[KittyFIN]

Hello everybody
I am planning on replacing my portable setup.
I had Hifiman 801 back in the days and now I am terrified how expensive all daps have become without significant improvements to the sound quality.
I use RU6 multibit dongle now, but a bit annoyed that it constantly drains my phone battery because I am listening to music a lot.
Can you recommend to me something on a budget that sounds SUPERB without costing an arm and a leg?
Looking for a 'value for money' option, I do not need 100% of what possible in portable, I do not need the touch screen, android, Bluetooth and other fancy gimmicks like that.
Just pure sound, preferably neutral (and probably flac m4a ogg opus etc support but I guess most of them read these formats by default nowadays)
I have topping 90 at home and prefer neutral sound, but I also don't mind more joy (less accurate or slight V-shape/slight bass boost) since on portable sources er4sr are pretty boring/dull especially if fit is bad
And because sometimes I listen to 18+ hours per day a 10-20 hours of playback would be nice.
From my superficial knowledge I heard xduoo x20 or hiby 6v3 makes a good DAP?

 

[o0genesis0o]

Hello everybody
I am planning on replacing my portable setup.
I had Hifiman 801 back in the days and now I am terrified how expensive all daps have become without significant improvements to the sound quality.
I use RU6 multibit dongle now, but a bit annoyed that it constantly drains my phone battery because I am listening to music a lot.
Can you recommend to me something on a budget that sounds SUPERB without costing an arm and a leg?
Looking for a 'value for money' option, I do not need 100% of what possible in portable, I do not need the touch screen, android, Bluetooth and other fancy gimmicks like that.
Just pure sound, preferably neutral (and probably flac m4a ogg opus etc support but I guess most of them read these formats by default nowadays)
I have topping 90 at home and prefer neutral sound, but I also don't mind more joy (less accurate or slight V-shape/slight bass boost) since on portable sources er4sr are pretty boring/dull especially if fit is bad
And because sometimes I listen to 18+ hours per day a 10-20 hours of playback would be nice.
From my superficial knowledge I heard xduoo x20 or hiby 6v3 makes a good DAP?

I daily drive Hiby R3II and couldn’t recommend it enough. It’s not top notch or anything, but it has long battery, small design, volume knob, and just decent enough amp that the sound stage does not feel small and flat.

I would also recommend Hiby R6 Pro2, but that one cannot last the hours you want

 

[baskingshark]

Hello everybody
I am planning on replacing my portable setup.
I had Hifiman 801 back in the days and now I am terrified how expensive all daps have become without significant improvements to the sound quality.
I use RU6 multibit dongle now, but a bit annoyed that it constantly drains my phone battery because I am listening to music a lot.
Can you recommend to me something on a budget that sounds SUPERB without costing an arm and a leg?
Looking for a 'value for money' option, I do not need 100% of what possible in portable, I do not need the touch screen, android, Bluetooth and other fancy gimmicks like that.
Just pure sound, preferably neutral (and probably flac m4a ogg opus etc support but I guess most of them read these formats by default nowadays)
I have topping 90 at home and prefer neutral sound, but I also don't mind more joy (less accurate or slight V-shape/slight bass boost) since on portable sources er4sr are pretty boring/dull especially if fit is bad
And because sometimes I listen to 18+ hours per day a 10-20 hours of playback would be nice.
From my superficial knowledge I heard xduoo x20 or hiby 6v3 makes a good DAP?

I have 2 Sony NW A55. Bought them around $150 USD first hand on sales.

So the stock form is meh, but there is a free Mr Walkman mod that can be gotten online that unlocks volume caps, DAC filters, and also provides 4 different sound profiles, from Warm to neutral to bright.

It has the typical buttery smooth Sony house sound, 32 hours battery with the Mr Walkman mod. Can't power very demanding gear but for most low impedance/high sensitivity gear it will do a decent job as a daily beater.

 

[Thomasr]

If battery drain is your main/only complaint against using a phone dongle, maybe consider one of the many portable DACs with onboard battery. Something like the Fiio BTR7 will connect to your phone either hardwired or via Bluetooth, sounds great, has a balanced output option, and the battery lasts forever.

 

[KittyFIN]

Thanks everybody for the suggestions!

I probably should have mention that I have no faith in sony/cowon and all the mp3 players with focus on software EQ or portable DAC/AMPs so will most likely avoid them. Last thing I have tried from Cowon was Cowon J3 and it was pretty bad; very dull and tiny plastic sound that was completely destroyed by 801 on each and every track. I only needed 1-3s to immediately hear the difference.
Also I do not want to care battery packs or large combos, so the best bet for me is something smaller than 801, preferably around 601 size. Around cigarette pack I guess? But this is not a deal-breaker.
I value the sound quality and value for money the most, then battery time and maybe proportions/size.
I also realized that I had R2R daps/dacs for the most part, so maybe I should look at Hiby RS2 as well...but from what I know, they are very hard to pull off as a portable device so most of them (if not all) suck

 

[earmonger]

Don't know why you are equating Sony with Cowon. Sony is generally known as reliable and good-sounding; Cowon, kinda quirky.

