rikk009
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2014
- Posts
- 730
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- 116
Haven't heard the M2, but the M3 was very well built and didn't colour the sound too much, which is rare for mid tier DAPs. The UI was great too on the M3 and it has the USB DAC functionality too.
The LP5K is a DAP I owned, again like the Shanling DAPs it was easy to use and had a decent build. My first one died and the RMA took close to 3 months via the dealer, they're not very responsive when it comes to customer care. It sounded alright, neutral with a slightly warmish tilt, but nowhere near as revealing as the LPG.I'd only use it with easy to drive IEMs, you'll need an amp for some IEMs and most definitely for full sized headphones, the balanced out didn't make much of a difference either. It served as a nice transport with the optical out to the Mojo, but there's better stuff out there now for that purpose.
I'd look at the Shozy Alien, the newer Alien+, the Aune M2 or even their M1S and maybe the Xduoo x10. From this lot I've only heard the older Alien and Aune M2 and found them to be very impressive. The Aune M2 was a stand out DAP for me, I would have bought one at USD 349 but then came to know the one I head was the "S" version which is USD 300 more than the base version. They also have a "Pro" version sandwiched between these two. If the base version sounds similar I would consider getting one.
I am getting close to buying Cayin N3, I wonder if it will sound any better than Xduoo X3 but can be used as a transport. I have read about Aune M2 pro, but at $500+ it's bit expensive.