfortunately I have a feeling these players are very bad off on quality... It appears dx200 might just be the winner in the whole saving offline thing

 

[elizz]

Right, I finally heard back a definitive answer from Pioneer. I quote:

• All audio from either the 2.5mm balanced or 3.5mm analog outputs uses the Sabre DAC.

There you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth!

I also got a official reply from Pioneer but I’m not sure what they mean.

“Only the stock player are able to access the ESS DAC and AMP
Third party gives the digital signal, they don't need a DAC”