You might look into used older-generation Astell & Kern players. A&K made some good players obsolescent by not keeping up with the security demands of streaming services, and people dumped them. If you don't need streaming, they still have good sound for your own library.

I've had a couple. The AK Jr. is thin and tiny and sounds good; touchscreen but no Bluetooth or Android. The AK70 is a little smaller than a cigarette pack and does have Bluetooth (unnecessary for you) and was praised for great sound in its day; I think it has a little more output power than the AK Jr. , though either one should be fine with IEMs.

For some reason the AK Jr. , which was much cheaper at the time, now seems to be going for more than the AK70 on Ebay.

Downside of buying used is that you don't know how long the rechargeable battery is going to hold out, but you could research into how to replace it -- possibly A&K repair, possibly other methods.

You could also look into something really tiny like the Shanling M0 Pro.

 

[InvisibleInk]

If stripped down but great sounding is the thing, look at the ZiShan Z4. It has bluetooth, but it works for sh|t so I just leave it off.

Not good at gapless playback much. It’s cheap, though, for the tech included. And you can mod it with its community’s generous help.

 

[XTF1]

maybe I should look at Hiby RS2 as well...but from what I know, they are very hard to pull off as a portable device

Why is that? What would be wrong with the RS2?

 

[dunring]

I use an Apple 3.5mm to USB adapter and phones with a 5,000ma battery which are more common now. You'll get all day listening and good quality sound with 44.1khz 16 bit FLAC files. Just got a Tanchjim Space and it's audibly better, but more expensive and the 4.4mm balanced will drain a phone if you put full size headphones on it. I use the 7hz Salnotes Zero:2 and doesn't even need an amp, plugs into the Moto G Power fine and gets plenty loud. I've tried DAPs like the Astrall & Kern and have a Topping G50 coming tomorrow. I get them for the business but it's still easier to simplify with an Apple adapter for $9, FLAC, and a phone with a big battery. USBPlayerPro will take full advantage of it's power on Android.

 

[KittyFIN]

Don't know why you are equating Sony with Cowon. Sony is generally known as reliable and good-sounding;

I meant the old days, people bashed them a lot back then. They only had mediocre SoC players back then IIRC, similar to Cowon. I never heard their new stuff though so maybe things have changed.

Thanks for your suggestions. I saw M0 Pro but I'm afraid I won't be satisfied with the SQ (it feels like it is similar to SansaClip but slightly better, although I might be wrong it is not a statement)

Why is that? What would be wrong with the RS2?

Just the thing I heard from a guy who was involved in manufacturing one of the DAPs.
I don't remember the details but general idea was 'it is harder to do properly and will have more cons than pros in a portable environment'

I use an Apple 3.5mm to USB adapter

I also use USB adapter as of now, but it is way more convenient to me to keep my player and phone in a separate pockets so I can use my phone for other tasks, so I won't have to constantly unzip my jacket and get tangled up in wires and to lose warmth. Warm climate is a rare guest over here .

I am investigating DX260 as of now but barely see any reviews. It is not a budget DAP for sure, but I am yet to find out if it is a good value.
Something tells to me that I can buy something cheaper and get 95% of what DX260 provides...

 

[earmonger]

Seriously, consider used or new-but-older models. Last year's iBasso or Cayin or Shanling or HiBy or Sony or AK or FiiO is not going to be that different from the latest model. And it might have fewer unnecessary bells and whistles.

I truly do not understand any reason beyond greed that DAP prices are climbing instead of falling. Bit-perfect sound -- or close enough within limits of human perception -- has been available for a long time.

 

[HiFiWar]

Hello everybody
I am planning on replacing my portable setup.
I had Hifiman 801 back in the days and now I am terrified how expensive all daps have become without significant improvements to the sound quality.
I use RU6 multibit dongle now, but a bit annoyed that it constantly drains my phone battery because I am listening to music a lot.
Can you recommend to me something on a budget that sounds SUPERB without costing an arm and a leg?
Looking for a 'value for money' option, I do not need 100% of what possible in portable, I do not need the touch screen, android, Bluetooth and other fancy gimmicks like that.
Just pure sound, preferably neutral (and probably flac m4a ogg opus etc support but I guess most of them read these formats by default nowadays)
I have topping 90 at home and prefer neutral sound, but I also don't mind more joy (less accurate or slight V-shape/slight bass boost) since on portable sources er4sr are pretty boring/dull especially if fit is bad
And because sometimes I listen to 18+ hours per day a 10-20 hours of playback would be nice.
From my superficial knowledge I heard xduoo x20 or hiby 6v3 makes a good DAP?

Shanling M3 Ultra, HiBy makes Daps with lots of software issues

 

[jmwant]

Hiby R3ii or Shanling M0 Pro. Though both of it doesn't have the battery capacity you mentioned, they are good capable daps.