[KaiFi]

I've never owned a DAP before. I've always just listened to music from my laptop + portable DAC/amp + over-ear headphones. But I'm beginning to question the setup I've been using for the past ten years.

I've always been interested in DAPs, but to me they always seemed quite expensive and geared toward IEMs. I really have no intention of using IEMs as they just don't work for me. Would getting a DAP be worth it if I'm planning on using one with full-size headphones?

Also, although 90% of my listening would be from streaming services, which I'm sure are available on most DAPs, I'd also have some local files and I don't really know how well DAPs handle local files either.

Can anyone more familiar with DAPs give me any advice?

 

[hakunamakaka]

I owned few mid tier DAP's and sold them, way to heavy for me on the go. I mainly stream music too and the interface of Shanling/Fiio DAP's felt a bit sluggish compared to iphone. When auditioning for HP's had a chance to listen through higher end DAP SP2000, while sounding good it's not worth the cost to me. There are plenty battery powered dac/amps for semi portable use which gives much better bang for $. A big fan of dongles though. You can plug it into laptop/iphone without worrying that firmware can gets outdated. When I really need portability I just stick with bluetooth dongle as I don't mind a decrease in SQ on the go.

 

[Lindholdt]

I've never owned a DAP before. I've always just listened to music from my laptop + portable DAC/amp + over-ear headphones. But I'm beginning to question the setup I've been using for the past ten years.

I've always been interested in DAPs, but to me they always seemed quite expensive and geared toward IEMs. I really have no intention of using IEMs as they just don't work for me. Would getting a DAP be worth it if I'm planning on using one with full-size headphones?

Also, although 90% of my listening would be from streaming services, which I'm sure are available on most DAPs, I'd also have some local files and I don't really know how well DAPs handle local files either.

Can anyone more familiar with DAPs give me any advice?

What do you want to achieve by getting a DAP?

I also find them really cool and interesting, but when I think about it, I'm really sure why I would need one. A dongle in my phone is covering my needs very well when I'm on the go.
I guess I must be missing the main point of DAP's, as I can't see how the high price is justified if you already own a smartphone

 

[KaiFi]

I guess for me it would be nice to have a dedicated audio device that's portable. I have a phone, yes, but my phone is used for so many other things, the battery is already to the point that it needs charging almost every day, and a part of me is tired of doing audio through Apple

For me it wouldn't be replacing my phone, but replacing my laptop as my primary audio device (and would thus be more portable than the heavy MacBook Pro that I have).

 

[hakunamakaka]

I guess for me it would be nice to have a dedicated audio device that's portable. I have a phone, yes, but my phone is used for so many other things, the battery is already to the point that it needs charging almost every day, and a part of me is tired of doing audio through Apple

For me it wouldn't be replacing my phone, but replacing my laptop as my primary audio device (and would thus be more portable than the heavy MacBook Pro that I have).

With focus on streaming platforms battery powered DAC/AMP would be my choice. Lot's of higher end daps like Sony/Lotoo doesn't have wifi so you would have to use bluetooth connection with your streaming source either way.

For home use I wouldn't bother with DAP, but if the itch is there you can give it a go. Decent DAP will still be better than your Mac or dongle, I just saw no purpose for my case.

 

[KaiFi]

I've mainly been looking at offerings from Fiio and Astell&Kern. I think a Wi-Fi one would be my choice if I got one.

The expense is the main reason I haven't gone for it yet. Still not sure if I will, but it's interesting to explore an area of audio I've ultimately been ignoring for years.

 

[Raketen]

Personally enjoy DAPs but I'd be wary if it's going to be primarily used for streaming services, as Android DAPs are usually a few verions behind current Android and also typically have quite bad/non-existent update support, which can become a problem as streaming apps drop support for older versions..

At least in the relatively recent past this was the case, perhaps it has improved from some makers? Though I guess it's somewhat safe to assume streaming functionality will work for a couple years for current model DAPs.

 

[pbui44]

How about pairing a Shanling M1S with a Astell&Kern PA10, that way you can use the M1S alone for OTG use and pairing it with the PA10 for highly sensitive IEM or over-ear use?

 

[Terriero]

I've mainly been looking at offerings from Fiio and Astell&Kern. I think a Wi-Fi one would be my choice if I got one.

The expense is the main reason I haven't gone for it yet. Still not sure if I will, but it's interesting to explore an area of audio I've ultimately been ignoring for years.

