[Raketen]

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.

I can't remember if the SE100 I had offered a web browser, but I guess that might be one other potential work-around for the more vanilla Android DAPs if the streaming service allows browser based access on mobile devices (or can be fooled into it with 'view in desktop mode'). Never tried this myself though (also kind of negates one of my favorite features of DAPs which is having a dedicated music-first interface, but transport controls might work for browser playback at least).

 

[BS5711]

I use a FiiO M11 Plus LTD and a Shanling M3 Ultra, both Android 10, and I stream almost exclusively, the only local files I have are downloaded playlists from Tidal.

They both do an excellent job and I much prefer leaving my iPhone 15 for other duties. I have a couple of little ddhifi USB-C devices that plug directly into the phone with no wire (3.5mm and 4.4mm) and an iFi Go Bar but I only ever use them for occasional use when I am listening to just a few songs while I also look in here for example. For “proper” listening sessions I almost exclusively use one of the DAPs.

I either use them directly with IEM or with a DAC/Amp or amplifier for headphones since the few headphones I own are not so easily driven and I don’t like running the DAP with the volume wound up high. They will both work fine but I just prefer to share the load with a more powerful DAC/Amp or amp.

Both do USB out and line out and the FiiO also does coaxial out. Line out and coaxial are handy features that no phone offers. I use USB and coaxial into several DAC/Amps and line out into an A and K PA10.

No the interface isn’t iPhone 15 fast but it is more than adequate, I mean all you need to do is select and start a playlist, album or song, a super fast interface isn’t really a big deal and I think you would have to be pretty fussy for the speed to be anything other than a minor inconvenience.

All that said, I think a DAP is a great option if you use IEM but if not I personally would prefer something with more power unless you got a big heavy one like an M17 but to me that defeats the point of a DAP.

I would use one with headphones as a streamer only into a DAC/amp just because I prefer to use my phone and computer for other duties with music kept separate and away from annoying notifications, texts, emails etc.

One thing to note if you happen to use Apple Music. As stated above I download playlists to an SD card in the DAPs. I found out very frustratingly that Android will log out of Apple Music on occasion, I think upon updating, which doesn’t seem to happen on an iPhone. When you get logged out all the downloads disappear which is exceptionally annoying when you are travelling or out and about. That doesn’t happen on Tidal downloads if logged out.

I looked at an A and K SR35 but to me it seems like streaming services are an afterthought. The DAP will always boot up to a local file player and you need to navigate into the menu to find streaming services and start them. Since I don’t use true local files I knew I would get annoyed having to navigate away from a player that I would never use and go a couple of steps into the menu to open a streaming service. You might be less concerned about what seems to me to be such a clumsy implementation.

 

[Claypole]

When my Fiio M6 packed up, I did consider replacing it with another DAP. I like a dedicated music player and the sound quality you can get from them: my M6 sounded better than my iPhone, and had much more power.

However, my old iPhone had a much better interface, and was much faster and more responsive. Even a cheap android phone offers a better user experience than a budget DAP.

I ended up getting a Fiio BTR7, and I use connected via Blutooth to a midrange Android phone. This way I get DAP sound quality and power, but with all the system performance I need from the phone. I know it’s not the same as a dedicated DAP, but that’s the compromise I’m happy to make.

 

[KF6GPE]

I've had the Sony NW-A57 for a a couple of years, which I'd used with both a pair of inexpensive IEMs and my Bose headphones. I found it to have a few advantages over my phone, which others have mentioned:
1. It's smaller, so around the house and out and about while running it's just easier to carry.
2. The battery life is better than my phone, and when traveling I didn't have to worry about killing my phone battery on long flights and then getting off of a plane to recharge before making phone calls or figuring out how to get to my hotel.
3. I'm able to load up a microSD with all of my music and pick and choose (the Sony has pretty good support for genre classification and browsing is fast) what I want while I'm out and about.
4. It's easier to get and play FLAC files than it is with a phone (you can do it on Android, but moving files is fussy, and storage can be tight).
5. The dedicated headphone jack.

When I made the decision, the clinchers were #3, #4, and #5. I've pleasantly discovered #1 and especially #2.

That's not to say that I don't stream, but when I do, I'm usually at my desk. If I want to around the house, I just use my phone (without a DAC dongle, usually); battery life isn't such an issue because it's on WiFi and I plug It in at night anyway.

The phone definitely has some advantages around streaming, listening to podcasts (which aren't usually hifi anyway, but I do wish I could keep them on the same device), speed/fluidity of UI at times, and the fact that sometimes I didn't want to fuss with carrying two devices.

But I'm glad I went the DAP route.