Take a look at Shanling (M0 Pro) or Hiby offerings (R2 II). I've just bought the Hiby R2 II and like it very much. But I bought it for listen to music while using the brushcutter

 

[Somafunk]

I’ve never owned a dap since the iPhone came out and never had a desire either despite previously owning iriver daps and pretty much every variety of iPod's but I’ve lost my apple dongle for my iPhone XS over the weekend, went online earlier to buy another but I ended up buying a Hiby r3 ii in a Black Friday deal instead, something to try out with my Sony xba-n3 iem’s, I’ll be able to fit my entire ALAC library on a 2tb sd card if I wanted but I’ll see how I get with the hiby and a 256 sd card I have in my drawer before committing.

The WiFi/tidal/airplay was the deciding factor on the Hiby for me along with the battery life.

 

[baneand]

I didn't know how good a dap owning was until I got one. Previously I used dongles on the go with my phone because it made sense - it was such a hassle - you basically have a 2 cables in chain to your phone, if you need your phone you pull it out, sometimes you plug out one of the cables. Also if you want to use your phone it is still harder because you have a thing hanging from it...for me irritation. I bought a sticky tape and I was attaching detaching dongle which is a bit better when pulling in or out from pocket but again it is feeling weird and cable from the iems is coming from the other side of the sticked dongle...
Then I tried dap and it worked much better for me - you can go outside without your phone (freedom ), you can use your phone more freely while carrying a dap in another pocket. The buttons for play/skip etc are easily pressable through your pocket, easy to quickly pause skip on the go. (this depends on the build of dap ofcourse). It has its own battery so your phone is unaffected. Only thing is to find the weight/size/sound quality balance. Best for portability was shanling m1s for me but you know how this goes...you start to by into more and more because of sound quality chase

 

[WILLJS]

I've never owned a DAP before. I've always just listened to music from my laptop + portable DAC/amp + over-ear headphones. But I'm beginning to question the setup I've been using for the past ten years.

I've always been interested in DAPs, but to me they always seemed quite expensive and geared toward IEMs. I really have no intention of using IEMs as they just don't work for me. Would getting a DAP be worth it if I'm planning on using one with full-size headphones?

Also, although 90% of my listening would be from streaming services, which I'm sure are available on most DAPs, I'd also have some local files and I don't really know how well DAPs handle local files either.

Can anyone more familiar with DAPs give me any advice?

most mid-tier DAPs won't support wifi and streaming service etc, but all will support local files, as this is pretty much the soul reason to get one. you could get a small one that acts both as a bluetooth transmitter/reciever (a bluetooth amp as well as a DAP), and also as a way the play local files.

an entry level option would be a Shanling M0 pro or Hiby R2 II

 

[KaiFi]

Thanks, I didn’t know they were primarily for local files, but I guess that makes sense. I used to listen almost exclusively to local files but over the years, streaming has become my main means of enjoying music. So we’ll see.

 

[earmonger]

A DAP is fun for local files, and offers potentially higher-quality playback than most streamers, depending on your own files.

But as @Raketen pointed out above, the streaming services keep updating their software and sooner or later a DAP's firmware won't update to match.

I have a long-running gripe with A&K because my AK70 -- a $600 player at the time -- stopped updating to support Tidal, as did a lot of other AK players.

https://www.astellnkern.com/aknews/akNews_detail.jsp?newsNo=9

Tidal is dropping support for older model Android devices. Unfortunately, this means Tidal can no longer be supported on the following players due to the new authentication requirements. - AK380, AK320, AK300, AK70 MKII, KANN, AK240, AK120II, AK100II, AK70

Eventually, A&K offered as a "solution" : just stream it to the AK70 from your phone via Bluetooth. Yeah, right.

I still use it for local files, but if streaming is your main use, better to stick to the phone.

 

[warrenpchi]

For a while I used DAPs exclusively, mostly A&K stuff, but earlier this year I switched over to a Mojo2Poly portable rig. The rig has never run out of power for normal trips outside, but I pair it with a powerbank to make sure they have enough juice to last a whole show day (and night) at CanJams and such.



They're stuck together with Velcro tape when I carry both.





A nice bonus here is that the powerbank is a wireless charger as well, so I just flip the rig over and lay my phone on it when that needs juice.

As for music, I've got an SD card in the Poly with plenty of tracks for emergencies... but at shows I tend to tether the Mojo2Poly to my phone and just stream to it using Airplay 1 (the lossless one). It saves me from having to fuss about with OTG connectors, and basic lossless is just fine for road use. Also, my phone is - by far - the best "DAP" interface I've ever used! There's no lag or quirkyness.